The life-changing impact of Mother's Day flowers - meet the inspirational farmers who've transformed their futures

Receiving a bunch of flowers never fails to make me smile, whether it’s my birthday, Mother’s Day or a thank you from a friend. However simple or grand, flowers make me feel special, brightening my mood when I see them on the table.

Like many of us, I’d never stopped to think about where the flowers came from or how they are grown. When I discovered that roses grown in Kenya and sold through the Waitrose Foundation directly benefit the workers – and was offered the chance to meet the women who grow them – I had to go.

I visited Kenya with the Waitrose Foundation Board, on the 20th anniversary of its launch, to see for myself the amazing power each purchase can have. Our drive north from Nairobi to Lake Naivasha, to visit the first of the two farms on our trip, revealed a beautiful, varied landscape, with bright copper-red soil and mountain views. I pinched myself as we saw giraffes and zebras from the car window, roaming free.

We reached Flamingo farm by the lake, where many of the Foundation’s veg and flowers are grown and packed. In a field of green beans, flanked by mountains and flower greenhouses, I met some of the women workers.

We've got the power

They told me how the Foundation had impacted their lives; how they’d received solar lamps so they could avoid using expensive and often unreliable electricity. They talked enthusiastically about their new gas stoves, musing on how much quicker and more cost-effective they were compared to collecting fuel or using harmful kerosene. It reminded me that women everywhere appreciate the gift of time and efficiency.

Next I was guided into a greenhouse, through sealed doors that protect the roses inside from insects and temperature fluctuations, to meet Margaret, who works for Flamingo. I saw rows and rows of the most beautiful red roses, each of which will be picked individually by hand at just the right point of maturity, thanks to Margaret’s experienced eye. She told me she’d accessed a loan via the Foundation’s microloan programme to pay hospital bills for her mother, and also to pay for her child to go to school.

She has paid back the initial loan, and is now applying for her next loan to secure a home, so she will have assets she can pass on to her children one day.

Back at the farm office I chatted to other women about their stories, and how they had also used loans to set up their children in education, or to start their own small businesses. Through their hard work, they could create a better life for themselves and their children.

The following day, I travelled further north to the Eldama Ravine area to visit a second farm, Karen Roses. Here I was shown how each rose is delicately cleaned to remove any risk of disease, before being hand stripped and cut, then tied in leather bundles ready to enter the pack house, destined to be made into Waitrose bouquets.

Each year, Foundation flowers and veg accrue over £700,000 across Kenya and Tanzania, helping to deliver economic empowerment to the women workers I met. Since 2009, over 115 projects in East Africa have resulted in improvements in healthcare, education, economic empowerment, water and environment. Meeting the women who grow these roses, knowing that behind each rose is a story and discovering how sales directly benefit them has made the gift of giving and receiving flowers even more meaningful to me. I will never take a bunch of flowers for granted.

For the first time, all of Waitrose’s Mother's Day bouquets will contain flowers from Foundation farms, including roses from Kenya. Look for the Waitrose Foundation label on fresh fruit, veg and flowers. A portion of the sale is invested back into the farm community to improve the livelihoods of farmers, workers and their communities, through projects chosen by the workers.

Charlotte Di Cello, commercial director and chair of the Waitrose Foundation, says, "By investing 2% of sales back into the communities where we source our fruit, vegetables and flowers, we’re able to support vital projects like maternity clinics, childcare facilities and schools. We’ve seen first-hand the incredible impact these initiatives have, creating a brighter future for families."

‘A microloan gave my child the chance of further education’

Lydia has worked at Flamingo farm for 17 years, and, like Margaret, she accessed a microloan via the Waitrose Foundation to pay for her child to go through further education, as well as to help with hospital bills for her mother.

The loan came through quickly, and her mother was able to receive urgent life-saving treatment straight away. Repayment, she said, felt straightforward, as it was deducted from her salary over time. Lydia was given a gas cooker via the Foundation, which she said was ‘life- changing’.

And the solar lamp she got through the Foundation meant she had light when there were community-wide blackouts, making her the envy of her neighbours!

‘The Waitrose Foundation helped me launch my own microbusinesses’

Clara participated in the Foundation’s Emerging Leaders programme. Through mentorship and learning IT skills, she realised the incredible potential she had, that was just waiting to be unlocked.

Since taking part in the programme, Clara has set up multiple microbusinesses, from cooking and baking to selling fruit. Clara’s tenacity was truly inspiring, and she is extremely passionate about the programme reaching even more workers.

✢ In partnership with the Waitrose Foundation.