Missing-Link Microfinance update - another reason to make the heart sing!

This time last year, I had the privilege of visiting Mityana, a rural part of Uganda in the heart of tea-growing country, and the place where John Njendahayo, our Ugandan partner, did much of his growing up.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been there but what made this visit significant was not just the fact that John shared with us his incredible story of life in and out of Mityana during the time of so much civil unrest and bloodshed in Uganda’s turbulent recent history (although that in itself was definitely a challenging and high-impacting evening).

No, what made this particular visit significant was the conversation that led to the articulating of a dream John had for setting up a micro-finance scheme for the local community.

Members of the team caught the vision so much that soon funds were being raised to help make it a reality and, thanks to the incredible generosity of many (you know who you are), in July this year the Missing Link Microfinance scheme was launched.

Today, I returned to Mityana with John to catch up with how the programme is going and to see the process in action as John met with some applicants and gave out some loans. Including those approved today, in total 20 loans have been given out since the first ones in August.

It's early days but the news so far is very good with everyone making their required repayments on time or early, and some lovely stories of hope, dreams, and lives being changed.

Here are the stories of 3 of the people I met:

Florence Kamugunga is a widow age 40. She teaches at the local church-run nursery school. She has 3 children aged between 10 and 18 years.

Whilst Florence earns some money as a teacher, it is not enough to cover the increasing school fees for all three of her children as they move on to secondary education.

For Florence, the opportunity to get a loan and start a new little business means that she can get a new stream of income that will help ensure all the children can get through school.

So Florence is going to start buying fresh coffee beans from local growers, drying them, and then selling them on at a profit. On average she will be able to sell the dried beans on for about 40% profit, and so use some of the money to buy even more beans, and the rest to supplement her wages in order to cover school fees.

The loan also allows her to have the lump sum of money required to pay the upfront school fees, and then her wages, and the coffee bean business can cover monthly repayments.

Florence filling out the application form for a loan

Noreen Nampijja is just 22 years old, mother of a 3 yr old, engaged to be married, and already has one pig and a few chickens. Her plan is to use the loan to buy more pigs and chickens, which she will raise and then sell off at a profit, and so develop her smallholding business into one that brings in a much better income.

When I asked Noreen why she had applied for the loan, and what she wanted to get from it, she replied that she is a young mum who just wants to build good foundations for life for her and family. She just wants some financial security; and this is the case for so many of the recipients

Noreen, also filling out the application form

 Jane Batamuliza was one of the first recipients of the loans, and so I was delighted to be able to go across to her home and see what a difference the money is already making.

Jane is 30, married, and has 3 children under 10 years. Before she got the loan she used to grow crops on a subsistence basis on the family shamba, and when she could she would sell any leftovers to try and make a little money.

In the 3 months since Jane got given the loan, she has started buying fresh coffee beans to dry and sell on at profit, she has bought chickens with the intention of hatching the eggs to raise the chicks and sell them on as broilers, and she has bought 3 piglets – 1 per month, which she is raising and will be selling at a profit of 5 times the price she paid for the piglet. The first pig is being sold just before Christmas, so Jane is looking forward to being able to celebrate Christmas with a slightly more special meal this year than in the past.

Even though Jane has only had the loan a short time it's encouraging to see what she has achieved. The extra bit of money has given her the opportunity to expand her little farm and by working hard she is maximizing its impact to make a better future for herself and her family

Coffee beans drying

The October purchase piglet!

Looking at the different people who have been given loans so far and what the loans are being used for, it is clear that these loans aren't about to set the world on fire. They aren't being used to develop great new businesses, this is no Dragons Den.

But what they are doing is enabling children to go to school, providing individuals with the chance to develop a business, a focus, something for them to pour themselves into which can help them to climb a bit further away from the ever present threat of rural poverty. The loans are giving families a bit of financial security so often denied them, and the chance to believe in themselves.

The Missing Link Micro-finance project isn't about to make national headlines but it is certainly bringing good news and making transformational news in the lives of residents in Mityana, and that in itself is reason to celebrate.  A huge ‘Thank you’ to all who helped make this project happen – may you be blessed, as you have blessed others.

Jane and her chickens