Our Biggest Week (Part 1)

This week was filled with our largest group to date, we had a full roster of 14 people. With those 14 people we have nothing short of some amazing stories to share as you will read below. We also had a few interesting stories to tell of the Create A Job team. For instance, Evans, one of our translators had a scuff with the undercover Nairobi city council. Luckily, we were there to bail him out. Unfortunately, Nairobi city council can arrest you for just about anything, and when Evans put his foot on a handrail, they decided to do just that. When Evans was being led to the police car we had to incur a small bribe to avoid his prosecution. Evans – you owe us big time. Henry – our first bachelor, as he likes to say, has expanded his jewelry business and is now steadily selling his goods in kawangware market. We really liked Henry from the start, he is just a good person to be around. He has some good business ideas too. Henry makes some of his own jewelry, but where he makes the most money is by taking apart pre-made jewelry. Henry uses those pieces to create more jewelry, he can make one earring into 3 different pairs. He also does a solid job of buying jewelry in bulk and selling at significantly higher prices. Along with getting Henry the proper inventory, we set him up with a schedule to make sure he has enough days selling to make significant profit. Additionally, Henry also volunteers as a social worker at AMKA, the HIV clinic most of our candidates attend.
Emily has been struggling to put her three children through school. One of her children has not been attending school because she cannot afford the cost of books and uniforms for him. We knew Emily was a perfect candidate for a business. After brainstorming for a while, we decided the best items for Emily to sell at are peanuts, sweets, and sweet potatoes. The only tough part about Emily's business was selecting her stand location. After walking up and down the main drag of kawangware and finding and even negotiating a few possibilities, Emily was not satisfied. She wondered off by herself and when we found her, she had her location picked. After striking a good deal with the landlord, Emily was off to a great start and we look forward to see how the business affects her and her children.We pass by Jane almost everyday around kawangware, but until she came to us we had not known who she was. Jane sells boiled maize and nuts on a very busy intersection on kawangware. In fact, we still wonder how her table she sells on has not been wiped out by speeding matatus (buses). Jane insists she is safe at this location though, and it does attract a fair amount of people. We decided to assist Jane because we already knew she was a hard worker and she had the right attitude. Since Jane was already somewhat established, we worked on expanding and strengthening her business. She needed to make some additional income to be able to meet all of her bills, so we added tea leaves to her inventory as well as adding to the items she was already selling. She is also sporting a new table to attract customers instead of putting her items on the ground. She is doing well and the additional items have increased her daily sales - as you can tell by her picture, Jane is all business. Caroline came to us with some previous business experience in selling vegetables in the up country of Kenya. She was also, at one point, braiding hair when she could find the work. Unfortunately, her move to kawangware resulted in her losing her vegetable business and braiding hair was not providing her enough for her family. Caroline suggested a slightly different business idea, she wanted to sell sandals and shoes. She also wanted to sell sweets/snacks, although we were not really sure how she came up with the idea of a shoe/candy stand, we still liked it. The snacks would give her some steady income if she was not selling too many shoes that day.
Caroline bought the shoes and sandals for around 80 -120 ksh ($1.00-1.50), and plans to sell them for about 100-200 ksh a pair. We also liked Caroline’s selling location –outside a larger stand that sold clothing. We think both businesses will benefit from one another.
Judith is another candidate of ours that was already running a business, but she fell ill and her business faltered. This is why providing those we have created jobs for with savings accounts is very important, it gives them a back up plan when these types of emergencies occur and money to restart their businesses. Although Judith is still not fully recovered, she still sells mandazi (similar to a doughnut) everyday outside her house. She is doing well, and in order to boost her business we added more inventory, i.e. flour, sugar, oil, etc. Once Judith fully recovers and has more energy, we will help her obtain a stand in a more frequented area.
Josphin has been living with HIV since 1992 and is a widow with 5 children. She is as tough as they come. She is also unique in that her business idea was something we have not done before; she knows how to make cleaning soap for floors and other household surfaces. She makes a great profit on each liter of cleaning soap she sells too; each liter sells for about twice as much as it costs her to make. In addition, Josphin will be selling powdered soap as well as kerosene for cooking. Josphin was very thankful to us and all of you for providing her this opportunity. She said she had wanted to start this business for some time and is now finally able.
Violet is an easy person to like, she always seems to be smiling. She also has a cooperative attitude that made her stand out. Violet is married as has two children, a four year old and a one year old. Although her husband is a welder, his job is inconsistent and he can find work three times a week if he is lucky. Violet’s business is selling omena, dried tilapia, smoked tilapia, and an assortment of vegetables. Violet's additional income will help provide for her and her family and help pay the school fees for her 4 year old.

