Curio Shop Justus
Welcome to Mtito Andei
My name is Justus Charles Mose - I am a curio salesman and a Pens for Kids Ambassador.
Justus Charles Mose, P.O.Box 79 Mtito Andei, Nairobi, Kenya. (+254) 0726 73 98 51
My Shop
I live in Mtito Andei, between Nairobi and Mombassa, but the competition between curio shops there is too fierce, so I sell my curios from the side of the road close to the local national park. My business location is far away from home, the nearest Internet cafe is app. 100 km away, and the telephone connection isn't good, so transport and communication are big issues, and seriously limit the potential for any business here.
Presenting my speciality - high quality wood carvings. I buy crude carvings from a local cooperative and do the finishing work myself.
My family
My wife Mary and I have seven kids: Edwin Mokaya, Priscah Nyambonyi, Joseph Mwangangi, Wilkista Kemunto, Rebecca Moraa, Judy Kwamboka and finally Samuel Mochache. Their ages range from 16 months (Samuel) to 17 years (Edwin), so the cost of putting them all through school is and will be a heavy burden on the household economy for many years to come.
My wife and I photographed in 2007.
Pens for Kids
In 2005 I first met with the founder of Pens for Kids Denmark - Claus Hjoernet - who offered me to become a Pens for Kids Ambassador.
As a Pens for Kids Ambassador I receive pens from the organisation and undertake the distribution to underprivileged kids in my local community.
Yours truly handing out pens to kids at a local school.
I don't get paid for being a Pens for Kids Ambassador, but if the first year of co-operation turns out well, Ambassadors recruited by Pens for Kids Denmark receive financial support to boost their business or a similar project in "micro finance" scale.
In 2007 my wife and I met with Claus & Mette Hjørnet from Pens for Kids Denmark to discuss the possibilities of boosting my business, but because of the communication difficulties and the limits for expansion of a mobile business, we decided that my compensation for being a Pens for Kids Ambassador should be school fees for one kid through the next 3 years. This support is thus scheduled to end in the autumn of 2010.
Recent picture of myself handing out pens donated by the British government agency Becta.
Becta donated a large amount of pens in December 2008 - see pictures here and read more about Becta at http://www.becta.org.uk/
Picture received from another Pens for Kids Ambassador - Indira Kerubo John.