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A Day with Koma Wisi

Who are Koma Wisi?  They are a group of 15 poor women who are determined to change their socio-economic fortunes.  Their name tells it all about their determination to change. Koma Wisi can be loosely translated as “always prepare yourself well about tomorrow before you go to bed”.  This enthusiastic group is one of our community-based organizations (CBO) that we support.  George, our field CBO coordinator and I spent this Monday afternoon visiting the CBO in their village. After an hour of training and interaction, we left encouraged by the group’s single focus in working hard to alleviate extreme poverty in their families and community.  They sat attentively and interacted with George as he talked with them on the critical principles of financial savings and management.  

Some of the economic activities that Koma Wisi is currently doing includes table banking, merry-go-rounds and farming.  Table banking is a common informal savings and loan system practiced by the poor.  Every time they meet for weekly activities, each member contributes money to a common pool. This makes them eligible to secure a loan that is double their investment.  For instance, if a member contributes $10, they are eligible to take a loan of up to $20 maximum.  The loan is then re-paid back to the CBO at a 10% interest rate. Koma Wisi also does merry-go-rounds as an additional source of revenue for all the members. Unlike table banking, the merry-go-round is a monthly collection of small equal amounts that are collected once a month and the total collection given to one member each month.  This is done rotationally throughout the year.  Both these efforts make it possible for the members to get revenue and pay for some of their domestic needs.

Tumaini has partnered with Koma Wisi to empower them so they can break the cycle of extreme poverty. This partnership has been made possible because of your faithful support. In the next few months, we are looking forward to supporting this CBO as they launch a poultry project, a move that will propel them to a significant financial boost and take care of their basic needs.

Thank you again for changing communities through the CBO model…one community at a time
 

Sincerely,


Stanley Mutunga
President & CEO