
From the Streets to Riches
Early Life in Nyanza
She left her matrimonial home in Siaya, Komenya, Rabar in 1988 when her husband chased her off after marrying a second wife. The reason for this, he said was because she had too many sons and he did not have enough money to buy them land, they were a liability, besides his new bride had just bore him a daughter who would bring wealth to the family. She had no option but to go back to her parents home in Siaya, Uranga Division with her five boys in hand. She could no longer take the beating, insults and general discomfort caused by her husband and his new wife, but life at home wasn’t easy, both her parents were retirees with no means of income and could not feed her and her boys. So after one year she made the decision to come to Nairobi, the big city in search of odd jobs that would help sustain her and her boys.
Life in the streets of Nairobi
Life in Nairobi wasn’t a bed of roses either, there were no jobs for those who did not have papers or speak any English. Clarice found herself on the streets. This was a life she had not been accustomed to but she had no choice. After being on the streets of Nairobi for one year alone she heard of the tribulations of her first born son Victor Ochieng. He had been coerced by people she considered unscrupulous to be selling groundnuts in the streets of Kisumu where at that time all sorts of bad things could have happened to him, he was only 8 years old at the time. She managed to bring her son to Nairobi but they were living on the streets, at least he was safer with her and she could watch him.
Savings out of poverty
Despite numerous discouragements from people Clarice and other street Mothers stuck with the savings plan. About 4 years after the savings plan had started the streets of Nairobi were to be cleared of street families because some dignitaries were coming. Mama Ingrid decided to organize for them housing in Muungano, Soweto Kayole. They however first lived in tents at Muungano before they graduated to the houses. While at Muungano a donor by the name Yohannes gave Kshs 60,000 to boost what was already in our kitty to enable borrowing. Her first loan was of Kshs 2,000 which used to buy the tools for her business such as fish frying sufuria (wok), 5 small fish, 5 medium fish and cooking oil. She first sold the fish at Muungano, Soweto but later decided to look for a bigger market elsewhere, she had a cousin that stayed in Komarock and while visiting her, she found her perfect market. Every morning she would wake up and go to Gikomba at 6am for fresh fish and then head to Komarock to sell.
She kept refreshing her loan with Jamii Bora to grow her business because she was very ambitious on her 6th round of getting a loan, she requested for Kshs 60,000 to grow her business, she headed to the lake Kisumu and negotiated with the fishermen on a deal to buy fish in wholesale and sell to the traders in Gikomba. The wholesale business did well for sometime but due to the intense rivalry at the market she had to leave it but since she had maintained her customers in Komarock she returned there.
The Break Through
At around 1999 while still selling her fish in Komarock she was spotted by the advertising team of OMO the detergent and was put in a commercial that was aired nationwide, her 15 minutes of fame if you would call it. This really helped to sky rocket her business because everybody around wanted to meet the celebrity that they saw in the advertisement. She continued saving and taking loans with Jamii bora to the point of even building her own two stalls. After this point her boys had grown up and she decided to invest in them. Her older son Victor had a passion for tailoring and she took out another loan in order to buy him 2 sewing machines to start his own business. Her other son Collins, she helped him open a restaurant and later paid for him a mechanic course at Kajiado Technical college. The more loans that Clarice took the better her life became and she will be forever thankful to Jamii Bora Trust. Currently she is still selling fish at her own stall in New Town Kaputei Kisaju,Kajiado county,where she resides in a house that she bought with a loan from the Sacco. Her greatest desire currently is to make gospel videos to thank the Lord for how far He has brought her and Hopes that Mama Ingrid Munro would be in one of her videos soon.
She has brought herself from being a beggar on the streets of Nairobi to being what she considers a rich woman. What's more, she has inspired hundreds of desperate people to join Jamii Bora and get out of poverty.