Age: 48

Level of Education: P.2

Number of Children: 8

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goal

I would like to be able to educate my children, get out of poverty, and to build a house. Beads have so far helped me to get some capital to start a small banana business, pay school fees, and meet other household needs.

Achievements

Hadija has used money from the beads to start a small banana selling business. She has also constructed a small house on her plot of land.

Age:35

Level of Education: P.7

Number of children: 3

Marital status: Married

Personal Goal

I am Namkya Rose of Nabidongha ‘C Iganga Town council.  Am a Ugandan.  I am 34 years old, I am a widow. I have got 2 children a boy and a girl.  I was not employed but as I joined the art and craft of bead making I got encouraged.

And this money I will get from those beads will assist me to educate my children, provide health care, and other basic needs.

Achievements

 Rose has used the money from the beads to construct a house though its not yet complete. She also used part of the money to support her children in school.

Age: 52

Level of Education: S.2

Number of children: 4

Marital status: Widow

Personal Goals

I am Naigaga Robinah of Nabidongha ‘C Iganga Town council.  I am 50 years old and a widow with 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys.  I joined beads making.

The money I get from beads will cater for their school fees.

Achievements

Robina is using the money from the beads to support orphans in school. She is also using it to pay for rent and other household bills.

Age: 27

Number of children: 3

Marital Status: Married

Personal Goals

I would like the beads business to help me educate my children and the orphans that I care for as well as accumulating enough capital to start a small business. So far the beads have helped me educate my children.

Achievements

Rachael put money together with her husband to complete their house. They have now moved away from rented premises.  Money from beads has also helped her to support her family.

Age:45

Number of children: 5

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goals

I would like the business to help me continue taking care of the orphans. The beads have so far helped me to educate 5 orphans under my care, to pay for rent, buy food, and meet other household needs.

Achievements

Nantale has always used beads money to support 2 orphans in school and also pay house rent and buy food.

Age: 56

Number of children: 6

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goals

I would like the bead business to help me to educate my children and take care of my family. The beads have helped me educate my children, feed my family, pay health bills, and other household needs.

Achievements

Akusa is the only bread winner at home and uses money to pay school fees, food and other household needs.

Age: 27

No of children: 3

Marital Status: Single

Personal Goals

I would like the beads to help me accumulate enough capital to start a business where I can earn some daily income so as to help me support my family.  I have so far not earned much from the beads.

Age: 30

Number of children: 3

Marital Status: Married

Personal Goals

I would like the bead business to help me to educate my children and the orphans I am looking after. So far this business has helped me complete my house. I am no longer renting it.

Achievements

Rehema used part of the money to complete her house. She also uses some it to pay school fees.

Age: 46

Number of Children: 8

Marital Status: Married

Personal Goals

I would like this bead business to help me educate my children and take care of them.  Beads have helped me so far educate my children and meet household needs such as food, medical care, and paying rent.

Age: 48

Number of children: 4

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goals

I would like this business to help me educate my children. This business has so far helped me pay fees for children, I bought a plot of land, and I have been able to meet some of my household needs.

Achievements

Mirabu was diagnosed with what seems to be cancer of the throat. So bead money has partly helped her to settle medical bills.

Age: 34

number of Children: 4

Marital Stauts: Married

Personal Goals

I am currently taking care of my terminally ill mother.

Achievements

Beatrice started a small business for selling fresh green vegetables. She also pays fees for her children.

Age: 34

Number of Children: 4

Marital Status: Married

Mukayala Jane was born in 1984.  She is a housewife and joined the group in 2007 and since then she has been an active member and makes beads.  Jane has 2 children and the youngest of them, Patience, has sickle cell academia and she is always sickly and requires constant medical care.

Jane is taking care of eight other children who are orphans left behind by her late sisters Sarah and Mable who died in 2003 and 2004 respectively.  Jane says making beads has helped her to send these children to school as well as caring for their other needs.

Achievements

Jane has a child with sicle cells disease and bead money some times helps her pay medical bills. 

Age: 52

Number of Children: 4

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goals

All of my childern are at secondary school level.  My husband died in 2008.  The eldest son had an accident and broke his spine and femur bones and is now disabled.  On top of this I care for my ailing mother yet I have not job or land.

Achievements

Gladys has always used beads money to look after her ailing mother and to pay school fess for her children.

Age: 24

Number of Children:  1

Marital Status: Single

Doreen is the first born in a family of six.  Being the first born she is charged with the big responsibility of caring for the ailing mother who is HIV positvie, as well as caring for her young brothers and sisters.

All her young siblings are going to school and hopes that money generated from making beads will help her pay for their school fees and other basic needs.

Doreen is the daughter of one of our founding members, and now sadly whose mother is too ill to continue to make beads.

Achievements

Doreen used the money from beads to start a small business and support her child and the orphans under her care

Age:  32

Number of Children: 4

Marital Status:  Married

Sumin comes from a big polygamous family of 16 children.  Due to this factor, Sumin never got a chance to go far in education.  She dropped out of school after primary six due to lack of school fees.  Sumin is now married with 4 children of her own and takes care of the 3 orphans of her late brother who died in 2008.

Achievements

Sumin used the money to construct a small house and also to pay fess for the orphans under her care.

Age:38

Number of children: 4

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goals

Keisa Sarah's husband was polygamous.  Of her 4 children one 13 yr old boy (in picture) is diabetic.  The boy is perpetually on insulin treatment which costs her 40,000 shillings a month.  Approxiamtely $16 US.

Achievements

Sarah’s son (shown in the picture) is diabetic and she say part of the money she uses it to pay for medical bills.

She also pays school fees for him and other children.

Age: 44

Number of children: 5

Marital status:  Widow

Personal Goals

Eseza's husband died in 2006.  She is supporting 5 orphans, 2 of them in secondary school and 3 in primary school.

Achievements

As a widow Eseza has always supported her family using some of the money from beads to buy food, pay school fees, and other household needs.

Age: 62

Number of Children: Caring for 8 Orphans

Marital Status: Widow

Personal Goals

I expect to earn some income to be able to feed the orphans under my care, educate them and also be able to settle their medical bills when they fall sick.  I also know that I will be supported by the group members in times of hardships when I need support and comfort.

Age: 40                               

Marital status: single

No. children:  4

Level of education: P.4

Achievements

Naziwa used the money to start a small business which has helped to support her family. She looks forward to buying a plot of land and build a house.

Date of Birth: 1^st April 1999

Personal Life

Susan is last born in a family of 4 boys and 2 girls in Makuutu, a remote village in the newly created Bugweri district. Her parents were poor, so she did not go far in education. In 2017, she left the village and stayed with her late sister Alaisa Namukasa hoping that she could find some job to do. It was during this time that Alaisa introduced her to bead making and by the time of Alaisa’s death, Susan had learned to take up this work.

Future Plans

Since the opportunity to go to school has more or less faded, Susan thinks that she is going to work hard to perfect her work in making quality handcrafts, which she can sell locally or internationally to earn some money for a living. She also feels that the 2 orphans living in their family are very much part of her and wants to support them in all ways possible so that they may grow up and also succeed in school. One avenue she can use to achieve much of this is through making beads.