The Ambitious 7: Meet Group of Women Who Contribute to Build, Furnish Houses for Parents
- Seven young women who became friends over 10 years ago chose to keep their bond alive in a developmental way
- They do so by contributing KSh 10,000 every month then visit one of their parents in the village after three months
- The money collected over the period is used to furnish houses and upgrade the living standards of the parents
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Whoever said that women are their own enemies most certainly hadn't met a group of young Nairobi women who have remained together for years with a purpose.
Source: UGC
The group consists of Maureen Cheptoo, Diana Chepkemoi, Faith Chelangat, Naomi Cherotich, Charity Cherotich, Mercy Chelangat and Elsy Kathurima who've known each other for over 10 years.
The group has indicated that as much as they became friends in high school, their bond got stronger when two of them were expectant and they held baby showers.
Appreciating parents
It was a eureka moment that saw them come up with the idea of doing something nice for their parents as appreciation for their support and ensuring they got the best growing up.
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This is attributed to the fact that they didn't give up to ensure the girls went to school and got the needed protection and love to be successful.
"As they see us achieve our dreams we also want to put a smile on their faces and for them to reap the fruits they sowed," Maureen told Hillary Lisimba.
She added that the idea is to also show others that parents shouldn't be forgotten as humans sometimes get caught up in life and forget their backgrounds.
In the long run, the parents are left languishing in poverty as their children enjoy life in the city.
How it all comes together
The chama came to life in mid-2019 with an agreement that they would do three visits in a year; April, August and December respectively.
"We contribute KSh 10,000 each which brings a total of KSh 70,000. It is then used on food shopping, gifts, cash in an envelope, and transport to the host's home," Maureen continued.
The host then plans everything to ensure the visit is successful, and there's always a special gift from the host to the parents.
Visits are scheduled on weekends, so the group leaves Nairobi on Saturday morning and arrives during lunch hour after which the function starts.
"We offer presents to friends and relatives, parents gift us too, then it is our time to deliver our package to the parents who are usually the day's guests of honour," she continued.
Source: UGC
Past visits
The group boasts several successful visits in the past, among them Mercy who brought her siblings on board to build their widowed mother a house and furnish it in August 2019.
During Diana's visit to her parents in January 2020, the group took a smart TV, water dispenser, and mattresses.
"Elsy's visit was in 2021, and since she's an orphan we visited both grandparents at her dad's home and gifted them a TV and beddings," said Maureen.
In January this year, Faith gifted her parents a fully-furnished four-bedroom house from her and her sister, a 10,000-litre water tank, and a chaff cutter since the parents are dairy farmers.
The most recent happened last weekend when Maureen also gave her mom the special gift of a four-bedroom house that is nearly complete.
"We also bought her curtains, curtain rods, beddings, tiles, ceiling boards and paints to enable completion of the house in a few weeks," said the elated Maureen.
Source: UGC
Challenges
Like any group, disagreements come into play, but they have always learnt how to settle such and forge forward.
The one trying moment for them was during COVID-19 as some members struggled to raise the funds while others were battling health scares.
"Personally, I postponed it twice. First after a major health crisis with my mum and grandma and twice due to financial constraints," Maureen disclosed.
She added that they also cancelled some visit days because one of them had lost an aunt and needed moral support more.
The secret
According to the ladies, the secret to staying compact this long has been understanding that they are all from different backgrounds, therefore, support depending on the need.
"We've done house warming and baby showers together, as well as celebrated koitos and job promotion or business ventures as a group," she noted.
They have their eyes set on the next project, which they say is to do business ventures, travel to great destinations together, and celebrate love, family and friendships.
Maureen hopes to do another event in December and unveil the fully furnished house for her parents.
"With this group, we've been able to push each other to great lengths in terms of developments and ventures," they said with bright faces.
Moment Lady Who Had Spent 11 Years Abroad Comes Back Home to Surprise Mum, Video Stirs Reactions
A Nigerian lady, Idowu Popoola, also warmed hearts when she shared a video that shows the moment she came back home from Ireland to surprise her mother.
In the 2019 video that has gone viral, the woman was surprised when she saw her daughter. She opened her mouth but no words came out.
The mother was in momentary shock for many seconds as the daughter hugged her, trying to bring the woman back to reality.
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