Samuel    Dec 15, 2013

Kezia texted me. In her own words, "My business went down i had to close and seek employment. I have not been paid for two months. I have searched for a new job. I will start working from next month. i will resume my (re)payment. Please understand. Thanx".

analinjsaturria    Dec 4, 2013

Dear lenders,
Keziah messaged us to inform us that she has lost the job she got back in June. We have reiterated to her that she may propose a new repayment schedule better adjusted to her financial reality. I have also reminded her Samuel, her Volunteer Mentor, is available to assist her rescheduling her loan, and provided his phone number so she can return his calls.
We will keep you posted as we hear more about Keziah's situation.
Thanks for your support.
Sincerely,
Analin Saturria McGregor
Country Liaison Manager
Zidisha

russell    Nov 16, 2013

Hi could you make at least a small token payment to show us you are still there and have not forgotten us.

Samuel    Nov 16, 2013

I phoned Kezia twice today at 11.13am but she did not pick my calls. I , alternatively, called her Community leader Mary Wambui but she also did not pick my call. I guess I will attempt to reach them at a later date. I have however sent Kezia a text reminding her on her overdue repayments. I am awaiting her response.

analinjsaturria    Jun 10, 2013

Dear lenders,
Keziah has been reporting to us since early April that her mother has been ill. Keziah has taken more and more time off from her business to take care of her. In the end, the time demands her business required to thrive were not compatible with the time and amount attention her ailing mother required, so Keziah had to make the very difficult decision of closing down her business. Keziah has contacted us during the weekend to inform us she has found a job. Due to the shift in income, she will reevaluate her current repayment schedule and adjust it to her reduced income. We've connected her with a Volunteer Mentor in her area to provide assistance in helping her assess her current debt and how to manage it better.
If you have further questions, you may email us at [email protected].

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,
Analin Saturria McGregor
Communications Associate
Zidisha.

Keziah    Feb 5, 2013

Hellow zidisha team,i wish to reschedule my grace period loan. due to the sickness of my mum.i had to stop operating my business,and take care of her,i have spend the amount i was to pay to zidisha loan on her medication.but as from april 2nd 2013, i wil be in a position to start paying my loan.i want to thank you for been the only lending organisation who gives the borrowers a chance to explain their situations and fully understand.thank you Zidisha and God bless you.

dcembrola    Dec 23, 2012

December 22, 2012

Hello, my name is Dan Cembrola, one of Zidisha’s Kenya Client Relationship Managers. I am currently visiting Zidisha borrowers in Nakuru and its outskirts.

Today I visited with Keziah at her store in the center of Nakuru. This store is one of her two businesses. In Nakuru, you will find many stalls lining the streets selling secondhand clothing. There are a few upscale stores that sell clothes for formal occasions and many local tailors who make custom made clothing, mostly for women and children. Outside of these two clothing options, most people purchase clothing from the street vendors. Keziah supplies these vendors.

Keziah, or her business partner and hopefully future Zidisha borrower Elizabeth, regularly travel to Nairobi to purchase bales of clothing. These bales are about three and a half feet wide and two feet in height, tightly packed with clothing. Keziah is not able to open the bales and inspect the clothing, they are sold as is. Similarly, after Keziah transports the bales back to Nakuru she sells them to the local vendors as is. Each bale costs about $75-$100 for Keziah to buy in Nairobi and she is able to resell them for $175-$220 in Nakuru. It only costs $2 to transport a bale from Nairobi to Nakuru, so Keziah is able to make a tidy profit on each one.

When walking the streets of Nakuru, it is not uncommon to see people walking around wearing American football jerseys from the 1990's, tee shirts promoting small town American restaurants, and obscure US politicians. Obviously, these items of clothing were donated to various NGOs in America by people intending for their donations to be given free of charge to people in the developing world. In actuality, these items of clothing are shipped to Mombasa, they are then purchased by wholesalers in Nairobi, sold to people like Keziah in the clothing business, who then sells them to local vendors, finally the local vendors sell them to the townspeople who were initially intended to receive them for free.

The secondhand clothing business in Kenya is immense. Prior to my meeting with Keziah, she was completely unaware that the clothing she was selling was actually intended to be donated to people in need. The vast majority of clothing vendors are equally unaware. Regardless of the fact that these clothes were intended to be donated, it is probably best that this secondhand clothing business exists. It provides an income for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people.

In addition to her clothing business, Keziah's second business, which she describes as her main focus and passion, is cosmetics. For the past three years, Keziah has been selling cosmetic items, including every type of make up imaginable as well as weaves and human hair wigs. All of these items are very popular among women in the urban center of Nakuru. Because of this, it is difficult to find a street that does not have a salon or cosmetics store.

Due to the high level of competition in Nakuru, Keziah travels to the surrounding villages to sell her wares. She has developed a loyal customer base in the areas surrounding Nakuru. With her first loan, Keziah increased her supply of cosmetics and human hair wigs, which is a highly profitable item. Keziah is also adept at applying make up, weaves, and wigs.

In the future, she envisions using her next loan and the profits of her two businesses to purchase a cosmetics store in Nakuru. Though competition is high in town, Keziah has many loyal customers from the surrounding villages and towns. Currently, her customers outside of Nakuru are only able to purchase her products when she is visiting their village. Since Keziah is often traveling, she wishes to have a permanent store in Nakuru where she would employ someone full time. Keziah believes, correctly, that this will allow her to travel and continue to expand her customer base while allowing her current customers to purchase cosmetics at their lesiure from her store.

Keziah is a very motivated young woman and has a sharp mind for business and her future is bright.

Keziah    Nov 22, 2012

Greeting Cheerful lenders,i must say am very thankful for loaning me up.i have happly bought very classy shoes for ladies and ofcourse good ones for men.christmas is almost here with us and people do alot of shoes and cloth shopping.i am one lucky gal becouse my business will do so well.thanx goes to my lenders.i just wana say thank you alot and may God bless you.