Africa-Press – Uganda. As the Covid- 19 pandemic guidelines get relaxed and more businesses open to the public, including the transport sector, a section of the women led enterprises in Luweero District are appealing for logistical support to kick start their respective group income generating projects.
Women led enterprises according to Ms Jumiya Musa Ssenkanja, the Luweero District Woman Chairperson had tried to uplift the status of the women that now share family responsibility with the men at a time when most businesses have been paralyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown for more than one year.
“The women led enterprises need more logistical support in terms of production inputs because most businesses have suffered setback under the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. It is also true that many women who champion the businesses have been bread winners under the hard times,”she told the Daily Monitor in an interview.
The long Covid-19 pandemic lockdown has affected most of the women led enterprises since many could not afford inputs to boost production while many group members diverted the little capital for family needs during the lockdown. We are stuck and many enterprises are at the verge of collapsing. Our appeal is to the well-wishers and government agencies for intervention, Ms Sarah Nalubega the Secretary Luweero Women with Disability Association told a meeting at which the National Women Organizations of Uganda (NAWODA) handed over production kits worth 22 million shillings to selected women groups in Luweero on Wednesday.
Empowering women economically adds value to their ability to contribute to the social and economic welfare of their respective families. It is unfortunate that the Covid -19 pandemic coupled with the lockdown came with setbacks. As NAWOU, our intervention through delivering the different production kits is to boost the respective group abilities to produce better products for the market.
“NAWOU through its donor partners is just complementing on the works of each group. The burden to deliver falls back to the recipient groups. We have delivered a pasteurizer to one of the groups including many other production kits. We pray that you stick to the value addition component for the different products,” Ms Monica Emiru Enyou the Executive Director NAWOU told the women group leaders at the handover of the production kits on Wednesday.
Statistics from the Luweero District Community Development Office reveals that more than 200 enterprises both individual and group based but many of the group enterprises that register as Community Based Organizations (CBOs) face management challenges. The enterprise based groups also face market challenges for their respective products.
Ms Florence Katasi, the Luweero District Community Development Officer (DCDO) says boosting the women led enterprises with production kits and the continued skilling programs has scaled up the women economic empowerment component with many women now taking on the role previously played by men in providing for their respective families.
The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown came with many challenges but many women that had income generating projects became the bread winners for their respective families. I also appeal to NAWOU to engage the women in sexual reproductive health for manageable families, she said.
Six women led enterprises were allocated production kits in line with their respective enterprises. Ms Milka Katende the Chairperson Maama Mango Women’s Development group located in Katikamu Subcounty believes that the pasteurizer machine donated to the group will boost the value addition component for the juice produced by the group. We have been using boilers that do not match the juice production standards, she said.
The production kits extended to the women led enterprises include, scouring machines and shoe mould for the Bombo women living with HIV/AIDS, Bag sewing machines and roles textile material for Luweero Women living with disabilities, bales of knitting material, office furniture among other accessories valued at Shs22 million.
