My name is Nelda Charity Shamim, a 25-year-old woman from Olugonga Village in Bijo Sub- County, Yumbe District. Before joining Bausa Community Managed Savings Group, I was a very different person. I used to live day by day without a clear purpose. I would only think about what my family would eat next, and I had no idea how to plan or save for the future. Even though I was doing a small ground nut paste selling business, the money I got was only enough for food. I was lazy, hopeless, and I never believed that I could change my life. In fact, before joining the group, I had never held more than 100,000/= in my hands. One day, my close friend in the village told me about the Stromme Foundation’s Community Managed Savings Groups (CMSGs) being implemented in partnership with Kulika Uganda. She encouraged me to join because the group was helping people learn how to save and improve their lives. At first, I hesitated because I didn’t believe that such groups could make a real difference. But something inside me told me to give it a try. I finally decided to join the Bausa CMSG, and that was the turning point of my life.”
“When I joined, the trainers(CBF) from Stromme Foundation and Kulika Uganda began to teach us very important lessons. We learned about visioning, why people should save, and other useful topics like loan management, share out, conflict management, record keeping, anti-corruption and action audits. For the first time in my life, I began to understand that saving money was not just for rich people, it was for anyone with determination. These trainings opened my eyes and gave me the motivation to work harder. I made a personal goal that I would contribute 15,000/= every week. 5,000/= for savings, 5,000/= for the social fund, and 5,000/= for the education fund.”
“Honestly, it was not easy. Sometimes business was slow, and I would struggle to raise the money for the weekly savings. But because I had learned about planning and visioning, I pushed myself to work harder. I started waking up earlier to sell my paste and move around the trading center to find customers. Week after week, I kept saving faithfully. I wanted to prove to myself that I could be disciplined and achieve something meaningful. My goal was to become self-reliant and to show that women, too, can manage money wisely.”
“When the share-out day came, I was anxious but also excited. I couldn’t believe my eyes when my name was called as the highest saver in the group, with a total of 529,000/= I almost fainted out of happiness. I had never seen such an amount of money in my entire life. Tears of joy filled my eyes, and I felt proud of myself. I realized that all the effort, sacrifices, and lessons had truly paid off. That moment gave me a deep sense of dignity and confidence as a woman.”
“At first, my husband didn’t believe in savings groups. In the middle of the cycle, I encouraged him to join, but he refused. He told me that people in the group would eat my money. But I had faith in our group leaders and trust in the organization because they trained us every week and guided us on how to manage our savings. When I finally received my share-out, my husband and the entire family were shocked but very happy. We sat together as a family and planned how to use the money wisely.”
“We agreed to buy two goats, each costing 120,000/=, which we have already bought. These goats are not just animals to us, they are our family investment. I have also invest the remaining balance of the money to improve from paste business to beans business and merchandise business in the village so that I can earn more income. I am now confident that when my four children reach secondary school, I will be able to pay their school fees, especially when the goats start producing. This saving group has given me hope, strength, and a reason to dream again.”
“I now look at life differently. I believe in hard work, planning, and saving. I have set a new goal to save even more in the next cycle and to involve my husband fully in our family savings journey. My message to all women in our community is this: Don’t wait for someone to rescue you. Start where you are. Join a savings group, learn, and work hard. You can transform your life just like I did. The Bausa CMSG has shown me that even small steps, when taken with faith and discipline, can lead to great change. I am proud to say that I am no longer hopeless—I am now a woman with vision and purpose.”