VEF's response to internal conflict in Kenya

Written from Kakamega, Kenya on March 22, 2008

By Julia Hack-Davie

Current Situation
The current situation in Kenya is surprisingly calm. People move about freely and on the surface it appears as though life has gone back to normal. Public transport has resumed and there is no fear involved in traveling (aside to currently unstable destinations such as Mt. Elgon and Laikipia) even far distances. The general attitude is still undecided as to what the peace agreement will bring but most of our beneficiaries maintain a hopeful outlook. Basic foodstuffs and other items such as phone credits are again available although prices have increased significantly. Gas prices have doubled and thus many of our businesses are suffering with increased cost of virtually all of their goods and consequently very low sales.

During the Conflict
From speaking with various businesses and VBMs, I have gathered that the violence essentially put a stop to all movement even within the more remote villages. Although none of these remote villages were directly affected, those along the main Kakamega-Kisumu highway and those in Kakamega town were affected. I visited businesses that had all of their stock stolen during rioting and a few who were physically beaten down by GSU police and suffered serious injuries (one of which was a 69 year old member of Awa Stores, a VEF poultry business). Many of these groups exhausted their savings accounts to replenish the stock and start from square one again in early-mid February. Others that were not directly affected were either unable to do business because of unavailability of transport and danger involved with travel or were forced to consume their goods because holed up in their homes, they had run out of food. During this time, VBMs were unable to visit businesses and only in the last 6 weeks were able to begin to reconnect with beneficiaries and evaluate the impact of the instability on VEF businesses. No VBMs or staff have been directly affected.

VBM Gathering Results
The VBMs were very happy that the US office was supporting them during the crisis. The VBMs objectively analyzed 5 of their best businesses and found that all of them had been at least indirectly affected by the violence. Some in Siaya, Kakamega, Nairobi, Namanga and Busia were affected directly by the violence. These that were affected directly were on main roads or in central areas. The VBMs overwhelmingly felt that small businesses could be funded based on a general feeling of consistently improving security and availability of transport. Since the VBM gathering, transport costs have continued to decrease and today are approximately 5-10% higher than pre-election costs. For long distance travel, fares have remained high as many bus companies were adversely affected by the violence (buses burned, etc) and are attempting to recoup those costs. In terms of next steps, the VBMs proposed various options to assist businesses affected. VBMs request training to equip them with the skills to counsel the businesses that have been psychologically affected by the violence and additional transport funding to cover this mentoring. They also wanted to express that they felt very supported by the Kenya staff in disbursing the PRs.

Next Steps
The consensus recommendation is that we must move forward with SB funding in Kenya. People now more than ever need the support and encouragement of Village Enterprise Fund. With increased security and transport readily available, the environment is one in which the staff believes start-up businesses can continue to thrive. A resurgence of violence in light of the current progress of the Peace Agreement seems very unlikely in the eyes of both VBMs and staff. The VBMs also would find it very helpful to be able to participate in a training specifically targeting the psychological counseling involved in mentoring businesses adversely affected.