Muwanguzi Ben's story

Muwanguzi Ben

“My turning point started when I began saving, and after the first cycle my savings accumulated to UGX 120,000, which I used to buy a goat.”

Muwanguzi Ben is an 18-year-old peasant farmer from Buyende Sub-county in Buyende District. He heard about A Working Future Project from a Community Based Trainer who explained the benefits of VSLA, collective production and marketing. The desire to save money and buy goats attracted him to join Tilikuleka-Awabi Youth Group in his village. Since joining the group, Ben's savings improved and he was able to save UGX 120,000 as capital to buy a goat. He also became involved in chili production, and his saving culture has improved because he saves weekly from the sale of chili. In the group, members believe in starting small, saving UGX 500 every Thursday. Ben says the VSLA and chili growing enabled him to buy a goat, and he looks forward to buying more goats from his savings and borrowing from the group VSLA to build a goat production business. Before joining the group, he earned small income but had no saving mindset. His turning point began when he started saving in April 2020, and after the first cycle in April 2021 his savings accumulated to UGX 120,000. His quality of life has changed because he can finance small investments such as seed and chemicals for his chili garden using both savings and group loans. He calls his story: saving money for productive investment.