THERESEA
from Nairobi, Kenya
Theresea, 45, grew up in the Kibera slums of Nairobi within a family of sixteen. Her mum, dad, grandmother, and twelve siblings.
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"I am the eldest. My youngest sister Tina is only 15. In fact, sometimes my mother gave birth to two babies in the same year, just 9 - 11 months apart. Growing up, my family wasn't very well off. Kids are expensive you know. And my mother had 13 of us. It was never going to be easy", said Theresea.
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"When we were young, we never bought new things. If we needed books, we borrowed. If we needed clothes, we sew. If we needed food, we learnt to farm and cook. And when I had kids of my own, I even learnt to make toys for them. And that's how it all started."
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Theresea has been running her small business of handmade plastic-free toys for over three years from a one-room workshop in her house. "Some day I hope to have a little shop of my own", she smiled and crossed her fingers.