These four are intent in overcoming any obstacles in their way while working together throughout. And what will they be doing with their soon-to-come profits? Supporting their families, constructing adequate houses and sending their kids to school, naturally.

Each month we loan a substantial amount to one person looking to expand his or her business, and for April 2012 we have chosen Eugenia from Huancayo, Peru.  A wife and mother of two children, Eugenia is at an age when most of us would be planning our upcoming retirement. She, however, is in the midst of expanding her business! Not only does Eugenia clean at the local city hall and raise livestock and crops to sell at the market, but she also makes brilliant ornaments made of beautiful flowers to sell in the city centre. Once Eugenia has raised some extra cash through KIVA, she will be putting the money towards additional flowers to help her business grow and tuck some savings away in the bank. A hard working woman holding down four jobs and raising a family? Here’s to that.

For our March entrepreneur of the month, we have chosen Ajith, a hardworking mother of 4.

Ajith lives in Bor which is in the Republic of South Sudan, She sells food from a stall, and has been in business for four years. She is 30 years old, married, and has four children, two of them are still in school.

Ajith would like to purchase additional bean and sugar stock for her food stall to keep her children in education.

We wish her all the best from all of us at Mash Towers.

Paul is a timber dealer who is married with 2 children. He began his business 8 years ago by selling scrap timber and later moved on and purchased logging machines. He looks forward to being an exporter and importer of timber and timber products in the future. The extra income from this loan will enable Paul to educate and feed his children.

Maria lives with her 2 sons and her father. She is also taking care of her 3 nieces because their mother, her sister, died four months ago. Her business involves the sale of antojitos (snacks) including roasted bananas and empanadas. The loan will help her stock her business. Maria’s goal is for her business to be prosperous so that she can help the entire family and cover household expenses.

We wish Paul and Maria all the best from all of us at Mash Towers and a very Happy Christmas.

Watch this space for next month’s Kiva story.

For the October entrepreneur of the month, we have chosen the hard working Jerry from the Philippines.

Jerry is 36 years old, he is married with 3 young children. Jerry is married to a loving housewife named Marites. This couple did not have the opportunity to enter college level of education because their parents had no capacity to send them to school. Thus, Jerry and his wife are working hard together to provide the best opportunity for their children.

Jerry runs a hog raising business. He started out 10 years ago with just two piglets and raised them. Now, Jerry has eight pigs to grow. He loves this business because, as he says, this serves as a source of income for the family aside from farming. He is looking buy another two piglets to help grow his business.

We wish him all the best from all of us at Mash Towers.

Watch this space for next month’s Kiva story.

For the September entrepreneur of the month, we have chosen the lovely Habiba from Tajikistan.

Habiba prides herself on being a businesswoman and has been for the last two years. She has a family business that her daughter assists with and which centres around buying and selling dishware. Habiba is married with 4 children but as her husband now works in Russia she is left to look after the family and maintain the businesss single-handedly. Quite the juggling act! The loan provided through Kiva will help Habiba to expand her business to improve her family’s quality of life.

We wish Habiba all the best from all of us at Mash Towers.

Watch this space for next month’s Kiva story.

For February as our entrepreneur of the month, we have chosen Moreno Oyag, from Kabankalan City, Philippines. Mash have funded her entire project loan amount through KIVA.

Moreno Oyag

Moreno earns her living through her three business ventures: Barter/buying and selling of rice, fish and food vending. Moreno and her husband have two children who are 14 and 17 years old. Moreno will use the funds for her business operations so that she can continue to save up for her children’s education and family needs. Morena is a Dungganon woman who is following an honorable path toward the achievement of her dreams.

Mash are delighted to be helping assisting Moreno with her dreams and build a better life for her family.

ISMAT provides accessible, high quality, professional education to the deserving young, with continued emphasis on the under privileged and vulnerable. This school is one of only a handful nationwide to base admissions solely on merit, utilizing its parent body OGRA to support those in financial need.

2008
In 2008 MASH sponsored the building of 2 new classrooms at ISMAT – the OGRA funded International School of Medicine and Advanced Technology here in Kisumu.

One of the new rooms is used as a standard classroom, while the other is a computer room.
Shortly after the completion of the building, ISMAT applied to the Kenyan Clinical Offices Council (equivalent of UK GMC) to teach a diploma in clinical medicine (a 3 year course producing clinical officers). At the inspection, which involved the Minister of Health, the COC was so impressed with the resource centre that they offered ISMAT a license to teach a full medical programme.

