Success Stories

Mahmoud Guindo

2009-09-11T01:07:47Z

Mahmoud Guindo has struggled for years to make ends meet. The 48-year-old Malian from Dogon Country was a victim of living on credit and borrowing from friends. He moved to Mali’s capital Bamako eleven years ago in search of work to support his wife and children. He began working as a security guard in a private residence and gardening a 150 sq meter plot of land not far from his home. But he says it was never enough to cover his basic needs of food, clothes and medicine for his four children.

Mahmoud’s average salary as a security guard is 200,000 CFA per year, or approximately $US400. To increase his annual income, he decided to build a bigger garden, but he was skeptical about how he would water a larger plot of land. Then he said he saw an advertisement about Kickstart's Money Maker irrigation pump, known locally as “nafasoro,” on television and decided to buy it. He didn’t have the money, so he approached his boss for a loan. Both men agreed it was a tangible asset that would provide a profitable and quick return of investment.

Mahmoud bought the pump in October of 2008. Since then he has almost doubled his annual income from $US400 to $US700 by selling fruits and vegetables.

The additional cash flow is allowing him to pay off some debts while being able to provide for his family.

Daniel Karanja Njenga and Nancy Gathoni

2009-01-19T07:48:56Z

“We lost everything we had worked for, but now we are getting back on our feet. Our children are not going to bed hungry anymore.”

In Eldoret, farmers Daniel Karanja Njenga his wife Nancy Gathoni see the MoneyMaker pump as their most important investment. Their home and farm were looted during Kenya’s post election violence in March 2008. Daniel saw the MoneyMaker Hip Pump demonstrated at the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp where his family of five children were placed after their house burned and Daniel’s arm was injured. They lived in a government tent for over 5 months. The camp was where he heard about KickStart’s Imarisha Maisha promotion.

“When I saw the MoneyMaker Hip Pump demonstration and heard about it on the radio, I knew it was the answer to how we could earn an income quickly and get back to farming.”

His first purchase with the relief funds from the Kenyan government (US $130) was the MoneyMaker Hip Pump and hoses. The manually operated pump is lightweight, lower cost than other pumps and easy to use. It does not require electricity or fuel. With it, he could irrigate his small plot of 1/8th acre and grow crops during the dry season when most farms are bare. They now earn a decent living growing and selling sukuma wiki (kale), a staple food for Kenyans. They are helping hungry neighbors and friends struggling to get back on their feet again after the violence

Daniel has plans to expand his plot and grow cabbages, tomatoes and purchase a dairy cow. An average farmer can make about 9,000 - 10,000 shillings (around US $120) or more per month selling crops produced using the MoneyMaker pump.

Daniel and Nancy, like thousands of farmers in Kenya and Africa, are becoming successful businessmen and women able to feed their families, pay school fees, and medical expenses.

After Kenya’s post-election violence, escalating food prices and difficult global economic times, MoneyMaker pumps are giving hope to an otherwise desperate situation; a permanent solution that tackles the root of poverty, a way to make money.

Catherine Gwambie

2008-04-08T23:30:02Z

Catherine Gwambie and her husband Hawzi Mwmami are a very entrepreneurial couple from Tanzania. They had dreams of being successful shop owners in Dar es Salaam. They farmed in their native Kigoma, growing and selling maize and beans to save enough to open a shop selling household supplies.

The shop was reasonably successful, but it did not generate as much income as they needed to support their family. Mr. Mwami decided to buy land to raise chickens and for Mrs. Mwami to start growing and selling vegetables. It was a good business but difficult because irrigation with a bucket took a lot of effort.

Early 2007 Mrs. Mwami heard an ad for the Super MoneyMaker on the radio. She excitedly told her husband about this new pump that was affordable and made irrigation easier and quicker. Mr. Mwami was not convinced. Mrs. Mwami insisted and since she was using her own money she would make the decision. Together they went to the Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam to buy a Super MoneyMaker at the shop owned by Mama Songa (another KickStart Success Story).

The pump worked so well Mrs. Mwami increased her production. She expanded with another plot to increase her business. She employs her daughter (left in the picture above) and young sister (right). They have three young children and they plan to send them to good secondary schools now that they have money.

The Mwami’s have plans to build a nicer house for their family.

Mr. Mwami freely admits that his wife was right about the pump, and between their two businesses, they see a bright future for their family.

Maurice and Josephine Simatei

2008-04-08T23:11:24Z

Maurice is a youthful 70 year-old Mzee (old man), a wise farmer whose neighbors and fellow farmers respect as a mentor. He farms a small plot of land in the green, lush hills near Eldoret, in the northern Rift Valley region of Kenya.

When Maurice's father died in 1994, he inherited his family land, along with a very steep loan his father had taken out on the farm. Maurice could not repay the loan so the family was forced off their land. That same year, they lost all their livestock. Destitute and landless, Maurice and his family became squatters on government owned land.

In 1995, they started again, built a small hut and starting irrigating their tiny plot with a bucket. With the few crops they raised they saved enough money to buy a cow.

In 1999, Maurice saw a Super Money Maker Pump being used along the side of the main road into Eldoret, and he was amazed at how easily his fellow farmer was able to irrigate his crops.

