Having been widowed in 2007, Milcah was left with the task of taking care of her two children, who are currently in Form two and class seven with in-laws who promised to support her not anywhere to be seen.
She narrates how she started her work here at her two-month old tree nursery in Maseno.
"Having sold maize on streets gave me the experience", she pauses. "Maize is however a seasonal product which means in some parts of the year, I was forced to stay without work nor money", she says.
Later, Milcah says she quit the maize-selling job and sought employment from a certain lady who owned a large tree nursery in Kisumu.
There, she would prepare tubes by filling them with soil, watering them and finally planting the seedlings.
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| Milcah Auma at her place of business |
It is then that she decided to come back to her home in Maseno, having acquired enough knowledge to run a tree nursery and started one.
For the two months she has been here, she says "things are not that bad" as she can not go back home empty handed.
She says she makes at least two hundred shillings daily since the business is young. However, she is looking foward to expand it.
Milcah says she prepares upto 500 tubes for planting seedlings on a single day. Every seedlings sells from Shs. 5 to Shs. 50 depending on the height and the type of the seedling.
She goes ahead to say that she is encouraged by friends in the business who tell her on what to expect in the coming times. She says that one friend encouraged her by his story of selling seedlings worth Shs. 75,000 one morning.
However, the main challenge to her is inadequate supply of water. She has to get water from far and sometimes, she has to hire someone to do it for her at an agreed rate of between Shs. 50-100.
She encourages young people to stop waiting for white collar jobs but instead put their hands on anything that can bring in money.
"You must sacrifice your time as nothing comes on a silver platter", she says adding that the current world is so competitive and there is no time for sleeping.
She says that everything one does pays as she remembers how her male colleague had opened an electronics shop in Luanda Market and is flourishing.
I get out of her work place more that two hours later feeling encouraged. That is really the strength of a woman.
By Kisabuli Caleb
She goes ahead to say that she is encouraged by friends in the business who tell her on what to expect in the coming times. She says that one friend encouraged her by his story of selling seedlings worth Shs. 75,000 one morning.
However, the main challenge to her is inadequate supply of water. She has to get water from far and sometimes, she has to hire someone to do it for her at an agreed rate of between Shs. 50-100.
She encourages young people to stop waiting for white collar jobs but instead put their hands on anything that can bring in money.
"You must sacrifice your time as nothing comes on a silver platter", she says adding that the current world is so competitive and there is no time for sleeping.
She says that everything one does pays as she remembers how her male colleague had opened an electronics shop in Luanda Market and is flourishing.
I get out of her work place more that two hours later feeling encouraged. That is really the strength of a woman.
By Kisabuli Caleb
