Needs

Today Anna and I met with Ginger and a couple of Ginger's missionary friends to discuss the Baraka Women's Centre. Ginger's friends work with small town farmer's in Northern Kenya. They offer these business men loans so they can get on their feet. They've had much success with the paying back of these loans, hence why we were eager to meet with them. One method that proved successful for them was this sort of....group loan. A group of closely-knit farmers would all take out a loan together. If one of them missed a payment they all suffered the consequences. This encouraged the farmer's to keep each other accountable. We need our women to have that...fire. That understanding.
The issue we have with Baraka women is that they have an understandably difficult time looking past their immediate needs. If we give them a loan for 2000ksh and they don't have any flour to feed their children, chances are they will take that money and use it for their family. And how can we expect them to do otherwise.
As my clients I have this empathy towards their situation but I also want to inspire them to...have a greater hope, to dream bigger. In order to do this we need to make sure that that are currently getting their basic needs met or else our loans will not be repaid. I believe our Baraka women can do this but not without a shared vision. And that's the hardest part.
Saving is hard for everyone. I don't just see it as an issue for women in Kenya from the slums. Hungry children take precedence over paying back loans in all settings. That's how life goes. Being able to contextualize this dilemma with the Baraka women helps me to relate to them on a more personal level.