{Hundreds of traders in Trans-Nzoia County of northwest Kenya who stopped exporting goods to South Sudan after war broke out mid-December last year have resumed the business after a ceasefire.
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Mary Njeri, a furniture trader and a mother of five, is one of the many business people whose livelihood had been interrupted by the war.
Njeri can now afford smile in her face after normalcy returned at the war ravaged and the world’s youngest country rich in oil.
“We have resumed our business to the country. It has been nightmare after hell broke out at South Sudan,” an excited Njeri told Xinhua on Monday in Kitale where she supervised furniture loaded in a lorry on transit to South Sudan.
The business lady found herself in dilemma when her business was halted by the heave fighting between pro-government and rebels that attracted condemnation from regional countries and world leaders.
In August, her two children in high school were forced to stay at home after she was unable to raise fee.
“I thank God things have improved and there is relative peace at our neighboring country. The education of my children will not be disrupted due to lack of fee because the income from the business will support them,” she said.
Njeri said the workers rendered jobless following the turmoil have returned back and are helping her assembly the furniture at her workshop.
Her four workers could not hide their joy during the interview at their boss’s workshop located in Laini Moja within Kitale town.
“Life has not been the same in the past months when we were laid off. We had no income to support our families but we are happy that we have got our job back,” said Patrick Situma, a carpenter at the workshop.
Njeri said her store at Lumbek is open and the three staff has been recalled back. The businesswomen supply, wooden chairs, tables, beds and timbers.
John Simiyu, a trader who supplies cereals to Juba Lumbek and Torit towns, said he is upbeat that he is back to business and able to raise money to support his family and meet the fee requirement of his children in university.
“It has been difficult since the source of income was halted. I’m now able to meet the basic needs of my family and I hope the prevailing peace in South Sudan will last,” said Simiyu who has been in the cereal business for over a decade.
Transporters had a share of the business interrupted by the violence and are playful that peace prevail in the country to enable Kenyan traders tap the lucrative business in the country.
For the past one month, there has been a beehive of activities at the Kitale’s railways grounds where the traders pack their wares for transport.
Meanwhile, the traders have urged the national government to urgently rehabilitate the dilapidated Kitale-Lodwar road to ease transportation of food supplies to Turkana and South Sudan.
The highway linking Kenya with South Sudan has become a nightmare to users with trunks taking over 12 hours to reach Lodwar from Kitale.
{{Xinhua}}
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