Sheventures

Cynthia Coredo’s childhood was rife with loss. At age 6, her father was murdered. Coredo witnessed his lifeless body lying on the streets of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. As a teen, she lost her older sister to illness and her mother to suicide, the result of depression from joblessness.    Coredo embraced the realization that she was responsible for raising her siblings and herself, and she knew that vocational training and education would be the pathway to self sufficiency. As a result, Coredo recognized a broader vision and created Footsteps — a leadership and entrepreneurial incubator for young women and girls.    With three grants totaling about $5,000, World Connect, a nonprofit that invests in sustainable grassroots projects, collaborated with Coredo to expand her vocational vision. To date hundreds of Nairobi women have been taught vocational skills and placed in internships; the majority now work full time.    Pamela Nathenson, executive director of WorldConnect and two-time gue