July 27, 2009
Last Saturday I attended my first funeral since I’ve been in Kenya. As I wrote about before, I attended a wedding and absolutely loved it – the whole community was included and there was lots of dancing and singing involved. I was interested to see if these same themes would appear at the funeral.
Mathew, one of the most educated and respected men in the community passed away two weekends ago (I hadn’t met him, although I had passed by his house many times). The funeral preparations began immediately. His relatives and friends from all over the country were informed of his death and I am sure that more than 100 came to Eregi. The whole community also knew of the death (information spreads here like wildfire), and because this man was especially respected and revered there was sure to be a huge crowd.
The funeral proceedings actually stretched out over several days. On Thursday there was a memorial service at the church and as I was walking on the main road in Eregi I saw a motorcade of about 15 cars and dozens of motorbikes roll by with hundreds of people seated inside or hanging onto the sides. On Friday, I was told that thousands of people turned out at Mathew’s house for an overnight vigil.
The burial was on Saturday, and I would estimate that there were at least 2,500 people in attendance. People were seated on chairs with a tarp strung above them to provide shade, some were seated on the grass, and some stood in the open or in the shade. The church choir was there (those women can sing!), the Catholic priests were there, and of course there were many family members, friends, his work associates, and other community members.
As expected, there were many sad moments at the funeral. But the majority of the time was not spent lamenting the loss; instead, everyone who spoke focused on celebrating his accomplishments in life. Unlike Western funerals, almost no one wore black. The close female family members wore white, but everyone else (the women especially) wore all different types of colorful clothing. It wasn’t a “festive” atmosphere, but I would call it more of a “celebration” than a “funeral.” There was plenty of singing, and, after the eulogies when the casket was being prepared for burial, dancing as well.
Like the wedding, the funeral was a community event. At one point people were invited to come forward and give a donation to help the family with the funeral costs. People contributed what they could – in the donation bucket I saw everything from the equivalent of a nickel to a $20 bill. There was plenty of food available after the burial, and the hum of conversation continued throughout the day. Funerals and weddings are truly magnets for drawing people in the community together. I am sure that everyone in the area knew of the funeral, and most if not all probably knew the man who died by face or on a personal level.
Maybe these sort of community gatherings occur in small towns in the US, but as a lifetime city-dweller the idea of a whole area coming together for social events like weddings and funerals is quite foreign to me. People living here in Eregi and the Kakamega region as a whole certainly face more than their fair share of daily challenges, but I think that the close ties people have with their fellow community members play a key role in helping everyone get by. I witnessed the ways the ties manifest themselves at the wedding, and at the funeral I saw more of the same.
Recap of last week’s events
July 27, 2009
It’s been awhile since I last posted, so I’ll give a little recap of what I’ve been doing for the past week or so.
I spent the first part of last week working on a non-VEF-related study focused on how much money people in the area spend on lighting at night. I conducted the study in conjunction with a friend of mine who lives in the area. The study was part of some market research that my friend is doing because she is looking into opening up a business selling solar flashlights in the area.
I went around for three days with the evaluators that I worked with on the longevity study interviewing businesses and shoppers in the area. Electricity is scarce around here – usually only the permanent buildings near the road have it. So even in the big shopping areas, a majority of shops still do not have electricity because most of them are outdoor “kiosks” (basically just some sticks strung together with a small tarp on top). For lighting at night, people generally use kerosene lanterns, battery-powered flashlights, and “koroboi” (paraffin lamps).
Although each of these items is relatively cheap to buy (the kerosene lantern is the most expensive at about $3.50 per), people spend an unbelievably high percentage of their income on fuel / batteries! I don’t have the exact data in front of me, but it wasn’t surprising to hear that someone would spend between 500 and 1000 shillings ($6.50-$13) per month or more on just kerosene and batteries. That amount might seem small by U.S. standards, but for a Kenyan living in a rural village it is a lot of money. People tend not to realize how much they spend, however, because they buy the fuel in small installments. Safety is another issue – many people had either personally had or knew someone who had a fire in their house or business that was started by the kerosene lamp or koroboi.
