Greetings to you all,

Happy August. I hope the climate has improved on your side of the world. Otherwise, as for us here, it has been better with some bit of rain every other day. It had been quite a hot few weeks but these last few days have been quite a relief for sure as the rains have washed a lot of the dust away. 

This good weather fostered some good work even though we didn’t complete all three main tasks as I had planned. Last week, we were able to mobilize support to boost Semmy, Lilly and Harriet. We were able to get Semmy set up, and Harriet set but not Lilly because she got a last-minute order so she got caught up.

Semmy has had a lot of challenges in keeping her kids in school with her type of work as a teacher using her monthly income. She is required to collect three times her salary to keep her three kids in school. After so many back-and-forth conversations about what alternative sources of income she can employ to boost her income. She decided to go this bar soap making so we went to the city to buy all the chemicals or ingredients needed to set her up. Everything ingredient was consistent with what Annet got except the weighing scale, which is required as the ingredients are supposed to be measured at specific weights. Semmy was very grateful for all the shopping that was done. She thanked all the supporters of ISEE (Mama Nguvu) for the boost she received.

Secondly, we also set up Harriet who we went shopping at the tailors market where she bought lots of threads, zippers, buttons and so many little fixtures for her machine. She was really happy with what she got and was also grateful for the support she has had from this boost throughout the years. 

Rehema is also doing well. She has managed to hold up her hair business but was battered a bit on the chips business and she needed to pay up school fees for her daughter in boarding. So she temporally closed the business as she recollects herself buying more hair and products before digging back into the chips business.

Hadija is back at it again, she had been down because of sickness previously but all things look good for her so she is back up and running. She only had a bit of a challenge in school fees payment for her oldest son but now she is back on track and firing. She told me that she will soon reopen the other closed chips stall in a few weeks immediately completing payment of the remaining school fees for her son. They have decided to hold up the little girl a bit longer to ensure that she is fully mature to start preschool.

Betty is doing okay for sure. Lots of sewing orders here and there but struggling a bit to get the embroidery going. She has been to several organizations selling the service and she has a few promises here and there, that they will contact her soon. Otherwise, she is well and business is moving on slowly but surely.

Angel is having a hard time this month as most of the vegetables have become incredibly expensive due to the low harvest this season. The sun has been shining a lot and has greatly affected most of the produce. There are no onions, eggplants, cabbages, cassava and greens on the market. It has made it a bit expensive for her customer base so she only has tomatoes, yellow bananas and a few cucumbers that she got the last time she was at the market. I got a few tomatoes as I needed some at home. Otherwise, she has paid up all the kids in school so that was the benefit for me during the visit. Most of the schools have started end-of-school term exams so they must be paid up in school.

Justine has been struggling with a burned foot for the last few days. The incident happened when she extended further to serve a customer tomatoes but did not realize that she was about to step into the frying pan which she had rested on the ground to avoid burning the snacks she had been cooking. She had stopped frying anything because of her health challenges but this one day, the lady who always fries these snacks had asked Justine for assistance. Accidentally, she stepped into the pan and the oil spilled on the stocking she was wearing. At first, the burn didn’t look as bad but it was deeper than she expected. She is now treating it with some capsules that have helped to dry up the wound.

Lastly, my visit with Amina was really good as she came up with a solid plan to sell powder soap at the back of her house. She will have the kids hawk some of it within the community as they will be on holiday. This will create awareness and they will later start looking for it at her home. It comes in two bags, one will seal sachets but the other comes in a suck which she splits into smaller and more affordable prices.

The only assignment I missed out except Lilly who had a business engagement is Dorah who keeps rabbits. When I reached the house, I realized they had sold a bunch of the rabbits but this time Dorah was not around. I passed by I think about a week ago and the house was full of rabbits but this time it was only one rabbit remaining. I tried reaching out to her but her phone was not available so I think she had gone on one of her expeditions. I also tried to reach out to Margaret but there was no one at home too and she was not picking up her phone. I will continue to look out for these two this coming week and I hope they are fine.

Thank you once again for setting up Harriet and Semmy this week. I am sure they were so grateful for the support and boost you gave to them, especially Semmy. She has children who are in higher levels of secondary so their fees are up there but her income is not as good. She has been trying to work out things with extra classes on the weekend where she tutors pupils in English. Harriet too has her struggles but she manages slowly, especially with her daughter whose stepfather has refused to contribute anything towards her school fees. It means a lot when we believe in these Mamas and support them to raise their kids and send them to school. Words would never be enough to express their gratitude towards you all. Their smiles tell it all.

Thank you.

Report by;

Andrew Echel 

Director of Programs, Uganda.

ISEE Solutions Society.