On Wednesday morning I headed up to Jenda. It was my first time on the bus alone and I did really well! I thought for sure I would get off at the wrong stop but I managed just fine.
I was met at the station by Gerald who had been there for a few days collecting data for the FICA project. He brought me to the branch office where I was greeted by the Office Assistant, Linda. Little did I know she would be the one helping me the rest of the day.
I went to Jenda to work on another project. I have been tasked on collecting pictures and video of clients for MicroLoan USA. The offices plan on using the information for grant writing, public relations campaigns, and fundraising efforts. My visit to Jenda was really exciting and I did a lot of video and picture taking of clients!
The branch in Jenda is the newest to MicroLoan Malawi. It was opened this year and already it's bustling with clients! I was able to meet with two groups and witness their reapplication for a loan. They start by going through the bylaws set by the group and then conclude with their signature next to the amount of the loan they would receive. Most women sign their name but some do not know how to write so they use a finger print instead! Following, they women head to the bank with the Office Assistant to cash the check from MicroLoan which includes the total amount of the group loan. They then return to the Branch Office to divvy up the loan to each individual client in the group. After, the clients invest in new businesses or the current ones they are participating in.
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| Kapsya Loan Group |
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| Chitukuko Loan Group |
For lunch Gerald and I headed into the market to do some wandering and exploring. For lunch I had chips from one of the market vendors. I told Hlupe when I got into the office on thursday and she asked if I got sick. She couldn't believe I was fine! (The chips are our equivalent of french fries) After lunch I took some photos of some market stalls and had Gerald ask around the vegetable stalls if any of the women were clients of MicroLoan. Two raised their hands so I went over and introduced myself and Gerald translated. I took a snap and shared the image with them and their surrounding stall mates. After we went back to the office to continue our work.
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| Chips & Chicken From the Market for Lunch! |
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| Open Air Butchery |
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| MicroLoan Client Selling Mustard |
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| MicroLoan Client Selling Rape |
When I returned I began interviews with clients. Linda conducted all interviews while I manned the camera! My first set of interviews were with women from the Kapsya Loan Group. The group was made up of 11 women! I have posted two interviews below.
Name: Elizabeth Nyirenda
MicroLoan Group Name: Kapsya
Location: Jenda
Age: 42
Married: Yes
Do you have children? Yes
How many? 4, 2 boys, 2 girls
Do you care for any orphans? No
Do the children go to school? Yes
Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan things were not good. I used to be a farmer and grown tomatoes but I did not earn enough money for my family.
Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 1 meal a day
How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? 3 loans
What sort of business do you have? How is it doing? I sell tomatoes and it is doing well.
Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am better off now.
How has MicroLoan helped you? Now with my loan from MicroLoan I am doing well. Things have changed.
What is your dream? My dream is to buy a maize mill.
Name: Margret Muluwafu
MicroLoan Group Name: Kapsya
Location: Jenda
Age: 26
Married: Yes
Do you have children? Yes
How many? 2, 2 boys
Do you care for any orphans? No
Do the children go to school? Yes
Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan I used to be a farmer and I did not have enough money to provide for the family.
Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 3 meals a day
How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? 1 loan
What sort of business do you have? How is it doing? I sell tomatoes and it’s doing well.
Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am much better off now.
How has MicroLoan helped you? Life has changed for good compared to before MicroLoan.
What is your dream? My dream is to build houses so that I could rent them and source money from it.
Following Kapsya, I interviewed clients from Chitukuko Loan Group. Their group consisted of 23 women! I have posted two of the interviews below. You can view the rest of the interviews with translations on my YouTube account!
Name: Dorah Mhango
MicroLoan Group Name: Chitukuko
Location: Jenda
Age: 31
Married: Yes
Do you have children? Yes
How many? 1, 1 girl
Do you care for any orphans? I care for 3 orphans.
Do the children go to school? Yes
Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan I used to sell bananas on a very small scale. I did not earn enough money to provide for my family.
Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 3 meals a day
How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? 6 loans
What sort of business do you have? How is it doing? I have a shop selling groceries. It is going well.
Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? Now that I have the support from MicroLoan, things are going a lot better.
How has MicroLoan helped you? MicroLoan has helped me do what I always wanted!
What is your dream? My dream is to educate my children.
Name: Esnart Nkhonje
MicroLoan Group Name: Chitukuko
Location: Jenda
Age: 35
Married: Yes
Do you have children? Yes
How many? 4, 2 boys, 2 girls
Do you care for any orphans? I care for 2 orphans.
Do the children go to school? Yes
Before you had a loan from MicroLoan, did you earn enough to provide for the family? Before MicroLoan things were not working for me. I used to be a farmer on a small scale. I did not earn enough money to provide for the family.
Before you had a loan from MicoLoan, how many meals per day were you having? 3 meals a day
How many loans have you received from MicroLoan to date? 6 loans
What sort of business do you have? How is it doing? I sell tomatoes and its going very well.
Are you better off now than before MicroLoan? I am much better off.
How has MicroLoan helped you? Now that I have support from MicroLoan I can fund other family members businesses.
What is your dream? My dream is to build a house.
This was by far the most rewarding experience of my trip in Malawi thus far! I learned so much about these women and their individual lives before MicroLoan and after they received their loan from MicroLoan!
After both groups left they both sang some great songs for me! Click the links below to watch them on YouTube. I have included translations on the video under description on YouTube!
Enjoy
Best Wishes
Jimmy
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