WIDOWS

Widows are usually very poor and are often caring for several grandchildren where the parents have died.

If the roof of their modest huts are damaged they may have no money and be too frail to repair them.  With just a little help their lives, and those of the children, can be transformed.

W.O.R.K. has formed groups of widows for protection and sustainability.  One group is now self-sufficient and no longer needs any support.

Sinoko Village

In Sinoko village there is a group of 15 widows who care for over 100 grandchildren.  They were desperately poor and extremely vulnerable.  A local teacher asked W.O.R.K. to meet with them and try and provide help. They are an amazing group of women!

W.O.R.K. ploughed their small piece of land and provided seeds and training for the first year. The crop did well and the group sold it for a profit. W.O.R.K. then gave the group a ‘Table Bank’ and this small amount of money enabled the group to plan and develop, enabling their standard of living to grow substantially.

W.O.R.K. then gave a cow to the eldest widow and, gradually, with female calves being given to the ‘next’ widow and W.O.R.K. supporting other widows they each have one cow.  The Sinoko widows are now fully independent and sustaining their families.  They have started small businesses, paid school fees, re-built their homes and generally developed their whole village.

Shailla and her mother were desperate when her father died. They had no home and were living from hand to mouth begging and reliant on anyone who would help.  W.O.R.K. helped her to build a house and start farming to feed her family. She is now able to look after herself and her children, who are all in school.  A relatively small amount of help has resulted in her being self-sufficient, able to look after herself and her family.   The family now has dignity and a quality of life.

About Table Banks

Providing small loans to the widows so they can buy seed or start a small business. They can then support themselves and their grandchildren. Borrowing small amounts of money from Table banks allows widows to set up a business or buy seed or fertiliser to improve the harvest from their land.

The widows groups are very imaginative in making the most of the opportunity to become self sufficient, supporting themselves and their grandchildren.

Nambototo success stories

One has started a fish business – she goes to nearby Uganda to buy fish and sells it a profit at the local market.

Others, with their small loan, have set up businesses selling kerosene, cereals and vegetables.  Once they begin to make a profit they start paying back their loan as well as supporting themselves and, often, several grandchildren.

More success stories

Another group, the Faida Widows, are saving to buy a ‘taxi’ – not a car, but a motorbike which is how most people get around.  This will give employment to the grandsons of the widows and bring funds into the group. A motorbike might carry three or four people as well as the ‘driver’!  A small amount of help is transforming lives.

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