October 27, 2011

Greetings

Sorry for the slow update.  Word in from Kenya is that all the seedlings have been delivered.  I am under the impression that all the seedlings are in the ground as well since the seedlings were not going to be delivered until all the plots were ready.  I do not have a final count of seedlings but there were over six thousand and they have been given out. 

The last of the seedlings were delivered to Busia earlier this week since there was a delay because Pastor Ososo wanted to meet up with Bishop Hezron and Pastor Robert upon delivery.  I had also heard that Hezron and Robert were in an accident on the way back from Busia to Mumias.  Both of them are fine but there has been damage to the vehicle and it is in the shop for repairs.  I am not sure how insurance works in Kenya but I would be left to imagine that there is going to be a large percentage of the cost left to the vehicle owners.  I have had a couple of conversations with Hezron about car insurance and he tells me that insurance rarely covers the cost of repairing a vehicle.  I am under the impression that it covers more bodily harm and liability then damage to the vehicles.

Out of the original 27 orchards that were going to be planted one orchard was not ready in Kakamega upon delivery of the seedlings and the seedlings have been distributed to other farmers or have been given to another orchard.  I did not understand the email and the status of those particular seedlings.  My understanding is that the orchard was not ready because the stakeholder(s) could not get the holes dug.  I have mixed feelings about the digging of the holes.  I know it is hard work to dig those holes and it is much easier to pay someone to come in and dig them.  I personally would not last one hole before I was on the ground gasping for air.  What we have asked from the stakeholders is to provide the land and the labor to plant the orchards.  We were to come in and loan them the money to buy the seedlings, posts, wire, and chemicals to plant the orchards until the orchards can become self sufficient upon the first harvest in six to seven months.

The cost of the orchards range from just over a hundred dollars to around five hundred dollars.  The vast majority of the orchards were in the quarter to one half acre range which we believed would be sufficient for a few people to manage.  Anything more then an acre requires quite a few people to maintain.  The passion fruit take a great deal of maintenance and TLC to bring it to maturity.  If a stakeholder(s) cannot find the time to dig the holes then does the stakeholder(s) have the time to care for the maturing vines?  If anyone would like to comment about paying for labor to dig holes I would be most appreciative.  The added cost of digging holes to a project is between ten and twenty five shillings per hole or up to two hundred dollars an acre.  Two hundred dollars might not sound like a lot of money but that two hundred dollars will plant up to another third of an acre for someone else.  I can also see that providing funds to dig holes provides needed income to someone in need.  There is benefit either way but what gives us the bigger bang for the buck?

The money was lent out through the NGO micro-finance venture we set up back in July on that visit.  After the passion fruit start to come in after six months or so the loans will have to be paid back in time to Wamulu International so we can start to take that money and any future funds to plant more orchards or fund other projects.  We are not anticipating any loan payments until at least April of next year. 

The next six months cannot happen quick enough for me.  Before we move forward with this venture we have to see some real progress and viability.  This project is a real test of my faith.  I sit here eight thousand miles away from the project with no plans to go back anytime soon and all I can do is wait.  I do not know if I am conveying my feelings on this or not but let me tell you that this is not the way I like to operate. 

As I get more updates and photos I will pass them along.  Please continue to pray for God's grace to come upon these good folk in Western Kenya as they try to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Thank you for listening and God bless you all.

Dave

PS:  Many of you have commented on my ablility to spell correctly, get the names right, and such.  Let me just say that I have been making mistakes all along (how would you know) and my friends in Kenya are not about to tell me that I have made a mistake.  Just not in their culture to do that.  For the longest time I thought Bulimbo was Bulinda.  I also thought Wamulu International was Wamula International.  I thought Councilor Bibiana was Councilor Bianna.  Shoot I still do not know if Bibiana is spelled correctly.  I can't count how many times I talked with the councilor and called her Bianna.  Think about this the next time you are with someone that calls you the wrong name.  How many times are you going to let them say your name wrong until you correct them?  Not only did I say her name wrong to her personally many times.  Every time I referenced her no one corrected me until I heard Hezron call her by her real name.  He told me I could call her Bianna if I wanted to.  Are these people gracious or what?