“What surprised me the most was CPAR Uganda giving me the money in my hand and together with my fellow trainees we are the ones to budget for everything (trainee feeding during the duration of the training).” OR

OR was among trainees on our Income Generation Training Course for training youth into Self-Reliant Participatory Development Change Agents.

OR, a smallholder farmer earning a living from diary production, applied to be among beneficiaries of our training courses “to gain more skills on business and farming.”

We met their expectations for they “learnt about record keeping and financial management,” OR said.

OR’s sentiments were similarly expressed by other trainees on the same course.

“I am surprised by handling our feeding ourselves. I thought we would be provided ready made meals, without us planning for them, as was the case.” PG

“This tactic of trainees handling their own feeding surprised me the most. Trainees budgeting for their feeding and supervising the kitchen is a hands-on experience of financial management and accounting that I can’t forget easily.” OSP

Putting trainees in charge of their feeding budget and money for the duration of the training, is an efficient training tool we adopted from the body of work of late Stan Burkey, author of the book: “People First – A Guide to Self-Reliant Participatory Rural Development.”

Burkey developed, introduced and popularized the Change Agent Training Program in Uganda, and with significant success.

Trainees in charge of their feeding budget and money enables multiple training objectives:

• Leadership Training – establishing a participatory leadership structure, where each trainee gets the opportunity to exercise governance; and to be an active citizen demanding good governance.

• Accountability Training – inculcating the culture of being accountable and demanding accountability.

• Financial Literacy Training – bookkeeping, generating & interpreting financial reports, budget control, making financial decisions on the basis of facts.

• Saving for Investment Training – mostly via frugality, minimizing expenditure without compromising quality.

Key skills that are necessary for successful income generation, for causing economic growth and therefore, for the fight against poverty at household level.

Our experience each time, is that working as a group, trainees are able to make a menu, budget for three meals per day and feed on a balanced diet. Are able to keep books of accounts for their feeding budget allocation; and to do the requisite financial control.

Without compromising their feeding needs, trainees are able to make savings from their feeding stipend. Which savings come in handy for meeting their other genuine needs, including capital for investment.

“The total money I saved, I will use for travel expenses back home,” KPM testified. And so did nearly all the other trainees similarly testify intention to use their course feeding stipend savings for covering travel costs for their return journey.

The balance of savings not utilised for travel expenses, trainees made income generation plans to:

“Buy two basins of maize brand for my pigs, which will last for 14 days (2 weeks).” OS

“Invest in a long-term project. I will buy 15 assorted fruit seedlings and plant them.” EEC

“Buy two hens for the start and when they multiply I can sale and buy a goat.” OM

“Buying (stock) more clothes for my business of selling clothes.” AS

“Repay my business loan.” OR

“Buy a hoe and its handle.” OSP

We, at CPAR Uganda, are looking forward to conducting trainee support field visits and to cheer on our trained SRPD change agents as they embark on applying their simple investment and money-making skills.

Improved standards of living at household level is the goal and with your support we are honoured to endow youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with life skills for self-reliance.

Thank you!

We ask your help to spread the word to others in your networks, encouraging them to make a donation in support of accessing finance and financial literacy to deserving hardworking women entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities.

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