Digital camera for freelance journalism work

Entrepreneur

About Me

Hi everyone. Am a Kenyan man born along the slopes of Mt. Kenya. Thats where I grew up and also where I attended school until I finished my O'level education.
Due to issues my family was going through then, I was not able to join College but got headlong into earning a living. Life was hard on my own, I worked in a succession of menial jobs but still hoped that one day I woukld be able to continue with my studies; but it wasn't to be for a long time.
In the course of my earning a living, I have movedfrom several towns in Kenya including Limuru, Nyeri, Nyahururu but I finally settled in Nakuru when I got a job with a manufacturing company.
It was exciting in the beginning and I quickly moved from a casual worker to departmental superviser within three years. But still, something was missing. I wanted to be my own boss and better still, I wanted to be in a position where I could bring positive change into the community.
Last year in September, I resigned from my job and started a stone quarrying business and in my free time started engaging in Freelance journalism as a side hustle. It was in journalism that I found my true calling; a chance to speak for the community, to drive change and best of all to engage my passion and talent. Although untrained, the writing and reporting came naturally and this is when I decided to close down the stone quarrying business and engage in citizen journalism fulltime.
I have a wife who is a dressmaker and two kids. My daughter is in primary school and my son will join nursery school next year.

My Business

I earn my living through online journalism and youth mentorship.
When I applied for my first Zidisha loan, journalism was just a side husle but has since become my main source of income. In addition, through invitations by several community leaders to address the youth on Zidisha I have evolved into a youth mentor, motivational speaker and a resource person on working online.
This new world is exciting not only for the earnings, but also for the chance to impact positively on the lives of my community.
My journalism work earns me an average of $25 to $30 per week and my speaking engagements bring in about $15 per session. Usually I have 1-2 engagements per month.
My work expenses vary since I travel to different parts daily. Its the tavelling expenses that usually consist the bulk of my work expenses as I move roung covering events. In a typical week I can spend up to $10.
I save 10% of my profits and the rest goes into taking care of the family needs and paying fees for my daughter.
I spend my earnings on school fees for my daughter, food, rent, clothing and other basic necessities.

Loan Proposal

My online journalism work has been doing well. I am able to report more regularly and also update my blog. As I had posted sometimes back, I've been undertaking a photojournalism course and soon I hope to be through with my lessons. I can see there is a lot of potential in photojournalism which will complement my article writing. This is why I have decided to buy a digital camera which will go a long way in increasing my production.
A good camera that can take good quality photos suitable for posting online will cost me around 135 dollars. The loan amount am requesting for is around 20 dollars and I will use my savings to top up.
This will improve my standard of articles I write and add more credence to them since they will be accompanied by photos. It will also be a big boost to my blog which is basically about my hometown , Nakuru.
These factors will lead to increased productivity and more earnings which will be used to grow myself as a public speaker and youth mentor and also improve the living standards of my family.

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