In January 2008, Night Gorreti and her family migrated from Kanungu District in the Kigezi Region, Western Uganda looking for a better life. She settled in Kasoga Village in Kyangwali Sub-County, in Western Uganda as well.
Here life was still hard: their household had no access to health services and other most basic needs. "We rarely had any food at all. We used to have no means of improving our own home and had to provide casual labour to make ends meet. Even getting the children to school was a struggle because they frequently dropped out with no access to school requirements. We therefore made the decision to send our firstborn alone to school so that he would eventually support the others,” explains the 37-year-old.
Henceforth, Gorreti and her husband, Jonas Bakurana started to rent land for cultivation — half an acre at UGX 160,000 (39 Euros) per season of about four months — where the eleven-member household planted food crops such as maize, beans, and Irish potatoes for home consumption and commercial purposes.
“We cultivated food crops but never applied good farming practices; on the contrary, we merely combined any crops together, and that affected our farming. While the beans and Irish potatoes were for home consumption, we typically generated UGX 300,000 (73 Euros) from growing maize alone,” states Gorreti.
The earnings were allocated to meeting basic needs and saving UGX 100,000 (24 Euros) every four months in a community cash round group consisting of fifteen members. Gorreti’s husband also saved UGX 5,000 (1 Euro) every month in a village savings group with a share-out at the end of the year.
Despite their best efforts, the household’s primary problem remained a constant: low income, which made them unable to resolve the majority of their expenses, such as school fees, clothing, and adequate food. “The little money we made from farming was spent mostly on my husband’s health complications — a kidney condition.”
In July 2023, Gorreti’s household was enrolled in the Sustainable Market Inclusive Livelihood Pathways to Self-Reliance (SMILES) project, where they engaged in project activities including coaching, Farmer Field and Business School–pest management, good agronomic practices and animal husbandry, Enterprise Selection Planning and Management, business coaching, and Village Saving and Loans Association.
The household received training in proper sanitation practices which included boiling drinking water and obtaining a handwashing station with clean water and soap,. They also received a mobile phone and a monthly cash stipend of UGX 13,000 (3 Euros) per household member for eight months, enabling them to acquire food and basic needs.
“As a household, we received a monthly cash stipend of UGX 91,000 (23 Euros) for eight months, which we spent on school fees and other daily needs. All our children are now attending school. We saved UGX 10,000 (2 Euros), bought a goat for UGX 160,000 (39 Euros), and two ducks for UGX 30,000 (7 Euros). They have multiplied and we now have ten ducks and five goats.” Gorreti explains.
“The SMILES project also taught us line-planting, proper spacing, and the making of organic pesticides and fertilisers in farming. We now grow a variety of crops such as maize, beans, sorghum, and sweet potatoes.” Adds Gorreti.
She placed a strong emphasis on learning from coaching topics such as parenting, child development, child upbringing, and exploring household responsibilities. Gorreti saves UGX 10,000 (2 Euros) in the SMILES project Village Saving and Loans Association. In addition to participating in numerous savings groups, Gorreti and her spouse also set aside a portion of their income in a piggy bank for their home emergencies.
Her household received a business cash grant of UGX 262,500 (64 Euros). In alignment with her business plan, helping her to venture into onion trading, which has contributed to meeting their basic needs and acquiring an employee in their garden.
“I used UGX 60,000 (15 Euros) to purchase tarpaulin, then used the UGX 200,000 (49 Euros) to trade onions and tomatoes, and the irregular profits contributed to household expenses. From the onion trading in three different markets—Kyarushesha, Nyairongo, and Kyangwali—I earn an average profit of UGX 30,000 (7 Euros) per 30 bundles of onions.” Says Gorreti.
She further borrowed block grant money from the Village Saving and Loans Association group worth UGX 1 million (243 Euros). She invested UGX 400,000 (97 Euros) in renting an acre of land for cultivation of maize and beans, UGX 150,000 (36 Euros) in the onion trading business, and UGX 450,000 (109 Euros) in fencing off her homestead to protect it from livestock. She has so far paid UGX 150,000 (36 Euros) of the loan.
Gorreti and her spouse intend to construct additional rooms to expand the family's living space and continue providing for their children's education, all while continuing to learn from the SMILES project and enhancing their household livelihoods.
About the SMILES project
The Sustainable Market Inclusive Livelihood Pathways to Self-Reliance (SMILES) project is a five-year (November, 2022 – October, 2027) initiative funded by the IKEA Foundation. The project works with 14,000 households (extremely poor refugee and host community) comprising 70,000 individuals in Kyaka II and Kyangwali Refugee Settlements in Western Uganda with the aim of supporting them to become resilient.
The project delivers a graduation model integrated with a Market System Development approach targeting women and youth and their household members. Key sectors include livelihoods, agriculture, food security, protection, energy and environment. The project is implemented by AVSI Foundation in partnership with UNHCR and the Office of the Prime Minister and in a consortium with Innovations for Poverty Action, Renewable Energy, Powering Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Enhancement (REPARLE), Makerere University Kampala, and DAI Global LLC.
