Sylvia set a goal to save for school fees for her children. Despite some difficulty making contributions to her commitment savings plan due to the Covid-19 lockdown, market closures, and loss of income, she met her goal! By the end of November, she had $28. And importantly, she was able to withdraw money from her individual emergency fund to buy medicine for her son who got sick, without disrupting the achievement of her goal. She likes WomenSave because as she says she has “all the access and control of [her] money.” Her long-term goal is to buy a cow!

(January 2021)

Evalyn wanted to send her kids to school. So as a pilot project client last year she saved for school fees. She exceeded her target and saved Ushs 150,000 (US$42) for her goal, as well as Ushs 21,000 (US$6) for her emergency fund. This year for her second cycle, she is saving for school fees again. Evalyn has already deposited Ushs 185,000 (US$52) and Ushs 30,000 (US$8), 62% and 60% of the way toward her commitment and emergency goals respectively. We wish her good luck to reach 100%!

Shillah became a client almost two years ago, when WomenSave launched its pilot project. During the pandemic, she lost her job and turned to farming. Nonetheless, she has saved nearly Ushs. 400,000 ($110), met two goals (buying a goat and starting a poultry project – pictured above) and maintained an individual emergency fund. Her long-term plans include building a house and financing her daughter’s education. Her favorite part of WomenSave? Financial literacy training, because it taught her how to plan for what is important and urgent in her life. She thanks WomenSave and its supporters for...

Emily joined WomenSave in 2020 as part of the pilot project. At the time, she kept the money she had at home and relied on buying goods on credit and borrowing from family and friends when necessary. While she had heard of mobile money, she did not have an account. With the support of her Savings Officer, Emily opened a mobile money account, made weekly deposits and met her first goal to buy a goat. In 2021, she set a new goal to pay school fees for her son, and met it! In addition, she has an individual emergency fund worth nearly 20% of her monthly expenses, reportedly the most significant change in her life. She extends her gratitude to WomenSave for:

Melani is from the remote village of Karukara in southwestern Uganda. She sells vegetables to earn a living but sometimes struggles to make ends meet. As a result, Melani sometimes finds it hard to save. So she deposits Ush. 1,000 ($0.25) on a daily basis toward her goal of paying school fees for her children. Thanks to her dedication, she met her goal last year and is well on her way to doing it again this year. Congratulations, Melani!
(April 2022)

Annah is a resident of Kanungu and member of Itembezo Women’s Group. She is illiterate and lives on < $2 a day, but that does not stop her from meeting important financial goals with the support of WomenSave. Since she joined the program in 2020, she started making bricks (pictured above), traditionally a male dominated business, to earn money to save. With her savings she has purchased two goats and saved over 1/3 the value of her monthly expenses for her personal emergency fund. Her long-term goal is to build a house. We wish her success!
(July 2022)

Harriet joined WomenSave as part of the pilot project in 2020, has already met three financial goals and maintains an emergency fund valued at nearly ¼ her average monthly expenses. She has a tailoring business that she has invested in with additional sewing machines and stock to prepare for the Christmas season. While it has not been easy to save because of economic hardship, financial literacy sparked a passion that keeps her going, as does her newfound trust in mobile money. In her own words, Harriet says that...

Annet joined WomenSave as part of the pilot project in 2020. Over the last three years she set personal financial goals to buy a mattress, as well as cement and brinks to build a house. And she met them all! With her savings plans and deposit reminders. In addition, she has saved 26% of her average monthly budget in an individual emergency fund, which she uses to buy food when necessary. In December, Annet graduated from the program, which she reports gave her the confidence to manage her finances and "very much improved [her] quality of life."
(January 2023)