Dear Friends,
I have been listening to the Radio in the recent past and I have noticed that several Banks have all of a sudden realized that they can offer us loans 5 times our savings.
It is interesting and exciting. But I want to sincerely ask; where were these Banks before we started talking about our Economic Revival as a People?
We had realized that we were working for other people as a Community. We are net importers of all food items from Alot, Oduma, Waru, Nyanya, Otungu, Rabuon, Chak etc. And all that we remain with we bank in Foreign Banks. And we have been asking the hard questions; must this continue like this?
The answer has been an overwhelming NO.
Many people have reached out to us and now, we must decide to engage with all our Friends in equal footing. If you want us to buy your food, you must also buy some of our foods in Return. If the Kisii are producing Banana's, we should produce Sweet Potatoes. If the Kikuyu are producing Ndoma, we should produce Vegetables. It must not be a one way traffic.
If the Luhya are producing Mrenda, we should produce Onion. We should then trade- where you bring something to the market and I also bring something. We must not encourage a situation where you bring everything to the market and I only come to consume. We must encourage every Kenyan Community to at least produce something, and then, we must all be ready to buy from each other.
The days of slavery are long gone. The days of colonialism are long gone. We must hence not encourage Economic Neo-colonialism to take root in modern day Kenya.
Oto, Banja, Mary, Philemon and other Kimisho Members in a Group Photo
We must unite as a People to work for our own interest. If we can work towards opening a Bank, premised on the experience of the Bangladeshi People- The Grameen Bank, then so be it. But we must destroy the Funnel that makes us dependent on Aid and more Aid.
When Professor Muhammad Yunus started Grameen Bank 37 Years ago, he did not know that he would be lending money to the poor rural folk. He was a classroom Teacher, far removed from the realities on the Ground.
It was not easy, but Discipline, Unity, Courage and Hard work took centre stage. We want to take these as our guiding principles as we move Kimisho forward. We have a Vision and we are on a Mission where all are invited to play their part. It surely will not be easy. But we must do something for our people across Kenya.
I like the story of Professor Yunus because he faced some of the challenges that we will be facing at Kimisho. We know and we are seeing emerging Initiatives where our People are being enticed with loans 5 times their savings. We also know that like Grameen Bank, we will face resistance. But we are happy that our Members have made some clear decisions that we are moving Kimisho forward and strongly.
We must break the Funnels that have been erected and put in place to fleece our people. We must go back to food production, cattle rearing, business management and we must invest in housing, transport and financial institutions just like others have done.
If the Kikuyu can succeed with Equity, Family, K-rep, KWFT and all those, what can stop other Kenyans from investing in the same. If the Asians can succeed with several Bank Initiatives, we can as well. We also know that there have been lots of bottlenecks placed on the road for other people who want to invest in the Banking Sector. But we as a people must break this Funnel and make it possible for others to also invest in the Banking Sector.
We have a Dream that we will live. It will not matter how many we are. But the number that will join with us are the Team Members who will trek with us in this Journey of Hope across Kenya.
Let us have the inspiration to succeed and we sure will.
Odhiambo T Oketch,
Team Leader and Executive Director,
KCDN, KSSL, KICL,
Tel; +254 724 365 557,
Email; kimishodevelopment@gmail.com, komarockswatch@yahoo.com
BlogSpot; http:kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com
I have been listening to the Radio in the recent past and I have noticed that several Banks have all of a sudden realized that they can offer us loans 5 times our savings.
It is interesting and exciting. But I want to sincerely ask; where were these Banks before we started talking about our Economic Revival as a People?
We had realized that we were working for other people as a Community. We are net importers of all food items from Alot, Oduma, Waru, Nyanya, Otungu, Rabuon, Chak etc. And all that we remain with we bank in Foreign Banks. And we have been asking the hard questions; must this continue like this?
The answer has been an overwhelming NO.
Many people have reached out to us and now, we must decide to engage with all our Friends in equal footing. If you want us to buy your food, you must also buy some of our foods in Return. If the Kisii are producing Banana's, we should produce Sweet Potatoes. If the Kikuyu are producing Ndoma, we should produce Vegetables. It must not be a one way traffic.
If the Luhya are producing Mrenda, we should produce Onion. We should then trade- where you bring something to the market and I also bring something. We must not encourage a situation where you bring everything to the market and I only come to consume. We must encourage every Kenyan Community to at least produce something, and then, we must all be ready to buy from each other.
The days of slavery are long gone. The days of colonialism are long gone. We must hence not encourage Economic Neo-colonialism to take root in modern day Kenya.
Oto, Banja, Mary, Philemon and other Kimisho Members in a Group Photo We must unite as a People to work for our own interest. If we can work towards opening a Bank, premised on the experience of the Bangladeshi People- The Grameen Bank, then so be it. But we must destroy the Funnel that makes us dependent on Aid and more Aid.
When Professor Muhammad Yunus started Grameen Bank 37 Years ago, he did not know that he would be lending money to the poor rural folk. He was a classroom Teacher, far removed from the realities on the Ground.
It was not easy, but Discipline, Unity, Courage and Hard work took centre stage. We want to take these as our guiding principles as we move Kimisho forward. We have a Vision and we are on a Mission where all are invited to play their part. It surely will not be easy. But we must do something for our people across Kenya.
I like the story of Professor Yunus because he faced some of the challenges that we will be facing at Kimisho. We know and we are seeing emerging Initiatives where our People are being enticed with loans 5 times their savings. We also know that like Grameen Bank, we will face resistance. But we are happy that our Members have made some clear decisions that we are moving Kimisho forward and strongly.
We must break the Funnels that have been erected and put in place to fleece our people. We must go back to food production, cattle rearing, business management and we must invest in housing, transport and financial institutions just like others have done.
If the Kikuyu can succeed with Equity, Family, K-rep, KWFT and all those, what can stop other Kenyans from investing in the same. If the Asians can succeed with several Bank Initiatives, we can as well. We also know that there have been lots of bottlenecks placed on the road for other people who want to invest in the Banking Sector. But we as a people must break this Funnel and make it possible for others to also invest in the Banking Sector.
We have a Dream that we will live. It will not matter how many we are. But the number that will join with us are the Team Members who will trek with us in this Journey of Hope across Kenya.
Let us have the inspiration to succeed and we sure will.
Odhiambo T Oketch,
Team Leader and Executive Director,
KCDN, KSSL, KICL,
Tel; +254 724 365 557,
Email; kimishodevelopment@gmail.com, komarockswatch@yahoo.com
BlogSpot; http:kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com
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