Moving on Up

Sarah is a bit of a unique case compared to others that we have started businesses for. She is young, has never been married, and does not have children. Nonetheless, she has a strong desire to work hard, and she is always happy to see the Create A Job team – which is never a bad thing. We had her business start with a variety of fruits and vegetables - which took the better part of the day finding the different items she wanted. However, in the end it worked out great, and Sarah keeps adding different items to her inventory and appears to be expanding her business quickly. We are very proud.

Let us flash back to the first week. We had 7 people in the room and we knew we had only called 6. Once we realized that neither of us knew this tiny lady on the end, we asked her who sent her. She stated firmly that she was their to start a business. We didn't know how to take this at first but we interviewed her in a later round and loved her drive. Robby Carren, aka RC, also came up with a different business plan- which we always like to see. It may appear as though RC is selling cocaine and marijuana, but I promise it is tea leaves and rice in those bags. The profit on 1 KG of rice and a single pack of ground tea leaves made us think about dropping this whole philanthropy thing and open a stand ourselves. Robby is caring for 4 orphans and will now be able to support them by herself.

Margaret is one of our more colorful businesses owners, she definitely doesn’t lack personality. She had selected to continue a business she had started years ago - selling boiled maize and charcoal. This past January, Margaret was bedridden due to HIV complications. She did not fully recover until April and her business was no longer operational. Margaret has had a bit of a slow start on selling her charcoal due to some issues with her stand. However, after giving her advice on how to rearrange her goods, we think Margaret will be just as successful in selling her charcoal as she has been in selling her maize.

Pamela (#2) is one of our favorite people here in Kenya. The mother to 4 beautiful children, she is always smiling and giving thanks for what your donations have done for her family. Pamela was a bit of a special case because she is a skilled tailor that was working in a co-op but not earning enough profit for her work. We were able to have her open her very own tailoring business. She is also a rare case because she has a husband that is alive and still very much a part of the family. Her husband, a carpenter, has helped her build a beautiful tailoring shop in Ngando. He is putting the finishing touches on it now but should be done very soon. Pamela is already hard at work making school uniforms for 5 children.

Lucy has started selling Githeri (cooked maize and beans) at an ideal location in Kawangware. She called us the other day to say thank you and that she is very happy because her and her children will become fat now. She has also been diligent about saving her money, a good habit to stick with. We look forward to seeing how Lucy progresses and how the business helps herself and her 7 children.

When we went to visit Rosemary we found her with her head in her hands, crying. Her landlord took off the doors to her house and refused to put the doors back until she payed rent. Rosemary lost her husband to HIV and TB last year. Since the death of her husband, Daniel, Rosemary has been working nonstop to try to get out of the debt that accrued since his passing. Her luck worsened when her oldest daughter was killed just a month ago. She takes care of 6 children currently. We helped her out by finding them an alternative place to stay and then created a very profitable business for Rosemary. We helped her on one single condition, she would no longer sell alcohol. We are proud to report that her stand is doing well and is alcohol free. She is selling an assortment of fish, vegetables, and goat meat. Rosemary is back on her feet and working hard.

Joyce was already an entrepreneur before we had the pleasure of meeting her. She had been selling larger supplies of tomatoes, onions, etc around town to an established clientele. This was a once a week job, so she came to us for help in starting something more consistent. In addition to her fruit and vegetable business, we have helped Joyce set up a chips business close to her home in Kongo, a place near the main drag in Kawangware. Joyce now has a job she can go to everyday to support herself and her 4 children.

Have you ever met a person that just makes you want to be a nicer person? Judith is one of those people. She doesn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. She also has turned out to be quiet the business woman- selling an entire sack of sweet potatoes in the first week. You are probably picturing a potato sack but it's equivalent to 3 of those. She is also housing Sarah, the first business women of the post. We expect big things from Judith and we know she will come through.

Eva is caring for 5 orphans. She currently carries water for the school that the 5 orphans are attending. She will be carrying water, in exchange for not having to pay school fees for the 5 orphans, in the morning and selling chips in the afternoon. Eva came to us and invited us to her house to see where the help is needed. We knew Eva was someone special from day one. Not too many people in this world would take in 5 orphans when they are struggling to survive themselves. We think Eva will be able to provide a future for these children and a more comfortable life herself.

