Mother Support Group Savings and Loans Association, my Livelihood Savior!

Lobule refugee camp is located about 15 kilometers east of Koboko Town in Lobule Sub County, Koboko district, it is one of the settlement camps hosting Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) refugees in Uganda. Lobule refugees are mainly from the areas of; Turupa, Gombe, Morodu, Gaaki, Lisoka and Pamara in Aru Territory and Ituri province in Eastern Democratic republic of Congo. The refugees in Lobule are enrolled on the cash based transfer programme where each is entitled to Uganda shillings 31, 000 per month to improve access to food and ensure that crisis-affected people consume an adequate and nutritious diet in times of need

Jane a 38 year old refugee from Democratic Republic of Congo, married with 7 children, a resident of Lobule Sub County, Ajipala Parish and Mijale Village in Waju II since 2013 tells a story of how she fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013 at the height of insurgency by the then M18 rebels who also called themselves the United Congolese Peoples’ Army. The guerrillas allegedly caused mayhem in Eastern DRC through rape, killings, burning of houses and kidnap. The war forced thousands of people to flee their homes with many crossing the border into Uganda and mainly settled in Lobule, West Nile region. Jane recaps, “After crossing over to Uganda, we were picked from the Congo border by UNHCR and brought to the collection center in Kuluba from where we were taken to Lobule settlement at the base camp to be registered”. I was registered by OPM in 2013 and since then, I have been living in Uganda.

While at the settlement in Koboko, with the help of AFOD, we were grouped into mother support group and trained on financial literacy, savings and how to manage finances. We were encouraged to form savings groups. In February 2018, as the beneficiaries of the MCHN and TSFP program in Pijoke, the women formed “Moribongo Women’s’ Savings Group’ which I joined in April 2018. The group currently consists of a total of 38 members and in the past six months, we have been able to save over 700,000 Uganda shillings (189 $). Each member saves any amount according to what he or she is able to get on a weekly or monthly basis. I am now able to borrow some money from the savings group to pay school fees for my 6 children which I pay back with some small interest. Recently I borrowed 50,000 Uganda shillings and bought chicken which have now laid eggs, I also bought seedlings of egg plants, okra and rice that I planted and I hope to get a good harvest to sell and earn some income.

Although I am not educated, I have gained some financial literacy skills through AFOD and it’s a blessing. I hope that when I return to Congo in the future, I will be a role model to my people in the community by teaching them financial literacy skills. The savings has opened up my mind on how to earn income so that I can save. I do casual work, commonly referred to as “leja-leja” where I am paid some money that I eventually save.

One piece of advice that I would give to my fellow refugee women is that despite our status, we should not sit back and wait for the entitlements, let’s not waste the little money we get, instead let us develop a saving culture. Our efforts can also change the lives of others by being role models. I would like to thank AFOD so much because without them, I wouldn’t have known about the discipline it takes to develop a savings habit.