Day 11 Kakamega May 19, 2011

Hi all

Today was a down day to rest and do some more research.  I also started to write up some of these projects that I have seen so far.  I have a tablet full of notes that need to be put in some sort of understandable format.  This morning I was able to finish the write up on the ground nut project in Matasia. 

Hezron came and picked me up at 3 pm to take me to his home just outside of Kakamega for dinner with his family.  Thank you again Melissa and Hezron for inviting me to dinner today.  Also joining us was Mathew a furniture maker in Mumias that I met on my first visit.  On my first visit he had his one shop in Mumias and since then has opened another shop and plans to open a third furniture shop and training center in Lumakanda within the next couple of months.  Hezron and I plan to visit Mathew on Wednesday of next week in Mumias to see what he needs to do to hire more employees.  I believe he had 5 or 6 employees on my last visit and now he has 11 employees between the two shops.  He told me that business is very good and he is looking to hire some more even before he adds the third shop.  Here are a few pictures from our first trip to his shop in Mumias.

In the morning Ben from Busia will be picking me up to spend the weekend in Busia looking at some of the projects in that area.  Ben as I had said before is a Busia city councilor and business man.  He is also going to show me how his import/export business works.  Busia is the main entry point from Kenya into Uganda.  Virtually everything that comes in from the ocean port of Mombasa to points west comes through Busia into Uganda and beyond.  Trucks and containers lined up for miles to pass into Uganda.  I have heard that sometimes these trucks sit for days before they get through on both sides of the border.

Thanks

Dave