Uganda
Livelihood training
Equipping caregivers in Uganda with agricultural and livelihood training and resources to promote sustainable income generation
Crisis Response
The Need
When COVID-19 hit Uganda in 2020, the entire country was put under lockdown for more than six months. Caregivers already living in poverty had not prepared for such a difficult situation. Many were struggling to feed their families before the pandemic hit. Restrictions meant many caregivers were unable to go to work and those with market stalls had difficulty keeping and getting their inventory.
Children were eating only one meal a day. A lack of nourishment left children feeling weak and faint and vulnerable to long-term effects from stunting. Without proper food to sustain them, children’s physical and cognitive development would start to suffer. Malnourishment also left them susceptible to illness and disease.
Nine frontline church partners in Uganda in Bulamu, Kaggulwe, Mityana, Mmembe, Namukozi, Busunju, Kikonda and Kasenyi wanted to support the caregivers at this desperate time. While providing food baskets helped caregivers’ immediate needs, our church partners knew they needed a long-term, sustainable solution to help caregivers boost their economic productivity. The church partners organized ways of locally supporting the caregivers, but since the churches were also under lockdown, they were very limited in what they could do.
Our church partners knew that with business training, training in farming and animal husbandry and livestock and seeds, caregivers would have the tools they needed not only to get through the global pandemic, but also to become economically self-sufficient so they could provide for their children and lift their families out of poverty for good.
Our Response
When the grant from Compassion was received, our church partners were relieved. The caregivers themselves were also very grateful for the support. The nine church partners went through the process of procurement to acquire the items that the caregivers needed.
The church partner committees were the ones that took decisions. They set up procurement committees and engaged the caregivers to prepare themselves. This intervention has enabled the caregivers to harness their capabilities.
Our nine partner churches received enough funding to train parents in their chosen livelihoods—from poultry, pig and goat raising to crop farming to market vending—before bestowing grants to launch or boost their microenterprises. Caregivers gained relevant business skills, like how to keep customers loyal, how to increase stock in their businesses, how to display their goods to increase marketing and how to focus on saving and record keeping. The training was helpful in teaching them how to build sustainable, responsible and profitable enterprises. The caregivers have been organized into savings groups, and they have leaders who help them to coordinate and learn from each other. This helps them to work together as they continue to improve on the sustainability of their enterprises.
Originally, this intervention planned to help 449 caregivers improve their livelihoods, but an additional 23 caregivers were able to receive assistance, benefiting a total of 472 caregivers. Out of the 472 beneficiary households, 21% have business-related shops and market stalls and 79% are working in animal husbandry and crop farming.
Activities
Tailoring: More than 20 caregivers have started or expanded their own tailoring microenterprises. Samuel’s mother is now the main African dress maker in her locality, earning US$60 per week.
Home gardens: More than 100 caregivers have both generated income and created food security by learning to grow and sell varieties of crops and vegetables like maize, beans, potatoes, mangoes, oranges, pumpkins and ground nuts.
Juicy tomatoes: Many families built their own tomato gardens. Upon harvesting the juicy tomatoes, they are packed and sold immediately as they are in high demand. The families enjoy the fresh tomatoes on a daily basis.
Vendors: Caregivers were able to start or expand their vendor stalls. Agnes sells shoes, construction materials and charcoal cooking stoves in her community. After learning the importance of saving, she also started selling piggy banks (small brown boxes) to encourage others to save, too. Robinah was able to invest in a retail shop and is now looking into expanding her shop.
Raising animals: More than 230 caregivers have learned how to breed and raise goats, chickens and pigs. Jane is a caregiver who began with two goats and now has expanded her small business to four.
Your Gift Provides...
With your investment, caregivers received the raw materials and training necessary to grow their own microbusinesses, according to their interests and abilities, including:
• Seeds for 106 crop farmers
• Goats for 85 households
• Market stalls for 33 caregivers
• Supplies for 17 grocery shops and 9 vegetable vendors
• Materials for 21 tailors and 3 garment stalls
• Pigs for 109 farmers
• Chickens for 42 poultry farmers
• Charcoal and stoves for 24 charcoal stalls
• Microenterprise training
• Transportation and monitoring
ReportA message from those your gift helped
Due to poverty, we always thought we couldn’t grow crops on our own. As a result, there was always a food shortage. Sometimes we only ate one meal per day. Life was very difficult. The situation was worse during the COVID-19 lockdown.
