When Emmanuel Odong joined one of the children’s clubs formed by SAO, with support from Help a Child, in Pamo Village Barlyech Parish, in Abim District, he was empowered in a number of income generating activities.
“Through Hard work pays Children’s Club, we were taught activities such as saving, different agricultural practices and working as a team among other.”
Emmanuel; the sixth born in a family of eight children had completed his Primary Leaving Exams (PLE) in 2019. However, he was not able to enroll for senior one because his parents could not raise the needed money.
The 17-year-old therefore decided to utilise the knowledge he had acquired from the club to plant Soya beans, egg plants, tomatoes and onions early this year; with the hope of selling them in the rotational markets to raise money for school fees.
Besides agriculture, he also started rearing birds. “I currently have 20 birds and hope to obtain more for sell.”
However, around mid-March this year, government temporarily closed the rotational markets thus throwing Emmanuel in a panick. “I was worried that my ambitions were affected because there was nowhere to sell the birds and my farm produce.”
But on a good note, Emmanuel’s hope is not all lost; SAO is currently encouraging children to sell their produce to community members with food stalls as they wait for the rotational markets to re-open.
This is intended to encourage children to continue doing the activities they learnt from their clubs and to enable them earn from their work during the lockdown.
By Sarah Tumwebaze
Communication and Marketing Officer
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