Thank you for the pledges of money that continue to come in. They will be a huge help. We are preparing ourselves for a rough week ahead. Parliament is due to open today and that promises to be stormy.
Also the opposition have called for 'mass action' on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No one is quite sure what will happen and how it will affect us. We all hope though that there wil not be more violence.
I went to Kibera this Saturday just gone exactly a week to the day when I first went there. I met with 2 groups. The Makina Self Help Group which is a group of men and the Jitahidi Women's Development Association.
Both groups were business people who were supporting each other before 'the trouble started'. I had decided not to take my camera until I had gotten to know the groups a little better and had their permission to take photos.
This turned out to be the right move. They were wary of people in the past who come by and promise a lot and they had felt exploited by 'slum tourists'. I was totally open with them about the fact that they were going to be assisted by private individuals etc.
Meeting with them gave me a huge amount of hope. Not only were these groups ethnically mixed they were also organised already and all they needed was a bit of a helping hand to achieve their goals.
There were 29 members in the women's group who had all lost their businesses. When you think that every Kenyan who earns a salary feeds 10 people and every self employed Kenyan supports an average of 17 people the numbers are quite alarming.
What they need is enough money to start between 5 - 10 businesses and then they will help other members get back on their feet once the initial businesses are established. The money will belong to the group and they will be responsible for each other.
The businesses that the women were running included kiosks, hair salons, second hand clothes stalls, food stalls and so on. The average cost of starting such a business is 15,000 KSh (just over 100 pounds).
There were 62 men out of whom 23 had their own businesses which had all been lost. The men have decided to pool together to start 4 businesses including a carwash, charcoal business, scrap metal dealers and shop.
The total cost of this is 145,000 Ksh (just over 1000 pounds). Therefore if we can raise about 2000 pounds we can help to get this community back on its feet. It has many benefits.
Firstly it gives them an income and means that they can become self sufficient again but also it allows them to look after themselves in the future. The groups want to work towards having such contigency money should any other problems arise in the future.
I met again with the groups on monday and this time I went further into Kibera. To read about open sewers is one thing to experience them is something else. I met many children who were about the same age as my own nearly 9 month old daughter.
They were all sparklingly clean and delightful. I thought about the hazards as she is trying to crawl and looked at the homes I was invited into. They were cramped one bedroom huts with mud walls.
Some had electricity, a single bulb that cut through a tarpaulin ceiling that really isn't all that weather resistent. Windows were rare. Outside the front door should a child stray was a gutter that lined the houses filled with excrement etc.
The stench was overpowering.
During the meetings we had talked about what the groups would like to achieve long term. Their goals were no different to mine. They wanted to improve their living environments and had plans for waste management projects, communal celaning projects etc.
They wanted to be able to enjoy their free time with their families instead of worrying about the next meal. They hoped for a better life for their children. The men invited me to watch their football team's next match. They promised my safety in Kibera. I felt safe.
We thrashed out ideas about how the money would be managed and how we would all be accountable. I said very little, they had all the solutions all they needed was someone to listen and facillitate their process.
You can be a bridge they said - between us and those that can help us.
Both groups have committed to submitting monthly status reports on how their businesses are going once everything is up and running. The have also said that they will be happy for me to take photos on future visits.
So I extend the challenge to all of you. If you have pledged money so far Please could you try and transfer it into the following account as soon as possible. Please send me an email/ text to let me know when you have done so.
We have opened an account with a local bank because they agreed to waive certain charges and give us preferatial rates for foreign currency when they heard about our project aims.
If you haven't please consider doing so. We are trying to give a long term solution to a problem that has arisen out of a horrible political crisis. Our website is also up and running thanks to HL who sorted it out for free.
The address (for now is) http://kyicd.blogspot.com
At the moment it doesn't have a huge amount on it because I am spending most of my time trying to raise funds to get the projects going.
Once we have the initial 2000 pounds in place then I will put more information on there. Please let me know if you DO NOT want me to put your name and contribution on the website as a thank you.
Please pass on our website address to people who can help. It is my dream that within 2 weeks of my first visit to Kibera I can present the groups with some funding. I am sure you can help me make it come true.
NB. If you have requested that the money be specifically used say for example for the childrens home I will ensure that happens. Also there are no administrative costs going into this project.
All the money that is raised will go directly to the people of Kibera. Although Erick may receive a small stipend for his efforts I am donating 100% my time and resources required to make this happen.
See bank account details on the right. Thank you.
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