Naguru slum dwellers tipped on govt livelihood programmes

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Ten women who are residents of Naguru slum in the outskirts of Kampala were last Thursday gifted with sh100,000 each to boost their businesses.

This was during the Women's Economic Empowerment Summit, an event organised to commemorate International Women’s Day under the theme; ‘Accelerating Gender Equality through Economic Empowerment’.

The collaborative event was championed by Africa Education & Leadership Initiative, (Africa ELI), African Women and Youth Action for Development (AWYAD), African Women and Girls Organisation for Total Knowledge (AWAGO), Twezuule Foundation, Rotaract Club of Morning Tide Bugolobi and Rotary Club in-formation Luzira.

The event, which was attended by over 150 women, was held at the Resident City Commissioner (RCC)’s office in Naguru, Kampala.

The gender ministry’s commissioner for rights and equity, Bernard Makuba, appreciated the struggles women go through to sustain their families.

He hailed President Museveni for supporting women's empowerment, urging women to be at the forefront of the war against poverty.

Makuba implored women to embrace the available government wealth creation programmes such as the Emyooga, Parish Development Model (PDM), the GROW project, and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) to start businesses and improve their livelihoods.

Some of the women who attended

“There are funds for projects at the division targeting women. Form groups and apply for that money to better your lives,” he said.

The beneficiaries, all vulnerable members of their community, are mainly single mothers who sell snacks, vegetables, and groceries. They also exhibited some of their products.
The cash boost was a reward for their resilience in sustaining their businesses.

Inspiration

During the event, two phenomenal women shared stories of how they rose from humble backgrounds to prestigious positions.

One was Zaharah Namanda, 30, founder of the Africa ELI organisation and the executive director of Utopia Foundation, an international literacy body.

She narrated how she lost her mother at 12 years and she took over the responsibility of raising her three siblings.

She did odd jobs to raise rent, buy food, and pay school fees for her siblings and herself.

“Our relatives abandoned us but I stepped up and struggled until I completed university,” she said.

Namanda urged women to raise their children well; and train them to be resilient and hardworking.

“Don’t look at your husband to uplift you. Step up and work for a better life. You might struggle today but tomorrow, God will reward your sweat,” she said. After, she gave out free books (readers) to women.

Namanda was followed by Irene Adero, who said she dropped out of Primary Seven but this did not hinder her from rising to the top. She works with the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) secretariat.

Adero and Namanda (Right) after sharing their inspirational stories

Adero also founded E3 Community Transformation through which she has skilled thousands of young women across the country. Adero first worked as a cleaner.

“You can achieve big dreams even if you don’t have an education. Just believe in yourself, work hard, and be focused,” she appealed.

The chief guest, Goretti Sserunkuuma, who is head of the women's banking commercial at Stanbic Bank, challenged women to attend workshops and trainings they are invited to and enrich their knowledge base because it’s the only way they will advance in life.

“You should also believe in God at all times, have confidence in yourself, and surround yourself with productive friends,” she said adding; “Be frugal and separate personal expenditure from business money.”  

Sserunkuuma urged the women to form groups and associations so they could benefit from Stanbic Bank’s women’s investment fund.

Christine Ashaba from AWAGO said besides Naguru, they have also trained youth and women’s groups in the slums of Kamwokya and Kikajo on mental health and livelihood enhancement programmes such as soap-making and business skills.

“We started doing this work after the COVID-19 pandemic to support the vulnerable communities that were badly distabilised. Many women youth and women had mental problems and had lost their businesses and jobs which were their only sources of income, so we started the organisation to offer hope to these vulnerable groups,” she said.    

Zurah Acaye, the Naguru 2 parish women's council chairperson, applauded the various partners for coming on board to improve the lives of the vulnerable women in her community.

“We considered single mothers and those with children who have disabilities and mental problems for this small package. I am confident that they will use the money to grow their small businesses,” she said.

Prossy Masendi, a single mother of two children, said she would invest the sh100,000 in a women’s shoe business.

“I will use the money to look after my family, especially medication for one of my children who is battling cerebral palsy,” she said.