Selling brooms is my main-stay, Kisumu hawker discloses

KISUMU: Lack of employment has become a common tune played by Kenyan youth. However, the few who dare to embrace self employment have been able to make their ends meet and even create jobs.

Twenty-year-old Charles Eregai is one such person. Faced with an uncertain future, he left his home in Lodwar for Kisumu, with only one aim - to counter his unemployed state.

“I did not want to just sit at home. I wanted to keep myself busy using the broom making skill I had,” Eregai says.

With just Sh4,500, Eregai rented a house at Kassagam and used the remaining amount to buy broom making materials. He worked relentlessly and today, he is an established businessman whose goods are known and recognised by many residents.

On a good day, Eregai can sell about 50 brooms which range from Sh25 to Sh30 which works out to a tidy amount at the end of each month. Apart from using this amount to meet his daily needs, Eregai is also saving as he plans to venture into a different business.

“I am looking forward to start another business and I have already raised the amount I need to do this,” he says.

Eregai says he wants to do this because, while his broom business is flourishing, it is not without its own set of challenges.

“I use a specific type of grass to make my brooms. Sometimes I get orders to make something different and I find that I cannot source the material needed to do this. It is frustrating not being able to meet my customer’s preferences and requirements,” he said. Even though Eregai was not able to pursue an education, he says going to school is not something he will venture into.

“I am in business to stay,” he says.