Ten years ago, Grace’s life was turned upside down. After a controversial election, political unrest in her home country of Kenya was at an all-time high. Violent riots were breaking out in many towns. Her hometown of Eldoret, was no longer a safe place for her family.
Grace made the difficult decision to leave her life in Eldoret behind, and flee to Gilgil, a safer area of Kenya. Grace’s husband, however, didn’t agree with her choice, and deserted the family. Grace moved alone with her children to Gilgil to start anew. Rebuilding was difficult- she was struggling to get reestablished, and couldn’t provide enough food to feed her children.
In 2012, Grace’s youngest daughter, Ann, was accepted into Chalice’s sponsorship program. Grace seized this opportunity, and used her newfound stability to launch her own small business selling fresh fruits and vegetables at a busy town market.
Over the years, Grace has used small, low-interest loans from her Chalice Family Circle to grow her business. Providing enough food to feed her family is no longer an issue. She’s also now able to afford to send all of her children to school. Her oldest son is in his final year of university, and Grace hopes her other children will also pursue post-secondary studies.
Grace’s hard work and resilience has been an inspiration to other mothers in her community. Though she sometimes still misses Eldoret, Grace is very happy with her life in Gilgil, and thankful for all of the love and support shown by her community and Chalice family.
Want to help a mother like Grace provide for her family? You can provide the gift of a small business set-up through our Gift Catalogue.
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