Maureen Atieno Otieno, 25 – Hospitality and Tourism

Maureen, a waitress at Eleven Pearl, which is a 5-star hotel in Diani had a passion for the hospitality industry. Maureen is from Kwale County, so when she heard about the Go Blue Project through a friend, she registered for the hospitality and tourism course at Ukunda Vocational Training Center. Before joining the project, school fees was a challenge for Maureen, and going to college was almost not going to happen for her, but she never gave up she kept a positive attitude knowing that one day her dream would come true.

Maureen has seen her lifestyle change, and her ability to take care of her family is a success for her. She emphasizes that she loves her work at Eleven Pearl, particularly because she loves to cater to people and make them happy. She appreciates the life skills course because she is now able to use what she learned from the course at her job, she has confidence when talking to customers; she is able to interact with them without fear.

She thanks CAP YEI through the Go Blue project for helping her reach her goal, she now looking forward to furthering her studies in hospitality and reach a career level where she can give opportunities to other young people. Maureen says the skills from her entrepreneurship class will also come to use, as she aspires to start a business in the future.