Women encouraged to save and fight poverty

This was during a women’s monthly celebrations at Seeta Zion church, where women meet to encourage, share their challenges and find solutions to their problems.

Eva Katerega, motivational speaker. Photo by Stella Naigino
 
44-year-old Harriet Namususwa, a teacher at Nabisunsa Girls' School recalls how she used to rent, and with her meagre salary, she at times failed to pay her rent bills because she had a lot to deal with.


From paying school fees for her siblings to taking care of her parents, Namususwa was left with little to cater for her rent.

Her rent was always in arrears something that her landlord was never okay with. He would quarrel with Namususwa that from time to time, he asked her to quit his house, something Namususwa never did.

Much as she wanted to be a landlord, she had no idea how to go about the issue. 

She was later inspired by a friend to save and five years later, she managed to buy land, becoming a landlord. 

To supplement her salary, she decided to invest in a fruits and juice business, from which she saved at least sh15,000 daily.

With continuous saving, Namususwa together with her husband Micheal Mulumba, a teacher by profession, built themselves a home and rentals to increase their income.

It's on such grounds that Namususwa encouraged fellow women to save if they are to fight poverty and live a good life.

This was during a women's monthly celebrations at Seeta Zion church, where women meet to encourage, share their challenges and find solutions to their problems.

She advised women that through saving, one can borrow against their saving and use this money to start up a business.

According to the Uganda national bureau of statistics, the proportion of the poor increased to 21.4% in 2016/17 from 19.7% in 2012/13, an indication that people need to still work so hard to stem down poverty in the country.

Eva Katerega, a motivational speaker, encouraged women not to give up indulging in small businesses, even when they have office jobs. 

"Juggle as many businesses as you can so that you educate children and raise them in the best way possible," she said.

"Men have given up on their roles as heads of families, but it's time we the women, rise up and head our families, focusing more on raising responsible leaders of tomorrow," added Katerega.

She urged the women to love one another and always teach one another to work hard towards development.

Florence Wagaba, the leader of women at Zion Church, pledged to continue uniting women, as well as ensuring that they grow spiritually, economically and socially.

However, experts note that through forming village saving groups, women will be able to fight poverty. Forming saving Sacco's is one way of getting funds from the government.

Joyce Nangobi, the executive director of slum women for development in Jinja, says these funds are given to enable people to borrow capital and make good use of it, to transform their lives.

She encouraged women to embrace teamwork by sharing ideas on land, education, health and together, they will identify their challenges and find solutions as a team.