Kimlea Girls' Technical Training Center LIMURU KENYA

Situated in Tigoni, Kiambu District, Kimlea Girls' Technical Training Centre is a project of Kianda Foundationthat has now been entrusted to the Nurisha Trust (an off-shoot of Kianda Foundation). Kimlea provides technical training in income-generating skills to daughters of plantation workers. The Centre was officially opened in 1992 and is registered under the Ministry of Social Services as a social project. History of Kimlea Kimlea is a girl's technical training centre which started with the aim of helping women and girls working in the coffee and tea plantations of Limuru area of Kenya to raise their standards of living. Most of the women working in the plantations have very little education and no alternative source of income. Consequently, they find themselves in a vicious poverty cycle which is difficult to break. For their source of living, they rely on picking tea or coffee, a seasonal job which earns them around Ksh. 5 per kilo, with the ladies being able to pick an average of around 50 kilos on a good day. The money is barely able to meet basic family needs. As a result, their children join them at an early age to help bring food to the table, thus discontinuing their education. Though other families may see education as important, their children still cannot go to high school because of the lack of fees. In order to help solve the problem of these women and their families, Kianda Foundation started Kimlea. Its main aim is to provide technical skills for women and girls so that they have an alternative source of income and can raise the standard of living of their families and consequently that of the society around them. How It Started Kimlea started in a simple pre-fabricated room, with a handful of women who were working in the tea and coffee plantations. Here the women were taught basic home management skills of cookery and stitching. The women appreciated the skills acquired so much that they wanted the same to be taught to their daughters. Soon classes were organized for the girls as well. Currently the institution has a student population of 150. In 1992 with the help of donors Kimlea was able to put up proper buildings in which to conduct the classes, which were now to consist of a 2 year full time course with a government endorsed certificate offered to the students who successfully completed the course. With the certificate and skills acquired the students would be able to start their own small businesses or be employed Courses Offered Two Training Programs are available in the Centre: COURSE CONTENT MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Kimlea Certificate Course (Duration: 2 years) Full Time Course: Monday - Friday Technical courses: English Computer Skills Agriculture Sewing Knitting Food Production Housekeeping Human formation training encompasses: Moral and Professional Ethics Personality Development Sessions Age Group 16 -- 22 years Outreach Program (Duration: 1 Year) Part Time: Saturday Adult literacy courses Agriculture Cookery Nutrition and Hygiene Sewing Knitting Adult Literacy Classes Age Group 18 - 65 years Kimlea Technical Training Centre The Principal P.O BOX 140 00217 LIMURU KENYA kimlea@wananchi.com +254-020-2014388 http://kimleatechnical.org/ Projects in progress ; Kimlea is currently working on: Upgrading academic qualifications :The school is working towards providing a 2 year O level studies course leading to a Secondary School Certificate (K.C.S.E). Currently Kimlea sends students to other institutions for this program. These are important qualifications as most of the students only have a primary school certificate. With the O- level certificate they stand more chances of getting jobs and more opportunities to go on to higher education institutions such as colleges, polytechnics and universities. Higher Education Some students who have already completed the course in Kimlea have the opportunity to join the O-Level programme in neighbouring institutions. For them to be eligible they must first finish the 2 year Kimlea programme and pass the Kimlea final exams well. We usually recommend them to other colleges of higher learning such as Kibondeni College of Institutional Management, Kiambu Institute of Technology