Brillian Lutomia, Fashion Designer, Seamstress and Business Owner
I’m 25 years old an alumni of Passion to share Foundation,in today’s society especially in Kenya getting employment is so hard especially if you never got to graduate or even complete college,I came to Nairobi from the village in 2019 and I managed to get my first employment in 2021 which lasted 3 months and my salary at that moment was 4000 Kenyan shillings
I could only afford to live in Kibera because of the living standard which at some point was also hard to maintain, I started working on January but by march I was jobless because of COVID 19 ,my place of work was in Kibera and they didn’t get enough clients this limited the resources and as a result I lost my job.
For several months I battled depression and anxiety and survival was hard.
I remember a friend from where I used to work send me a post from passion to share Foundation ,it was an NGO that was looking for young women in Kibera to offer them education and skills and that to me was a life-saver, I applied and was lucky enough to get an opportunity
That day was when I saw hope for me again,I had never been on a sewing machine before but I was so passionate about fashion ,it was the only thing I knew I would be good at,it was really hard during the first moments of studying because things never seemed to be as I had earlier thought,I used to be amongst the last people to understand things in class,I used to be the slowest generally,I used to cut the fabrics to slow and sewing was also hard at that moment,used to cry alot in bed feeling like maybe I wasn’t good at everything but as a class we used to motivate each other to not give up and fight till the end,and at some point it worked.
I am now a business owner, a fashion designer and a tailor. All this was made possible with the help of my very able facilitator at Passion to Share Foundation and the group at Miyo Creations. My creativity was sparked being around the creative minds and teachers and mentors who were more than willing to share information to detail. I can say truly this was the light I needed and I am truly humbled and empowered.
I am so very grateful to Passion to share Foundation, they really saved from a hole I was in and they do that to 16 women and above each year. Only light can dispel darkness, and there is hope in humanity and the community here is testament.
Thank you
