Greetings to you all,

It has been a good start to October down here as we had quite an amount of rain that has graced our lands in Uganda even though it has cost us a bit as they have been surely heavier than usual. It is a reminder for us as a country to continue to protect and preserve our environment and I can’t count how many advertisements have hit our airwaves about conservation. It is a global concern that I sometimes pride myself on being a part of it, constantly being aware of my contribution towards preservation.

Our work surely too has continued and we have made some way in trying to support several of our Mamas even though this week one of the partnerships we helped to forge broke off. One partner Angel decided to call it quits and moved on to another country. I was told that she went to Turkey to work as a house helper. She sold most of the items we had given them (With Jolly) to start up a salon and all was going well until last week when she brought whatever was remaining to Francoise’s home (Jolly’s mum). She did not say a thing about her going but only found out a few days later after her real mother called Francoise. She left a debt for rent at the landlord’s shop which means she had been saving the money from the salon to aid her travel. Lucky for Jolly, the items were not confiscated so she is looking towards a fresh start.

Harriet the tailor looks to be doing better at the moment. When we met she looked happy and it was a good sight to see. She had been having some difficulties with getting school fees for her daughter but looks like Lady Luck kissed her forehead and the tides have changed a bit. She has been able to send her daughter to school with a portion of the fees made.

Lilly is also doing okay with her sewing and silverfish business. She recently got an order to sew tablecloths again and this was good. It came quite timely as she needed to send Philip her son to school. She has also called to order another batch of silverfish from the landing site in Entebbe, which was good to hear and also see that both her businesses are doing okay.

Pulakiseda is also doing well in the market. She was able to pay for her daughter’s school fees last week and it was good to hear. The market had been very tricky these last few weeks but I am glad that she was able to sort out her daughter who is also attending her final year of school this term. The grocery stall still looks good even after these payments so it fulfills some of our plans to ensure that Mamas can remain in business even after taking out a large portion to pay school fees.

The momentum is increasing for Hadija and she is doing incredibly well at the moment. It has been months since they were last disturbed by the local authorities who distort small businesses like these. I have been observing her over the last few weeks and it is good to see her growing slowly but steadily.

Semmy is also doing well. The ingredients for making soap are now done so she will be heading to town to buy some new ingredients. When I went to visit, she was teaching or tutoring one of her pupils by the field. She does this every two or three times a week as it is another form of income-generating activity as the parents of these pupils pay her extra for extra classes.

Justine has healed progressively very well and she walks much better than she has in the past few weeks after that burn on her left foot. The rains have interrupted most of her movements but the business is not looking bad. The supply of vegetables is still not at the best as even normal buyers like me can’t get a lot of stuff. Onions have become more and more scarce due to the opening of other regional markets in East and Northern Africa in Sudan and UAE respectively.

Angel finally was able to get some matooke and a few other vegetables to add to her stall. She was happy that I finally visited her with the stall looking stocked. I bought some little matooke for myself as I am not a huge fan of plantain (Green bananas). She was able to take back the kids to school too, so it was a good atmosphere when I visited.

Finally, we were able to get some funds to ensure that the tank that belongs to Jane who is moving to her new home, goes along with her tank. She had failed to come up with the fees to move it so we are going to be able to do it. We will also get Henry a few more chickens to ramp up their egg-laying abilities. He has 6 birds so we will try and get him 5 more so he can have enough female birds to get a good number of eggs.

Thank you for your sincere support. It goes a whole lot of mile in ensuring that these wonderful kids gain an education and a livelihood for the Mamas. We are so grateful as ISEE family and Society that these Mamas have a new hope.

Report by:

Andrew Echel

Director of Programs, Uganda.

ISEE Solutions Society