By traveling down some scenic winding roads, past some roadside restaurants, and through small clearings of grouped huts, you will arrive at Irene’s new home – a 6-room building of bright red brick. She bought the land it’s built on with money she saved up as a seamstress at Mend, our social enterprise geared toward improving lives of women who were affected by the LRA conflict.
Like many of the residents of Gulu, Irene lived in a hut. When she realized how much time and money she was spending with the constant renovations to the grass thatch, she made the decision to build something more permanent. Something that would not only provide her and her family with better housing, but also be a source of supplemental income.
It took just two years of investing her savings and income from Mend to complete her new home, and in April 2012 she and her son moved into two of the rooms. The other four rooms she rents out to other individuals. Irene says her son, Steward, was happy about moving into their new home.
“I would tell anyone interested in building to plan, save and have a focused [target],” Irene said. “It’s very challenging to start construction but very nice to have a house.”
For the 16 seamstresses who joined Mend between 2007 and 2011, home ownership has increased from 12.5% to 37.5% since the time they joined.
The social enterprise Mend is one of our Recovery Programs in Uganda, and is funded through monthly donations by members of Fourth Estate. Find out how you can sign up for a Fourth Estate membership HERE.
Think people should hear about this?