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\u201cI returned equipped with mental imagery and\nalso had still photos on my phone of the necessary processes leading to the\nproduction of stationery books; the challenge was how to raise the startup\ncapital,\u201d Akello explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\nstarted with UShs150, 000 they raised in three weeks. From the six reams of\npaper they started with, they made one box of books, and the dream of the\nKichinjaji Single Mothers Association took off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nenterprise kicked off by making notebooks, counter books, graph books, art\nbooks, with a unique design using improvised Kitenge cloth as the outer cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With\nincreased demand and appreciation of their products, the need for increased\noutput became apparent. The group thus opened up to seven other single mothers,\nat which point they injected UShs100, 000 more working capital into the\nendeavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Determined\nto move the association forward, the group supplied the schools and supermarkets\nin Soroti Town and vended the products in cattle markets of rural Teso sub\nregion. The prices range from UShs1, 500 to UShs6, 500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Appreciative\nthat the group was focused, the Soroti Municipal Principal Community Development\nOfficer, Ms. Damali Asekenye introduced the idea of a loan fund under Uganda Women\nEntrepreneurship Programme (UWEP), which she believed would be assistive to the\nassociation\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\napplied in 2017, and secured loan funding of UShs4.917m in 2018. We injected\nmore money into the venture and hired space for our operations. We have paid\nback UShs2m and plan to clear the balance by March 2019 as the business is\nbringing in some good money which is also helping in our sustenance as single\nmothers,\u201d Akello says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\nsays, on monthly basis each member draws from the association over UShs100,000\nas take home, besides the workplace meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ngroup of 10 members works in shifts. They produce 300 to 600 copies, depending\non the demand; while some are making books, others make deliveries to the market,\nwhich is the routine throughout the week. On Sunday, they individually go to Church\nto thank and praise God for bringing them this far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause\nof this venture, my children have a shelter, they are clothed and have a\ncomplete set of meals; those are among the benefits we attribute to our\nbusiness,\u201d Ms Alupo adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ngroup also saves some of the profits, for eventualities and further injection\ninto the business. They envisage setting up a stationery and bookshop in the heart\nof Soroti Town in the next two years and acquiring some equipment to ease the\ndrudgery of manual labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ngroup also looks forward to securing another modest loan from UWEP, after\nclearing the outstanding one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soroti\nMunicipality Principal Community Development Officer (CDO), Damali Asekenye\nsays she shares in the pride of Kichinjaji Single Mothers Association, \u201ca zeal\nto work; it is a successful group with a bright future.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She\nstresses that from their humble start, the group is doing well, that they now\nsupply the municipality with books, they supply schools, and supermarkets, and\nsurprisingly they are at the verge of paying their entire loan, which will earn\nthem another loan upon expression of interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Single motherhood and limited means, coupled with unlimited demands is such a challenge to many women that some abandon their children while others resort to unbecoming social activities, some of which can endanger their lives. The need for decent living in an ever challenging economic atmosphere which is characterized by an ever rising cost of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":8505,"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-8504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/kich4-1024x768.jpg\")