First Six Business Owners selected

We have been in Kenya for 5 days now and we have been working nonstop. Slum life has already become the norm and a bucket shower a privilege. The need for sustainable income has never been so obvious, especially for those who battle the stigma of HIV/AIDS daily.
Our main contacts in the area are natives Ruth and George, both of whom work with Amka(the local HIV/AIDS clinic that I, Bill, worked at last year). We have relied on them heavily and they have been working to set us up with the proper candidates for our operation.
We interviewed patients in their homes yesterday and have picked out our first six business owners. Training will start on Monday where they will learn basic accounting principles and business strategies. Below are short descriptions of the the interviews that we conducted and our promising new entrepreneurs. All of the business ideas were developed by the patients themselves. All of the future business owners are living in Kawangware- one of the largest, most impoverished slums in all of Africa.



Meet Rebecca.
She is HIV positive and currently on antivirals. In her 10X6 shanty made of sheet metal, reside Rebeca and her 5 children. Three of these children are currently in school, due to sponsors from the western world. Rebecca has been doing any small work she can find, such as washing clothing a few times a week. She struggles to make rent and provide two small meals a day for her family. Her rent is currently at $10.25(800 shillings) a month, which her landlord has warned her will be raising this to $19.23 next month. Her daily living expenses are $2.55, which includes water and food for her family. Rebecca will be making beautiful necklaces out of beads that she makes out of old magazines. The only supplies she needs is large recycled magazines, glue, varnish, finishing colors, necklaces string, and a clasp. The cost to produce one necklaces is around $0.50. These necklaces are selling at around $1.90 to Kenyan locals, which produces a profit of $1.40 per necklaces. Rebecca already has the knowledge and skills to produce the necklaces but she lacks the necessary capital. After our training she will have the necessary capital to start a sustainable business, basic bookkeeping skills, a savings account, and will be able to provide for her 5 children. All due to the funds that you have donated.

Our next visit was with Tabitha. She is a widow that is infected with HIV. She is currently taking antibiotics given to her by AMKA.

Even though Tabitha cares for 7 children and 6 grandchildren all living in her 1 room shanty, she has taken in an orphan. The orphan's birth mother was trying to throw her away and Tabitha said she could not let that happen. All of her children and grandchildren of appropriate age are in school, and Tabitha makes sure she pays the schools fees each term however she can. Currently, her only real source of income is washing clothes, which has not been a reliable job. She wants capital to start her own vegetable stand and would like to sell these items close to her home on a well traveled road. Helping Tabitha start her own job will also affect the lives of the 14 others she cares for.

More Posts to come.

- Bill and Keyur