A Kisumu Fisherman – A Small Fleet supports Two Families

This week I was finally able to arrange an interview with one of our many local fisherman. Samuel is an ambitious man who has grown one boat into three and has the welfare of two families on his shoulders. Here he explain to me when, why, and how he has found success in the Kisumu’s private fishing industry.

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I am Samuel Ouma Osir, 28 years of age, and married with two children. I live in Kisumu which is my home village and my business location.

I began my fishing business back in 1990. Initially, I worked another man’s boat. Four years after I began working, however, I was able to finally make my own boat. The boat was small, costing only 20,000 KSH ($250), but it was mine. Unfortunately, that first boat capsized and was long. Luckily, no one was kill. With the assistance of my church, I was able to contract the building of a new larger boat. This boat is still in use today.

On most days, I average about 1,000 KSH ($13.oo)  profit per day. When everything goes well and we have a good catch, however, I can make as much as 3,000 KSH (38$) profit.

Before I entered the fish business, I was engaged in selling spare tires for motor vehicle. The business was not going well and I was laid off. That was when I joined the fish business.

I have profited from this business now owning  four goats, a local poultry house, and have plans  to build a rental houses on my small plot of land.

Benefits that I have encounter in this business are: I can afford three to four meals daily, I am self-employed, and my children have the opportunity to access education and medication. I am also able to support my brother’s family and provide resources for my wife’s business efforts.

There are few challenges that I face in these business: government policy shuts down fishing activity for three months yearly, price fluctuation, and there is no standard price of fish (editor: a lack of communication or current market price).

I am proud because I have managed to buy two more boats and my business is expanding. My advice to fellow youths is that they should work hard and save little by little until they make something tangible to be proud and count on.

-Dan Odhiambo

HEAL Micro Loans: Vitalis Odek

Vitalis is one of the first individuals provided a micro capital loan for the establishment of a small business in Kisumu.  As a child, Vitalis developed paralytic poliomyelitis which has limited his ability to walk unaided.  Alternating crutches and a modified bicycle, however, Vitalis is remarkably mobile.

The business plan that Vitalis brought to HEAL centered on bulk purchasing of eggs and fruit with organized distribution to local restaurants, hotels, and street vendors.  The plan presented five ways in which Vitalis hopes to capitalize on the lack of delivered produce in Kisumu:

1. Offer door to door deliveries utilizing boda-boda (bicycle taxis)
2. Control pricing through relationship with suppliers
3. Focus on tenders (short-term contracts) with businesses with steady demand
4. Focus on reliability and timely deliveries
5. Maintain cleanliness and high quality

The HEAL Micro was granted in late August with repayment to begin on October 15^th.

Below is a brief conversation Dan had with Vitalis this September.

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Today I was lucky to meet a well focused man who easily proves that disability is not inability.  Vitalis Ojwang Odek is 29 years of age and not married.  His home village is Nyakach, but he has relocated to Kisumu for increased opportunities.   Over the last year Vitalis has started a business selling eggs – recently expanding to include the sale of local fruits and vegetables.  In 2004, Vitalis earned his Diploma in Accountancy from the International Correspondent School.  Due to a tough job market, however, he has been unable to find steady employ in that field.

Vitalis decided on an egg delivery business because of the identified demand for the service and the small startup capital required. HEAL originally provided an initial grant of 6,000 KSH (75.00 USD) along with some advice on making and maintaining a business plan. This push was enough to move forward and begin to make some small profits.

Since that time, changing demand and significant price fluctuation in fresh eggs required diversification into a wider array of produce.  With the assistance of his HEAL micro loan, Vitalis now employs three part-time staff for transport and delivery using “boda- boda” and has increased his ability to hold a steady stock of products.  He currently maintains client relationships with several local hotels and a number of local shop keepers which allows for a small but steady profit for his efforts.  “I am still some way from needing to pay taxes,” Vitalis admits. “But, I’m closer than I was a year ago.”

Being a successful man, Vitalis now has people who rely on him – now  paying school fees for his four younger brothers (two in primary and two in secondary school).  When asked about his feelings on this family support – Vitals replied, “It’s responsibility, and can be a burden, but it feels very good to be able to do it”.

- Dan Odhiambo

HEAL Teams up with Chicago Fire for SOCCER Fun!

As if the World Cup in South Africa didn’t bring enough excitement over the summer, HEAL volunteers and supporters are ready to enjoy another fun soccer game!  This time, the funraising event will take place at Toyota Park (Home of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club), on October 16^th at 3:00 p.m.  Come out for a rousing, fun-filled Saturday afternoon to support HEAL and Nery Castillo and teammates as they face D.C. United in the final game of the regular season.

Get ready to come out to make a difference and enjoy the Fire game!  We expect quite a crowd, so get your advanced discounted tickets ($15 per person) online at http://tiny.cc/lepc8 (Promo code: HEAL), or by phone by contacting Jake Vandiver at (708) 496-6780, or in person by emailing Elena Navas at enavas1@uic.edu .

