Journal entry for Irene Nangendo

Update on Irene Nangendo!

Irene is working on paying back her final loan payment, but unfortunately has run into some problems with her business. She is saving money from her husband’s income; he works as an accountant so she is hopeful that she will pay it back on time.

Irene’s Aunt on her father’s side has taken control of Irene’s business as a landlord. Her aunt lives right next to the five rooms she rents out and took it upon herself to be in control of the rental payments. Irene lives 10 minutes away by taxi and is not able to get there everyday to oversee the apartments. Unfortunately, Irene’s aunt has been taking the rent money from the tenants and using it for herself. It would make sense that Irene would just tell her to stop and take back control. Irene explained to me that it’s “just not that easy” in her culture to do that. Her paternal aunt is seen as a father figure and it would be culturally unacceptable for her to question her elder aunt on money matters. Irene is aware that this seems senseless, but does not want to shame her father by causing friction between the families. She is very frustrated and working on discussing options with her aunt and other family members to try to regain control of her business next year.

Irene would like to continue to rent the apartments, and she is hopeful that when she regains control she can receive another loan from Kiva to add some needed amenities to the apartments. Right now there is only electricity; there is no running water or toilets. She would like to finish them so she can charge more for each room. She would raise the price to 40,000 UGX per room.

She is very grateful for her loan from Kiva. She was able to profit from the loan and is so thankful to have the business, which she is confident she will control again soon. Her baby is now 7 months and doing very well and she is thankful for her husband’s consistent job as an accountant. They are able to make rent payments on time, save a few thousand shillings a month, and eat well during the week. Her dream is to have more children, build more apartments to rent, and to send her children to school. She thanks all of her Kiva lenders for their support!