Hello all,

Just a quick note to bring KickStart to your attention. Martin Fisher
started this company to increase the earning potential of small
farmers by providing very low cost, human powered water pumps.

The company seems to have made significant positive impacts for many
communities in Africa. The excerpt below comes from their most recent
newsletter. Just one story like this can really drive people to
action. Imagine what 250,000 stories (the number of Super MoneyMaker
Pumps sold to date) could do. Of course, this story was carefully
selected. No doubt the picture would change if we could tell and hear
the stories of every pump owner. Regardless of whether the full
picture presents pumps in a better or worse light, we'll all be richer
from the opportunities to see, hear, and connect directly with the
realities of our daily struggles, failures, and successes.

These stories are too important to be told just through the web sites
of hardworking groups like KickStart and Kiva. I'm very hopeful to
see this socialagriculture group and MyFoodStory moving to honor,
respect, and celebrate the lives of others by helping collect, tell,
and retell their stories.

-Greg

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=========Excerpt from www.KickStart.org Newsletter: Fall 2006======
=========by Martin Fisher, Co-Founder and CEO======================

I am very proud to tell you that the number of pumps weve sold
increased 108% in FY 2006 over the previous year. But it is not sales
that defines our success; it is the number of people moved out of
poverty. In FY 2006 alone, we helped over 51,000 people start their
climb out of poverty.

For KickStart, out of poverty means that a family has enough money for
food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. It means they have enough
money to send all of their children to school. And that they still
have enough money left to invest in their future.

A great example of this is Samuel Ndungu Mburu, a young entrepreneur I
got to visit this summer.

Samuel was raising seven children on his 1.5 acre plot he inherited
from his father. In desperation, he went to Nairobi and tried to
support his family by selling roasted corn on the roadside, sending
home the little he earned. But the city council did not like peddlers,
so he was constantly harassed by local authorities. He tried to open
a fruit stand but that required a license which he could not afford.

Frustrated, but not defeated, he returned to his family (this was in
1999). In his village, he saw our then brand new Super MoneyMaker
Pump outside a local shop. Samuel's friend knew the shopkeeper and
was able to convince him to let Samuel have a pump with a down payment
and allow him to pay the balance after his harvest. Prosperity came
quickly. Before he bought his pump, he earned at most $50 twice a year
when he harvested his rain-fed crops. But with his pump, he now grows
high-value tomatoes and French Beans and earns between $250 and $500
every three months. He has rented more land to farm and now has six
acres under cultivation.

His oldest son just graduated from the local technical college.
Samuel was able to pay for tuition and buy his son a bike so he could
get to class. His second oldest son is studying to be an electrician.
The other children are in primary or secondary school. When I asked
the oldest son about his achievement, he pointed to the MoneyMaker
pump and told me that it would not have been possible without it.

Samuel now makes enough to afford a petrol pump to irrigate his land,
but he still uses his MoneyMaker on some of his land and he told me
that he loans out his pump to his brother and his aunt.

His next goal is to buy more land so he can leave each of his children
a substantial plot of their own--and he is well on way to achieving it.

As we stood in his field, I saw three other MoneyMaker pumps which
were being used by his neighbors. When I mentioned this, Samuel said
that after observing him work for a number of seasons, his neighbors
were inspired by his success. They saved up their money to buy their
own MoneyMaker pumps and are now enjoying prosperity as well. A few
years ago, Samuel was one of the poorest men in his village. Today he
is a leader and role model.

It is always an inspiration to meet people like Samuel. But as
incredible as his story is, his family is one of over 50,000 that have
started on an upward spiral of prosperity by using our pumps. As
always, I thank you, because without your support, none of this would
be possible."


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=== See http://www.kickstart.org/ =================================