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Business successes in the Kibera
Eunice NjeriEunice is married to Evans Gichimo who is a casual labourer and has three children namely Naomi Wanjiku in class six, Emanuel Mushedu in class 3, Tabitha Wambui in nursery school. She has specialized in the business of selling sweet potatoes. She is very active and goes to get her stock at 5 a.m 15kms away. She then attends house chores from 10.00 a.m - 2.00p.m. She begins to sell the sweet potatoes around this time since her customers are normally people returning into the slums after working in various parts of Nairobi mainly as casual labourers and watchmen. She started this business after her business of cereals was looted during post election violence. The capital acquired as loan from Kin MEDs helped her buy more stock which is helping her satisfy her clients who have increased significantly since she began the business. At the moment she says she buys a bag which weighs around 100kg at ksh 4,500 wholesale price. This she says earns her a profit of between ksh 1,500-2,000. It takes her between one to two days to sell one bag. The capital injection she received from KIN helped her increase her stock and consequently profits. She counts achievements from the profits. One is that she has leased an acre of land in a rural area where she is planning to plant wheat. The profits have as well improved her life and she is now able to provide to her family need which includes school fees, house rents among others. She is waiting to receive ksh 15,000 from KIN MEDs to help her buy the stock in bulk which is more economical. Her next project is to save the profits and purchase a small piece of land in the rural areas. The support extended to her through the small loans has enlarged her scope and placed her on course of transformation from the current life in the slums to a better place out there.
Grace KaburaGrace is married with 5 children, 7 grandchildren. She and the family were adversely affected by the post election violence. She sells water at the backyard of her house. She also operates small rental houses in Kibera. But the effects of post election left her in a desperate situation after destruction of her property. She was identified and benefited from KIN MEDs. She began the business of selling clothes and other assorted goods including stationery to diversify her business. Stationery picked up very well. She has concentrated on them. She says “this business is very good. I am making a sale of at least ksh1, 000 per day. I have good records as you trained us. As you can see, I sell different types of stationery which include exercise books, pens, pencils, manila papers, old newspapers and magazines, cash sale receipt books among other.” She has repaid the first small loan and has now applied KSHs. 20,000 which she intends to use to expand the business by buying text books. Her plan is to build this business up, use the proceeds she gets to buy a small piece of land in central province where she will go and settle. She says, ‘I want to buy a place where I will retire peacefully away from life challenges in Kibera. I am now elderly and cannot live in Kibera all my days. As soon as I manage to buy a place I will leave. I can be managing this business from there if need be’. She is 67 years and wants to leave Kibera and rest peacefully somewhere else.
Levy ShikamiLevy is the father to Purity Kalumaba, Allan Baraza and Melvin Akutuya. He was born in 1972 in Kakamega, he studied until form four in Makhokho secondary school. He got employed by Tittles Fastness where he was moulding metal, he after sometime quit because of less payment and transport expenses. He has since been involved in the business of refuse collection which goes by the name Nairobi Metropolitan Bins and Services. The business is not as big but it demonstrates his ambitions. His clients are drawn from well to do estates next to the Kibera slums namely Ayany and Olympic. He has employed a young man with whom he goes collecting the refuse. A hired lorry in return carries the garbage to the dumping sight. He received ksh 5,000 from KIN MEDs which he is repaying at the moment. He bought polythene bags which he distributes to his clients to put the garbage. In return, those clients pay him ksh 250 per month. His plan is to extend his business to Jamhuri estate. He is making significant profits out of which he has leased a small shamba in a rural area where he is planting Maize and beans. His hope is that the business will grow enough to generate enough to buy a piece of land where he can settle with his children.
Christine AnyonaChristine Anyona was born in 1968. Her husband passed on in 1989. She is the caregiver of Duncan Netia. Life has not been easy for her and thus to survive she is involved in petty trading in Kibera. Specifically she hawks traditional vegetables in Kibera slums. She gets them 15kms away from Kibera i.e at Wakulima market after the city centre. She wakes up at 5.00 A.M to be in the market slightly before 6.00 a.m. For her, the capital she received came as a blessing. Initially, she was buying her stock at a smaller quantity. When she got the capital, she managed to increase the quantity and the variety of these traditional vegetables. At least now her profit margin has increased. She says in a day she earns between ksh 150-200 from a ksh 100. For her, this is a blessing because it helps her pay house rent and provide to her children’s needs. It is all she has as a source of livelihood for her and her children. Her plan is to repay five thousand shillings and borrow a significant amount to buy dry grains, preserve them and sell in January 2010 which will give her substantial returns. Charity Registration No 1117658 |
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