Kenya: Chapter 2 - Yehu

(All photos courtesy of the one and only: Ryan Gledhill)

I have spent the last two days in a frenzy of tribal song, dance and food with rural village women and their young ones. These women meet every 1 to 2 weeks as part of a micro-credit organization called "Yehu" (meaning "Our Bank" in their native dialect). "Yehu" began in 1999 as one of the many brilliant ideas of Luis Pope and friends (below). Luis, along with 4 other donors, chipped in $5,000 each to start a micro-credit lending program to 300 eager women. Now, the organization has flourished into 20,000 women in 200 different villages. These women meet every one to two weeks in small groups called "Centers," many walking more than 10 kilometers in bare feet on native dirt roads to the meetings. At the meetings they make payments toward their loans, bond with their "sisters" and catch up on the latest gossip. When a woman takes out a loan for her business, she does it as part of a group of 5 women who act as co-signers for each other. That way, if a woman can't make her payment, everyone has to chip in to help her. This also creates a certain level of responsibility for each woman to hold up her end of the bargain. Statistics show that women who take out a micro-credit loan through Yehu are eventually able to at least double their daily earnings of about 50 cents a day to $1-$2 a day. Pretty amazing, right?

Meet Luis Pope: founder of Yehu, Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms (all organizations that provide jobs for the people of Kenya. He takes no salary from these businesses).

A "Yehu" Center Meeting

A village "Grandmother."

The colors here are so vibrant. The women wrap their bodies in these gorgeous "kangas."

Women in Yehu groups typically sell things like mangos, coconuts, makuti (thatched roofing), fish, donuts, kangas, cashews, coal, and a few might run a small hotel.

We sang and danced with each other after all banking transactions were taken care of (my favorite part!).

The children here are so well behaved and adorable. During the meetings, older siblings will look after the young ones and carry the babies on their backs in a kanga wrap.

If you'd like to make a donation to Yehu, then click here. To receive 10% off of any scrumptious Basa Body pure coconut oil product, click here and use the code: mindy. Want to try the products first? You can find Basa Body products at Cherry Lane Boutique in Provo, UT on 500 N. University Ave. Tell them "Large Marge sent ya!" Just kidding. Tell them that Mindy sent you :-)