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‘Stories’ Category

Demita with her chicken that she bought with through a loan proved by her the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) in her village. From looking after her grandchildren to caring for her livestock, Demita loves to stay busy. These days, she is more active than ever now that she finally runs her own business [...]

Teopista checks her passion fruits in her garden in Wamusuta village. A typical day for Teopista, a farmer from the Kaliro district in eastern Uganda, involves waking up early and tending to her garden and farmland. Vegetables and fruits from the garden provide food for her family, which includes her husband and 12 children. For her [...]

Margaret outside her home in Bisa village, Ngombe cluster, Kyenjojo District. Margaret, a 35-year-old mother of six children, has dedicated her life to community empowerment through farming in Bisa village, Kyenjojo District. Being elected as the chairperson of the Bisa women farmers' group for the third time in a row is a testament to that.  [...]

While ultra-poverty is one of the most challenging and complex issues we face today, a key aspect that holds answers to addressing it sustainably, is that poverty does not affect everyone equally. Gender is often both a cause and an element that perpetuates poverty. Inequitable distribution of resources, traditional family and community level decision-making structures, [...]

Patience with her community's new water tap. For Patience, a doting mother to four children and an equal contributor to the household with her husband, fetching water was the most worrisome part of her daily routine. A typical day would involve fixing breakfast for her children, getting them to school on time and completing household [...]

51 year old Lastone from Lake Nakuwa village with his harvest. Lastone, a 51-year-old father of 10, lives by Lake Nakuwa, designated as "a wetland of international importance" and a tributary of the river Nile. The primary occupation of his village, Lake Nakuwa village, is farming and fishing, but due to climate change and repeated [...]

Justine carries some beans after harvest from her garden in Kanyamunyu village, Kagadi district. In a small village called Kanyamunyu, located in Western Uganda with only 707 inhabitants, lives Justine, a 34-year-old mother of two. The households in her village made less than $1 a day for their entire families. Living in ultra-poverty and experiencing [...]

Richard sends mobile money on his phone from his shop in Kamria village, Rukungiri district. Richard, a 43-year-old primary school teacher, lives with his wife and four children in a remote village in the Rukungiri district in southwestern Uganda. Limited income, a small garden that could barely sustain his family’s nutrition needs, and the cascading [...]

Alex, with his family, outside their home in Ruyanja Village, Kagadi district. "I harvested 900 kgs of Maize from 3kgs seeds I received from Raising The Village. With the money brought in by selling it, I was able to buy additional farmland," beams Alex, a parent of 5. But, hailing from an isolated last-mile village [...]

Our story began with a simple question, how do we tackle ultra-poverty sustainably? And thus began the journey of an experiment that would snowball from a few last-mile villages to reaching a population of 1 million across Uganda. After years of running pilots, we rolled out some initiatives at the village level in 2011/2012. The [...]