Christine's Final Days in Kenya

Written on May 28, from Nairobi, Kenya
By Christine Rose

As I write my last Kenyan blog entry, I write this with overwhelming gratitude for the gift of opportunity that Village Enterprise Fund has so generously given me. The opportunity to be involved in a project with meaning, purpose and significance – the Longitudinal Impact Assessment Study. The opportunity to connect with countless people living lives of simple dignity, and the message of hope that they have given me. The opportunity to travel throughout rural Kenya and see a side to this beautiful country that most casual visitors would never experience. And most importantly, the opportunity for my eyes to be opened to witness first-hand the significant needs and potential resolutions for the rural working poor, with the hope of weaving this learning into my life moving forward.

I am encouraged that after focusing on the Lontigudinal Impact Assessment Study for a number of months, that the results are very positive. The majority of beneficiaries who have received microgrants in the past 2-5 years, are in fact still operational! The impact is reflected in their improved quality of life, increased self-confidence, and continued progress in gaining business skills that can be used moving forward. This is very exciting news!

I come away with a strong appreciation for the infrastructure behind these types of programs – the in-country staff who need to make decisions of significant impact on a daily basis, the business mentors who through their encouragement of the benefiaries are truly the “invisible hands touching the rural poor,” to the beneficiaries themselves – their courage, strength and faith in a better future for themselves and their children.

I am most grateful for all the support given me by the VEF team, with special thanks to the in-country Kenyan staff of VEF. Everyone has been warm, welcoming, concerned about my safety and well-being, and did all in their power to assist in the success of the Longevity Impact Assessment. I could not have even begun to navigate the countryside, culture, language and geography of Kenya without my outstanding team of local evaluators – Duncan, Josephine, Philip and Mike! And I am tickled pink that I am considered a special mzungu member of the Wilson and Nancy Peru family; they truly created “home” for me in Kenya.

And now to close, my top 10 memories of Kenya – these will resonate most with anyone who has enjoyed the experience of living in rural Africa for any length of time!

1. If you ever have the feeling something is crawling on you… it probably is!

2. Being called “mzungu” wherever I went.

3. Matatu culture – the drivers, the conductors, the potholes, the furtive money collection process, the close human contact…

4. Kenyans doing things the hard way – be it giving out vague directions, not providing relevant information, or do the same thing again and again even if the results are poor.

5. Vibrancy – every experience and moment is vivid, nothing is passive.

6. When saying hello (supa) to children in Namanga Region, adults always lay their hand on the child’s head.

7. Riding hundreds of kilometers on the back of a piki piki (motorbike) over rough and muddy rural roads.

8. Being welcomed as a complete stranger at the rural doorsteps of Kenya – be it into beneficiaries' huts, or under a tree. A privilege indeed; to be able to enter into their world and share a few moments together.

9. Conversations with the beneficiaries regarding sales, expenses and profits. Struggling with consistent measurements (tins, sacks, packets, bags, etc), consistent time periods (days, weeks, seasons, market days), and ultimately working through their individual scenario’s. Discussing maize, tomatoes, eggs, fish, chickens, cereals, stems of bananas, pigs, goat meat, plastics, tailoring, bicycle repairing, carpentry…

10. And my top memories of Kenya overall are: The joy, adventure, frustrations, growth, fulfillment, exhaustion, dirt-mud-dirt, bucket baths, more dirt, matatu’s, power outages, pit latrines, lush maize fields, bugs, rain, bad roads, country cooking, piki piki’s, marketplaces, being called mzungu, Kenyan friends, the business owners, and the list goes on and on….

Thank you for this rich experience, and I wish the Village Enterprise Fund team continued passion, endurance, wisdom and significance of purpose!

Christine's Continued Field Work in Western Kenya

Written on May 17 from Western Kenya

By Christine Rose

As I wrap up visiting the last few regions included in the Village Enterprise Fund Longevity Study, I am enjoying experiencing the unique characteristics of each region, meeting many simple yet inspirational people, and breathing in the beautiful scenery of Western Kenya. I am traveling with my favorite team of four local evaluators (photo attached to left).