People loved the solar flashlight because of its durability, long-term cost savings compared to regular flashlights (no need for new batteries!), and strong light. The only problem was cost. We projected that the flashlight will cost around 1,000 shillings, which almost no one said they could afford to pay all at once. People said they would be interested, however, if there were an installment plan in which they could save up a little bit of money each week until they had enough to buy it. Almost everyone we talked to realized that the flashlight was a sound economic investment in the long run (assuming that it lasts for at least a few years). People were eager to modify it as well, suggesting that we add a radio and an outlet for cell-phone charging to the flashlight.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how people receive the flashlight when it actually becomes available on the market. Although almost everyone we talked to expressed interest, but it is hard to tell, when push comes to shove, how many people will actually be able to stick to the installment plan and save up enough money to buy it. One of the major themes that I’ve noticed in many different contexts is the conflict between short-term and long-term interest that people face around here. The solar flashlight is, of course, a solid long-term investment, but short-term needs might end up overwhelming peoples’ desire to save up enough money – money that might be needed in the short-term for a medical cost or just to put food on the table – to buy and subsequently reap the benefits of the solar flashlight.
It’s been awhile since I last posted, so I’ll give a little recap of what I’ve been doing for the past week or so.
I spent the first part of last week working on a non-VEF-related study focused on how much money people in the area spend on lighting at night. I conducted the study in conjunction with a friend of mine who lives in the area. The study was part of some market research that my friend is doing because she is looking into opening up a business selling solar flashlights in the area.
I went around for three days with the evaluators that I worked with on the longevity study interviewing businesses and shoppers in the area. Electricity is scarce around here – usually only the permanent buildings near the road have it. So even in the big shopping areas, a majority of shops still do not have electricity because most of them are outdoor “kiosks” (basically just some sticks strung together with a small tarp on top). For lighting at night, people generally use kerosene lanterns, battery-powered flashlights, and “koroboi” (paraffin lamps).
Although each of these items is relatively cheap to buy (the kerosene lantern is the most expensive at about $3.50 per), people spend an unbelievably high percentage of their income on fuel / batteries! I don’t have the exact data in front of me, but it wasn’t surprising to hear that someone would spend between 500 and 1000 shillings ($6.50-$13) per month or more on just kerosene and batteries. That amount might seem small by U.S. standards, but for a Kenyan living in a rural village it is a lot of money. People tend not to realize how much they spend, however, because they buy the fuel in small installments. Safety is another issue – many people had either personally had or knew someone who had a fire in their house or business that was started by the kerosene lamp or koroboi.
People loved the solar flashlight because of its durability, long-term cost savings compared to regular flashlights (no need for new batteries!), and strong light. The only problem was cost. We projected that the flashlight will cost around 1,000 shillings, which almost no one said they could afford to pay all at once. People said they would be interested, however, if there were an installment plan in which they could save up a little bit of money each week until they had enough to buy it. Almost everyone we talked to realized that the flashlight was a sound economic investment in the long run (assuming that it lasts for at least a few years). People were eager to modify it as well, suggesting that we add a radio and an outlet for cell-phone charging to the flashlight.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how people receive the flashlight when it actually becomes available on the market. Although almost everyone we talked to expressed interest, but it is hard to tell, when push comes to shove, how many people will actually be able to stick to the installment plan and save up enough money to buy it. One of the major themes that I’ve noticed in many different contexts is the conflict between short-term and long-term interest that people face around here. The solar flashlight is, of course, a solid long-term investment, but short-term needs might end up overwhelming peoples’ desire to save up enough money – money that might be needed in the short-term for a medical cost or just to put food on the table – to buy and subsequently reap the benefits of the solar flashlight.
The Microgrant / Microfinance Gap
As I mentioned briefly in the last post, my experience at the microfinance training yesterday combined with my experiences meeting VEF businesses in the field has convinced me that there is a significant gap that exists between the level VEF businesses reach as a result of the grant and the level that businesses need to be at to benefit from microfinance.
VEF itself makes no claims to be a substitute for microfinance. The organization targets the poor, and more specifically the poorest of the poor. The small grant that VEF gives can go amazingly far towards getting a group of people on their feet by enabling them to start a business instead of relying solely on subsistence farming. Thinking in terms of the proverbial ladder of social strata, VEF can get someone off the ground and onto the first or second rung just by virtue of providing business training, a small grant, and ongoing mentoring.
Microfinance, however, is structured in such a way that only businesses that are on the sixth or seventh rung of that ladder can benefit. The complexity of receiving a loan, the necessary planning it takes on behalf of the loan recipient, and the risk involved requires that the recipient already have a stable business, room to grow, and a solid sense of security for the foreseeable future. Reaching that point is hard for anyone, and particularly so for the poorest of the poor who are just getting their feet under them.
