In 2022, Agnes borrowed 50,000 shillings from Mon Kanyakino Self Help Group to start a business of buying and selling silverfish, tomatoes, and groundnuts.
After repaying the loan, Agnes now raises school fees, clothes, and scholastic materials for her children through the micro-business. She also contributes to the construction of her family’s permanent house and reinvests some of the proceeds. Because of her contribution towards household development, her husband is pleased with her and domestic violence has stopped.
Agnes is just one of the inaugural 18 members of Mon Kanyakino Self Help Group, a club of women from Child Partner households found in Omodoi village, Kamuk parish, Kaberamaido District.
It started in Dec 2021, after Share An Opportunity – Uganda sensitized the caregivers on the importance of forming an SHG. The 18 inaugural members used to save only 500 shillings weekly. This has since risen to UGX 2000 weekly, and the group has grown to 23 members.
Their share capital and loaned-out cash are each in excess of two million shillings.
As donors from Transform Aid International visited the group in Kaberamaido in July 2023, these formed part of the key highlights. The group members showcased their businesses and narrated the changes they have realized since they joined the group. The guests were amazed at the impact this empowerment program has produced in so short a time.
Prior to SAO U interventions in Omodoi village, the women were living individually, no saving groups existed within the villages, and there was a high rate of theft and domestic violence. Access to loans was not possible because the caregivers were not able to meet the requirements of financial institutions.
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