Caroline
Muyafwa, Kenya
38% repaid
Name
Caroline
Member since
March 2016
On-time repayments
178 installments • 37%
My name is Caroline. I am the last child in a family of 3. My elder sister is a housewife with no job, and my brother is a small holder charcoal dealer back in my village.
As of now, my highest academic qualification is a primary school certification: here is why. I was brought up in hardship. I was removed from school when I was 11 years old, in 2006, to go and serve as a househelp in Nairobi. After a year of service, my employer decided to enroll me back into school. Barely a year went by before my family insisted that I go on working or be returned home. I was promptly returned to the village. With no job prospects in the village, and facing a bleak future, I pleaded with my family to let me return to school and at least attain a primary school certification.
My request was reluctantly granted after 2 years. I enrolled back into primary school when I was 14, in 2009, in class 4 and I was far much older than the class. My peers at that age were enrolling in secondary school. I managed to study through and sat the national exams when I was nearly turning 19. I did not perform very well, but got a chance in a local secondary school in 2014.
I was determined to study. Unfortunately I could not. There was no money to finance my education. So I went back home, and my family already had suitors lined up to marry me. Without an education worth falling back on, and without other promising choices, I refused the marriage route and asked my cousin whether I could put up with her as I contemplated my next move. Thankfully, she agreed.
I moved in with her and her home has been my home since 2014. My cousin did not want me to stay idle so she promptly taught me a business, a catering affair! It is the best thing that has ever happened to me! My cousin advised me to take my time and lay some foundation for myself before I can decide to get married, have kids and start a family. So far, the foundation is laying up real fine. Whenever I take time off work, I visit the park and travel a bit.
I am a proficient cook, I have always been. My cousin, Sherry, told me about the demand for quality but affordable food at the office where she worked and told me that I was going to be the one to provide that food during their lunch breaks. I was mortified at first. I was scared how I would interact with the learned office people, but my cousin had my back.
I started preparing food and packing it in hotpots, then delivering and serving it to my cousin's colleagues at their workplace. The venture was good. I started off with expenses of about $20, mainly buying food, as I used the utensils available and cooking pots, and after the sales I had earned approximately $30. That was after serving only 10 people.
The food I supply is in demand because many working class people crave top-quality food, and they are willing to pay a premium to get it. Since I am a good cook, my cousin spotted the opportunity and directed me! From serving 10 people in one office, my clientele has grown to about 50 people spread across 4 offices.
With the increase in number came some exciting benefits. I was able to save on production costs but maximise on sales. I spend about $30 to produce the food I serve and earn about $65 in sales per day. I work for five days a week and that translates to about $325 in sales. After all costing is done, I remain with about $120 in profits per week!
I manage to save most of the profits since I plan on sitting the secondary school diploma certification as a private candidate soon. Although my plan is not to seek employment after that, it is just for giving me knowledge on new market trends and skills on how I can be a better person on future.
I intend to buy sacks of rice, beans and cooking oil, and keep some money aside for operating expenses. A small football team for kids requires food to be supplied to them and I have been given that opportunity to do the job. It will not be too tasking, as the market is already there. The food supply to offices took a slight hit in the past weeks due to high inflation and orders drastically reduced. Things will improve after the elections hopefully and I will go back to it. Meanwhile, I will keep the fire burning with this small assignment.
The rice and beans and oil will cost some $200. The kids in the team are mostly from destitute families, and the fellow running the team wants to help them in a simple way by at least having a meal for them every evening. Buying from a hotel would have been expensive, and so I thought to help out in my own small way.
The profits will barely be $4 a day, but at least I will be able to recover the principal to repay the loan. Bottom line, I will have helped the kids have a decent meal. Please help.
My name is Caroline. I am the last child in a family of 3. My elder sister is a housewife with no job and my brother is a small holder charcoal dealer back in my Village.
As of now, my highest academic qualification is a primary school certification, here is why. I was brought up in hardship. I was removed from school when I was 11 years old, in 2006, to go and serve as a househelp in Nairobi. After a year of service, my employer decided to enrol me back into school. Barely a year went by before my family insisted that I go on working or be returned home. I was promptly returned to the village. With no job prospects in the village, and facing a bleak future, I pleaded with my family to let me return to school and at least attain a primary school certification.
My request was reluctantly granted after 2 years. I enrolled back into primary school when I was 14, in 2009, in class 4 and I was far much older than the class. My peers at that age were enrolling in secondary school. I managed to study through and sat the national exams when I was nearly turning 19. I did not perform very well, but got a chance in a local secondary school in 2014.
I was determined to study. Unfortunately I could not. There was no money to finance my education. So I went back home, and my family already had suitors lined up to marry me. Without an education worth falling back on, and without other promising choices, I refused the marriage route and asked my cousin whether I could put up with her as I contemplated my next move. Thankfully, she agreed.
I moved in with her and her home has been my home since 2014. My cousin did not want me to stay idle so she promptly taught me a business, a catering affair! It is the best thing that has ever happened to me! My cousin advised me to take my time and lay some foundation for myself before I can decide to get married, have kids and start a family. So far, the foundation is laying up real fine. Whenever I take time off work, I visit the park and travel a bit.
I am a proficient cook, I have always been. My cousin, Sherry, told me about the demand for quality but affordable food at the office where she worked and told me that I was going to be the one to provide that food during their lunch breaks. I was mortified at first. Scared how I would interact with the learned office people, but my cousin had my back.
I started preparing food and packing it in hotpots, then deliver and serve to my cousin's colleagues at their workplace. The venture was good. I started off with expenses of about $20, mainly buying food, as I used the utensils available and cooking pots, and after the sales, I had earned approximately $30. That was after serving only 10 people.
