Home Visits

The first guy we visited today fell out of a coconut tree in 1993. Since then, he has had three wheelchairs. Pictures of all three of them are below. Notice how the the first two are unfitted and don't accomidate rough terrain. The third is a three wheeled chair - much more stable in bumpy roads. (And there were a LOT of bumpy roads nearby) His most recent one is from March 2009 and is shiny and new looking. His first wheelchair came from KCMC via a program with a Netherlands church. He has one child and lives with his sisters.



He's very fortunate in that since he built his house after his accident, it is accessible in all the rooms. From the back. He can't go through the front because there's a big step, but it's easy access from the back. He likes the new one because he can go longer distances and it handles the rough terrain better. His house is pretty cool; they installed a solar panel for power on the roof.



His primary concern for people who are disabled is that they don't have or know how to manage capital. They definitely need ways to make money. He has been doing decently because he has a plot, and his business partner helps him manage the land.
Every week, they pay 7000 Tsh (USD$5.84) to rent a pump and hire someone to operate it. Pumps cost USD$300-350. I was initially concerned when he said he wanted a loan because if he used the money he saved to pay back the loan, it would take 60+ weeks to repay, and the planting season isn't nearly that long.

The planting/growing season is 2-3 months. Harvest time, however, lasts six months. Each week, they fill 25 bags that sell for 10000 Tsh each

25 * 10000 Tsh * 4 weeks/month * 6 months = 6 000 000 000 Tsh = USD$5000 per year

A portion of which goes to renting the pump. At first glance I was worried because it didn't sound like he would be able to repay the loan in a timely manner. The benefit of not paying $6 per month did not seem to translate into significantly increased earnings.

However, upon further questions, he told me they are currently using only a fraction of the land. His land extended for at least double or triple what was actually planted. The thing holding them back is the price of having the water pump rented. I went and saw, and it's quite significant how much they have left. (He owns up to the far tree line.) It may be unrealistic or inadvisable to cultivate ALL of his land, but it is clear that the opportunity would provide significant increased earnings regardless.



His is the ideal candidate for getting a micro loan. He knows exactly what he needs to expand his business, the expansion will produce much increased profit, but to pay for it out of pocket would be too much.

Hearing his story today made me start thinking about kiva.org. No one here seems to have heard of it. I was talking to Faustina last week and she looked up the website. An eventual goal of Worldwide Mobility should be to enable its wheelchair users to get loans on Kiva. In the mean time, we can attempt to secure micro loans for people who benefit from WM through existing places. Perhaps KASI will become a partner. Faustina definitely seemed interested, so I hope they pursue it further. I think she liked its emphasis on women.

I'll write about the second person we visited that day soon.