Tucked away in the countryside near the Kaplamai, Kitale area of Kenya is a jobless man-turned farmer named Jacob and his family of four lovely children. He is a hardworking man and aggressive with the principle of truth on his lips; he is honest and faithful to what he does and what he says.

“Kaplamai” in the local dialect means “valley”. In this valley are a people who, in their totality, constitute wrenching statistics. Hardcore poverty pervades every homestead yet every day when you look beyond the numbers, you will see a sea of people: a sea of about 5,000 bright, vibrant, open faces, searching and yearning for the opportunity to live a life of dignity and respect. They have the conviction that it’s possible. They are like the bones in the “valley of dry bones” that required only a breath to spring back to life.

Armed with this conviction, Jacob has kept hope and has been toiling on his farm for the past 7 years. His primary sources of income have been milk, poultry and some “side hustles” he does to supplement the meager income he earns from farming. The Kaplamai area has only one diesel posho mill that serves a sea of people but the mill keeps breaking down; hence farmers are not able to grind their maize. Jacob intends to change this and is requesting a loan to buy an electric posho mill, which will grind corn or maize into flour. Maize meal is very common in Kenya and is a staple food for many communities. Many Kenyan families consume the maize product “ugali“ (hard porridge) regularly. The market usually provides sifted flour, but the cost is higher because of the sifting and packaging. Cheaper flour can be obtained by milling the maize directly using a posho mill.

Through this loan, Jacob will be able to grind maize faster because he will use an electric posho mill. Cases of breakdown will be long history because electric posho mills are more reliable. This loan will assist Jacob to permanently change his life and achieve his life mission of driving economic development and poverty alleviation in communities in arid and semi-arid areas. Profits from the posho mill will be used to comfortably repay the loan, which Jacob promises to fully repay on time. In the next two years, Jacob sees himself as a very established businessman who will be running more than one posho mill in his remote village. Jacob patiently waits for your kindness.