Missing-Link Microfinance update.

The Missing Link Microfinance scheme has been going now for 15 months in the village of Bujjakalula, Mityana district, where John grew up and where his dad still lives.

The past couple of days we have been up there, visiting some of the beneficiaries, leading some workshops (blog to follow), and helping run the first ever 'Dragons Den' event in the area (blog to follow on that as well).

To start off, here are the stories about a couple of the microfinance beneficiaries

Gonzaga

Gonzaga is married to Proscovia, and they live with his dad, their 3-year old twins and two nieces who are secondary school age, in a very small, basic two roomed house set amongst 1.5 acres of land in rural Mityana district in Uganda.

Mid-January 2017 Gonzaga was given a loan of 300,000 UGX and he has used it to kick-start a mushroom business. Before receiving the loan he was asked to show commitment to the project by building the ‘shed’ that the mushrooms would be grown in, which he enthusiastically did so as to receive the money and be able to crack on with the project.

Three weeks after being given the loan, Gonzaga had bought the first set of mushroom ‘logs’ that have the spores on and from which the mushrooms had already started growing. It was very impressive to see, but what was even more impressive was listening to Gonzaga talking about the project. His depth of knowledge about it all – what to do, what not to do, the science behind it, ways to develop the project further……

He learnt it all at a seminar that he went to in Kampala – and that in itself is unheard of, for someone living so rurally and on such low income to have the initiative and enthusiasm to seek out such seminars, to find the funds to get there, to continue the research…..Definitely a guy with a love of learning, and putting that learning into action.

Gonzaga has worked out the plan for repayments, and has big designs on developing his business to supply mushrooms to high-quality buyers across the country. Listening to him talk, and seeing his enthusiasm and passion for it all, I suspect he’ll achieve it as well

Gonzagas and family: photo by Annie Sanderson

Mushrooms! photo by Annie Sanderson

Gonzagas and his mushrooms: photo by Annie Sanderson

Sylvia

Sylvia is a quietly-spoken mother of four who lives on the edge of the village and is another recipient of the Missing-Link Microfinance scheme.

She lives with her children, aged 1 – 15, in a very simple 2 room house, with a charcoal burner outside for cooking the meals on, and an outhouse for storage. She has a small ‘shamba’ where she grows subsistence food, and which has some coffee bushes on it.

When Sylvia received her loan she split it 50:50 and spent half of it on buying in coffee berries from local farmers to supplement those she grows herself. She then dries them all in the sun, before taking them to a nearby mill where the flesh is removed so that she can sell the beans. In this way, she can make a much larger profit on the coffee than if she just sold the berries fresh, or even dried.

The other half of the money was spent on buying two pigs – a boar and a sow. Some of the end result from that is the obvious - piglets that she can sell at market at approx. 40,000 UGX. But also the boar is used to serve sows of other pig owners in the area, with two payment options: immediate payment for the service of 20,000 UGX, or payment in the form of a piglet that Sylvia then sells at market.

So diversity in her plans, and a few different ways to bring in the income – which in these days of climate change and unreliable harvests is always a good thing – resulting in money for educating the children, and for ensuring three meals a day, and a change of clothes etc. Nothing out of this world, but for Sylvia and her little family the loan has provided access to an extra level of security of income that in itself leads to access to education and a slightly happier level of daily living.

Sylvia's home: photo by Annie Sanderson

Coffee berries: photo by Annie Sanderson

Coffee, coffee everywhere: photo by Annie Sanderson