Provide Vocational Training for Ugandan Women

For much of Susan’s childhood, her days began before sunrise and ended long after the moon was high.

As a young girl, Susan was sent to live with her aunt and uncle so she could attend school. Her mother faithfully sent money for her education—but with children of her own, Susan’s aunt used that money elsewhere. By Primary Seven, Susan was no longer a student. She was a field hand.

Every day, she rose at 4am to work in the fields with her brother. They labored all day under the equatorial sun with only the small food they carried. When she returned home at sunset, she still had to prepare the evening meal—for the very cousins who were allowed to attend school. Then she would sleep… and repeat it all again the next day. And the next. And the next.

When Susan was 19 and a young mother herself, her own mother intervened and brought her to the Acholi Quarter. There, Susan worked in the stone quarry—often with her baby on her back. Hard as it was, it was still easier than the fields. Later, she found work in a coffee factory, but the stress and abuse from a volatile boss forced her to quit.

Then something changed.

When Project Have Hope began, Susan started rolling paper beads from home, with her daughter nearby. “It was simple work, easy work,” she told us. And for the first time, she earned twice what she made in the quarry. “It was a very great change for me.”

But we knew bead-making alone wasn’t the finish line.

As Project Have Hope expanded its focus to long-term stability and careers, Susan was among the first women enrolled in a tailoring course. And this is where her story truly began to transform.

“You can work from anywhere,” she says with pride. “You can expect money any day, any time. If I return to the village, I can bring my tailoring machine and still earn a living. I can work anywhere.”

That’s what vocational training does.
It doesn’t just provide income.
It provides freedom, dignity, and a future.

Without the support of donors like you, Susan would never have been able to access this training. Today, she doesn’t just have a skill—she has confidence, independence, and real choices.

Your generosity doesn’t just help women survive.
It helps them build lives.

Thank you for believing in women like Susan—and for making transformation like this possible.

With deep gratitude,
Karen Sparacio
Founder, Project Have Hope