Empowering women with skills to provide

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff in Maundo, Uganda became aware that some of our sponsored families were struggling with food insecurity more than others. Local markets were closed for several months and families did not have alternative means of purchasing, growing or finding food. During this time of crisis, Covenant Mercies provided an emergency supply of food as needed, but also wanted to enable families to thrive in the days and years to come.

“We started a program with the assistance of agricultural extension workers from the Ugandan government to promote food security and self-reliance. The caregivers were taught best practice methods for sustainable farming so they could increase the productivity of their land and thereby better provide for their households,” said David Mayinja, Covenant Mercies’ director of international development. 

Twenty-two women have been part of the pilot program in Maundo. In addition to acquiring agricultural knowledge, the women have also been taught basic business and money management skills so they can be involved in income generating activities to earn an income to supplement their subsistence farming. Some are now involved in selling fish and vegetables in the marketplace, others have started seamstress businesses and selling clothes and fabric, and others are involved in animal husbandry.

Programs like this are only made possible through the generosity of our supporters. As the well-known proverb says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Thank you for enabling Covenant Mercies to put this proverb into practice as we serve the needs of the fatherless children and their guardians in our program.