Case Study One:

Soap making empowers Catherine back to School.

Catherine, a 17 year young mother from Mafubira Sub county was a vulnerable young girl living in a slum of Mafubira with her single mother in a single room with her 2 siblings. A man took advantage of her situation impregnated her and abandoned her which made her to drop out of school in form three. She was identified by the community leader and referred to WELL to enroll on the herbal soap making project. After delivery in August 2018, Catherine continued engaging in the soap production and selling of soap where she is able to make savings to take care of her baby and other basic needs.

After accumulating some savings, she started operating a market stall selling food stuffs in the evenings in Mafubira trading centre. Using proceeds from the business, she went back to school this year (February 2019)to join form three where she had stopped. She is now able to meet her basic needs, take care of her baby and pay her fees using the profits from her business.

Case Study Two

Soap making reduces domestic violence in Mafubira; the case of Christine

Chritine aged 32 years is a mother of four and resident of Kyamagwa village in Mafubira Sub county. She is married and lives with her four children and husband. She was living in a single rented room, surviving on one meal a day most of the days and the couple engaged in regular fights. One time she was buttered and lost a tooth. The fights were a result of lack of basic needs and whenever she asked the husband to provide the couple would end up fighting.

One day after a fight with her husband,Christine approached and shared her plight with one of her friends who was already enrolled on WELL project. She was referred to WELL and was enrolled to train in soap production and marketing. In addition she also benefited from bakery training organized by WELL.

Using the skills Christine now participates in soap making  and marketing with other group members. From the sales each member saves a profit from each item sold.Using the accumulated savings  Chritinestarted baking business mainly making cakes and cookies.

As a result of the skills and support from WELL,Christine is very grateful that her life has changed. She said, “ I am now able to supplement house rent and feeding for my family. We have been able to shift from the previously single rented room to a double where we can live confortably with our children, we cannow affordatleast two meals a day and my husband is happy because of my contribution to family income and even he has stopped fighting”.

“I want to thank WELL and VGIF for supporting us”, she concludes.

Case Study Three

Promoting self-employment through Soap making:

Patience 33 years is a mother of two, she is married and lives with her husband in a rented room in Mpumudde, She is among the oldest members of WELL women who were mobilized through the church to benefit from WELL craft project in 2014. Before joining WELL, she was an unemployed total housewife depending on her husband for every provision, the husband did not have enough income either so life was a struggle in their home.She trained and actively participates in herbal soap making funded by VGIF in 2018. She has the highest sales of soap overall among the group members. She accumulated savings of 525,000 (150 US dollars) and started a business of selling second hand clothes in Bugembe trading centre.

Her life has totally changed, she supplements the husband’s income towards household needs, unlike before.The family now lives a decent life.Patience supports other women in family guidance and mobilization for the organization. When she was asked about her future plans, Patience proudly said with a smile on her face “I want to expand my business and provide employment for other women.”