Greetings to you all,

I hope you are all well. 

Things here have not been bad at all, especially with some good rains coming through this week. The weather looks perfect and while hot it continues to rain a bit as we look forward to another planting season in a few weeks. The Christians have continued their fasting season and the Muslims will soon join in.

This week I managed to visit a few Mamas in our empowerment conquest; 

Sarah, the Mama who rears goats, is doing well. At the time of my visit, she was in her garden doing some digging. She said that the rains have fallen twice so the ground is soft enough to be ploughed by hand. She was clearing the yams and coffee plants, removing the weeds and preparing the ground for some beans. The goats looked great because the grass was plenty but the goat house was not so well. The steps or ladders to the goat pastures have dilapidated and rotted completely and they have not yet been fixed. Her pigs are doing well too. They looked clean and the sty was clean too because Sarah pours water on the pigs to help cool and clean them. 

Hamidahs chicks look very well. They have grown significantly and most importantly for me, she was able to buy another bag of food for them. These chicks grow so fast so they feed so much and I am glad she has reached week three and has not called me for support. I was clear while we got the project that this has to work because this is our last chance. She is doing well and has vaccinated them and only lost 5 chicks of the 102. We hope this stays this way because we want this to work. If she can produce over 90 chicks every 5 weeks, then we might just pick up on business and numbers too.

Annet the porridge and tea Mama is also doing well. The rains have helped because they fall early on in the day so the demand for hot beverages is good at the moment. The only challenge is that she has lost a few of her cups and she might need to restock soon. She usually delivers hot beverages to the customers on bikes and taxis so sometimes these people drive away with her cups and saucers. While they often bring them back, sometimes they don’t, and so we talked about managing the stock on these assets. Otherwise, she is okay and all her kids are in school except her eldest girl who doesn’t live with Annet but rather comes and helps cook and wash utensils. 

Jane, Francis’s grandma, is doing well. The water tank is still firm and business has not been bad considering the sun and just a few clouds of rain. Francis has been doing well and they have ensured that he attends his therapy this month. There is not much business going on for them on the side of the chickens and they also stopped the piggery project for the moment. I encouraged them to figure out something for Francis to ensure he is okay when he needs.

Amina has managed to remain in the game of making her chapati and surprisingly she is now making double the quantity she used to make, so this is a win for me. She is at that point where she needs more because of the class her daughter is in and also how important it is for her to finish. I was so glad when she reported to me that Amar has now started taking school more seriously because of the talk I had with her. Amina was happy and she thanked me for that and asked me to continue to check up on both the kids. The boy too wakes up early and goes to school without Amina waking him up. 

Finally, Justine is doing well. We are still looking for some pieces to complete the work entirely but she is so happy that she is where she is right now because rain doesn’t get to her easily and also she is well sheltered from the sun. The market has not been very good this time round because vegetables are a bit scarce so she is not fully stocked. Anyways, all her grandchildren are in school and she is happy at the moment. 

Report by;

Andrew Echel 

Director of Programs, Uganda. 

ISEE Solutions Society