I’m writing this at 4:30 am on Saturday (Jan 19) because I’ve been awake for more than an hour and finally gave up and grabbed the laptop and headed downstairs. The guest house where we are staying is typical of homes here in Nairobi in that it is surrounded by a wall and has a guarded gate. In addition to the guard at the gate there are also three guard dogs that roam the property during the night. For some reason, they start to bark and howl about 3am. Then there’s the rooster who starts up about the same time as the dogs. Until this morning I was able to go back to sleep after being awakened or I slept through it thanks to an Ambien. But this morning despite all my attempts to go back to sleep I find myself awake listening to the serenade of a very energetic rooster and a chorus of howling dogs.
Before I share my experience from yesterday I will give a quick update on the four hostage bags…still no bags but we may be getting closer. After two days of negotiations by the staff with little success, Wallace made a phone call to a contact he has in government who knows someone in customs who is willing to look into the situation. There is renewed hope!
Yesterday (Friday) was quite a day…after breakfast here at the guest house we headed to the school to observe two micro-finance groups in action. A micro-finance group is a small group (10-20) of residents from within the impoverished community that work together as a team to help and assist each other establish or expand a business. To become a member of a mico-finance group you must be invited or referred by a current member. There is a very high degree of trust because the group is responsible for the collective amount of loans received by it’s members. So if one member defaults the group is still responsible for repaying that members loan which increases the liability to each remaining member. I don’t know of any comparison in our culture. It would be like the neighbors in your area all co-signing on each other’s mortgages. If one neighbor defaults the rest of the neighbors are obligated to pay off the balance of the neighbor who defaulted. It carries a very high degree of accountability and as I shared yesterday the default rate is less that 2%...a phenomenal return. Typically banks and investors in the US expect a 25% default rate. We observed them running their weekly meeting and we were invited to visit three businesses that have used micro loans to expand or open a business…a cake seller, a hair salon and a used clothing stand.
The cake seller had been selling vegetables in front of her home but because she lived on a tiny back street the customer traffic was very light. The loan (10,000 shillings or $120) allowed her to purchase some large plastic carrying buckets, plastic bags and to pay for transportation across town. Every other day she takes a matatu (small bus) to a wholesale bakery and buys 6 large cakes (think pound cakes w/o frosting). She slices them and places them in a plastic bucket with a lid so the cake stays moist. She walks a short distance to the main road where there are many more people and she sells her slices of cake. She’s planning to add beverages to her business as well.
The hairdresser used to work for someone else and her loan allowed her to purchase equipment and inventory to start her own shop. Business is booming and she now employs two other women and is planning to use her profits to rent another shop which her daughter will run.
The third women was married to a man who quit his job and is going back to school to get a better education. She is now supporting the family until he can get a better job. She got a loan to start a used clothing stand which she operates in front of her home. The money allowed her to purchase racks and hangers and clothing to stock her stand. Her first month she sold all her inventory and next month will be able to buy twice as much because of the profits from the first month.
All three women were so proud of their accomplishments and even though their business success is measured in hundreds of dollars rather than millions; their success has given them dignity and confidence and will allow them to give their children a better life and escape the crippling cycle of poverty in Mathare. We saw today the effective power of helping the poor help themselves…an investment with long term if not eternal returns.
During the afternoon we were finally able to visit the Gitathuru school and meet the staff and children. They greeted us with smiles and songs and made us feel like dignitaries. They served us chai and hot chocolate and took us to the property where they hope to build a bigger school. They have already outgrown the building they are in and have 100 more children waiting to enroll. We will be spending most of next week at Gitathuru so I will be sharing much more in subsequent messages and decided share my impressions of the micro-finance program while it’s fresh on my mind. I’m attaching three pictures…1. the micro-finance meeting 2. The children at the Gitathuru 3. The current Gitathuru school.
Ray and I continue to ask for your thoughts and prayers…for energy and health to honor the Lord in all we do here.
More tomorrow…
Elizabeth
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