He instantly realized that a MoneyMaker pump could change his life.
Maurice visited his local retailer where a KickStart salesman demonstrated the pump, and even brought it to his shamba (farm) so Maurice could show his wife Josephine who was using buckets to scoop and carry water from a stream to their crops. They were convinced to buy, seeing the potential to increase output and improve the quality of their crops.

Maurice sold the cow to buy the pump and, in addition to maize, began growing tomatoes, kale, and cabbage which all sell for a good price in his local market.

Prosperity came quickly. Within the first year, he was able to save enough of his earnings to buy a milling machine for grinding maize. Josephine sells the flour, a staple ingredient in the Kenyan diet. As his profits grew, he also bought an expensive motorized fuel pump to irrigate his crops. In 2005, he gave his pump to his brother-in-law to use in his tree nursery business. Although he now owns a petrol powered pump, Maurice plans to purchase another MoneyMaker pump the next crop season after he pays his children's school fees.

Maurice has become a leader in his community and an inspiration to his neighbors

The day we visited Maurice, nine other farmers gathered around to meet us. Three of them had already bought pumps because they saw Maurice's success. One neighbor told us his own success story. He too was a squatter irrigating with a bucket. But once he saw the success Maurice was having, he saved and bought a pump too. With the money he made with his pump, he was able to buy a tractor and trailer and now, in addition to farming, he has a transport business.

Toward the end of our visit, Maurice and Josephine insisted we come inside their home to rest. Josephine graciously served tea and chapatti (a traditional Kenyan flat bread). She said "The MoneyMaker Pump was a breakthrough for our whole family. We are so happy to meet the man, Dr. Fisher, who designed his pump!"

Samuel Ndung'u Mburu

2008-04-02T00:16:14Z

Samuel Ndung'u Mburu was raising seven children on his 1.5 acre plot he inherited from his father. With no prospects for employment in his village, he went to Nairobi to look for work that paid enough to keep his family alive.

Salaried work was hard to find, so he tried to support his family by selling roasted corn on the roadside, sending home the little he earned. But the city council did not like peddlers, so he was constantly harassed by local authorities. He tried to open a fruit stand but that required a license which he could not afford.

Frustrated, but not defeated, he returned to his family (this was in 1999). In his village, he saw our then brand new Super MoneyMaker Pump outside a local shop. Samuel's friend knew the shopkeeper and was able to convince him to let Samuel have a pump with a down payment and allow him to pay the balance after his harvest.

Prosperity came quickly. Before he bought his pump, he earned, at most, $50 twice a year when he harvested his rain-fed crops. But with his pump, he now grows high-value tomatoes and French Beans and earns between $250 and $500 every three months. He has rented more land to farm and now has six acres under cultivation.

His oldest son just graduated from the local technical college. Samuel was able to pay for tuition and buy his son a bike so he could get to class. His second oldest son is studying to be an electrician. The other children are in primary or secondary school. When asked about his achievement, Samuel's son points to the MoneyMaker pump and says that it he never could have gone to school if his father had not bought the MoneyMaker.

Samuel now makes enough to afford a petrol pump to irrigate his land, but he still uses his MoneyMaker on some of his land loans his pump to his brother and his aunt.

His next goal is to buy more land so he can leave each of his children a substantial plot of their own--and he is well on way to achieving it.

Standing in his field, you can see three other MoneyMaker pumps which were being used by his neighbors. Samuel said that after observing him work for a number of seasons, his neighbors were inspired by his success. They saved up their money to buy their own MoneyMaker pumps and are now enjoying prosperity as well. A few years ago, Samuel was one of the poorest men in his village. Today he is a leader and role model.

James Ingunza Malondo and Loretta Malondo

2008-04-01T01:27:21Z

"Don't give me a fish, teach me to fish. This pump is our fishing net, our future. Whoever designed this pump had the common man in mind. Thank you."

James is an eloquent speaker with a strong commanding manner. He retired last year at 55 yrs old from teaching for over 30 years. His mud brick house was built from the proceeds earned using the MoneyMaker Hip Pump he purchased October 2nd 2006. The day before, he had leased a small plot of land outside Eldoret and began a new life as a farmer. He farms a half-acre and plans to lease more land as profits from his crops increase.

After James retired, he had no savings, pension or income. Providing basics for his thirteen children, multiple grandchildren and elderly mother was very difficult. Living in the very poor and densely populated village of Vihiga in Western Kenya, poverty was high and opportunity low. Farming was not a good business.

He moved his family to Matunda in 2006, hoping to make a go of farming and create a better life for his family. His small plot was covered with grass and weeds. After seeing a MoneyMaker pump being used at his friend’s farm, he knew it was the answer. He went to the dealer and bought a MoneyMaker Hip Pump that very day. James couldn't believe how durable and easy it was to operate, and that it did not require fuel. The pump, sprinkler, seeds and hard work got him started.

Only one year later, James and his family are growing vegetables and corn continuously. He proudly showed us his tomatoes, sukuma (kale), kunde (cow peas - a delicious green leaf similar to spinach); maize (corn) and sorghum they grow for their family and also sell to a vegetable broker. He plans to lease more land the next crop cycle to expand.

"Our neighbors are very surprised that in just one year we are growing all this, as if the plot came with the vegetables," James told us. "I've decided when my next child marries, I will give a MoneyMaker pump and some spare change for seeds. I will have given them all they need."