{Before this week’s first post, we at ISEE would like to wish Andrew a very happy birthday. April 19th will be his 34th birthday. We have known him since he was a wee babe of 22 years and we have been very pleased with all he has done for ISEE. Happy Birthday, Andrew! Maybe next year you’ll finally start shaving 😉 }

Greetings to you all,

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter holidays. Mine went well as I spent some time with my mother and a few friends too. I rested very well and I think I am ready to go. 

The weather has been kind to us and we have seen a few days of rain so the temperatures are favourable. 

I also had the opportunity to deliver a saucepan for Francoise on Easter Monday so it was a good moment to see her smile once again. She had blown out the bottom of her pan and we tried to fix it but like I said last week, the bottom would soon give way because of the ash that she uses to cook. Using ash is a local technique used by cooks here to quickly soften hard foods like maize, beans, meat and so on. In this case, Francoise adds ash from the previous cooking day and mixes it in clean water then adds the maize and boils for a few hours. This ensures that it softens the maize and helps to improve the texture of the maize. She then cooks both the beans and maize together until both are fully soft and ready to eat. They fry onions and cooking oil which are usually sprinkled on top of the meal for flavour.

This new saucepan will help her cook longer and probably more because it is slightly bigger than the last one. She was so grateful for the renewed opportunity because the old one would sometimes blow out and kill the fire. 

We also had the opportunity to set up the girls, Jolly and Angel with their salon. We had been working on this project for more than six months trying to find the right balance to establish these two very hardworking young women.

About 2yrs ago, Angel was sponsored through one of our programs to train in hairdressing and makeup, which she accomplished very well. Jolly also trained just about a year ago in the same discipline. All this was done in the hope that they can support their mother who is sickly. They have been very good girls at home helping their mother with cooking her food for sale.

We were able to buy everything they needed and we went slightly over the budget but we always anticipate that. They bought treatments, chemicals, oils, dyes, weaves, braids and other little small things needed to help them thrive. They were so enthusiastic and energetic throughout the shopping experience just like any hungry person would be, so I loved and enjoyed seeing their dream. Thank you very much for making this happen. I wished them well from all of us. 

Dorah also was happy to receive 12 bunnies last week. Two of the rabbits unexpectedly gave birth to 6 bunnies each and they are all healthy. Dorah was happy because she has two other older rabbits which also gave birth recently. They are keeping them in the house and they bring them out to suckle until their eyes can open to see. Then they will bring them to the main rabbit house. She is super excited and she is hoping for the best this time as they will not vaccinate until the bunnies are weaned. 

Amina is doing well in her fasting season. The market has increased every evening as most of her fellow Muslims buy chapatis from her to break their fast. She is up to two bags a day every single day and whatever remains, they often also eat to break their fast too. She is more relaxed this time because all her kids are in school and fully paid up in terms of fees. We talked a bit and she is working on a new plan to improve her income but nothing yet at the moment. 

Justine is doing well. The entire stall is now fixed up and she is incredibly happy with everything. She is now saving money to buy a door for her latrines that she has been working on for a few months now. They are also working communally to open the drainage and also raise the gutters to ensure the safe passage of rainwater to reduce the chances of flooding. 

Pulakiseda has been working on a plan to restock her shop as she has somewhat reduced her stock ever since she took the money and helped out her sibling. A few weeks ago, her brother visited her at a time she was supposed to do some shopping but he had an emergency that she had to sacrifice for. This prompted her to help him out and since then she has not been able to regain her stock. This is the first time in a long time that she is under this kind of duress but she is happy and hopeful. 

I tried to visit Florence but her salon was closed. I tried to call her phone but it did not go through. We will try again this coming week and if there is nothing, I will walk to her house. 

This week was a bit short, especially with the Easter holidays. I’m glad I was able to see some success with the two setups and I am sure that all of us will be looking forward to seeing the girls grow and Francoise succeed too. 

Thank you for your tremendous support in helping set up and supporting our Mamas. Our community surely struggles sometimes but they are relentless and always fighting. Thanks for supporting and believing in them. It is surely an honor for me to work alongside them and see how they grow and see the smiles on their faces. Like they always say, “Webale nnyo” Thank you so much. 

Report by,

Andrew Echel 

Director of Programs, Uganda. 

ISEE Solutions Society.