Ida laughs with her friends at the roadside market where she sells groundnut oil and produce.
Alaro Ida remembers trying to run her own income generating activity even before joining one of Invisible Children Uganda’s (ICU) Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA). She would buy corn from a farmer in the village and then take it to the trading center to sell it at a mark-up price. She also sold peanut oil.
Once she joined the VSLA, she was trained in better management practices and skills that would help her to run her business. One of the most useful trainings was the ICU Functional Adult Literacy classes she started taking in 2010.
“Before joining, I did not record my business expenses and did not consider transport costs,” Ida said.
Ida had no formal schooling and could not read or write, but after the FAL classes she knows the alphabet and how to write her name. She can also count and calculate the right change for customers, making it safer for her to conduct business without being cheated. Now, she has a small book where she records all of her purchases and sales.
Ida writes her name.
The Functional Adult Literacy and Village Savings and Loan Associations programs are made possible by Fourth Estate members who give generously on a monthly basis to advance and sustain these programs. Become a member!
Think people should hear about this?