Charles Omondi

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Charles Omondi by Action Now: Kenya in Kenya. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 8 - 14 months, Action Now: Kenya will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Charles Omondi received a loan of USD 225 from his lenders. Having received his loan, he embarked on contracting a carpenter to make his seats. He began with one who made the metalic part of the frame for the chairs and tables. The initial materials were purchased including iron bars which were then artistically fashioned to make the frames for the seats and adjoining tables that he required. When this was complete, he purchased wooden block boards and sponge cushions. He then got another carpenter to fit in the wood and sponge cushions on the chairs, to make it more comfortable for hiscustomers.

By the end of it, Charles managed to get two sets of seats and tables that can accomodate a total of 12 customers at the same time. The seats are comfortable and more spacious, and he really likes them. He now looks forward towards making repayments for his loan, and hopes that when he is through, he can get an additional loan to enable him to make another two sets for his hotel, and also improve on the floor.

He is very happy with the new improvements in his business, and he therefore is very greatful with his lenders. He says to them, Thank You very much.

Pictured here sitting on some of the chairs purchased with his loan, Charles tells me that his loan has gone very well, and he is extremely grateful, since acquiring more tables and chairs has translated into more customers and therefore increased profits. Charles works long hours in his restaurant, or hoteli as they are known in Swahili. Getting to work at 5am and working through the day until 10 at night, however this enables Charles to bring in about Ksh 1,000 profit per day (about $15), which helps to support the staggering 11 people whom depend on him.

Charles has been regularly repaying his Kiva loan; however, due to regular power disconnection this month in the Kibera district of Nairobi, Charles has been unable to make his payment this month. Action Now Kenya and the residents of Kibera hope that this power disconnections will not continue as they have affected many Kiva clients who reside within Kibera.

Charles would like to thank his lenders and he hopes that his business will be back on schedule next month.

Charles is a 49 year-old man living with HIV in the Kibera slums of Nairobi. Regardless, in order to support his two wives, eleven children, and aging mother, he has remained busy running both a general shop and a small restaurant. In May, Charles took out a loan to purchase furniture to accommodate more customers at his restaurant. The added income this has provided him has also allowed him to purchase a television, improving the quality of his customers’ experience at the restaurant.

Recently, Charles has been very sick. He has been to see a doctor who prescribed him some medication and sent him to get an x-ray to determine the cause of his sickness. Unfortunately, Charles does not have enough money to pay for the medical attention he requires. Therefore, ANK has given him a grace period of two months during which he is not required to make any repayments. This should give him enough time to pay off his medical bills without sacrificing the living conditions of his family. Charles is thankful to ANK and the Kiva lenders for this grace period.

Charles's hotel was not looted amidst the Kibera rioting which puts him among just a few lucky individuals. The only problem he is experiencing right now is lack of customers. This will greatly affect his ability to make profit, and he's very worried right now about how he will manage to make his monthly repayment.

ANK staff made a visit to Japuoyo Hotel to see how business was running. It was during lunch hour and so we expected to find customers having lunch but the seats were empty and when we asked Charles about this, he explained to us about the low turn up of customers and how the business is down. He went ahead and told us that prices are so high and most of his customers can no longer afford to eat at the hotel. This has affected his business since food normally remains and goes bad causing a huge loss to the business. Charles has also not been in a position of making his payments on time but promises to make them soon.

We visited Charles on the 14th October 2008 and found him seated in his wife’s shop. He told us he closed his business since June because he had fallen sick due to a stroke that affected his face and so his eyes could not look directly in the fire. The Doctor recommended that he doesn’t go near fire. Because of that all the money he had was used for medication.

Even though he had such a difficult situation, Charles was able to completely repay his loan. He is therefore thankful to his lenders for the loan they had given him and wishes them well as they continue to touch people’s lives. We wish him a quick recovery.

Charles Omondi received his loan but due to the post election violence most customers went away and also the high prices of commodities affected his business badly as customers could not afford the prices. This has affected his business since food normally remains and goes bad causing a huge loss to the business. Apart from that Charles Omondi closed his business since June 2008 because he had fallen sick due to a stroke that paralyzed one side of his body, affected his face and his eyes could not look directly in the fire. Because of this condition the little savings that he had were used up in his hospital bills. But Charles has not lost hope entirely he promises to start paying his loan soonest. He recently came to a business agreement with one of our KIVA clients, Ruth Omamo who is now operating the hotel and paying rent to him. This is less stressful for Charles and we hope that the business partnership will be successful.

On behalf of ANK staff

Charles's Questionaire when we visited him in Kibera where she filled it.