A Home of Their Own

Edson and Annet with thier family in Kyenjojo

“I feel very happy to sleep in my own house. I am at peace. No one calls me to ask for rent anymore.” Edson shared happily about the new home he and his wife Annet recently built. But until two years ago, life was different for Edson and Annet in a remote village in Kyenjojo.

Edson and Annet lived in a rented house, finding it challenging to provide for their children. With unpredictable income and limited access to credit, each month was a race to pay rent and provide for their family. The weight of uncertainty loomed over them constantly. In January 2023, RTV partnered with their community through the “From Last Mile Into Possibilities (FLIP)” project, with support from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC). Eager to build an economically secure future for their family, Edson and Annet attended the training sessions on modern agriculture practices, WASH and health, and credit-based cooperatives and quickly saw their potential.

Edson tends to his pigs

Edson soon joined a savings group and became part of a joint Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) with 30 members. Each week, they saved UGX 5,000 and contributed UGX 2,000 to a social fund. In six months, the group saved UGX 1.4 million. Members began borrowing from their savings to invest in agriculture and small businesses and improve their households. Edson got a loan from the VSLA to buy two piglets and four rabbits. Within months, his small investment turned into a thriving business. The pigs gave birth to eight piglets, seven of which he sold to repay his loan and reinvest in his farm. Meanwhile, his rabbits multiplied rapidly, creating a steady income stream and allowing Edson to invest further in livestock and cover basic household needs.

Annet in the compound garden she platend to provide a nutritious diet for her children.

Edson’s wife, Annet, also joined a women’s VSLA and borrowed UGX 700,000 to rent land for farming. After the training on good agricultural practices, Edson and Annet received beans, maize, Irish potatoes, eggplants, and cabbage to plant and implement the newly learned practices. “The cabbage and maize harvest brought in over UGX 5 million, making it possible for us to buy half an acre of land and start building our own house,” she added. Soon after, they built their own home.

Edson tending to his rabbits

Buoyed by the progress, Edson and Annet plan to borrow from the savings group to expand their livestock and build a bigger home. “We want to grow our herd to 15 adult pigs and raise over 3,000 rabbits. We want to build a bigger house and install a fence on our land to keep everything safe and secure,” Edson says confidently.

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Raising The Village (RTV) partners with last-mile, rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and develops holistic initiatives that pave the pathway out of ultra-poverty towards economic self-sufficiency within 24 months. Our programs focus on improving agricultural incomes through training and providing agricultural inputs, diversifying income streams, removing barriers to participation such as lack of access to health, water, financial inclusion, and food security, and promoting healthy behaviors including adopting healthy WASH and gender equity practices. Since 2016, we have impacted the lives of more than 665,000 people in last-mile villages in Uganda and increased household incomes and earnings by 138% in 24 months.