Fieldwork Day One: Wenzetu Group and Abamwe Twetungure Group

Changing my Mindset

by Immaculate Nanziza

Immaculate came from Congo in 2010 with one child and her parents. She subsequently gave birth to two more children, one of whom had a visual impairment, so she felt fearful of mixing with others in the community. Another parent took her to Wenzetu group for counselling and she met other children living with disabilities. The group also gave her money, as she was starving and unable to feed her children.

OBUL ran savings training and Wenzetu teaches income generatinv activities, such as weaving baskets and hand crafts, which they sell to improve the lives of their childrenwith disabilities through providing access to education, as well as assistance with food and basic needs.

The training and joining the Wenzetu group has helped Immaculate to change her mindset and, despite continuing financial hardship and other challenges, she can now feed and educate her children.

Moving Forward

by Byamukama Lozio

Byamukama left Ngungamu to come to Kaswina. He started working doing people's gardens and got married, however people were not paying him for his work.

A local man mobilised his community to start a group and they accessed training on financial literacy and how to access loans from Opportunity Bank. With a loan of Two million UGX he started trading and was able to take his children to school. He paid off the interest slowly and then used interest he had gained on saving to buy a plot of land.

He went back to OBUL and requested another loan, this time of five million UGX. He and his family no longer have to work for food - they grow their own and he works for other things, such as the children's schooling.

He wishes for the training and loans to extend further into the community and promotes the benefit of providing loans to women, like his wife, who runs her own retail business.

He is requesting lower interest rates from the bank and has ideas for futher enterprises providing watering services within his community.