Spirit in Action is expanding and strengthening our Small Business Fund network!
I met Naomi Ayot when I was visiting Kampala, Uganda in 2014. She was working for Raising the Village at the time and I met with her to hear about an update on the Bucece sustainable agriculture grant. She also safely delivered me from a sketchy bus stop to my hotel, for which I will be forever grateful!
I was impressed with Naomi’s professionalism and passion for helping others, and so I am extremely pleased to be able to welcome her to the SIA SBF team! When I talked to Naomi, she knew immediately a village that could really benefit from our $150 grants and business training. Better still, she knew a local leader there that would work with her.
Naomi and Santa Enume reviewing the Small Business Fund materials.
Santa Enume is a respected leader in the Akwiridiri village in northern Uganda, a midwife and community elder. This very rural village was heavily affected by the violence of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the last 20 years and as a result there are a lot of female-led households, widows, people living with HIV/AIDS, and orphaned children. Santa Enume is eager to work with these women and their families to help them start small businesses and improve their lives and the community in general.
This SBF Team model has been very successful in Nairobi, with Wambui and Josephine. Wambui is my direct contact and she works with Josephine who lives in the Koch slum where we give the grants. Josephine provides the hyper-local knowledge necessary to make the SBF work for the women, and Wambui helps prepare the reports and keep me updated.
Women from 8 SBF groups in Korogocho slum. Wambui, the local coordinator stands behind Tanya. Josephine is pictured left of Tanya.
The closest computer to Santa Enume is about 20 miles away. Clearly, it would be difficult for me to communicate directly with her. However, with cell phones ubiquitous throughout Africa, Naomi can easily keep in touch with her and relay information to me. Del would be impressed with all that is possible with technology these days!
In December, Santa Enume made the long journey to be with Naomi, so that they could review the SBF materials, report forms, and training tools. They also took time for prayer together. Last month we sent the funds for the first three new small businesses to a newly established SBF bank account. I’ll keep you updated as these new businesses get off the ground! In the meantime, please give Naomi and Santa Enuma a warm welcome!