My body used to be very weak all the time; I felt like collapsing. Now, we no longer go to sleep hungry. I feel strong and healthy. We now have our own home-grown food. We were encouraged by the Compassion centre director that we can do something about our situation. We are now able to produce maize, beans, cassava and vegetables.
I hope that we will continue to grow food at home. I have been working alongside my caregiver. I have learned how to look after crops from the time of planting up to harvest time. I will keep practising what I have learned, even in the future.
I have learned about the importance of using the land for food production. There is a lot that can be done when one has land. In the future, I will aim at working hard and buying a big piece of land, which I will use for cultivation, so that we may always have food.
I would like to say thank you very much. God has seen the great help that you have given us. We pray that where you got this blessing from, the Lord may multiply. We are very grateful.
ReportThank you for your generosity
In the face of rising food and job insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, you have given 472 families in Uganda the training and resources to create their own income. Your timely gift has equipped parents of Compassion beneficiaries with livestock, seeds, tools and livelihood training to create sustainable sources of food and income as they raise their children to overcome poverty with the support of Compassion and the local church.
A main outcome of this intervention is the restoration of hope and economic activity for 472 households across Uganda. As their daily income has improved, so has the well-being of their families. Their stories of resiliency, tenacity and dedication are inspiring:
• Resty’s caregiver planted 300 seedlings on a quarter-acre of land. So far, she has harvested 10 boxes of tomatoes and earned US$386.
• After harvesting a good yield of tomatoes, Nabwire saved some of the money and bought seedlings for the next season. Nabwire says this intervention has allowed her to feed her family well—and even to start renovating her home through brick laying.
• After receiving a grant of US$77 to invest in her business, Namwanje has expanded her vending stall. She now sells tomatoes, charcoal, bananas, silver fish, snacks and sugar canes. In two months, she made a profit of US$51.
• Livingstone’s caregiver bought two mature pigs, each of which birthed 13 piglets for a total of 28 pigs! When schools reopen, she is confident she will be able to pay for her children’s education.
Both parents and children are learning that overcoming poverty requires planning and determination to change the conditions in their own household. Children are noticing as their parents harness their abilities and work ethic to produce something good with their hands. At the same time, children are gaining the opportunity to practice income-generation skills at the household level before graduating from the Compassion Child Sponsorship Program.
Through this intervention, church partners have learned that addressing the source of poverty is joyfully transforming impoverished children and parents into resilient, hopeful people who believe they can overcome poverty with God’s help. It’s a beautiful thing to see people passionate about improving their lives—and inspiring others to see a life beyond poverty, too. The ministry of the Compassion centres and the churches has also become practically visible to the community. Caregivers and their neighbours are happy that the church is preaching the gospel in both words and deeds.
Your generosity has equipped parents to build their own microenterprises and secure independence for the future. Since you chose to believe in their abilities and invest in their dreams, you have brought smiles to these families’ faces, nourishment to their homes and hope to their hearts. Thanks to you, these families have a bright, sustainable future!
ReportA message from a centre director
The children’s caregivers were struggling with economic productivity due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. This livelihood intervention has made a difference in the households of the beneficiaries. They have learned not to depend on handouts, but to produce food and income with their own hands for sustainability.
This intervention has contributed to the reduction of gender-based violence, which was prevalent in the homes, due to limited sources of survival. Your gift has brought new hope to the families. The caregivers have become good examples to people in their communities.
When we are talking about working hard to reduce poverty at the household level, we have somewhere to learn, because of this practical intervention that has been running in the homes of the caregivers. When they received this assistance, they praised God and were filled with joy. This opened the door for the church to connect well with the beneficiaries.
I wish to say thank you very much on behalf of the church. The children and caregivers of Kasenyi Child and Youth Development Centre are very grateful—we shall forever be grateful. We pray that God blesses you abundantly.