The Mavuno Youth Maji Mazuri Self Help Group has been started under the aegis of the older Mavuno Maji Mazuri Self Help Group. Its mission is to support youths who are between the ages of 18 and 30 years old and are interested in beginning their own businesses.
This initiative began a while back by the Mathare Maji Mazuri Youth Group, but has now come under Maji Mazuri Mavuno, which will provide a wider reach to the youth and also allow for better management under an experienced and knowledgeable official. They will be carrying out the training, disbursement and monitoring and evaluating of the businesses of the individual who will join this group.
The outfit has done great in reaching its vision, which is to empower the endowed in the Mathare community and environ to take charge of their needs financially and socially. For instance Thomas Kioko, one of its members, has been able to expand his gum pole and rafters business through the loan extensions. The business is now the source of income for him and his family.
When I visited him at his business place in Kariokor, he couldn’t hide the happiness from his face for what Mavuno Maji Mazuri has done. This was confirmed in his narration about his business journey from Mathare Kosovo to Kariokor. In his narration, he recalls his life in Mathare Kosovo back in 2007, where he had a small business. The returns of the business didn’t enable him to provide for the basic needs for his family and to pay his house rent, and thus made him live a poor and hopeless life. In his struggles, he constantly thought of expanding his business, but he did not know where he could get the money.
In 2008, he was introduced to Mavuno by an older member and qualified for the first loan of KSH 5,000. Though a small amount, this boost, as he explains it, took him miles ahead in realizing his dream; that one day he will not only be a retailer, but also a distributor. He invested the entire amount in acquiring more stock and even introduced new items in the stock. This made his business place in Kosovo too small for the expanded stock so he had to shift to Kariokor. This move also enabled him to reach many more customers. The new place the business grew alongside his customer base and this enabled him to repay the first loan without problems. Hence, he qualified for a second loan of KSH 10,000.
He invested all that money in further expanding his business, which led to increased returns, even enabling him to start saving. With the entrepreneurial skills acquired during the training seminars given by Mavuno officials, he has been able to manage his business properly and handle all the challenges wisely. Since then, his business grew bigger and bigger and he was able to set up new sub branches. For instance, he recently opened a new branch in Ngara.
Thomas, a father of one, can now sustain his family, pay house rent for a descent house, afford better health care for him and his family and even support his parents through his business. Recently, he bought a piece of land from his savings, where he hopes to resettle his family very soon. In his conclusion, he notes that all this has been achieved through the continued support from Mavuno in their various services: business loan extensions, training seminars and other social support. Bravo Maji Mazuri!
