Mentality changer came with renewed hope - Uganda
Mentality changer came with renewed hope
CANDIRU AMINA
“My hope has been renewed”
Candiru Amina, aged 26, from Midigo Sub-county, Yumbe District, dropped out of school due to pregnancy and was forced to marry the father of her child. Unfortunately, she found herself in a hopeless situation with a man who was not educated and without any plans for her future. When she got her second child, the conditions at home started becoming more difficult ranging from insufficient feeding to rampant sicknesses. She could not even think of her children going to school at one time. She used to do farming, but purely for subsistence.
In 2011, she decided to join Binagoro Women Group. It was during the first training of Enterprise Uganda about mind-set change that she felt touched and decided to try something different which eventually paid off. She decided to grow two acres of tobacco that earned her over two million shillings. By the time she got her money, there was an opportunity for a training course in Medical Records and Health Management, which she enrolled for and successfully completed.
Currently, she is a trainee at Midigo Health Centre II. She has opened up a drug shop at Midigo and has trained her husband to manage it. She has also bought a solar panel at UGX400,000, which she uses to charge mobile phones for people in the community. She currently earns UGX30,000 per day from the drug shop. The family has now shifted from growing tobacco to growing cassava and beans as their main agricultural activity. There is a lot of improvement in the home now, and the family is happy. They have started acquiring assets like goats and cows and plan to build a permanent house for the family.
Candiru thanks Enterprise Uganda for transforming her mentality which has given her a new hope in life. She is looking forward to advancing in her studies and growing her drug shop into a clinic if her incomes improve in future. She is now aware of her potential and gets exciting new dreams every day for a brighter future.
She has also bought a solar panel at UGX400,000, which she uses to charge mobile phones for people in the community. She currently earns UGX30,000 per day from the drug shop.
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