By Norah Owaraga | Project Leader and Managing Director
Two women from disadvantaged backgrounds from Teso, North-Eastern Uganda, are the first pilot beneficiaries to receive interest free micro-loans, payable after one year. Amoding, in her fourties, a single mother of four, is the first beneficiary.
She bears a significant financial burden of providing for her children’s basic needs, as well as meeting the costs for their school fees, especially.
This month, May 2024, Amoding has received a micro-loan under our project, which she has begun utilizing to trade in food and cooking fuel. She is buying and selling matooke (green cooking banana), Irish potatoes and charcoal.
Her small one-roomed rented food shop is located within a farmers’ market in an urban poor location in Kampala city. Amoding is a low paid clerk at a school where she works during the day; after which, in the evening, she opens her food shop.
Itipet, the second beneficiary is also in her fourties, is married to a school teacher and they have four children. A school teacher’s salary is insufficient to cover the cost of living for a family of six. On average a school teacher typically earns one million shillings (about US$ 262) or less a month.
Surviving on a school teacher's salary for a family of six would mean living on about US$ 1.45 per day; which is below Uganda’s poverty line of US$ 1.77.
As a pilot beneficiary of our loan fund, Itipet is utilizing her one-year interest-free micro-loan which she received in May 2024 to open up a small shop in Entebbe offering secretarial services – typing and photocopying; selling stationary and fresh fruit juices.
In addition to a micro cash loan, CPAR Uganda granted Itipet machines in-kind – laptop computer, printers, and a photocopier.
The loan utilisation journeys of our pilot beneficiaries will be documented and the learning we will use to modify and to enhance our loan fund implementation strategy, in order to ensure maximum benefit to our women borrowers from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Ultimately, our target is to access income generating loans to disadvantaged women in poor urban areas as well as in rural areas.
We need your help to make access to income generation loans a reality for disadvantaged women. Please make a donation and also help us to spread the word to others in your networks encouraging them to make a donation.
Thank you to all that have already made donations, which donations have enabled both Amoding and Itipet to launch their income generating initiatives; which will generate income that will ease their financial burdens in providing for their families and which should improve their quality of life.
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By Jimmy Ezra Okello | Innovator and Project Leader
By Norah Owaraga | Project Leader and Managing Director
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