Greetings to you all,

I hope you are well. It has been extremely hot here the past couple of weeks and we have barely seen any rain at all.  

Here at home, things are not getting any better economically and politically because politicians own this world. Our economy continues to suffer and many of our citizens continue to face health-related problems. COVID has returned and post-COVID-related infections continue to manifest in our communities. On the positive side, many government programs like vaccinations are continuing and as a matter of fact, one of our Mama is participating in the program.

I will start with Jane N. who is participating in the vaccination exercise in an area called Kawempe on Bombo road, the main highway that leads to Northern Uganda. She has been on a week-long program that made me miss her on my first visit so I called her and we rescheduled. Jane is doing okay serving the community with vaccines and because of the dryness lately, the water tank has been doing wonders. 

Jane N. water tank two is also reaching the climax of her construction project. They have just finished the roofing stages and now they are plastering. These developers wanted to scam her but she insisted and they gave her new iron sheets. They wanted to only buy ⅔ of what was supposed to be put up because they say, the new house is big. Otherwise, she is well and excited to be finishing the project so she can move. She has been gardening from the nearby swamp so she is taking everything out as she finalizes with construction. She is grateful for what is happening but then sad that she is moving much further away from the city center where everything was a walking distance.

Rovence N. our restauranteering Mama has been having quite a hard time the past few weeks as she recorded one of the worst returns ever. She is worried and concerned about the way things are turning out to be. She previously got new clients who were eating supper at her restaurant and now even when they still come, the number of people during the day has greatly reduced. 

Sadly, she was excited that she might start cooking three meals a day but now things have changed. There is such growth and increase in poverty within the community and this has affected everyone else. Everything is expensive, almost twice the usual prices. 

Immaculate M. who owns a drugstore has a relatively different story which is positive on one side and negative on the other. She has been receiving more sick people than usual which means business is good but then a wider concern about the state of health within this community. 

She got a loan from us to boost her business last year and this week she was able to complete her payment. Even with this status of completion of boost payment, the drug shop is not looking as good so she might reapply to increase the drug variety within the shop. 

Dorah A. is on a start-on-stop roll for the past few weeks as she is only able to cook when she gets customers. Whereas this is a smart thing to do, I like consistency and sustainability. I would like her to cook on a more regular basis because, during my visit with her, the kids were home. After all,  the schools needed fees. Being able to cook more frequently gives Dorah a more viable chance to actually collect or save school fees money.

Otherwise, the rabbits are doing good and they have grown much bigger which she is very happy about. She is glad that she was able to feed them manually because it gave them a fighting chance unlike the previous ones that did not make it. This might be a business that she can take on more seriously because rabbit meat is becoming more famous around town.

Florence A. the salonist is continuing to do well even when the salon is not performing very well at the moment. Her side business in chips is helping her keep afloat and busy in the meantime. Her children are doing well and all are still in school so it is a good thing. This term has been good for her as her husband has also been supportive and I hope it continues this way for a long time. Florence has been alone raising these two children all by herself since they were just about 2 and 5 respectively. We have walked with her through this journey and she has educated, nursed and taken care of these kids all by herself by her hard work. We hope that with the support from her husband, she will develop into an even more incredible woman. 

Margaret N. is doing well with her recovery. She has had trouble recently with the nerves in her left foot for over two years now. She recently switched doctors and she is gaining more movement and the response is more positive. She has been advised to walk more on her barefoot and take some supplements that have greatly improved her health.

She is currently selling water off her tap and this is keeping her busy in the meantime as she holds her tailoring machine. She seems and looks happier with herself at the moment which is usually a good incentive for complete healing.

Annet C. is doing well. She recently had a decoration gig which she was happy went well. She had the opportunity to involve her current students she has been training in this particular field.  

Angel N. has been struggling this week. The last time we wrote about her, she had gone to shop for vegetables from the main market and shop for more vegetables.

It has been not the worst of weeks and we will remain positive and support our community of Mamas through these tough times.

Thank you for supporting and always following what we do. It is a great honor and privilege to serve our world. 

Report by;

Andrew Echel 

Director of Programs, Uganda. 

ISEE Solutions Society