I have spent the past few days on the back of a piki piki (motorcycle taxi) traveling deep into the rural areas of the Siaya and Bungoma Regions, to continue locating and meeting VEF Beneficiaries. I wish you could experience this, even just for a day - the adventure, hard work, and exhilaration are unmatched! Sometimes we have quite the convoy – today there were seven of us zipping through the countryside – a Kenyan translator, a local resident to help locate the businesses, the village chief (he was helping us to locate a particularly challenging business; I happen to think we were his greatest entertainment of the week), myself, and three piki piki drivers. I’m amazed that the rural business owners are so welcoming and easy-going, when a mzungu (foreigner) and a handful of locals arrive uninvited to their home to host an impromptu interview. Often they just scratch their heads and wonder how we even found them….once they get past the surprise, they are thrilled for the attention and interest in their business! (Below photo's show an interview in action, as well as the families of one of the beneficiaries we interviewed.)
I enjoyed a very unique and special experience in the midst of traveling throughout rural Kenya, focusing on small business owners who have received VEF services and training (including a microgrant) over the past 3-5 years. I happened to be in the Kakamega Region while a quarterly training and disbursement was taking place with new beneficiaries – these are groups of five individuals who had been selected to receive VEF services and training during this quarter. Generally 50 individuals participate in each training and disbursement session (ten groups of five). I had the fabulous opportunity to visit this training day in person, at which time the new members receive a certificate of training completion, as well as the disbursement of the funds.

As a passionate “groupie” of Muhammad Yunus (the “Father of MicroFinance,” referred to in previous blogs and emails), I am currently re-reading his book “Banker for the Poor,” and am enjoying the unique perspective of reading his personal microenterprise journey, while I am also living and experiencing all that he writes about. Be it visits to businesses in the field, interacting with the beneficiaries, or being touched by their stories. One of the experiences he writes with passion about, is the moment that these group members receive their official business certificate and funding – for rural poor who have never owned an official document, or touched the sum of money usually included in a MicroGrant or MicroLoan, it’s a pretty powerful moment!

It was a beautiful experience, to walk into a church auditorium where 50 new beneficiaries (mostly women), were sitting in a big circle around the room. There was no electricity in the room so it was difficult to see the expressions on the black faces in the dark, but I could see that every beneficiary was dressed in their simple, rural best. (Please see photo's to the right and below).

As is in classic form, the Business Mentor for the region asked me to stand up and say a few words (he translated for me). For better or worse, the visiting mzungu is often looked at as the expert, and asked to share a few words of knowledge/encouragement. I personally have mixed feelings about this as I do not like the automatic assignment of power/knowledge due to skin color or nationality… but that’s another story….What was beautiful in that moment, is that I felt that I DID have something of value to say! I shared that I am living and working in Kenya for three months, conducting an independent study to determine how successful their peers are, who have received the small “push” of a MicroGrant from VEF five years ago. I shared that I have discovered that this “push” is only a small part of the process – that the success truly lies within the individual business owners and their hard work. And that I am so impressed with what I have found! I expressed my desire to encourage them, and shared that most of those who received funding five years ago have strong and successful businesses now! I am convinced that these new beneficiaries will also be in the same position, as long as they make the most of this opportunity. I celebrated that today is a very special and important day in their life, as they begin to build their own businesses, which will empower them to take care of their families, send their kids to school, and create personal pride in their accomplishments. I could see gleaming smiles on all the women’s faces, as they burst into applause! It was a wonderful and touching moment for me…

Afterwards, each group of five beneficiaries came forward to receive their official business certificates. I suddenly became the official photographer, and it didn’t take long for the small groups to mug for the camera, clutching with pride their first official business document.

How exciting to witness the beginning of the microenterprise process for these individuals! And then to be able to visit with so many beneficiaries five years after that momentous occasion, and see first-hand the progress, challenges, victories and confidence that has developed over five years… May these new beneficiaries meet and exceed their dreams that this little “push” from VEF is granting them!