Denis Opudo
Joyce Jokundu is a Sudanese refugee in Ayilo refugee settlement in Uganda. She operates a small business of preparing cups of tea and meals of beans, fish and rice or beef and Ugali, a traditional Ugandan dish made of cornmeal in a busy trading center. Her customers are fellow refugees, aid workers or young people who don’t feel like preparing food at their places. Joyce says that she started operating the small business back at home and she had to fly away with her pans and some other utensils, so all she was lacking was money to start up again the business in Uganda.
On arrival to Uganda, she was a widow with two children to take care of after losing her husband in the war this posed a challenge on her during her stay in the country due to the fact that she didn’t have someone to support her. She admits that there were several business opportunities but then she had no capital to explore the opportunities.
Joyce was later on contacted with a village saving agent. She utilized that chance with both hands. With the knowledge she had in savings back in Sudan, she managed to be saving 2,500 Ugandan shillings. Raising the money was hard since the majority of the people had no source of income what they did was to sell part of their monthly ration. After saving for two months, she managed to get a loan of 50, 000 Ugandan shillings from the 30 members savings kitty.
Joyce used the money to open up a small eating place. After few weeks she repaid the loan. On a good day, she could make a profit of 15,000 to 30,000 Ugandan shillings and she was of the idea of taking another loan to expand her business.
World vision is taxed with the duty of moving around the camp and sensitizing the people. The refugees are advised to form saving groups of not more than 30 members each after that they are given record keeping equipment for each group. Members are required to save a minimum of Ugx 2,000 Shillings and maximum Ugx 10,000 Shilling per week.
The idea has led to the formation of 60 groups with 1, 800 members. Between August and November 2017 the total cumulative savings for the 60 groups at Ayilo refugee settlement alone is Ugx 25 Million Shillings only. The initiative is targeting more members from different refugees camps across Africa.The project has made the refugees be self-reliant and improve their economic growth rather than depending on the donors. The saving has helped a number of the refugees to open up businesses back at home hence participating in their national economic growth.