The journey up the ladder from the second rung to the sixth rung is filled with obstacles. For businesses still in their infancy, one bad season of rains or one unexpected illness or death in the family can be the end. Even if the business manages to avoid or survive those potential hazards, however, it is not a given that everyone possesses the necessary entrepreneurial skills to responsibly manage a business. Even those with the best of intentions can find themselves sidetracked by one distraction or another. If there is one thing I have learned from my time here, it is that poverty makes long-term decision-making especially hard. Furthermore, even if the entrepreneur (or the group of entrepreneurs) possesses the requisite skills and manages to avoid the obstacles, the scalability of the business in the communities in this area is limited by the customers’ poverty, too.
So for a business group around here to grow from infancy to that sixth or seventh rung, it must have an unbelievable amount of determination, responsibility, and luck. And that group must achieve this on its own. VEF has a particular mission which it sticks to (and achieves admirably). MFIs have their own missions which they stick to (although I’m not in a position to say how successful they are). In between those two, however, lies a group of businesses that are forced to fend completely for themselves in the fight to expand and thereby climb up the ladder out of poverty. As far as I know there are no organizations that focus on assisting those businesses develop and grow to the point where microfinance becomes a feasible option. As far as I know, it is an opportunity open for the taking.
VEF itself makes no claims to be a substitute for microfinance. The organization targets the poor, and more specifically the poorest of the poor. The small grant that VEF gives can go amazingly far towards getting a group of people on their feet by enabling them to start a business instead of relying solely on subsistence farming. Thinking in terms of the proverbial ladder of social strata, VEF can get someone off the ground and onto the first or second rung just by virtue of providing business training, a small grant, and ongoing mentoring.
Microfinance, however, is structured in such a way that only businesses that are on the sixth or seventh rung of that ladder can benefit. The complexity of receiving a loan, the necessary planning it takes on behalf of the loan recipient, and the risk involved requires that the recipient already have a stable business, room to grow, and a solid sense of security for the foreseeable future. Reaching that point is hard for anyone, and particularly so for the poorest of the poor who are just getting their feet under them.
The journey up the ladder from the second rung to the sixth rung is filled with obstacles. For businesses still in their infancy, one bad season of rains or one unexpected illness or death in the family can be the end. Even if the business manages to avoid or survive those potential hazards, however, it is not a given that everyone possesses the necessary entrepreneurial skills to responsibly manage a business. Even those with the best of intentions can find themselves sidetracked by one distraction or another. If there is one thing I have learned from my time here, it is that poverty makes long-term decision-making especially hard. Furthermore, even if the entrepreneur (or the group of entrepreneurs) possesses the requisite skills and manages to avoid the obstacles, the scalability of the business in the communities in this area is limited by the customers’ poverty, too.
So for a business group around here to grow from infancy to that sixth or seventh rung, it must have an unbelievable amount of determination, responsibility, and luck. And that group must achieve this on its own. VEF has a particular mission which it sticks to (and achieves admirably). MFIs have their own missions which they stick to (although I’m not in a position to say how successful they are). In between those two, however, lies a group of businesses that are forced to fend completely for themselves in the fight to expand and thereby climb up the ladder out of poverty. As far as I know there are no organizations that focus on assisting those businesses develop and grow to the point where microfinance becomes a feasible option. As far as I know, it is an opportunity open for the taking.
Teaching (and learning) about Microfinance
July 16, 2009
I spent today witnessing and giving two trainings to VEF beneficiaries who were interested in expanding their businesses by taking micro-loans. I did not know much about the microfinance industry aside from a general understanding of the goals of MFIs (Microfinance Institutions) and some of the gaps in microfinance that organizations like VEF focus on filling. I learned much more today about the specifics of how the process works, and I left with a newfound understanding of who microfinance can help and in what ways – and also a realization that there are many more people than I thought that microfinance cannot help.
The first thing I learned about MFIs is that every one of them requires the recipients to be in groups of at least five but usually 15-30 people. That way, if one person or group of people is unable to repay a loan installment, the other members of the larger group will each pay more to cover that defaulting group. Secondly, I learned about interest rates that MFIs charge (usually between 15-20% per year, or 6-10% for 6 months). And, thirdly, I learned about the difference between the loan products that MFIs offer as opposed to those that banks offer (banks require the recipient to have had an account there for some time, they only give loans to individuals, and they require more substantial collateral than MFIs because there is only one recipient of the loan).
