FINANCIAL STABILTY PROGRAM (FSP)

Bukonzo East and West Widow Farmers Association (BEWWFA), will invest in a FINANCIAL STABILTY PROGRAM (FSP) to provide financial literacy to widows for their financial stability.

Most widows in Bukonzo County have limited access to financial information. They have no dedicated Financial Advisors to offer them financial skills, advice and guidance. As a result, there are cases of financial indiscipline, instabilities and viscous cycles of poverty in their homes.

The availability of Financial Advisors (FA’s). Training and availing of Financial Advisors (FA’s) to offer Financial Literacy will enlighten widows and shape their financial behaviour. 4 Top Financial Advisors (TFA’s)/ Facilitators will be trained and equipped in Financial Literacy. They in turn train 130 Field Financial Advisors (FFA’s) from 13 Sub Counties /Town Councils (10 from each). The FFA’s will hold Financial Support Meetings (FSM’s) and seminars.  Widows, whether in groups or not, will be invited to attend these Support Meetings and seminars. It is expected that 10 Support Meetings and 3 seminars will be held in each sub County, making a total of 130 Support Meetings and 39 seminars in the whole County for year. In all these, over 1300 widows will be reached out with Financial Literacy.

WIDOWS’ MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT/COUNCILLORS CAMPAIGN

Bukonzo East / West Widows Farmers Association (BEWWFA), invites your investment in a £8,375 campaign that aims at proposing an initiation of a widows member of parliament and councilors to local government councils in Uganda to prevent ineffective representation of widows in decision making bodies.

The problem: lack of effective representation of widows in local and national decision making bodies. Whereas vulnerable groups like youths, disabled and the elderly are represented in parliament and local councils (decision making bodies), widows are not. This creates a sense/feeling of being discriminated and this is viewed as an injustice against widows, although the public and decision makers are not aware of widows’ feelings and wishes. Every district has a Member of Parliament for women and a women councilor for every two sub counties/divisions. The problem of ineffective representation of widows remains because of too much work load on these women representatives as they represent many categories of women such as girls, elderly women, under age mothers, disabled women, rape and defilement victims. This limits the concentration on widows’ preoccupations/felt needs.

The solution: Initiating seats of widow representatives in the parliament and local councils. It is expected that  a campaign  on the need of widows’ representatives in decision making bodies will arouse public attention, awareness, and debates that will lead to restructuring the composition of decision making bodies by considering widows and their felt needs. This will also uplift the dignity and image of widows in the society as they will feel justice is being done to all vulnerable groups.

 £8,375 ,Eight thousand three hundred seventy five pounds amount is needed to sponsor consultations, open air campaigns, radio presentations, debates and discussions with various policy makers and the president of the Republic of Uganda.

In making this sponsorship, you will be investing in campaigns that will make a lasting change in uplifting the status, dignity, and image of widows in Uganda and in Africa as a whole by ensuring an effective representation of widows in local and national decision making bodies. Please, come and visit us to see for yourself the viability and feasibility of this campaign.

BEE KEEPING PROJECT

  A bee keeping project will be implemented in Ihandiro sub-county, Kasese District, western Uganda by Ihandiro widow Farmers Association to boast the income bases of widow by imparting bee keeping and management skills, donating bee hives and setting up a honey collection and marketing centre.

 500 beehives will be procured and given to 50 widows per year for three years after-undergoing a 5 days training of bee keeping and management every year for three years.

A honey collecting and marketing centre (HCMC), will be established where honey from beneficiaries will be stored and marketed collectively.

  The project will operate with 3full time staff 2 part-time staff and a Governing Board of 10 members. The 3full time staff will be; the PD, the store keeper, the centre Securicor, the 2per time staff are the centre Marketers and the bee keeping expert.

The governing board will sanction the project operations.

  There will be formative and summative evaluation to assess the quality of training beehive sign posts, building materials, tools of work and staff. The impact of the project to the target will be also evaluated. The quantity of measurable items like honey and sales from honey will equally be assessed and feedback given to donors/funders, general assembly and the general community in form of radio broadcast and web reports.

GOAT REAING PROJECT

Goat rearing project (GRP) will be implemented by Kithoma  -Kanyatsi Widow Famers Association in kitholhu sub-county, Bukonzo county, Kasese district, Ruwenzori sub-region, western Uganda.

