Food kiosk provides raft to wade through rough times

Kenya: For 13 years, Angela Kanana has known the Grogoan mechanics’ shades as her office. It is here that the 41-year-old ekes out a living to feed and educate her three children.

One of them is soon graduating from university with a degree in education.

“This temporary food kiosk has stood with me since the day my husband and I separated. After this happened, I was forced to ask myself some tough questions. Whatever happened, I needed to find a raft to help me through the rough waters. I decided to establish this kiosk to help me find direction. I knew my three children were innocent and, therefore, did not need to suffer because of our separation.”

She started the business in 2002, with capital of Sh1,000. “First, I secured a site where I erected a makeshift structure to house the cooked food. I did not have wood for seats but I found stones on which my customers could sit as they ate. At first, I cooked only simple meals,” says Angela.

Then she started making strides. After a year, Angela found a permanent site where she put up a roofed structure.

She also found wooden seats, which attracted more customers.

As part of her expansion plan, she also started cooking a wider variety of dishes to meet the increasing number of customers.

“After two years, I began seeing the benefits of my venture. For instance, due to the number of customers visiting my kiosk, I decided to employ two casual workers to help me cook and serve the meals. I also increased the capital.”

Sometimes, she faces rough waters. For instance, the local authority has never given her piece of mind. There are times she comes to work in the morning only to find her structure had been brought down the previous night. But this has never caused her to give up.

She has future plans, which include enjoying a level of financial freedom. Towards this end, she now operates a savings account into which she puts money daily. Her focus is on having a family house she can call home after decades of baking in the sun, literally.