The aim of the JAOR Sustainability Project was to provide an opportunity for the families we fed to earn an income. During the first “Feed a Family x Clothe a Family” project carried out in December 2019; data was collected for the Sustainability Project which would be carried out afterwards. The data was collected from 9 representative interviewees of the 10 families that were a part of the “Feed a Family” project.
Some of the potential projects that the JAOR team had in mind were a car wash, a salon, a candle-making business, a brick-making business, and a jewelry-making business. The report of the data collected from the interviews revealed that working in a car wash and a jewelry-making business were the most-picked options. With that in mind, the team set out to establish a car wash, which was the first phase of the Sustainability Project.
After much planning and deliberation, one of JAOR’s contacts in Kibera informed them that an interviewee from the “Feed a Family” project had a plot of land that could be used to create a car wash. After raising the necessary funds; a 1000-liter tank, water pipes, brushes, and towels were purchased. A soap-making kit was also purchased that would allow the young men working at the carwash to make their own soap.
On the 18th of January 2020, the JAOR team went to the site of the car wash to set up as well as instruct the people that were supposed to work in the carwash on how to make the soap. However, there were some setbacks with the car wash regarding land regulation and documentation which therefore made the carwash inoperable. The team has been working diligently on solutions to resume business at the carwash by exploring various options.
After the set-up of the carwash, the next intended phase of the Sustainability Project was to train the women on bead-making so as to establish a jewelry-making business. Research is also still currently being carried out on how to also establish the jewelry-making business for the young ladies.
The Sustainability Project is far from finished and most definitely far from failing. Regardless of previous hindrances experienced, the Sustainability Project will still be carried out and completed to the standards of excellence that is associated with JAOR.