I am Kobusingye Rose a widow with 7 children, two are girls and 5 are boys.
I hope in the future to live in healthy conditions in life, looking after my children till they complete their studies, constructing a small house for the family and starting a business to cater for my family. This week I hope to get some money so that I can buy school requirements for my children. My hope for this month is to pay at least a quarter of school dues for each child. Although they are six children, I have worked and will work hard to get them educated.
My dream for this year is to finish my two roomed house, so that we can move in, cut down on our expenses of rent and use the money for school fees top up or rear some animals. I hope that in future when my children have grown up, they will look after me and fulfill my dream of visiting another country abroad.
What keeps me going is having some money with me to help me support the family, having food for us all here, avoiding myself from rumors, being social with everyone and our women organization that helps us share experiences. What motivates me on a day to day basis is I wake up in the morning and I prepare my kids for school and I go to dig in the garden and after I come back home to make baskets which I sell and I earn some money. My children at home help me to fetch water, washing clothes and cleaning the compound.
The community has been helpful to our family because they look after my children when I am not around. Especially the mothers help me when am in need e.g. salt, paraffin etc. They give me or lend me and I return when I have bought some. My relatives on either side will help me to give me medication in case am sick or my children. My tribe generally does nothing for me and my family, since most have migrated to bigger cities and those available, mind their duties.
Annual celebrations like Christmas I am always not happy because of lucking basic festival eats for my family e.g. meat, sodas, chicken because people like us in the village we can only get them once in the year.
What keeps me carrying on is I try my best to be stress free; I keep myself away from bad women gossip and actions. I really like being in organizations gatherings and being with some good friends by sharing views about some developmental ideas and experiences plus solutions to problems and obstacles encountered.
I support myself and my family by farming and rearing animals because I invest my little earnings in the garden and in animals. I get some money to support myself and the family. Basket making is my prime and major business. I saw some women doing it and I decided to do it as well because it doesn’t need much money to start this business. It was the only business I could start with little capital. It was easy for me because I get the raw materials from the forest and our banana plantation.
My customers come looking for me because I’m a good basket maker and my prices are negotiable. I determine how much money to ask for depending on the size, the smaller ones are of low price and the bigger is of high price. There is no one else who sells what I sell so I have no competition within the surrounding people. Since they don’t have time to make baskets, they spend much of their time in the garden.
My only dream and wish is to get more capital and expand the small businesses that am involved in so that I can see my children complete school and also provide basic needs for the family.