A step forward!

So a lot has happened since I have had a chance to sit down and write...

I headed to Nakuru last weekend and saw Lake Nakuru and visited some other NGO's. Some of the pictures of the trip have been posted below or above. The trip was amazing I was able to visit the Gabriel Learning Centre and see the programs in action they teach the very very needy that live in the slums adult english education, the children from ages 4-6 primary class, and also teach 48 individuals how to tailor so they can start their own business. The school is amazing and the individuals who run it are inspirational. During the Friday Chris, one of the organizers, took me into the slums to meet a family. To get there we had to duck through a small passage and were greeted with lines of hanging clothing. Children were seated on the bare ground playing. We entered a two room home where a family of 8 were living. Prior to the election violence here in Nakuru this family owned several properities and businesses but during the violence all were burned down leaving them with nothing. To make matters worse the father who is in his seventies had just retired and invested all of the families savings into the businesses! So not only did they watch their home go up in flames but they also watched their years of savings. In Kenya the Luo tribe can marry more than one wife and this family had two wives. During the violence one of the wives was killed leaving three children for the second wife to take care. The second wife who greeted me was young, early 30's at most. She now has the responsibility of not only taking care of her four kids but the kids of the wife that died. Now the father is not working because no one will hire him due to his age and she is left to cleaning clothes to feed all 7 children, her husband, and herself. The two room house was small in size approx 6x6 feet, the first room had three make shift chairs and the second room had two children sleeping on a tarp next to a make shift kitchen that consisted of two large serving bowls. It was a sad sight to see and my heart just broke. I wanted to scoop the family up and give them a hug and tell them it was all okay and that I was shipping them back to Canada with me but I know that I couldn't do that nor could I tell them it would be okay because I just don't know if it will be for them. Chris gave the family some money and food and then we were off to another house. The second house was also a two room home. The children were the only ones present, a picture of them is posted above. The children had 8 siblings and two parents living out of a two room home similar to the last. The father is also not working but this time due to alcohol and the wife is washing clothes to make a living. These kids grow up so fast - they were all rushing around doing errands as Chris and I sat talking to the girl in the white dress. The hardships here are vast and I saw a large root of the problem when visiting - an old man followed us around the entire time I was in the slum muttering every so often or getting into violent rages and shouting at us - Chris explained that this is common of men living in the slums it costs them 10 KYS to get drunk (approx 15cents CAD) since the alcohol is self made and very potent and then they leave their families suffering while they run around the slum drunk. It was hard to ignore. I left there knowing that at least Chris knows about these families and are working towards helping them.

Lake Nakuru was beautiful - I was lucky enough to see a lion while I was there which is not often found at Lake Nakuru as they are very timid and only a few remain! I have posted a picture of him above. It was a great trip seeing all the animals roaming in their natural habitat. That evening Rose, my homestay here in Nakuru, took me out because I hadnt been out at night since I had come to Kenya so she took me to a close night club called Taitey's where an Arsenal and Manchester game was airing it was so crowded we couldn't even find a seat and boy do the Kenyans like their football! You could almost feel the place shake when someone scored.

When I arrived back in Kisumu I was greeted by Omondi, who is the organizer of my entire trip, who had come from Nairobi to facilitate a business planning seminar for the week. Time was running out as I now leave in a week and I needed to sit down with Omondi privately to let him know about the raised funds and to explain what I have learned while being here noting the area I think the money was needed most - keeping in mind that this money was raised to help the very very needy individuals to start up businesses so they can provide for themselves. After a long discussion Omondi and I decided that I had identified a gap in community banking when I was visiting. I saw people in the slums being helped by small loans but only really those that have a business existing or a source of income to be able to start saving to then start borrowing which helps existing businesses but not the really really needy that want to start a business to provide for themselves. I explained to him that the really really needy - single moms, orphanes, and the disabled often don't have an income source or haven't been taught a skill to run their own business. Due to the discussion we are establishing a new program! It is program for those aged 18-40 that are very needy and are often single moms, orphanes, or disabled. We will be taking in 12 individuals at a time to teach them a trade (ex tailoring, jam making, etc) and then we will provide them with a 10,000 KYS loan which is approx $170 CAD for business capital start up once they have completed training. They will then have a grace period of 3mths to set up their businesses and start a profit and then within 9mths the loan needs to be repaid in full with interest and then we will start the entire program over with 12 new individuals. During their training they will also be provided with not only technical training but also business training with the help of the organization I am volunteering with Omondi Okoyo Consultants (OOC) where Omondi or one of his associates will come and teach them the basics of starting a business. The teacher will be volunteering so we will pay for their stay and meals while teaching. With the apprenticing, business training seminars, and a small loan these individuals will be able to work themselves out of poverty and provide for their families. We will be identifying these individuals from existing groups that have joined Kolwa Community bank because those groups know the very needy in the community because they are often the ones that cannot even afford to join a support group to pay the small few shilling membership fees. We will be implementing the pilot of the program in Kisumu at the Kolwa Community bank where I have been voluntering and then will expand to all other community banks in different regions as it grows. I am super excited about this venture and I feel this is one step forward in the right direction! I am so happy that we could identify a new need when I was here and that we are doing something to address it - even if it is as small as 12 people it will grow from there! This will take time to establish as this is Africa lol and slow in process - so Omondi will be giving me quarterly updates by email with pictures and stories of successful individuals as we go. We are hoping to have it started by the fall this year. I will keep you all updated everytime I receive an update. I'd like to thank each and every one of you who contributed to this new venture this will truly change peoples lives for the better :) Now the only problem I have is establishing a name for the new program! If you have any ideas let me know :)

One more week till I am home!

xoxo Kristy