Ali Wambogo

For a former hawker who was doing so badly that he almost owed almost every hawker in his street Of operation, life was only getting unfair. To escape from the high number of creditors baying for his Blood, Ali Wambogo began plotting to relocate from Mombasa to a far flung town where he would Begin a new life. “I was finalizing plans to move when my father who knew the tribulations I was going through got Wind from his friends about KYBT and promptly advised me to try my luck. So I did, and when I Reached the centre I was heartily welcomed as I explained my predicament. I was invited to a Training programme after which I was handed a loan of Ksh 20,000. With the money and armed with The business training, I regained confidence and put off my escape plans,” Wambogo recalls.The young man now aged 26 years who previously survived selling fruits and vegetables in the streets of Mombasa town, where  being thrown into stinking cells after being arrested by council Askaris was something normal, now owns a grocery stall where he has stable customers and no trouble with  the normally over-zealous Askaris. He now operates confidently without any fear and business is good and boasts of being very popular in the market because he is always paying promptly for the goods he purchases. Indeed, when we caught up with him, he was optimistic of starting his own wholesale grocery shop in the next few years. And while he immensely praised KYBT for pulling him out of the wilderness, he had a word for his former friends still surviving as hawkers in the harsh street environment.