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Group members have repaid the loan in one year. The profits are shared among members and largely used for individual savings and payment of school fees for their children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Members say that since 2017, their lives have changed; they feed better and some have constructed permanent houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking for the group, Ms Komuhangyi says their major reservation is in respect of the sourcing of raw material, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe spend much money buying and transporting materials from Wakiso and Kampala. The locally available alternative, the papyrus reeds, are only found in the national park which is not accessible. \u00a0We then use banana fibres which are not good during rainy season.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She notes that some of the members\u2019\nchildren who are positively living with HIV\/AIDS have dropped out of school due\nto stigmatisation by other students, a consequence of routine medication,\nindeed the reason the group was formed; self-reliance and children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She also says limited capital is another limiting factor, \u201cWe applied for more funds last October year, but whereas the officials have told us the money is available, we missed a good order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have had no explanation about UShs12 million we expected and nobody\u00a0knows where that money is.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have another big order in April but we have no certainty that we shall make it as the money is yet to be released, although we are told we shall get it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As women celebrate the Women\u2019s Day on March 8, Karusandara Women Craft Making and Selling Group believes many women are yet to benefit from UWEP support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe wish\u00a0to give live testimonies about the appropriateness and value of the program\u00a0but how do we do it! \u00a0We are grateful to the government and pray for its long stay in power,\u201d\u00a0she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Karusandara women, think government\nneeds to increase the funding to benefit the many women who are needy, \u201cTake the\nbigger picture of the entire sub-county; how many women are yearning for\nfunding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having excelled in craft making and selling, the women have set their sights on\u00a0training in shoe making for the local market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They also need study tours for exposure to the rest of the world. \u00a0They have learnt of the skills to improve\u00a0their business when they toured Wakiso district and they are certain of a market for the envisioned shoe making enterprise. What remains are the acquisition of appropriate skills and\u00a0necessary materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Senior\u00a0Community Development Officer [SCDO] for Kasese District Ms. Queengonda Asiimwe is appreciative of the group\u2019s progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She says a group in Nyakatonzi Sub-county called Tukwatanise women group is engaged in Bull fattening and is equally successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She notes that the fluctuation of prices is a major challenge to the majority of the groups, affecting the recovery of the money extended to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further, whereas women don\u2019t own land in the district, the majority get funds to invest in agriculture which they use to hire land at high prices\u00a0which limit their prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The officer proposes that for\nthe program to succeed, government needs to increase the operation funding from\nUShs4m to enable the monitoring and supervision function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She urges government to increase of the UWEC funds; Kasese district only gets UShs200-300m; if divided among 39 sub-counties, each of the two groups selected would receive an average of UShs3.8m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She maintains that UShs12m was approved\u00a0for the group, having exhibited seriousness in investing the initial funding. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Originally discriminated against for being HIV\/AIDS positive, 570 women in Karusandara Sub-county in Busongora South Constituency, Kasese District have reinvented themselves by forming a Crafts Making and Selling Group. The group chairperson, Ms Donata Komuhangyi, says Karusandara Women Crafts Making and Selling Group was established in 2004, as a community development umbrella for\u00a0HIV\/AIDs\u00a0positive women. The women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":8502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/karu3-1024x768.jpg\")