WCFJC News

January, 2010

In January WCFJC hosted two volunteers from Virginia, USA ? Elaine & Rene Cardenas. An experienced program evaluator and social marketing expert, Elaine is a PhD candidate at the George Mason University. Rene is an expert on community development and program evaluation. During the 10 days they spent in Uganda, Elaine and Rene who are both researchers conducted a formative evaluation of Mwesigwa Beauty Salon under the WCFJC Salon Program. Elaine and Rene's insightful report will be incredibly useful in strengthening WCFJC and in attracting donors as well as additional volunteers. We at WCFJC are deeply grateful that they chose to spend a well-deserved vacation half the way around the world with us!

Rene & Elaine Cardenas in Uganda

Goat Program:
A person to spray the goats in Ndigakweya Women's Group has been identified, following the dismissal of the gentleman WCFJC had hired for that purpose in 2009. During the month of January, one beneficiary lost two goats to disease in two days. Given the high incidence of animal deaths due to poor hygienic practices and generally run down goat sheds, WCFJC has decided to link a portion of field staff monthly salaries to the health of the WCFJC herd. We hope this will result in our field staff paying closer attention to the condition of the animals as well as finding more effective ways to motivate beneficiaries to take good care of the animals.

Poultry Program:
The birds are in good health and expected to be on track to begin laying eggs in March 2010. The beneficiaries however, appear reluctant however, to take on the responsibility of transporting the eggs to the nearby Jinja Town for sale to local retailers. This is in spite of each beneficiary having signed a contract with WCFJC agreeing that they would undertake this particular activity. Over the next few months, WCFJC will work with beneficiaries to equip them to undertake this responsibility.

Salon Program:
Elaine and Rene's research confirmed one of the areas of weakness that WCFJC had identified at Mwesigwa Hair Salon i.e. poor record keeping. It is difficult to gauge the accuracy of the submitted monthly earnings report. To gain a better understanding of the true picture on the ground, a university intern will assigned to Mwesigwa Hair Salon over the summer. Three of the intern's main responsibilities will be

1. creating a proper record keeping system for the salon
2. tracking all income and expenses at the salon during the 8 week internship and
3. training the members of Mwesigwa Women's Group to use the record keeping system to accurately maintain salon records after the intern's departure.

• Hair Salon Earnings, Full Year 2008: US$ 1,544
• Hair Salon Earnings, Full Year 2009: US$ 2,112; +37% over prior year

School Program:
Following the school landlord's decision to withdraw the property from the market, the school chose to rent a nearby lot (100 feet x 100 feet) at the cost of US$ 25 a month. The 168 enrolled pupils in 6 classes will attend classes in a temporary shelter being constructed for that purpose.

• Expected 2010 revenue (school and exam fees + building fund) = US$1,929.
• Expected 2010 expenses = US$1,830 (staff salaries & lot rent).

Some of the school's pupils