Skills coupled with access to loan change life of 52-year-old Florence Akelo - Uganda
Skills coupled with access to loan change life of 52-year-old Florence Akelo
Akello Florence, aged 52, is a mother of five children and is married to Oonyu Robert. They are both members of Ekeunos farmers group located in Arubela village, Akoromit Sub-county, Amuria district. Before SWEP II, both Florence and her husband used to be drunkards and would waste all the money they got. She used to be selling products in the market and would give out groundnuts for free and didn’t know how to save. She recalls lacking beddings and household utensils which used to make her fear hosting visitors. The situation changed when Strengthening Women entrepreneurship Project (SWEP) intervened and equipped Florence with skills.
After SWEP interventions, Florence became very passionate about groundnut growing despite facing challenges of pests and diseases. Initially Florence was a subsistence farmer before the intervention, but currently, she together with her husband, transformed into commercial farming. She started with UGX400,000 from selling clothes in 2014 and has increased acreage from only one acre before SWEP II to five acres of groundnuts after SWEP II. She harvested 50 bags of groundnuts in the previous season and was able to get 5.25 million shillings. Currently, she has increased the acreage from 5 to 10 acres of groundnuts. With her husband, they have now diversified into fish farming, cattle keeping, poultry rearing, growing cassava and selling mango seedlings. Capital for all the businesses is estimated at 12 million shillings.
Florence and her husband have gone ahead to construct a decent house which she had envisioned during one of the SWEP II trainings in Ngora. They have achieved this using the money they got from the sale of groundnuts and the loan they got from the group. They have stopped being drunkards and changed their negative attitude towards people living with HIV. They have also bought good beddings and household utensils and can now host visitors without any fear. Florence currently looks after five grandchildren, a responsibility she had initially refused due to lack of money. Her current savings are UGX700,000.
Her future plan is to complete plastering the house and putting a ceiling and continue with farming. She advises women to avoid drinking since it brings domestic violence and makes the family unproductive; join groups and seek advice from people that have been trained and have the required skills; and have a positive attitude towards people living with HIV.
She harvested 50 bags of groundnuts in the previous season and was able to get 5.25 million shillings. Currently, she has increased the acreage from 5 to 10 acres of groundnuts.
The Strengthening Women’s Entrepreneurs Project (SWEP II) was a 3-year project seeking to economically empower 5,000 rural and semi-rural women in Northern and Eastern Uganda (The Greater North) to become the main vehicle for expanding production, increasing household income, alleviating poverty and enhancing economic growth. - Charles Ocici (Executive Director)
SWEP II has shown that it is possible for women, even those in rural areas, to enjoy economic emancipation through adopting and practicing an entrepreneurial mind-set. The increase in household incomes, savings and investments as a result of gender-sensitive entrepreneurship and business development skills shows the capacity of women to transform their lives and those of their households if guided into the right direction. There was also a marked improvement in household relationships and appreciation of the civic responsibility of the woman in the community. This highlights the fact that an economically empowered woman is also a better mother in the home and citizen in the country. - Rosemary Mutyabule (Director, Business Development Services)
Used with permission from Enterprise Uganda. Project Report can be downloaded here