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Author: JULIUS CHEGE MUIRURI - FOUNDER AND C.EO -PAWDEP
Title:   MY MOTHER'S DREAM

The news of my fathers death on his hopital death literaly crashed the spirit of my mother. It was a morning back in 1979 when my mother received the sad news of the death of her husband of only 10 years. what was more devastating was the age of her four children who were aged between 1-9 yrs.Being the third born in my family, I was young by then to remember but photos taken during my fathers funeral tell it all.She knew the challenges ahead and true to that it was not easy to bring us up. I was the only one who was able to go beyond the basic primary education as she could not afford to pay scool fees for us. I thank Direct Link an organisation that was working with orhpanage children for linking me to a sponsored from Scotland who paid my full tuition for the Secondary shool. After my high school education i went to college also sponsored by another woman. Finally I got a job with a local bank and that is when my life and that of my family began to change.

Some times I would think of how my mother was so determined to bring us up, educate us just like its the dream for every mother. She however tried all she could with what she had. I also thought about so many women out there who were like my mother and had the same dreams for their children but were poor and could only do the little they could. That is how Pamoja Women Development Programme(PAWDEP) was born.

With my little savings i started organising women in the rural areas and who had no access to to credit. My starting seed capital was US Dollars ab 1,623.00. I tarted lending small amount to women groups to start some income generating activities. Little did i know that a small capital would go too far to reach more than 54,000 women who borrow small credit to start or expand their businesses.

My great joy have been and is and will always be the testimonies i hear from this women who had lost hope, had nothing and now they can proudly stand and say that i did it. This dream was inspired by my mother and that is why its 'My Mothers Dream'

www.pawdep.org

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