Equipping and Empowering

Lucy is 35 years old. She lives in Asakaita, Uganda, and is a member of her community’s savings and loan group and the Asakaita farm field school. Lucy’s involvement in these World Renew projects is helping her implement a savings plan and establish a sustainable income through agriculture. This is her story.

This is her story.

"Now I can save money in a secure place rather than in my home. And someone other than my husband holds me accountable for contributing to our group savings account every week. This has increased my savings to UGX 200,000 (US$90). There is a lot of trust that has been built up among the group members as we pool resources together to support each other according to the terms and conditions we have agreed to. Our village-based savings fund also encourages group members to think creatively about earning income to contribute to the group savings account each week. We are also learning how to invest our savings in business enterprises we have identified to receive a loan from the group savings fund."

"Our village-based savings fund also encourages group members to think creatively about earning income to contribute to the group savings account each week."

Lucy received thirty kilograms of improved, high-yield seeds, including maize, beans, and sorghum.

"I had a bountiful harvest in September 2012. I have enough food in the house for the next four to six months. And I am storing some of my harvest to sell after the price rises again in a few months so that I make a good profit. I will use my loan from the group to package food items that will be in high demand when the dry season begins. So far, there has been plenty of food in the communities and marketplaces. While there is low demand for food in the marketplace and food vendors right now because of the good harvest, Lucy is also confident that she has enough food to feed her family. “Now that we have enough food, we need to diversify our sources of income so that we are not entirely dependent upon the sale of food items,” Lucy explains."

The members of Lucy’s community group have strategically located their meeting place near a small community center to attract shoppers while they visit the local market, situated in the Godian Parish of Koboko District. They sell items such as yams and bananas, and offer handicrafts that they make during their weekly meetings.

World Renew’s savings and loan groups and farm field schools also give group members the opportunity to talk about the social and health related issues that affect their livelihood. Another woman in the Asakaita group was once reluctant to speak in public because her husband told her that as long as she earned no income for the family, her opinion had no value. Now she is both speaking out and earning income:

"I can now speak in public, and I am the bookkeeper for our group. I no longer depend on my husband’s financial resources, and I have started a business with my weekly savings. Now I have something to offer to the household financial needs."

Stories like these are tales of hope restored because of the work of World Renew in Uganda. Group members in Asakaita and many other communities are improving their lives and livelihoods. They have renewed their sense of responsibility and dignity as they work together to rebuild their lives through exploring the resources and potential around them.

We praise God for:

Safety in our travels in North America last fall.
Jesus’ friends in the CRC of North America who support and pray for this ministry in Uganda.
Lives that are changed through World Renew’s ministry.

Please pray for:

Peaceful elections in neighboring Kenya in March 2013. Any political challenge that happens Kenya affects our work directly.
That God will grant us his wisdom and grace to accomplish His will in the ministry we do in Uganda.

Grace and Peace,