It will focus on procuring 150 hybrid goats to 50 widows per year for three years as a way to enhance reliable livelihoods of widows’ households.

The beneficiaries will undergo a 5days goat keeping training to acquire the needed skills.

Goats’ houses will be built at the home beneficiaries and stocked with 3 hybrid goats.

The project will operate with the full time project Director, one part time veterinary consultant, and ten-member Governing Board to provide overall sanctioning of projects operations.

There will be weekly, monthly and termly evaluations to assess: the quality goat’s houses, the application of goat rearing skills acquired by the goat keepers, the wellbeing of goat bread kept, and the impact of the project on the income base of beneficiaries and on the community.

A MINI- STORAGE FACILITY

Amine-storage    facility will be constrained at Katholhu village, Nyakiyumbu sub-county, Kasese district, western Uganda by Nyakiyumbu widow farmers Association to increase the income benefit of widow farmers from Agriculture and diversify the lively hood of widow farmers.

The project will focus on building a storage facility where agricultural produce will be dried, threshed, winnowed, sorted, graded, milled, packed and stored.

The beneficiaries will undergo a post-handling training for five hours per week for 5 months, encouraged to store their produce at the storage facility and engorged to save at 10% of their income after selling the produce. They will be taught how to how to invest in small scale enterprises to diversify their lively hoods.

The project will operate with 2 full time staff: the project director and security guard, two part time staff: The store keeper and an agricultural personnel.  A ten-member governing board will provide over all sanctioning of the operation of the project.

There will be formative evaluations done at every important level of the project conducted by the project Direct, store keeper and governing board and summative evaluation will be carried out at the end of several tasks to assess the quality and quantity of work done.

  Widow in Nyakiyumbu sub-county faces a problem of poor post-harvest handling process of their agricultural produce. This is mainly due to absence of a storage facility.

Widow former keeps their produce in their house where pest and bad weather condition lower the quality of the products. This cons equality leads to low price as the products becomes less completive on the local and international markets.

Deposit their active involvement in agriculture, most widow famers fail to meet their basic needs and those of their children (orphans). They hardily raise medical fees, house rent, medical fees, proper bedding, good meals, proper clothing and proper shelter. They lead a miserable life. Their misery is largely attributed to low earning from agriculture due to poor storage.

The construction of a mini-store facility will improve and or maintain the quality of the agricultural produces like soya beans, maize, millet, ground nuts, sorghum, and sim-sim among others will be centrally dried, stored threshed, winnowed, sorted, graded, milled, and packed.

Potential buyers may be invited to come and check quality produce at the storage facility. This will increase the bargaining power of widow farmers leading to increase income, better prices are expected to accrue.

During harvesting period price are low, as time goes begins to rise. Farmers will be able to wait for better prices during the post-harvest period of scarcity

The increased income will enable widows to meet their basic needs and those of their children. With the culture of saving already initiated among widows, they will be able to save approximately 10% of their incomes which percentage can be used to invest in other small scale enterprises hence diversifying their livelihoods.

Due to current high level of unemployment, cheap security guards can easily be hired by the organization to safe guard the facility from thieves.

SEWING MACHINE FOR WIDOWS PROJECT (S.M.W.P)

Sewing Machine for Widows Project (SMWP) will be implemented in Bukonzo East and West, Kasese District, Ruwenzori sub region, Western Uganda, East Africa by Bukonzo East and West widows Coffee Farmers Association(BE/WWCFA)

S.M.W.P will focus on donating sewing machine to widows in Bukonzo East and West to broaden their income base of those widows.

Five tailoring training centres (TTC’s) will be established throughout Bukonzo East and West.

At these centre project beneficiaries (widows) will undergo 3-month hand-on training in tailoring.

At the end of the training the gradients will be given sewing machines and commissioned to go and start working at their nearby town centres or at their homes. With the income earned through tailoring widows will be able to meet their basic needs and those of their children (orphans)

The project will be implemented in phases:

Two phase per year for at least five years. The first phase target to reach 252 widows who are active members of (BE/WWCFA).

SMWP will operate with 16 full staff controlled by the project co-ordinator and a Governing board made of community leaders and executive members of (BE/WWCFA) will provide over all sanctioning of centre operations. Weekly, monthly and termly evaluations shall be conducted to assess the quality of training and the impact of the project on beneficiaries.