Name
Milka Rabera
Age
40
What Pangea Women’s Network Cooperative are you apart of?
7 Angaza Women Group
Tell us about yourself
I am a wife, mother to 5 children and a businesswoman who runs a retail and grocery shop in Rongai, Kajiado County. I trained as an Early Childhood Development teacher, however, due to lack of adequate funds, I did not complete my education. Initially, I worked odd jobs while trying to secure jobs from the government, without success. It was then that I decided to try a hand in business. So, in 2014, I began by selling charcoal. I did this smoothly for a while before a challenge hit me. The government declared a total lumbering ban in early 2018 in effort to conserve the environment as the climatic conditions have turned for the worst. This meant that all businesses that required timber and wood were affected. I had to stop the business and started operating a retail shop in 2018, where I sell household supplies such as milk, bread, cooking oil, paraffin. Later on, I started selling traditional vegetables which are a delicacy to many people in the area, my target clients are mostly teachers.
What are you most proud of?
| I am proud of my business. Even though the first venture failed due to government legislation that affected my business, I was able to think fast and open another business. My target clients are people who live in my neighborhood and teachers in surrounding schools. After I obtained a loan from Pangea, I purchased more stock and my sales have since gone up. So far, I am able to save for my children’s education and I am proud that I can now give my husband a hand in handling the household expenses where I can. |
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned with The Pangea Network?
| I appreciate the training that I got from the Pangea Empowerment training program. The business skills trainings were beneficial to me in several ways. To start with, I started keeping records of stock movement, purchases and sales, recognizing when I make profits or losses and how to handle them and operating a bank account for my business. On Leadership, I am now able to lead not only my nuclear family but also the extended family on issues affecting them. I am now better able to tolerate different people and understand better why people are the way they are. |
