Category: Our Stories

Hadijja joined The Hunger Project in 2003. Before The Hunger Project came to Uganda with its microfinance programs, women’s empowerment and food security, when she knew nothing about savings and credit.

Hadijja is a mother of five children and married to an agriculturist. They come from Bukona Parish in Uganda and live about 4 miles from the Iganga Epicentre.

At first, she had fears of entrusting the Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) with the little money she had. However, Hadijja soon started saving with the bank. She has since accessed several loans which she has used to educate her children and also to construct a commercial house in the trading centre. For her commitment to the bank, she was elected as a vice-chairperson to the board.

Hadijja also participated in training on proper farming methods and demonstrations that were being conducted at the epicentre. As a result of the food security training, her home is now well-equipped with food all the time.

The women’s empowerment training has also played a large role in Hadijja’s life, as she is now better able to speak out and make decisions. At the Epicentre Annual General Meeting (AGM), she contested for the position of Epicentre Chairperson and won. Hadijja is now the new chairperson of Iganga Epicenter. When asked exactly who or what inspired her to go for the position, she says, “Most of the people I worked with talked a lot about how I am a good mobilizer and even encouraged me that I would be a good leader whom people would listen to and follow. When such a chance came, I could not let it go but give it a try.”

She plans to ensure that she uplifts the Epicentre from where it is to a higher level, where the nursery school will have more qualified teachers and increase the number of children enrolled at the Epicentre nursery school. Apart from growing crops, she plans to have fruits such as mangoes, oranges, and pawpaws among others in the orchard at the epicentre. She also plans to have start-up Income Generating Activities that will support her committee.

Elizabeth is a successful entrepreneur. With loans and training from The Hunger Project, she has grown the size of her farming land from 10 to 50 acres. She has also hired people to work for her, and expanded into other businesses like fish, clothes and poultry. Now she can send her kids to school and she’s got the support of her husband, so her whole family is benefiting.

Navali is a 24 year old woman living in a remote tribal village in India. Her bold work has achieved remarkable results for her village. She was trained by The Hunger Project and with the skills and confidence she learned, she has worked within the system to get 4 new schools built in her area and to get streetlights installed for better safety for her neighbours. She also successfully campaigned to get a bridge built to replace a road that had been washed away – so that children can get safely to school. This is just the beginning of a better future for young Navali and her community.

With a microfinance loan from The Hunger Project, Sara bought 20kg of flour and 10L of cooking oil for her business, bricks to build her house, a pig, a mobile phone, and a bed for her children. Building on this achievement, Sara plans to open a grocery shop and teach her children to be self-sufficient too.

When she was elected to her local council, The Hunger Project provided training to help Ranjita fight for her rights and improve access to the health for her community. Ranjita managed to get a new health centre for babies and children put into her village, as well as 70 toilets. Her vision is that all girls in her village will get an education.

After being trained by The Hunger Project, Romela started her own family garden. The food she grows not only feeds her family but saves them money, and means that she can even sell what’s left over to bring in more income. So that others can do similar things to what Romela has achieved, she decided to start a savings group for women in her village.

Kamla’s resilience brought about real change in her village. Kamla was a child bride at 11 and had her first child at 12. Trained by The Hunger Project, she was empowered and learnt negotiation skills, and boosted her self-confidence. This empowered her to solve a local problem: some men in the village were wasting precious family funds at the local illegal liquor shop. Kamla led a peaceful and successful sit-in at the shop, and it was shut down. This meant that these men stopped spending their money on alcohol and abusing their wives and children.