The food I supply is in demand because many working class people crave top quality food, and they are willing to pay a premium to get it. Since I am a good cook, my cousin spotted the opportunity and directed me! From serving 10 people in one office, my clientele has grown to about 50 people spread across 4 offices.
With the increase in number, came some exciting benefits. I was able to save on production costs but maximise on sales. I spend about $30 to produce the food I serve and earn about $65 in sales, per day. I work for five days a week and that translates to about $325 in sales. After all costing is done, I remain with about $120 in profits, per week!
I manage to save most of the profits since I plan on sitting the secondary school diploma certication as a private candidate soon. Although my plan is not to seek employment after that, it is just for giving me knowledge on new market trends and skills on how I can be a better person on future.
I intend to buy sacks of rice, beans and cooking oil, and keep some money aside for operating expenses. A small football team for kids requires food to be supplied to them and I have been given that opportunity to do the job. It will not be too tasking, as the market is already there. The food supply to offices took a slight hit in the past weeks due to high inflation and orders drastically reduced. Things will improve after the elections hopefully and I will go back to it. Meanwhile, I will keep the fire burning with this small assignment.
The rice and beans and oil will take some $200. The kids in the team are mostly from destitute families and the fellow running the team wants to help them in a simple way by at least having a meal for them every evening. Buying from a hotel would have been expensive, and so I thought to help out in my own small way.
The profits will barely be $4 a day, but at least I will be able to recover the principal to repay the loan. Bottom-line, I will have helped the kids have a decent meal. Please help.
Positive
1
Neutral
None
Negative
None
Project Type
Classic Loan
Disbursed amount
$245.00
Date disbursed
Jul 25, 2017
Repayment status
Late
Projected term
28 months
Other loans
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Amount repaid
$93.15
Amount remaining
$152.01
Expected completion
Nov 23, 2019
Status
Repaying late
Installment amount
$1.98
Expected Payments | Actual Payments | ||
---|---|---|---|
Aug 5, 2017 | $26.67 | Aug 13, 2017 | $26.67 |
Aug 12, 2017 | $0.00 | ||
Aug 19, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Sep 2, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Sep 9, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Sep 16, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Sep 23, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Sep 30, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Oct 7, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Oct 14, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Oct 21, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Oct 28, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Nov 4, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Nov 11, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Nov 18, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Nov 25, 2017 | $1.98 | Aug 26, 2017 | $1.98 |
Dec 2, 2017 | $1.98 | Sep 29, 2017 | $1.98 |
Dec 9, 2017 | $1.98 | Sep 29, 2017 | $1.98 |
Dec 16, 2017 | $1.98 | Sep 29, 2017 | $1.98 |
Dec 23, 2017 | $1.98 | Sep 29, 2017 | $1.98 |
Dec 30, 2017 | $1.98 | Sep 29, 2017 | $1.98 |
Jan 6, 2018 | $1.98 | Nov 16, 2017 | $1.98 |
Jan 13, 2018 | $1.98 | Nov 16, 2017 | $1.98 |
Jan 20, 2018 | $1.98 | Nov 16, 2017 | $1.98 |
Jan 27, 2018 | $1.98 | Nov 16, 2017 | $1.98 |
Feb 3, 2018 | $1.98 | Nov 16, 2017 | $1.98 |
Feb 10, 2018 | $1.98 | Feb 14, 2018 | $1.98 |
Feb 17, 2018 | $1.98 | Feb 14, 2018 | $1.98 |
Feb 24, 2018 | $1.98 | Feb 14, 2018 | $1.98 |
Mar 3, 2018 | $1.98 | Mar 31, 2018 | $1.98 |
Mar 10, 2018 | $1.98 | Mar 31, 2018 | $1.98 |
Mar 17, 2018 | $0.99 | Mar 31, 2018 | $0.99 |
Mar 24, 2018 | $0.00 | ||
Mar 31, 2018 | $0.00 | ||
Apr 7, 2018 | $0.00 | ||
Apr 14, 2018 | $0.00 | ||
Apr 21, 2018 | $0.00 | ||
Apr 28, 2018 | $1.00 | Apr 23, 2018 | $1.00 |
May 5, 2018 | $1.00 | Apr 23, 2018 | $1.00 |
May 12, 2018 | $1.00 | Apr 23, 2018 | $1.00 |
May 19, 2018 | $1.00 | Apr 23, 2018 | $1.00 |
May 26, 2018 | $1.00 | Apr 23, 2018 | $1.00 |
Jun 2, 2018 | $1.98 | Apr 23, 2018 | $1.23 |
Jun 9, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 16, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 23, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 30, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 7, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 14, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 21, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 28, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 4, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 11, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 18, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 25, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 1, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 8, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 15, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 22, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 29, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 6, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 13, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 20, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 27, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 3, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 10, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 17, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 24, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Dec 1, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Dec 8, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Dec 15, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Dec 22, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Dec 29, 2018 | $1.98 | ||
Jan 5, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jan 12, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jan 19, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jan 26, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Feb 2, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Feb 9, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Feb 16, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Feb 23, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Mar 2, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Mar 9, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Mar 16, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Mar 23, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Mar 30, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Apr 6, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Apr 13, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Apr 20, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Apr 27, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
May 4, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
May 11, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
May 18, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
May 25, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 1, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 8, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 15, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 22, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jun 29, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 6, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 13, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 20, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Jul 27, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 3, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 10, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 17, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 24, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Aug 31, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 7, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 14, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 21, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Sep 28, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 5, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 12, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 19, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Oct 26, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 2, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 9, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 16, 2019 | $1.98 | ||
Nov 23, 2019 | $1.13 |
Emma Jan 7, 2018
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