By Luke Anami

A decision by a local private university to train a group of women in Mathare slums on entrepreneurship is paying dividends.

The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Cuea) introduced a business course to equip women in slums with skills to manage small businesses.

The women are taught book-keeping skills and how to save earnings to enhance survival tactics in a competitive business world.

One of the beneficiaries is the Good Samaritans Women Group, formed in 2005. The women living in Mathare slums came together to address challenges facing their small businesses.

Led by a Director, Mercy Thuo, the group was formed to empower women to start and sustain businesses.

"I used to run a business and after each day’s work, I could come across women with children on their backs moving from one house to another borrowing food," says Mrs Thuo, a mother of three.

"I could give what I had, but I soon realised they kept coming for more."

It dawned on her that generosity would not pull these women out of poverty. She came up with an idea of bringing them together. Within a year, she had managed to convince a good number, especially those living with HIV/Aids.

With a group of volunteers, she organised the women into groups to attend to different needs. "I first got the sick to seek medical assistance available in churches and dispensaries within the slum," the 54-year-old entrepreneur says.

The physically fit were encouraged to open small businesses, after getting some cash and capacity building.

"We are not able to get loans even from the Women Enterprise Fund due to the strenuous procedures involved," Thuo explains.

"Instead, merry-go-rounds came in handy and today, more than 150 women support over 270 children who would otherwise be without formal education." The idea to train women at the university was born when a visiting American group saw their efforts to improve their lives.

The Africa Circle of Hope Foundation visited the women group and introduced them to the Catholic University in Langata.

The women attend lectures at least once a month for one year.

The university, through Centre for Social Justice and Ethics in conjunction with the Faculty of Commerce, designed a course to equip the women with skills in book keeping, basic computer including the Internet, customer care and entrepreneurship.