The main thing that I and the other presenters stressed in our talks was that taking a loan is risky! It requires long-term planning, good organizational and business skills, and individual responsibility (in the case of MFIs, it also requires trust among group members). Furthermore, we made a point that businesses should seriously consider taking a loan only if that loan could substantially boost profitability. If the benefits of the loan are small or unclear, it is probably not worth the risk. Finally, the whole system of applying for and receiving a loan, either through an MFI or a bank, can be complicated and hard to understand. This is especially true for first time loan recipients. We stressed that you should never be afraid to ask questions and never feel obligated to take a loan even if a loan officer is aggressively trying to get you to take one.
In addition to the process, the other complicated part of taking a loan for a first time recipient is figuring out how to budget accordingly. Deciphering how loans work is not particularly straightforward for someone who is being introduced to the idea of loans for the first time. Even I had some trouble figuring out how exactly it worked in practice – I don’t think I was ever taught in school about how to go about evaluating the costs, benefits, and structure of a business loan. We spent the majority of both presentations working through hypothetical situations in which a business took a loan and had to calculate repayment amounts and how much extra profit the loan would enable them to earn.
I ended the day knowing much more than I did when I started, but I also firmly believe that microfinance is not for everyone and is not the panacea for global poverty that some people claim it is. I will add on an additional post about the group of people that fall in between those that are eligible to benefit from organizations like VEF and those who benefit from microfinance. That middle group is stuck, as far as I can see, without many viable options for expanding or starting businesses – but more on them next post.
I spent today witnessing and giving two trainings to VEF beneficiaries who were interested in expanding their businesses by taking micro-loans. I did not know much about the microfinance industry aside from a general understanding of the goals of MFIs (Microfinance Institutions) and some of the gaps in microfinance that organizations like VEF focus on filling. I learned much more today about the specifics of how the process works, and I left with a newfound understanding of who microfinance can help and in what ways – and also a realization that there are many more people than I thought that microfinance cannot help.
The first thing I learned about MFIs is that every one of them requires the recipients to be in groups of at least five but usually 15-30 people. That way, if one person or group of people is unable to repay a loan installment, the other members of the larger group will each pay more to cover that defaulting group. Secondly, I learned about interest rates that MFIs charge (usually between 15-20% per year, or 6-10% for 6 months). And, thirdly, I learned about the difference between the loan products that MFIs offer as opposed to those that banks offer (banks require the recipient to have had an account there for some time, they only give loans to individuals, and they require more substantial collateral than MFIs because there is only one recipient of the loan).
The main thing that I and the other presenters stressed in our talks was that taking a loan is risky! It requires long-term planning, good organizational and business skills, and individual responsibility (in the case of MFIs, it also requires trust among group members). Furthermore, we made a point that businesses should seriously consider taking a loan only if that loan could substantially boost profitability. If the benefits of the loan are small or unclear, it is probably not worth the risk. Finally, the whole system of applying for and receiving a loan, either through an MFI or a bank, can be complicated and hard to understand. This is especially true for first time loan recipients. We stressed that you should never be afraid to ask questions and never feel obligated to take a loan even if a loan officer is aggressively trying to get you to take one.
In addition to the process, the other complicated part of taking a loan for a first time recipient is figuring out how to budget accordingly. Deciphering how loans work is not particularly straightforward for someone who is being introduced to the idea of loans for the first time. Even I had some trouble figuring out how exactly it worked in practice – I don’t think I was ever taught in school about how to go about evaluating the costs, benefits, and structure of a business loan. We spent the majority of both presentations working through hypothetical situations in which a business took a loan and had to calculate repayment amounts and how much extra profit the loan would enable them to earn.
I ended the day knowing much more than I did when I started, but I also firmly believe that microfinance is not for everyone and is not the panacea for global poverty that some people claim it is. I will add on an additional post about the group of people that fall in between those that are eligible to benefit from organizations like VEF and those who benefit from microfinance. That middle group is stuck, as far as I can see, without many viable options for expanding or starting businesses – but more on them next post.
A Kenyan Wedding
After a long but fun week of visiting VEF-sponsored businesses with the evaluators, I finally had a chance to catch up on some much needed rest on Friday night. The relaxation period, however, didn’t last long. I spent the majority of the day on Saturday attending my first Kenyan wedding! Rowland is friends with either the bride’s or groom’s family – or maybe both (everybody knows everybody around here). The wedding took place at the Eregi Catholic Church. I was planning to just sit quietly in the back and watch, but Rowland called to tell me that the person who was hired to shoot video of the wedding was nowhere to be found. He asked me to take over video duties, so this ended up being both my first Kenyan wedding and my first experience as a wedding videographer! I already stuck out like a sore thumb as the one mzungu in a church full of Kenyans, and I’m sure I seemed even more out of place as the one person in the church with a video camera.
