Drum Partnership with Buildher.
Drum has been a proud partner of Orkidstudio, the humanitarian design charity, since 2014, having helped fund the design and construction of a community centre in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, a children’s home in Nakuru, Kenya, and a recently completed health centre in Sachibondu, Zambia.
As of December 2020, Drum is delighted to announce it is focusing its support toward a subsidiary of Orkidstudio called Buildher. Founded in 2018, Buildher’s mission is to equip disadvantaged young women from Nairobi’s informal settlements with accredited construction skills, leading to greater financial prosperity while promoting gender equality within the construction industry.
Buildher women undergo a rigorous 12-month skills training programme including a workshop component and paid employment placement. The curriculum includes market-informed trade skills as well as financial literacy, gender-based violence awareness, sexual health and family planning, communication and leadership. The life skills component of training enables women to thrive in their careers and everyday environments.
Buildher women secure accredited construction jobs, increasing their incomes between 3 and 5 times within 6 months of graduating into employment. These women, often mothers and frequently single parents, previously earned $3 a day or less.
Drum’s support will play a key role in expanding the current programme and activity, and we look forward to highlighting some of the women’s stories as they progress through training and reporting on the increasing numbers of ‘graduates’ over the coming years.
