It’s a honeymoon of a different kind. Just when they thought things were going to get worse, they seem to be getting better and better.
The young couple that held a wedding worth Sh100 got a major financial boost from a wellwisher who was touched by their desperate financial situation. Diamond Properties Merchants has given the newlyweds – Wilson Wanjohi and Ann Muhonja – a plot and greenhouse worth Sh1 million in Isinya, Kajiado County.
The investment includes an eighth acre plot valued at Sh500,000, a Sh320,000 greenhouse and capsicum crop with a potential return of Sh250,000.
Speaking during the handover of the investment, Diamond Properties Sales and Marketing Director Edwin Khiranga said the land investment company’s management responded to the heartwarming social media story of Wilson and Anne who wedded at the Community Christian Worship church in Kasarani a week ago, with only two rings valued at Sh50 each.
“We want to start them off in family life with an investment as distant farmers and land owners” said Mr Khiranga. “They proved true to their situation and their love conquered the lack of money for a colourful wedding.”
It was a surprise for the couple who were lost for words after discovering what the invitation was all about. Mr Wanjohi, 27, said the plot and greenhouse would help them stabilise their finances as they start a new family. “It’s the hand of God,” said Wanjohi, who sells apples for a living in Kasarani. “We appreciate the support that Kenyans are giving us.”
The couple became social media sensations when the pastor who wedded them, Mr Jusper Ojwach, posted their wedding photo on Facebook, which attracted an outpouring of empathizers.
The couple have turned from zero into instant celebrities with different individuals and organisations seeking to help them out. They just returned from a one week honeymoon at a five-star hotel in Mombasa sponsored by a local tour firm, which also paid their flight tickets. “Marriage is not in the wedding. It’s the attitude,” said Mr Ojwach. “These young people cut their coat according to their size.”
Mr Khiranga said greenhouses offer a chance for investors to start earning returns from plots as they await real estate development. “Greenhouse are paying well,” he said. “This is becoming an alternative to real estate as it’s cost is lower.”
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Diamond Properties, which owns nearly 500 acres of land in Isinya, develops and manages greenhouses. Khiranga said an eighth plot under greenhouse earns up to Sh500,000 per year. “Once an investor buys a plot and pays Sh320,000 management fee, he is assured of getting Sh500,000 after 12 months,” he said.
He said Diamond Properties is now running and managing 2,000 greenhouses under its phase 1 & 2 projects. He said the first season of pioneer investors has ended and cheques are being paid out even as phase 3 gets under way.
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