A Loss of Hope

I had a wonderful day today! I went “to the field” as my supervisors say to meet with a womens’ merry-go-round small loans group in a very rural village. It took us 4 different matatus (public transportation) and about 1.5 hours to reach our destination. The final matatu must not come to the village very frequently because there were 25 people crammed in our 14 person vehicle! 25 sweaty, smelly bodies…yummy. 

Once we arrived at the village, we had to walk about 25 minutes through brush, cashew trees, and a herd of cows to get to the mud hut where the meeting was held. I was to interview the individual women about their businesses and see if they had received a loan through NCCK (National Council of Churches of Kenya), the umbrella organization for which I intern. At the end of my internship, my supervisor wants me to write reports for each group of women whom I’ve met and give them recommendations on how to improve their business.

The group I met today was different than the others that I’ve met. First of all, I asked questions in English, and then my supervisor translated it into Kiswahili, and then a village elder was present to translate into their local language! Secondly, all of their businesses were physically destroyed during the post election violence of 2008, and they are still working to repay some of their members’ defaults. Loans through NCCK start at 4% interest and after 6 months if the loan is not fully repaid the interest jumps to 10% - after another 6 more months 20%, and so on. This is considerably low for Kenya since most banks will start their loans at 16%! With their businesses destroyed, the women said that they had lost hope and the energy to begin saving again, and that has been their biggest struggle in the past few years. A loss of hope. 

I also learned from my supervisor that this village is known for its village brew. She said that traditionally the men in this tribe will drink the village brew all day long while the women run the homes and bring in the money. At first I thought, cool – women having a bigger role in the community – but she continued to tell me that it can get very violent with the men expecting their wives to pay for their drinks, and the kids not having safe dads around. Recently the “local brews” have been in the news for making many people go blind after one drink. This is some scary stuff.

I have exactly one month until I am on an airplane coming home! I have learned a lot and want to take advantage of every moment and opportunity I have here in Kenya, but I can’t wait to see everyone!!!