Kampala City Kibuli Slum District VSL A Groups
‘God is Able’ Orphanage and School
The orphanage was started by 3 women who used their savings from ‘God Cares’ VSLA to rent the building, buy mattresses, employ a teacher, buy clothes and school equipment etc. The orphanage now has 60 children who live there permanently and about 70 children who come during the day for schooling. Day pupils are charged a school fee.
Testimonies from ‘Hope for Faith’ VSLA – Kibuli Slum District, Kampala:
Ruth and Betty
When friends Ruth and Betty started saving it was very slow as it was a brand new concept. At the time of sharing the savings Betty got 500,000 UGX and Ruth got 300,000 UGX. They used their savings to buy a Clinic in the slum. They can save 50,000 UGX a week from the clinic. They are now hoping for a pharmacy. They are very glad for this programme and praying for it not to stop.
Janceta qualified for a loan which she used to buy materials for clothes – she is now a clothes designer! She paid the loan back after 3 months, and took out another loan which enabled her to rent a shop. She now has a shop selling shoes and clothes. She has 5 children and they all go to school. She is really thankful for VSLA.
Dozhereta is very grateful to the group as she now has her own business and runs a shop. Using her savings she bought materials and now makes 30,000 UGX a week profit. She is very happy because of this association.
Annette thanks God for her group and for the wisdom to start this group. Using her savings she rented out a salon and purchased her own fridge to sell cold drinks. She now makes 50,000 UGX per week.
Winnie is a second hand clothes seller. She took out a loan and bought a big bag of second hand clothes. She paid the loan back and the business has stabilised. She can now afford school fees and rent for her house.
Barbara used her savings to be able to send her children to school.
Fred is an artist, but with VSLA he now has a small business frying pancakes.
Another lady who is a seller of Chapatti’s was not able to afford school fees for her children, but she can now do that as well as providing 2 meals a day.
Another lady now owns a salon and can send her children to school.
The following quotes from the groups demonstrates the positive impact that VSLA has had on their lives and within the communities:
VSLA is the only hope for improving livelihoods in Uganda and Africa as a whole.
VSLAs are self help groups, where even the weak financially are able to raise a small amount of money to save and after a few weeks use the little accumulated savings to boost their household incomes.
Individual VSLA members cannot believe their eyes when they realise they have saved a reasonable amount of money. They are wondering why this program took so long to reach them.
To them this is what it means to be empowered since it is they that are managing their resources, saving and loaning is easy.
One member says, that, had all foreign agencies started with VSLA programmes in Uganda, then, poverty would have received a natural death!