Mistake is the best way to get success in life

Nwangi Betty (not real name) aged 22 years of Kasagama Sub-County was engaged in transactional sex in exchange for school fees while in senior three after her parents had challenges to pay her school fees. Her parents were peasant farmers. While in school. she was staying with a relative from where she would go to school along Kaguta road (near Lyantonde), but this relative would not pay her school fees. In 2017, at the age of nineteen (19), she got pregnant and dropped out of school while still in senior three. She returned home to her parents and produced a baby boy. The man who got her pregnant did not offer her any support.

Being vulnerable and at a high risk of acquiring HIV, a community activist Muhereza Annette identified and enrolled her on to the DREAMS program in May 2018. She received different DREAMS interventions namely Stepping Stones, financial literacy, SILC, SASA, and vocational skilling in hairdressing. “Madam Patricia taught us how to use condoms and this has helped me avoid unwanted pregnancies and kept me from acquiring HIV” Betty says.

“Due to the outbreak of COVID 19, the safe space was closed and she couldn’t continue with hairdressing skilling” she laments. “At that the moment, she was at a very high risk. Due to the COVID 19 outbreak, I took her in my house and continued skilling her after realizing the situation she was in” Annette says.

Having received financial literacy, Betty together with other Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) formed Buyanja Tukwatanise SILC Group (a saving group) in 2019. Currently she is the Secretary of this group. They agreed as a group that each individual should save UGX 5,000= every week. At the end of 2019, she got UGX 250,000/= after sharing and bought a goat. By the end of 2020 she received UGX 300,000/= after sharing and also bought another goat.

In 2021, she graduated. Ten (10) AGYW who had graduated in hairdressing formed a group and received start-up capital/ kits that included 2 big mirrors, I hand dryer, 2 basins, 2 plastic chairs, one 6 metre plastic carpet, 10 hair brands, styling items and rent for three months. “When the three months we had paid for ended, we failed to agree on rent payment because some of our colleagues were coming from very far.” she continues to tell her story. They agreed and shared the items they received among the ten members. Betty got a plastic carpet. She received UGX 400,000/= from the SILC group (shares and savings) and also sold two (2) goats at UGX 270,000/=, which she used to start her own hair dressing business. At the moment, her business is worth Uganda shilling one (1) million. She earns UGX 30,000/= averagely on a good day and UGX 3,000/= on a bad day. This helps her to pay her rent (UGX 40,000/= monthly), take care of her child and is able to save UGX 25,000/= per week.

“I stopped having sex in exchange for money and currently have one (1) boyfriend and use condoms regularly.” She thanks SSF-U for the opportunity of being a DREAMS recipient. Her dream is to have the biggest saloon in Kasagama Sub-County. Betty concluded by saying: “I encourage fellow AGYW to be committed to the services offered to clients and put whatever they are taught into practice. I also encourage them to at least use condoms in order to reduce on new HIV incidences.”