“I don’t regret the 10 years I have been with SSF, I am now a VHT and youth mentor on HIV/AIDS and violence prevention counselling. Recognized as a person who contributed to my fellow women’s social wellbeing having introduced SSF micro-finance to the community for them to easily access credit and start up small scale businesses and improve their income, our family relationship has improved, at 53 we are happily leaving with my husband, able to meet our basic needs and medical expenses, provided education to our children and made our 13 acres of land productive with coffee, banana plantation and piggery projects” 

Having failed to raise tuition fees at the University, Wasswa dropped out of the electrical engineering course in his second year (2017), he tried various opportunities but all went in vain not until he joined SSF youth livelihood project in aimed at promoting youth income through agriculture, he was able to acquire various skills and experience in modern farming, financial literacy and acquired small loans to boost his agricultural projects, currently he has gained new skill in bee keeping, owns two plots of land, apiary, piggery and goat projects and no longer stays at the parents home. His dream is now having 70 bee hives coupled with banana plantations.

“The hope of raising my children had been lost, we could hardly find what to eat, had no land or stable income, my husband was doing casual work which could not raise us enough money to pay school fees or meet other basic needs, I was jobless and felt like becoming a burden to my husband, but in the 8 years I have spent in SSF livelihood program, I am now a landlord, the financial literacy training and small loans have enabled me start a local wine making and selling business as I continued with banana plantations, currently I am able to earn at least 160,000/= from local wine business per sale and earn from the banana plantation selling as well as brick making, my children are now being able to attend school regularly, we are happy at hope and I now own more than 1.5 acres of banana plantations, goats and a piggery project, I doubt whether I can ever yarn for food at my home, I encourage my fellow women never to despise any job or disrespect their husbands”

“At the age of 17 years, my dream of becoming a nurse had been lost, I had decided to either go to Kampala to work as a housemaid or get married because I was tired of staying home doing nothing. My mother could no longer afford taking care of me and my siblings following the breakout of COVID19. But my hope was restored having been enrolled onto Salama SHIELD Foundation (SSF) DREAMS program, I am now a re-known tailor and a mentor for the rest of my fellow age mates. At 21years, I own a business worth 5 million, I can no longer be deceived into early marriage or engage into risk behavior in exchange for money, I can now able to meet my best needs and support my mother in the village, her house was renovated, great thanks to SSF who equipped with the vocational skills (in tailoring and knitting) and gave me a job as an artisan. I am dreaming about owning a leading bridal shop well equipped in Lyantonde.”