Growing vegetables wasn’t raising enough income for Yudesi (73) – but a Child of Hope business grant dramatically helped her change direction and generate a higher income for her family.
Yudesi lives with her husband, five of their children and twenty-five of their grandchildren, in their own, cramped, four-room semi-permanent structure in the Namatala slum. For income, she had been renting a small plot of land outside of the slum, which she was using for agriculture. She would grow vegetables twice a year and then sell them to help support the extended family.
After attending our business training course and submitting a very sensible business plan, we gave her a grant of about £25 so that she could also start selling some items from home in the slum. She wanted to focus on selling things that would assist local people with cooking food. So she now sellis charcoal, paraffin and cooking oil.
She is doing very well and people are very happy to buy from her. She is determined to make the most of this opportunity and has committed herself to bringing some savings to us every week.
In addition, the money that Yudesi has been earning has been a big boost in helping the extended family to meet their needs. She is now starting to plan to rent a larger plot of land so that she can grow more vegetables in the future.