For extra fun, you can donate $5 to HEAL and receive a pass to visit with Chicago FIRE players at the Stadium Club and get their autographs after the game. Limited number of passes so get yours now!  You can also buy raffle tickets ($5 per ticket or 3 tickets for $12) for TWO raffle drawings:  raffle prizes include an official Chicago Fire soccer ball autographed by all the players and an Amazon.com Gift card ($40 value).  Tickets will be available through HEAL volunteers based at School of Public Health, at HEAL SPH-lobby tabling events starting next week and scheduled for [Thu 10/23, Tue 10/28 (9:00 -11:00 both days), Mon 10/4 and Wed 10/13 (throughout the day)].  Need additional information?  Just contact Elena Navas at enavas1@uic.edu .

So gather your friends, family and colleagues to join us for an exciting social event and a great cause!

Gladys Kwamboka – A Maker of Reed Mats

Hello, I am Gladys Kwamboka – 24 years of age and married with two children.  My homeland is in Kisi, but I am doing business in Kisumu town.  I completed my Primary level (8^th grade) of study.

I began my mat business in early 2007, after my husband was sacked from Kenton Chemistry where he was employed as pharmacist.  We could not stop living, so I joined a friend of mine who was already engaged in producing papyrus reed mats.  The requirements were not much:  a panga [machete] for cutting the papyrus reeds, sisal for the string, a small wire that acts as a needle, and a special wooden stick to help in joining the dried reeds.  With these simple items one can produce a full and complete mat.

In a day, depending on my speed, I can manage to make four large mats.  In a week, I can make up to 24 large and 10 medium mats.  A large mat costs 150/= (1.80 USD) and medium mat cost 100/= each (1.20 USD).  Therefore, in one week I usually make round 2,000/= (25.00 USD) profit.

Before I joined the mat business, I owned a small grocery back in Kisi. Here in Kisumu the grocery business was very competitive and I couldn’t make it because I was new to the environment.  The only person I knew in Kisumu, apart from my husband, was a friend who was engaged in reed mat making.  With her help, it was natural that the mat business be the one I joined.  Reed mats are in high demand because they are very important to our community.  Hence, we had a ready market. Beginning the work requires little to no capital and only two weeks of practical training – both of which are very appealing.

[editor:  The reed mats described (An organic, carbon negative, biodegradable product) are one of the most ubiquitous and versatile household  products available in Kisumu and throughout the region.  Common uses are as inside room dividers, ceiling material, wall covering, sleeping surfaces, roofing of temporary structures (often kiosks), "grates" in fish smokers, and as a portable surface for sun drying maize or small fish.  Any trip to a market or conversation can provide some new use]

I feel proud in this business because it has allowed me to purchase land back at my village, my children are going to school, my family can access proper medication, and I am able to pay rent despite the fact that my husband is jobless.  My largest investment [money spent to improve the business] from my profits is that I have managed to buy a tractor, by bank loan, which people hire.  I get paid a portion of the profits after their farming.

Overall, the benefits that I can now count on from the business are:  I have purchased a tractor for farming, I have begun to buy land in my rural area, my children are not sent away from school (as they were before due to inability to pay school fees), and I have obtained two dairy cattle for “zero grazing”.

Some of the challenges that I face are: transporting the product to the market over a long distance, and a lack of papyrus reeds during the dry season.

My advice to other women is that they should not sit back and wait for refuge or be dependant on other people who also have their own problems to sort out. With some effort most can engage themselves in a simple business which needs little capital to start. From that, poverty can be eradicated without government aid.

-Dan Odhiambo

The Revitalized HEAL Blog – A Story Series from Kisumu

Good morning from Kisumu!

After a distressing long absence from our little on-line forum – the HEAL blog returns revitalized with faster more reliable internet access (thank you undersea fiber-optic cable) and even a bit of content related assistance.   That’s right – the HEAL blog is outsourcing!  Allow me to introduce Dan Odhiambo, recent journalism school graduate, to the HEAL community at large.  For the last month Dan has been working on a series of stories for HEAL interviewing local trades people in an effort to create personal glimpses into the daily economic life of Kisumu’s base.  Originally a “proof of concept” – each of these sort pieces will be published here – in the coming weeks.

Working into the future, Dan will be talking with individuals and groups that HEAL has worked with through established programs, small/personal business loans, and economic grants.  Dan’s service is provided through the support of a local HEAL donor – providing some needed capital while he works through the internships necessary to progress in his field.  Look forward to hearing more about Dan when his “self-interview” is published in two weeks time.

I’ll leave it here, for now, with a big welcome to the new HEAL supporters and participants. Enjoy the next HEAL gathering on Wednesday, September 8th, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the good old SPH (Rm 962).  Bring your lunch!

- editor