Mikelina Leparmorijo is a 50-year-old mother of 7 who was born into a pastoralist community. She grew up surrounded by traditional livestock-keeping, the primary income source for her family and many others in the community. However, at the young age of 15, Mikelina was forced into marriage and didn’t have the opportunity to continue her education beyond Class 8.
Despite this setback, Mikelina’s entrepreneurial spirit never wavered. A few years later, she began running a hotel and preparing meals for locals, which allowed her to earn enough money to support her children. However, she knew that she needed to diversify her income stream to ensure financial stability for her family.
In 2016, Mikelina learned about the Rangelands SACCO through the Conservancy management and immediately joined as one of the 300 members. Together with other women, she received her first loan of KES 25,000, which helped her boost her hotel business. Michelina later became a Conservancy Enterprise Agent to help recruit new members and follow up on outstanding loans.
“Rangelands SACCO came to our remote areas to change our lives. They trained us to earn a diversified income without depending on livestock. We know about saving and budgeting, and our businesses are running smoothly. We have averted the loss of livestock during the drought period because we were taught how to manage that.” Mikelina happily says.
With the help of the SACCO, Mikelina was able to take a development loan of KES 100,000, which she opened a shop to diversify her income in addition to investing in a vehicle that is being used for transport business together with her sons. Her hard work and dedication paid off when she was elected as the SACCO Chairlady two years ago, a position she holds with pride. Mikelina is proud that more women from her community are taking the opportunity to save and borrow loans from financial institutions like the Rangelands SACCO to improve their lives. Before, they depended on their husbands for everything, but now they have stable businesses.
Today, Mikelina celebrates the increasing number of women in her community who, like her, have embraced the power of savings, loans, and diversified businesses. These women have achieved financial independence, established stable businesses resilient to natural calamities, and secured brighter futures for their children through better education and improved living conditions.