AEGiS-NV: Mbarara women get goats from newspapers

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Mbarara women get goats from newspapers

New Vision - December 21, 2004
Kyomuhendo Muhanga

YOU are poor because you do not think harder. Betty Rutare Byanyima of Hope for harvest, a Christian charitable organisation, sold old newspapers and used the proceeds to buy 40 goats for women to eradicate poverty from their homes.

While handing over 40 goats to members of Hope for Harvest, Byanyima said: "Women in Bukanga live in abject poverty. I wanted to help them increase their household income but I had no money. I decided to collect newspaper scraps, sell them to raise money for this cause and it worked," Byanyima said.

She collected the scraps from Parliament staff and other offices around Kampala while her children, Ian and Melissa collected from schools. They sold the scraps to food wrappers.

She said two other friends Connie Mutazindwa and Eva Gera joined her to collect newspapers from all over Kampala.

"The project yielded sh1.63m and I bought goats to distribute to women to fight household poverty," Byanyima said.

Hope for harvest is located at Ngarara sub-county headquarters in Bukanga, Mbarara District.

Byanyima, the wife of Bukanga county member of Parliament, Nathan Byanyima, advised women to utilise women micro-finance institutions like UGACOF to get soft loans to uplift their incomes.

"Poverty can be fought and eradicated from our homes if we decide to do so," Byanyima said.

Tophas Mwebesa, the chairperson of Hope for harvest in Ngarama, said the organisation has done a great job in "bringing women on board."

Janet Sabiiti, 52, a member of the group, said the organisation has helped women in the area to live in harmony and boosted HIV/AIDS awareness.

Byanyima said the group intends to broaden its programmes on HIV/AIDS awareness and youth and development issues.

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