WCFJC News September, 2008
Global Fund for Women Visit: We were honored to host 3 representatives of the Global Fund for Women (GFW) during the month of September. GFW is one of WCFJC’s US based supporters. Muadi Mukenge (GFW Senior Program Officer, Africa), Debbie Serwadda (GFW Uganda Representative) and her colleague Victoria Sentongo visited our Hair Salon and Goat Projects.
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| L to R: Muadi Mukenge (GFW) meeting a beneficiary’s children, Helen Nabukwasi (WCFJC) & Afuwa Ngobi (WCFJC) |
L to R: Debbie Serwadda (GFW), Dorothy Tuma (WCFJC), Victoria Sentongo (GFW) & Muadi Mukenge in discussion |
Goat Project: We are excited to report that our herd grew by 4 (3 male, 1 female). WCFJC also recently completed the construction of sheds with locking doors for the two 100% exotic bucks in the goat project. This is one of the measures we are taking to improve on the animals’ safety as well as their hygiene. Meanwhile, we anxiously await the lift of the Foot & Mouth Quarantine, which will allow us to distribute she-goats to qualifying beneficiaries.
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| Jenny in his newly completed goat shed |
Poultry Project:
You may be aware that WCFJC supervises eleven poultry houses. Two of the eleven houses have been operating at a loss since the birds began laying eggs in December 2007. Despite repeated interventions from WCFJC, the factors accounting for the recurrent loss include irregular feeding (feeders and drinkers are not filled on schedule) and poor hygiene leading to repeated bird infections. Following a series of group meetings with other WCFJC beneficiaries in the poultry project, it was finally decided by group consensus that the two poultry houses that are yet to turn a profit should be invited to leave the project. The primary reason behind the invitation is the fact that the poultry houses that turn a profit have subsidized the unprofitable houses for several months now. Additionally, feed prices have almost doubled over the last few months.
The invitation was purely a business decision, nothing personal and no hard feelings. Beneficiaries from the two affected houses have WCFJC’s permission to sell the poultry in their poultry houses and invest the earnings in another business venture of their choice. If egg production levels remain as low as they are now, we will cull the entire flock in the weeks ahead.
# of Trays of Eggs Sold (1 tray = 30 eggs) in 2008
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun| Jul | Aug | Sept | |
| 1,382 | 1,111 | 1,471 | 1,180 | 1,118 | 1,120| 827.5 | 502 | 827 | |
A loss of US$ 500 was incurred in the month of September. This is an improvement on August’s performance where a loss of US$ 1,202 was made.
Hair Salon Project:
Betty Kakuba the Chairperson of Mwesigwa Women’s Group which runs the hair salon, submitted a plan for building her group would like to construct on the land WCFJC purchased on their behalf earlier this year. The group plans to construct a building that will include a hair salon (male and female sections), a bridal room and a 6-bed dormitory where students undergoing training in salon operations will be able to stay during their course of study. This group has repeatedly requested training beauty salon operations, with a view to training others in the immediate community and surrounding areas.
Hair Salon Monthly Earnings in 2008 (in US$)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun| Jul | Aug | Sept | |
| $ 103 | $ 82 | $ 43 | $ 76 | $ 111 | $ 160 | $94 | $80 | $97 |
The team from Global Fund for Women (GFW) visits the hair salon
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| L to R: Helen Nabukwasi (WCFJC), Muadi Mukenge (GFW), Victoria Sentongo (GFW), Debbie Kaddu (GFW) |
Afuwa Ngobi (WCFJC), salon customer, Betty Kakuba (Chair Mwesigwa Women’s Group & WCFJC beneficiary) |
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