As part of the storytelling component of our Annual General Meeting
last Friday, Hope Prisons shared several success stories from their income
generating projects. Because MCC’s
partnership with Hope Prisons only focuses on primary education, Hope Prisons
had to think outside of the box about how they could empower families so that
children could continue their education into high school and beyond. With only a very small amount of money for a “pilot
project” in income generating activities, Hope Prisons was able to turn this
small investment into huge returns. Because I was so impressed with the stories that William shared, I decided to devote another blog to telling some Hope Prisons stories.
Here are some of the most inspiring stories of what these women were able to do with a little bit of capital:
Beatrice is a single mother who has two children
that are being sponsored by Hope Prisons.
Her husband was in prison for several years and then abandoned his
family upon his release, and Beatrice had been struggling to provide for her
family. When William first met her, she
was living in a very poor house in terrible conditions. With the money given to her by Hope Prisons,
she was able to set up a small food vending business where she cooks food and
sells it out of her house. The income
she has earned from the business has enabled her to move into a good house and
provide a better life for her children.
With the small loan that Betty was given, she was able to
open her own salon. With the profits she
made, she was able to pay for both her daughter and son to attend high school. Her daughter, who was able to finish high
school, is currently studying to be a nurse.
Her son is in his second year of high school and is performing very well. After serving a five year prison sentence,
her husband was released and is back with his family; however he has not been
able to find work since he was released.
Florence and her husband separated after he was released
from prison. Although Hope Prisons works
with ex-prisoners to transition back into society and encourages them to return
to their families, it is common for men to abandon their families after being
released. The combination of having been
away for so long as well as the pressure to provide for their families amidst
the difficulty of finding employment drives many men away. With her loan from Hope, Florence was able to
open a small retail shop. With the
profits from her shop she is able to take care of her 7 children, 4 of whom
are currently sponsored by Hope Prisons.
The final inspirational story is about a young boy who was
almost forced to drop out of school in only fourth grade because his father was
sent to prison. He was accepted into the
sponsorship program, and was consistently #1 throughout primary and secondary
school. After finishing secondary
school, he performed so well on his exams that he was given a full scholarship
to study medicine at Uganda’s largest public university Makerere. This is one of the most prestigious scholarships
a Ugandan student can receive, and it is even more impressive in light of all
of the challenges this young man has faced in his life, and the fact that he
almost didn’t make it to fifth grade. He
is currently in his second year at the University and is looking forward to
become a doctor and give back to his community.
I'll be sharing more stories and photos from our AGM in the next few posts...
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