FASTrack: Hadijah and Shifrah’s Journey to Empowerment
47-year-old Hadijjah is the primary caretaker of 9 children (7 grandchildren and 2 teenage daughters). Hadijjah’s granddaughter, 8 year-old Shifrah, was selected to join Children of Uganda’s education program in 2021. She and her 3 siblings were abandoned by their mother over a year ago, as Hadijah explains “out of desperation due to the extreme poverty they were living in.” Their father (Hadijjah’s son) has no stable job and barely provides any support – taking advantage of his mother’s heart.
Because he knows, Hadijah would never abandon her grandchildren.
Her profound love and willingness to sacrifice is truly remarkable. She is a ray of light and the only source of comfort these little ones can depend on. You can see it in the way the children smile as they look at her.
And yet, Hadijah knows she is falling short. When we met the family, she was struggling to earn a living by peddling snacks. It was barely enough to feed the children, let alone pay school fees and requirements. Most days, they could only afford to eat one meal.
The entire family of 10 lives in a one-room rental property for $28 a month – also all that they can afford right now.
But, all of this is about to change – and has already begun to – thanks to our new FASTrack: Family Accountability & Sustainability partnership pilot program.
Hadijah and Shifrah were chosen as one of two families to participate in this new empowerment model – with the goal of seeing sponsored students and their guardians rise together. Partnering with a family to grant them access to education, economic empowerment, healthcare and psychosocial support will create holistic and long-lasting change.
For a start, Shifrah is now fully sponsored by incoming Board Chair, Liza Craig, and will receive tutoring until she can return to school. She also participated in a mentoring session with COU university student, Dorah Nabakooza (center in the second image below). Dorah shared how she struggled academically in the beginning, but she kept pressing on and today is creating an initiative that helps out disabled children. She encouraged Shifrah and new recruit, Najjib, not to let any circumstance or anyone discourage them from pursuing what they want to be.
COU graduate and dressmaker, Allen Nabiwemba, also made Shifrah a custom-made dress and we purchased her new shoes to match. The family also received new beddings (2 mattresses, 2 pairs of bedsheets and a blanket) for a more comfortable night’s sleep, as well as food supplies and sanitary pads for the girls to improve their health and wellbeing.
Every FASTrack family is responsible for taking on an Income Generating Project (IGA) and Hadijah is so excited for the opportunity to earn enough income to properly care for everyone under her roof.
She began her tailoring skills training on April 21st and she was thrilled to get started. Her trainer is an expert in designing Kitengi and Mushanana (traditional styles of dress), as well as making school uniforms, modern dresses, trousers and shirts. She will undergo the training for a total of 5 months and thereafter, we will support her with a sewing machine to start her own tailoring business. With this, she can also train her children.
Hadijjah can’t wait to be fully equipped with the knowledge, skills and materials she needs to succeed in business. Her ultimate dream is to buy her own land in the future to be able to independently support her large family.