This made ISMAT the fourth medical school in the entire country and the very first in Kisumu!

2009
In 2009 MASH sponsored the shipping of textbooks to ISMAT, with the idea of steadily building a library at the charity medical school. The books were donated by final year medical students and from medical libraries. Fate shone down again, this time the books arriving just in time for the Clinical Offices Council inspection of the ISMAT facilities. A glowing report followed, and Moi University, (the second largest University in Kenya, signed an agreement to allow ISMAT students to sit their exams with their pupils and issue a joint medical degree.
2010
This year, yet again, MASH stepped up to the plate, sponsoring the shipping of textbooks to Kenya, though in much greater numbers than before. A more coordinated effort than last year has seen a far more successful collection. Currently, sat proudly aboard an enormous hunk of floating metal, a small library is steadily making its way across the seas to Kenya. Hoping to avoid all Somali pirates and arrive in time for the new term!

Thanks to the efforts of all at MASH, a charity medical school in Kenya has been furnished with not only a new classroom and computer room – leading to its licensing as a medical teaching facility, but now a new library for its students, lecturers and researchers!

On behalf of the students and staff of ISMAT and OGRA I would like to thank all of you at MASH for your continued support of this great cause.
Dr Timothy Walker

We did 60 kms before lunch and then had a hill to finish the day, not just a hill, a mountain! Monkey mountain. Its a 3km stretch of climbing hair pin bends up a mountain – it was bloody tough but managed to make it to the top – this was partly because the mountain is swarming with unfriendly monkeys that want to pinch your water bottles.

Getting to the top has to be one of my most rewarding achievements and I cried all the way down with relief! Absolutely loved it and after today’s route know I can do anything. Camping again tonight in the mountains. Curry again….

Yesterday was tough, we all pushed it too much finishing 3rd for the day but was shaking all over by the end. Went to a school and handed out uniforms, pens and books. I sat with the kids and they thought my name was money either that or they just wanted me to give them some, wishful thinking.

We have experienced more boisterous kids, I have been slapped twice but we have taken to slamming on the breaks and running for them and they run off scared.

Scenery is unbelievable! The colours are fantastic. Its easy from here, 60km tomorrow and 40km on the last day.

Already filled one memory card so be prepared for the slideshow!

Maddie, whose mother lives in South Street in Caistor, was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in January last year, has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy at St Thomas’ Hospital in London and now wants to raise money to support the charity.

This is her first report from the Challenge…

I’m sat in a sandy valley having lunch on day 2. Lunch is curry and white carbs. I have eaten curry twice a day since I have been here so that’s 7 in total to date. Still not eating meat though.

Yesterday we covered off 62kms. We didn’t set off until 11am so it was unbelievably hot. The day was split in to 4 sections. By the 2nd section I was flagging. My chain came off so had to wait for the guys to come and fix it (we have a team of 20 marshals that go up and down on bikes to monitor us).

Then I got a bit of heat stroke so had some anti sickness treatment from the doc and cycled at the back for a while. We realised we were heading directly through a huge religious festival so a police escort had to arrange to take us though.

You wouldn’t belive the roads! Camels, horses, cows, bikes, mototbikes, tuk tuks, buses and tractors were all on the road scurrying around – it was quite terrifying and very hot.

I got stung by a hornet, first time I have been stung in my life! Everytime we go through villages all the kids run to the road and shout good morning to us and wave , the braver ones ask for money. We saw a dead boar being eaten by dogs. Got to camp at sunset. Slept in a tent with an en suite ( a western toilet dumped in the corner, not plumbed in and a tray with bucket of water for a shower)

Up and out of the road for 7.30. We went through a really dodgy town where we had to go in groups as the kids are known to cause trouble with us but again we had a police escort so it was okay. Done 57 kms already today, HILLS, lots of HILLs. We have 92 kms in total to do and then tonight we are staying in the palace. YESSSSS

My legs, arms, neck and bum ache…

If you would like to support Maddie in her challenge please visit www.justgiving.com/Madeleine-George or by contacting the Lymphoma Association fund-raising team on 01296 619419.

More Maddie updates coming soon…