To curb the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kenyan Government has taken measures including instituting dawn to dusk curfews, closing the open-air markets, advising social distancing, closure of the public institutions, and the mandatory use of face masks in public places. The effects of these control measures have seen the total collapse of businesses across Kenya. Jua Kali (the self-employment sector) has been especially affected. At least 15 million Kenyans depend on self-employment for a living. As a result, families that rely on self-employment can barely afford 1dollar a day to provide a meal for themselves or their dependents, let alone acquire a mask. A substandard face mask retails at 1 dollar to 2 dollars per mask—an amount too steep for any Kenyan without a job. Many of these Kenyans are risking their lives every day, flouting the set regulations in search of menial jobs to afford a daily meal. Approximately 56% of Kenyans in urban cities live in slums. If COVID-19 continues to spread across the country unmitigated, slums (in big and small towns) and rural areas—home to 65% of the Kenyan population—will be significantly affected.
Because of these reasons, we founded Sew For Life. We have signed up about 130 tailors across Kenya and have already provided jobs to 18 tailors and produced 4,000 masks that we've distributed across Kenya to people who can't afford them.
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