The wedding itself was a true celebration with nonstop dancing and singing and general jubilation. Even in the short church service beforehand, people were singing and dancing in the aisles. After the vows were exchanged the whole place went wild. The attendees danced out of the church and into the street and accompanied the bride and groom and their families as they were driven a short distance to the wedding reception. I would guess that half of the people in the crowd dancing and singing in the street were invited guests, and the others were just community members along for the ride. The idea of “wedding crashing” is non-existent here; weddings are truly community events. At the reception, after a number of toasts and short speeches, the bride and groom were presented with a variety of gifts. The most notable gift was a live sheep that was escorted into the hall to much fanfare! After that, huge pots of ugali, beef, beans, rice, and sukuma wiki (kale) were brought out and the feast started.
The family members and some special guests sat in one part of the room, but it was clear that the food was meant to feed anyone and everyone who wanted to eat. There were lots of kids dressed in tattered clothes in the back of the room, and a number of young mothers present as well. This time of year is very hard in the community because the corn harvest is not until next month. Many people have little or nothing to eat, so you can imagine the allure of a wedding meal that is open to all. As far as I could tell, no one was turned away from the food. As opposed to weddings in the US which tend to be mostly private events, the wedding and subsequent reception were clearly intended as both family and community events. It was sobering to see so many people so desperately in need, but at the same time it was inspiring to see the ways that the community members come together to help each other.
The wedding itself was a true celebration with nonstop dancing and singing and general jubilation. Even in the short church service beforehand, people were singing and dancing in the aisles. After the vows were exchanged the whole place went wild. The attendees danced out of the church and into the street and accompanied the bride and groom and their families as they were driven a short distance to the wedding reception. I would guess that half of the people in the crowd dancing and singing in the street were invited guests, and the others were just community members along for the ride. The idea of “wedding crashing” is non-existent here; weddings are truly community events. At the reception, after a number of toasts and short speeches, the bride and groom were presented with a variety of gifts. The most notable gift was a live sheep that was escorted into the hall to much fanfare! After that, huge pots of ugali, beef, beans, rice, and sukuma wiki (kale) were brought out and the feast started.
The family members and some special guests sat in one part of the room, but it was clear that the food was meant to feed anyone and everyone who wanted to eat. There were lots of kids dressed in tattered clothes in the back of the room, and a number of young mothers present as well. This time of year is very hard in the community because the corn harvest is not until next month. Many people have little or nothing to eat, so you can imagine the allure of a wedding meal that is open to all. As far as I could tell, no one was turned away from the food. As opposed to weddings in the US which tend to be mostly private events, the wedding and subsequent reception were clearly intended as both family and community events. It was sobering to see so many people so desperately in need, but at the same time it was inspiring to see the ways that the community members come together to help each other.
Profile: The Grocery Group
July 7, 2009As I mentioned in the last post, I had lunch with a VEF entrepreneur yesterday named Joseph Murunga (pictured above in his shop being interviewed by Sylviah). Joseph and his four partners (two male, two female) received the VEF grant for their business, christened “The Grocery Group,” in 2005. The business has grown from a market stall to a permanent shop in the Bukura market where they sell different types of vegetables, beans, lentils, maize, and milk. The group started off selling just veggies, but as the business grew they expanded to the other goods, and the group invested some profits in a dairy cow that provides them with milk to sell, too. The group members grow some of the products at home, and they buy others and resell them at their shop. I would have liked to meet with all five members, but because they take turns manning the shop we were only able to meet Joseph when we visited. He accompanied us to lunch and told us his story, which I am willing to bet is very similar to the stories of the rest of the group members, too.
Before receiving the grant, Joseph was just a small-scale, subsistence farmer. He has a shamba outside of Bukura, and, like most subsistence farmers around here, was very poor and reliant on a good season of rain to put food on the table. Money for school fees, much less any discretionary spending, was non-existent. He said that he had wanted to start a business for some time, but that before VEF’s grant he had absolutely no way to access any sort of capital that he would need to start. Luckily for Joseph, he heard Father William’s description of VEF’s program. Joseph and his four other group members applied for the grant, underwent business training, and then received the first grant installment in June, 2005. Since then, as I have described, their business has blossomed. The group pools the profits, and each member is entitled to a share (the group also reinvests some of the profits in the business, as demonstrated by their purchase of the dairy cow). With his personal share of the profits, Joseph has singlehandedly lifted up his family from extreme poverty. He told us that he has seven children. The oldest two had to drop out of school early on (before Joseph had started with the business) because they couldn’t pay the fees. He then smiled with great pride as he told us that his youngest five children, however, are all enrolled in school and all doing very well. The profits have also been able to put food on the table and given the family a safety net to fall back to if unforeseen expenses come up. Because each member of the group takes turns running the shop, Joseph is still able to farm, too. He said that he and the group are continuing to work well together, and they were all eager to look for new ways to expand the business.
