Good domestic help is one of the most important things that a modern family can have. As people go on with their day to day activities in their offices and their areas of business, the peace of mind that comes with knowing that the home front is taken care of is immeasurable.
At the same time, a good working environment for a domestic worker is crucial and these workers’ human rights have to be looked into. It is unfortunate that some domestic workers have worked under very demeaning and sometimes even violent environments.
A meeting of good employers and good workers is always the best way to go though it is not always possible. However, there exist an NGO like the Centre for Domestic Training and Development (CDTD) that works towards streamlining the relationship between domestic workers and their employers and towards better human rights and employment for domestic workers. The NGO has today launched an application to help Kenyans access domestic work services from their smartphones.
Available on both android and IOS platforms, the application – Homecare Hub will enable Kenyans access the following services from their smartphones – housekeeping, laundry work, childcare, home nursing, pets care, household waste disposal and cookery. Other services that are also part of the package include education resources on labor laws, emerging issues and trends in homecare management and social protection.
Through the application, families will now be able to secure daily and monthly domestic workers at Kshs 850 and Kshs 15,000 respectively.
“This is a significant milestone that aligns with our 2020-2024 strategic plan and will virtually connect thousands of domestic workers with employers in Kenya. We are hopeful that it will provide economic opportunities to well trained and vetted domestic workers and caregivers who are expected to serve a big market created by middle class households. We are enabling Kenyan households to get readily available and qualified workers at the click of a button,”
Edith Murogo, Chief Executive Officer, CDTD
“We are happy to harness use of technology to solve families day to day challenges especially in looking for domestic workers to help them with their daily chores at home,” added Ms Murogo.
On their part, Mendi Njonjo, Regional Director, Hivos East Africa noted: “We are happy to partner with CDTD on this noble initiative. The application become the first of its kind in the country and will bolster low income earners – families, mothers, female headed households to make a living from the comfort of their smart phones.”
The Hivos funded ‘Dignity in Labor’ project includes social protection aspects – National Hospital Insurance Fund and National Social Security Fund education for domestic workers – on their rights to join social protection schemes.
This comes at a time when Kenyans are relying heavily on technology to solve their day to day challenges conveniently.