Sustainable Livelihoods for the Rural Poor in Uganda

Location: Iganga and Luweero Districts, Uganda

In partnership with: Rural Effort for Action in Development & Iganga District Farmers’ Association

From 2009 to 2014 we worked in Uganda, to help rural families overcome the barriers keeping them locked in extreme poverty.

“We are proud to have established 1,050 Village Banks in this time, through local partners. As a result, 30,450 men and women were assisted in creating a safe place to save money regularly, and access small loans and insurance.”

Poor rural families find it very difficult to earn money, as finding employment is virtually impossible and starting and running a business is difficult for many reasons, such as a lack of knowledge and credit availability.

In order to overcome this, we partnered with local organisations to provide thousands of families with a way of accessing small amounts of credit to start businesses, and a place to safely save their income so that they could build for a better future.

We are proud to have established 1,050 Village Banks in this time, through local partners. As a result, 30,450 men and women were assisted in creating a safe place to save money regularly, and access small loans and insurance. They received comprehensive training and support, and many were enabled to start businesses, investing loans and savings in profitable activities.

“We estimate that we had a significant positive impact on the lives of around 80,000 children.”

The majority of these Village Banks are still operating, providing a lifeline to thousands of people who would otherwise have no way of accessing such a service.

We estimate that we had a significant positive impact on the lives of around 80,000 children.