By Kelli Paskey | Advisory Board
Project Matthew’s mission is to nourish, equip and empower those who are most vulnerable to hunger in Uganda. We know we cannot eradicate hunger without addressing the root of food insecurity. Although we provide dry food rations through our Nourish Program, our ultimate goal is to equip and empower people so that they may become self-reliant and food secure.
One of the ways we accomplish this is through our Farmer Entrepreneurship Program. We train single mothers in growing short period crops, which are quick to generate nutritious food. These crops typically need only a period of one to six months to grow, and feature a variety of foods including grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. The proceeds after harvest are used to pay school fees, housing and medical bills, with the remainder invested in seeds for the next planting season.
We are thrilled to provide an update from several of our Farmer Entrepreneurs who, thanks to your support, are thriving even during this pandemic. Meet Robbina, who participated in our Farmer Entrepreneur training in Nakaseke this past spring:
“I’m thankful for the quality maize and beans seeds we received from Project Matthew. The corn matured at just the right time during lockdown. Even during such uncertainty, we had hope because of the maize we had planted earlier. The harvested corn supplied daily meals for my family, and provided income as we sold fresh corn to other ladies in our community for their street corn roasting. It also helped pay housing and medical expenses. My granddaughter unfortunately caught malaria, but thankfully, I was able to take her to the hospital to be treated.” - Robbina (single mother, Nakaseke Farmer Entrepreneur)
Robbina was able to save some of the profits from this season’s harvest, which will allow her to purchase quality seeds for the next planting. Another newly trained farmer, Ruth, also received seeds during the Nakaseke training:
“I’m so grateful to the Project Matthew team who blessed us with quality corn seeds and showed us better farming techniques. I used to harvest less than 300 kg/660 lbs on my one acre of land. This wasn’t enough to sustain my family for six months, since we have to sell some of it to pay household expenses. At one point, we were struggling with having enough to eat. I’m grateful that this harvest was different. My outputs of dried corn and beans tripled to 900 kg/1,980 lbs. I was able to grind some of the corn into posho (flour) to feed my family and then sell the remaining to meet other basic needs. I also used some profits to buy quality corn and bean seeds to plant in the rainy season.” - Ruth (single mother, Nakaseke Farmer Entrepreneur)
One of the benefits of this program is the culture of empowerment, support and accountability that we create by organizing the participants into community groups. We will continue to support and follow up with every Farmer Entrepreneur we train, ensuring that they have easy access to quality farm inputs, post-harvest programs and market opportunities for their harvested food. Our plans for the next few months include training another 20 single mothers as Farmer Entrepreneurs and equipping them with everything they need to be successful.
Thank you to all our donors for continuing to partner with us so we can nourish, equip and empower these women and their children! We are grateful to God who is protecting and providing during COVID-19. To Him be the glory!
By Kelli Paskey | Advisory Board
By KELLI PASKEYS | ADVISORY BOARD
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