Zephaniah, a farmer in the rural highlands of western Uganda, walks through his garden, picking ripe tomatoes. He is one of two billion smallholder and family farmers around the world, producing four-fifths of the food people consume overall.* He is also among the 433 million people estimated to live in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.** [...]

In Rukiri B village in Kagadi district, Daisy, like the other members of her community, used to fetch water from an unprotected stagnant source for domestic use as well as drinking. The entire community did not have access to safe and clean water. “We use this water at home for doing domestic work like washing [...]

In the Rukiri B Village – a last-mile village in Kagadi District – a group of young people have started construction of a small agricultural store to sell their produce. This was made possible through the Rukiri B Tukulakulane Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA), a group which provides participants basic financial services such as [...]

Gladys weeding carrots in her vegetable garden Did you know that half of the farmers in Eastern Africa are women? However, these remarkable women are often not able to produce as much as their male counterparts because they are held back by many restrictions in their local communities such as lack of access to land, [...]

David Miryango is a full-time farmer supporting a family of four. The cost of investing in inorganic manure, which is the most crucial element that he needs every planting season, has worn David out. For communities like his, spending all of their income on just one variable of the equation makes no financial sense, and [...]

In 2004, Edith lost her husband, only a week after giving birth to her fifth child. Economically dependent on her husband since the age of 17, she struggled to keep her family afloat after the sudden loss. Today, she is a farmer supporting her family and making progress. As a full-time smallholder subsistence farmer, Edith’s [...]

The COVID-19 crisis is toppling economic activity and magnifying the number of people living close to and below the poverty line. The World Bank projected that over 49 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty, with a half of that number being in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hunger levels are also expected to spike by the [...]

Jennifer lives in Buhozi village with her husband and their young child. When we first met, their situation was dire. For years Jennifer had tried to grow crops using traditional farming methods resulting in extremely low yields. This meant her family faced food shortage on a regular basis and seldom had anything left to sell. [...]

In the rural community of Nyaruhungye, access to clean and safe water has been a challenge for many years. The most significant impact was felt by the women in the community, who faced the risk of contracting diseases such as typhoid and cholera as they fetched water from stagnant sources. Add to this the 3km [...]

Patience is a single mother of 4 children living in Nyarurambi village. Before we met and began our partnership, her situation was very bleak. She was very proud of her children and how well they were doing in school, but often worried about being able to cover the costs of their education. The uncertainty and [...]