Joyce Namugambe
The Uganda women entrepreneurship program (UWEP) has supported the women in Alebtong district with Heifers to enable them work and gain profits to earn incomes for a better living.
For the last 10 years, these women under Aminoteke Diary women’s group have been engaging in subsistance farming for survival under their group of 15, who were struggling to make ends meet for their economic survival. These women have now been given 15 Heifers worth 11, 267,375 Uganda shillings to see their lives change.
UWEP targets at changing lives of women through equipping them with skills to sustain their economic growth and also to look for markets for their products and services as a way of giving them hope for a better tommorow.
UWEP also aims at involving women in business for their development, through increasing on their incomes, for abetter life.
Through this program UWEP adresses challenges such as limited markets for their goods and services, lack of access to information about development opportunities, limited access to affordable credits among others.
The community development officer of Alebtong district who handed over the Heifers to the women Joshua Okullu, showed concern over some groups which get a chance to access funds from UWEP and they dont pay their loan installments as per the agreement, which makes it hard for other groups to access loans to improve their lives.
He therefore, cautioned women to work together with the group committee sothat they use the funds they have been given appropriately, to make it easy for them to pay back the installments.
He cautioned this group’s committee chairperson to be very careful with the women who are going to use the funds, so that their group acts as a good example to others, thereby making work easy for UWEP.
In the same way , the Subcounty Chief Isaac Odongo encouraged women to embrace different government programs that come their way for their development. He sited Emyooga, UWEP and PDM.
The Chairperson for Aminoteke Diary women’s group Rose Nyana pledged to carefully utilise the funds they have been given to improve on their lives, such as taking their children to school, treating their families in case of medical needs, good feeding among others.
She added that they will work together to make sure that they feed the Heifers well so that they give out enough milk for them to sell and carter for their needs for a better living.
The LC 1 chairman for Aminoteke village Omara Kintu extended gratitute towards the government for the support it has offered to the women saying it is greatly of positive impact into their lives. He arged leaders to avail such opportunities to women in their areas, so that they can fight against poverty among women.
UWEP wa established on 2016 with an aim of improving the lives of women through empowering them with skills to improve on their income for economic development.
The beneficiaries include, women with disabilities, unemployed women, and others.
