Florence Abalo

Florence Abalo was among the second group of LiA members to get a loan and she too was so happy and excited. She applauded Kiva for the good work they are doing for the people of this world. She says she is going to increase her stock of charcoal to enlarge her business

 Read more about Florence on the link below

http://lifeinafrica.com/4/florenceabalo

 

Florence's business took off very well and was really paying very well . Her only disturbance was when she had a still birth last year and had to stay in hospital for two full weeks and was unable to cope up with work immediately ,and this was a total draw back for her , since with her type of work you are only paid for work done and not on monthly basis. She therefore had no hope of repaying back, but thanks to Florence's good friends who bailed her out by making paper beads for her and selling them at Life in Africa's market day to raise for her the loan money. So when she later got back to work, she got back to her feet and is now managing her payments with more ease ,as most of her arrears had earlier been covered by the help of her friends. She looks forward to finishing her loan in two months.

Florence is a single mother caring for two children and two dependents. She used her Kiva loan to sell charcoal in the Nakawa market. In business for one year, she turns a profit of 120,000ush/month from steady sales. The industry is a lucrative because the residents of Kampala use charcoal as their primary source of cooking fuel. Florence use to go the village herself to purchase supplies in bulk. However, the demands of motherhood and her second job working at Life in Africa on the Invisible Children bracelet project made such long excursions impossible. She has opted to purchase charcoal for retail sale from the traders who transport it from their villages to Kampala.

Florence has recently moved to the Acholi Quarters (and Internally Displaced Persons camp in Kampala) and is planning to relocate her business closer to home. Although she will disappoint the regular customers who frequent her stand in the Nakawa market, she is not worried about finding a new customer base in the Acholi Quarters.

Florence is pictured here outside of the Invisible Children Bracelet Campaign office where she works during the week to supplement income earned from her small business. Florence would like to thank the Kiva lenders for their support!