Last month I was able to spend a few days at villages in Ruiru and Thika and visit some Kenyan families who are current or potential users of d.light. This is actually the first time I have been able to do home visits and interviews with consumers. I was super thrilled to have this opportunity, and came out super inspired! And as a side note, d.light experienced a slight sales bump in these villages as we proudly milked the "mzungu effect" :)
Life is tough and Kenyan families try their very best to make ends meet. On average the people we visited make about 120-150 Kenyan shilling a day, 30ksh (20-25%) of it goes to kerosene use (for cooking/lighting...etc.), 20ksh goes to phone charging (every other day), and the remaining will go to school fees, food...etc. If you do the math, there really isn't a whole lot that's left of one day's wage after taking out all the necessary expenses to sustain oneself. In the case of one family we visited, the wife has not been able to get her phone charged because she has to pay her husband's medical bills. As a result, they couldn't get money from her children via m-pesa mobile money, which makes her cash flow even tighter.
It was really great to witness how our lights have transform some of these people's lives. d.light talks about its social impact a lot internally and externally, but it's one thing to know the statistics, but another to truly feel the impact of my work by hearing the excitement from the end-user's voice and by seeing how our product brings brightness into people's homes compare to their previous options. And...you know your product is making a difference in people's lives and have taken an important place in their hearts when you see the tears or fear in people's eyes when you mention the possibility of taking their d.light away from them. They don't even want a newer model or supposedly "better" replacement. They want the d.light that they've used and treasured. It is irreplaceable!
Despite of the tough situations, I was so inspired by how people stay optimistic and talked about their dreams and aspirations with a big smile on their faces. Owning their own house, renovating their home with plaster, having a TV and iron are among some common things people aspire to accomplish. There was also a huge emphasis on their children's education and staying informed by keeping up with the news. Kids wake up early in the morning eager to go to school, unlike how I felt when I was little, making up all sorts of excuses just to skip school. Seeing these families remind me once again how privileged I am to have been born into a home with good resource and to parents that had the means to support my good education. I truly hope that everyone I've met will be able to achieve their dreams may it be building that dream house or seeing their children graduate and getting a good job.
Life is tough and Kenyan families try their very best to make ends meet. On average the people we visited make about 120-150 Kenyan shilling a day, 30ksh (20-25%) of it goes to kerosene use (for cooking/lighting...etc.), 20ksh goes to phone charging (every other day), and the remaining will go to school fees, food...etc. If you do the math, there really isn't a whole lot that's left of one day's wage after taking out all the necessary expenses to sustain oneself. In the case of one family we visited, the wife has not been able to get her phone charged because she has to pay her husband's medical bills. As a result, they couldn't get money from her children via m-pesa mobile money, which makes her cash flow even tighter.
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| This lady doesn't have any electricity at home and do not have much money to buy kerosene for the lamp, so she improvised and uses the light from her cellphone to light the room like this |
Despite of the tough situations, I was so inspired by how people stay optimistic and talked about their dreams and aspirations with a big smile on their faces. Owning their own house, renovating their home with plaster, having a TV and iron are among some common things people aspire to accomplish. There was also a huge emphasis on their children's education and staying informed by keeping up with the news. Kids wake up early in the morning eager to go to school, unlike how I felt when I was little, making up all sorts of excuses just to skip school. Seeing these families remind me once again how privileged I am to have been born into a home with good resource and to parents that had the means to support my good education. I truly hope that everyone I've met will be able to achieve their dreams may it be building that dream house or seeing their children graduate and getting a good job.
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