Cleasanta is a UGAFODE client at the Rukungiri branch in Western Uganda. She is a tailor and a farmer, married with three children and takes care of three orphans. She is very hardworking and committed to her business and family.
Before Cleasanta joined UGAFODE, she used to do her tailoring business on the veranda of someone’s shop. None of her children or the orphans in her care were going to school. It was generally hard for her and her husband to provide the basic necessities of their family. Cleasanta had a very meager income because her working capital was so small. Although her husband is also a tailor, his earnings were not sufficient to meet the needs of the family and pay the school fees for the children.
Due to the economic hardship the family was going through, Compassion International sponsored one child by the name of Akankwasa Brenda, who was then able to attend school: Primary Two level.
In 2005, Cleasanta joined UGAFODE and became a member of the Rwamugoma Uweso group. She has gone through three loan cycles with UGAFODE: her first loan was $113, the second loan $168 and the current loan $280. She was elected to a leadership role in her Trust Group, serving as Treasurer.
Today, with the proceeds from the three loans from UGAFODE, her business has expanded into an established tailoring business in Kashenyi Ruhinda Rukungiri district. Cleasanta testifies that the loans have had a tremendous impact on her family. She has been able to send her three children and the three orphans to school and is now able to provide the basic necessities for her family. Her banana plantation has expanded and she has also been able to contribute towards the roofing of a new permanent house for the family.
Cleasanta’s future plans to grow her business include buying more sewing machines with her next loan and also establish a tailoring training center for orphans and vulnerable youths as part of UGAFODE’s Youth Apprenticeship Program. She knows she has been blessed and is eager to bless others.