Norah K. from Uganda
A story of resilience & perseverance
Norah K., 72, lives in Nyamirama subcounty in southwestern Uganda and is a member of the Kigarama Granny Group, coordinated and supported by WE grant partner, Nyaka. She operates a retail shop at Karonde Trading Centre and takes care of two grandchildren. The children belong to Norah’s daughter, who left them under their grandmother’s care after giving birth to them at an early age. Norah’s daily routine begins at 6AM with chores, after which she prepares pancakes and popcorn for sale. Norah also packs some pancakes and popcorn as a snack for school for her grandchildren. Through the pandemic, her snack sales fell due to school closures and an increase in competition.
Through her retail business, however, (which is supported by microloans from the granny group) Norah has been able to:
- Start a poultry project in which she sells eggs and hens to supplement her shop sales
- Pay casual laborers who work on her gardens
- Be in a position to always restock her shop
- Become more financially independent, not depending on her children for financial survival, while meeting her scholastic needs of her grandchildren.
In the future, she dreams of seeing her business grow and compete successfully with other retail shops in her trading center, starting a goat farm, and building a permanent structure for her shop, which she hopes will be her legacy. Women like Norah in Nyaka’s Grandmothers program face many challenges on a daily basis, experiencing poverty and extreme poverty, working to overcome their situations and gain their independence, send their grandchildren to school, and enable them to thrive. They are strong, resilient, and empowered, working to build a reality where they and their grandchildren can dream big and achieve their goals.