| Kibwezi | |
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Kibwezi
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Kenya |
| Province | Eastern Province |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Kibwezi is a town in Makueni District, Eastern Province, Kenya.
Kibwezi town is the headquarters of Kibwezi division, one of 15 administrative divisions in Makueni District. The division has a population of 80,236, of whom 4,695 are classified urban. The division has four locations: Kikumbulyu, Kinyambu, Masongaleni and Utithi [1]. Kibwezi town is located within Kikumbulyu location.
Kibwezi is also name for Kibwezi Constituency, the local electoral constituency. Kibwezi town does not seat a local authority but is part of Makueni County Council [2].
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The largest school is the Kibwezi Educational Centre, a partnership between the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and Burke Presbyterian Church (PCUSA).
There are two banks and two credit unions in town. The largest bank is the Kenyan Commercial Bank. A Microfinance program (a small credit union) is being launched in summer 2009 by the Walking with Africans Foundation a new U.S.-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. WAF has raised money to fund a pilot program for one year in rural Kibwezi with the expectation that local loan recipients will eventually become owners of the credit union. The program will provide access to initial loans without collateral, allowing members of peer groups the opportunity to co-guarantee repayment of loans and assume management of the revolving fund. The small interest collected from loans will be reinvested into lending to more participants.
To qualify and remain in the program, participants must meet strict monitoring criteria and pay back the original loans through small weekly payments. Qualified participants who own small businesses or who seek to establish small business enterprises will be given the loans on a short-term basis (two months, for example).
WAF was founded by James Munthali, a retired economist with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other members of Burke Presbyterian Church in Fairfax County, Virginia.
There are several religions represented in the town. There is a mosque for the local Muslim community and several churches from varying Christian denominations. The two largest congregations are Catholic and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).
Kibwezi is defined by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa as a Nendeni Area, a region for church growth. There is one main anchor church located inside the Kibwezi Educational Centre, this has been named the Bethel Church. Furthermore, there are approximately 14 smaller congregations in the surrounding villages near Kibwezi. Rev. Lauden Kangele is the pastor of the Kibwezi Nendeni area. The village churches are served on Sunday by evangelists (not pastors) employed by the Kibwezi Bethel Church. A few of these areas are:
Kibwezi has also other churches e.g the Kenya Assemblies Of God located at Muthaiga estate, the Redeemed Gospel Church also at Muthaiga, the Pentecostal Assemblies Of God and the Full Gospel Churches of Kenya. These Being the Pentecostal Churches Of kibwezi.
It has a station on the Kenya Railways Corporation system.
The town is located along Nairobi - Mombasa highway. Another Road connects Kibwezi with Kitui.