It’s hard to think of a story that more encapsulates what VEF is all about. $100 or $150 is not all that much money, but it can provide the push that groups like Joseph’s need to get off the ground and onto the first rung of the ladder out of poverty. Once they’re on the ladder, the group members gain control of their own destinies, and their hard work and determination is what really makes the business succeed and their lives improve. I have heard stories like Joseph’s from many entrepreneurs that I have met, but hearing new ones never gets old.
An Exciting Day in the Field
July 7, 2009For the past three days, the evaluators and I have been out in the field finding businesses and interviewing entrepreneurs for the longevity study. The study here in the Kakamega region is essentially a pilot study – we are very interested to find out how feasible it is to have independent evaluators go out into the field and find businesses by themselves, we are looking to get a sense of the cost involved, and, most importantly, we are trying to gather data that is as reliable as possible. I would say that the first few days have been great! Out of 66 businesses in the study, we have found 38 which puts us well on track to finish by early next week. It’s not always easy – sometimes searching for a business feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack – but the evaluators have done a really good job of going to different communities and persisting in asking everyone they see where a certain business or person is until they find what they are looking for.
I have gone out with an evaluator each day, too. Yesterday (Tuesday) was a particularly great day. I accompanied Sylviah (pictured above interviewing Joseph Murunga in his group's vegetable shop), our only female evaluator, to a village called Bukura. Transport was a hassle to say the least, but we finally reached the village at about noon. We rode in on a gaudily decorated bus that was packed to the brim with passengers and even more packed with cargo on the roof. The touts on the bus would periodically climb up to the roof -- while the bus was still moving -- to make sure that the load on top didn’t tip over!
The business mentor in Bukura was named Father William, who was posted to a church just down the road in a small village called Lufumbo. He is still affiliated with VEF, but he was transferred to a church in another location a year or two ago. Nevertheless, Father William’s businesses were alive and well! We visited three in Bukura that were doing amazing things. Many of the VEF businesses I have seen so far are very small scale. Some sell items in small kiosks and some sell from their homes. The businesses in Bukura, however, were operating in big shops that were filled to the brim with all sorts of items. One business we visited had started off selling second hand clothes and was now operating a shop with clothes, glass for sale, and, most impressively, two computers and a printer whose services they rented out! Another business we met in Bukura was a fully stocked food shop with everything from cooking oil to brown bread. It was the Kenyan equivalent of an American “corner store.” I bought two “Mandazi” (Kenyan donuts that are absolutely delicious) from the store and thoroughly enjoyed eating them. As Sylviah and I were walking through the middle of town toward the third business, she turned to me and exclaimed, “these guys are serious!” The third business we visited was a vegetable shop in the market area. That business was doing well, too. It was much more modest in scale and inventory than the first two, but when you consider that it all started with just $100 having a fully stocked shop in a prime location at the market is impressive in and of itself. We met Joseph Murunga, one of the group members, at the shop. He then accompanied us to lunch, and his group’s story is worthy of its own post (which will follow this one).
After a lunch of chapati and beef stew, we headed down the road to Lufumbo. There we visited three more businesses that he helped to start. Two of them were flourishing, but one had unfortunately ceased operating. The latter group had specialized in baking and had been doing quite well for themselves for three years. Trouble started when the group member at whose house the group did the baking moved away, and the group wasn’t able to recover from that loss. When you consider, however, that for three years these women had a steady income that they could use for food, school fees, and other needs, it would be a mistake to think of the business as a “failure” just because it is no longer operating.
We returned to Lufumbo, and after buying another Mandazi from the VEF-sponsored food shop Sylviah and I took a motorbike taxi back to Eregi. What a day! Seeing so many thriving businesses made the day itself really exhilarating. Just as heartening, however, was the fact that although Father William is no longer physically in Lufumbo, his impact will continue to be felt for many years to come. I am really looking forward to meeting him at some point during my stay.
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