9 People On Their Way to Living The Dream

Florence has started her very own hotel- basically a fast food restaurant. Her hotel is selling a mixture of cooked beans and maize called Githeri, Chipati, Ugali, and pakistani beans. She previously was washing cloths for a small fee and now walks outside the door of her home to sell her premaid meals. She is supporting her 7 children and is putting 6 of the 7 through school. As a widow suffering from HIV, Florence previously had a very difficult time coming up with funds for school fees and rent. She now has a profitable business that will alleviate the daily stress that lack of capital causes. Florence is a proud business owner.
Mary quickly got rolling with her sweet potato stand. She chose an ideal location, right outside of a well traveled bus stop. Every time we walk by, she is hard at work selling her goods. Even though she looks angry at us for taking her picture, she is very happy running her business. Mary surprised us with her business even after the second day her stand was up and running, she expanded her businesses and is now selling nuts as well as boiled sweet potatoes. Prior to selling sweet potatoes, Mary was washing clothes, whenever she had the chance, to support her 5 children - all of which are in school.


Beatrice, a young widow and mother to four children, has started a stand selling an assortment of goods. She is selling Omena, Tilapia, Tomatoes, onions, roasted peanuts, and crushed peanuts. Beatrice is now rocking a newly built portable kiosk, making all the other business owners very jealous. She is one of the most high spirited individuals that we have ever meant, dispite her positive HIV status. She truly understands the importance of saving and growing her business. We expect to continue to see great progress from Beatrice.


Teresia was our first clients that actually already owned her own business, however, she was having trouble with finding enough capital to really make her business profitable. Admiring her work ethic, we decided to assist her in gaining a greater inventory as well as providing a portable kiosk for her to sell her goods. We added tomatoes, maize, omena, onions, avacados, and chilli peppers to her stock. Teresia is definitely a hard worker, she sells her goods out of her house in the morning hours to neighbors and friends. In the evening she sells on Waynee Road to catch customers coming home from work. Teresia is grateful to you all for donating and helping her provide for herself and her 6 children.


Josephine was someone that we interviewed for the first week but we needed some time to think of a business in which she could truly excel. Due to her lack of education, it was a bit of a challenge. She came to us with a new business plan which would not involve very much math and profit calculation. She is now successfully selling charcoal in the area in which she is living. She buys a large sack of charcoal and divides it into small tins to sell at a higher price. Josephine is the only person in her area selling charcoals so she has done very well. She is the mother of 4 children and takes care of her two year old grandson.

Olifa has also started a hotel, selling a local favorite - beans and maize (githeri). She is set up to sell githeri during the morning hours (6am - 1pm) and then tries to catch the dinner crowd around 7 pm. Olifa was another of our clients that was washing clothes for income prior to starting her business. Olifa hopes to expand her business selling more items as she learns the ropes and generates additional income.

Roselia is extremely talented at knitting so we have tried to help her showcase her talent. Since she already had a sewing machine, we were able to buy her a large stock of wool to make sweaters, knit hats, scarves, and many more items. Roselia is one of the most kind-hearted people we have ever met. Her display kiosk, located on the main road of Ngando, is in the process of being built but should be ready in a few days. In the mean while, Roselia is busy knitting to increase her inventory.

Julius and his wife Caroline have started selling dried tilapia and omena in Ngando. Prior to contracting HIV, Julius supported his family working construction. Unfortunately, Julius could not continue in this field but he and his wife had some knowledge about the fish business. We assisted Julius and Caroline in going to the Gikomba market and selecting the fish as we have had experience with a couple other clients. Julius was stubborn about the location of his stand even though we suggested a few different locations. After helping him purchase the stand today, we agreed it was a great deal with strong businesses surrounding it.

Pamela and her husband Boaz have been making goods out of camel-bone to sell at the Maasi market for quite some time. They were previously borrowing money for supplies and were required to pay back the money once the goods were sold. Their problem was they did not have the capital in which to start. They could not get ahead and didn't have a plan to budget the money in which they were making. Now they have capital and a plan. The first shipment of goods should produce a profit of 20,000 KSH ( $260 US ). They will use a portion of this income to expand their business, a portion will be saved, and the rest will go to expenses. We expect them both to be living the highlife very soon. We are hoping to get Louis Vuitton suitcases and Gucci suits for our departing gifts.