August Kenyan Woman of the Month

Name

Lencer Adhiambo

Age

What Pangea Women’s Network Cooperative are you apart of?

Angaza Women Group

Tell us about yourself

I am 35 years old, a wife, mother, and businesswoman. My two children are 14 and 6 years, respectively, in secondary and primary schools. My main business is selling clothes at Kware Market in Rongai, Kajiado County. I started operating this business in May 2017. I recently changed to selling cereals as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which practically pushed me out of my clothes selling business. However, this was purely due to peoples’ changing needs during this time. I will resume it once conditions become favorable. I am also the Chairlady of Angaza Women Cooperative.

What are you most proud of?

I can attest the benefits of being a businesswoman outweigh those of being employed. I am a proud that I run my own business on my own term without needing supervision. This requires that I plan my time well so as to cater for my family and business needs. Due to this, I’m now able to spend ample time with my children to ensure they grow up all rounded in all aspects of their lives. My business has enabled me to cater adequately for my family’s needs. I’m a planner hence able to plan ahead and ensure I avoid downfalls I see coming, whether in my personal or business life.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned with The Pangea Network?

The lesson on record-keeping stood out for me. The topic helped me improve my business skills especially in recognizing profit and loss in my business and how it came about. It also helped me keep records of customers who buy on credit. This way, I could always refer to my credit book in case of disputes, a factor that has gone a long way in ensuring I do not make unnecessary losses.

The other lesson that impacted me was the training on Reproductive Health. Since I have an adolescent daughter, the information I acquired has helped me guide her in this phase of life that she is beginning. I am keen to create awareness on matters of her reproductive health and sexuality especially now that they have to stay at home. With this information, I trust she will be able to make informed decisions when required to do so. It has also helped me to monitor closely my monthly cycle and use it for family planning the natural way. I also strive to share the lessons with close friends who would care to listen when opportunities to share the same present themselves.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your business?

Before the pandemic, I was able to make more sales by hawking my clothes in different areas as well as make sales in the market stall on days I went there. This has since changed. Due to restrictions on how people socialize these days, hawking has become hard. In addition, people shifted their focus on more essential needs such as food, shelter, and basic utilities leaving most cloth selling businesses to suffer. For this reason, I decided to shift my focus to selling cereals which include grains such as beans, maize, lentils, green grams, etc. At least with these, I have been able to get an income and continue to provide for my family’s needs.
As the Chairlady for Angaza Women group, the changes I have seen in members’ contributions are proof that everyone is struggling financially. Loan repayment amounts have gone down and most members shifted to selling food items as it is the easiest to shit too. Even though we do not meet like we used to before, we keep in touch to ensure that everyone is ok and those still running their businesses continue to do so.