Helping women in Mathare Valley to set up small businesses necessarily meant that they were not at home to care for their children for much of the day. Sadly, this led to severe problems.
Several women lost their children through fire and other dangers when left home un- attended. Other children were exposed to rape, prostitution and loitering in the streets. To address these problems the Maji Mazuri started a day care center that would take care of the children as mothers went on with their businesses. The center provides shelter for children, and introduces them to formal education while at the same time allowing mothers to do their business without having to worry about the safety of their children.
Because of lack of sustained funding, the project remained for some time confused to simply feeding and providing the children with day care. However, as the center grew in popularity, more and more women brought in their children to be admitted, including some not necessarily participating in the micro business finance program. The project has contracted the services of two youth volunteers who are offering formal education to these children at the pre unit level.
