Knowledge and competence are the power and authority that change the world. But in many places, girls and women have limited or no opportunities to participate in them. In spring 2020, Kalevala financed the establishment of the Kalevala Training Center project, which opens a path to a vocation and independent livelihoods for young women in the small village of Makongeni in Kenya, far beyond the equator. Kalevala Training Center operations in Kenya are led by Viola Wallenius, a young woman from Finland. The project came naturally for Kalevala, as the company’s beginnings and reason for being originates in a charitable idea, and in providing support for women and children in particular.
In spring 2014, high-school graduate Wallenius left for Kenya to do volunteer work. She returned to Finland two months later, but she left her heart in Africa. She read the story of a Finnish lady who set up a children’s home in Nepal, and wondered whether she could do the same. To implement the project, Wallenius established an association called Home Street Home the same autumn. Thanks to Kalevala Training Center, the association now provides continuous support to the education of women and girls. And the operations are expanding further.