Small Business support for South Sudanese Refugees

Dear Friend, 

Let me catch you up on the latest work on our project.

Since 2018, Terra Renaissance has been providing self-reliance support to South Sudanese refugees and host communities in Ajumani District, Northern Uganda.

The refugee settlement where we work was established in 2016, following the escalation of conflict in South Sudan, which led to a massive influx of refugees into Uganda.

Food aid is distributed to the refugees every month, but this aid is being cut back over time, making life more difficult for them.

Under these situations, we have been helping refugees to gain skills and improve their income through vocational training, rather than assistance-oriented living, so that they can become self-reliant.

Our activities include business advice and complementary training tailored to local conditions and needs at the time.

In the 2020 Covid-19 Disaster, we provided complementary training in fabric mask production to beneficiaries who had learned dressmaking and asked them to produce masks. This resulted in the distribution of masks in the community and improved the income of the beneficiaries who produced them.

Amid the changing global situation in the wake of the war in Ukraine, Uganda has recorded an inflation rate of approximately 8%, and prices for food, commodities, and other items continue to rise.

A particular burden on women's lives is the cost of purchasing sanitary products.

The monthly expenditure on sanitary products is estimated to be about 5% of the cost of living. Still, refugees with no source of income find it difficult even to make this monthly purchase.

Therefore, we decided to have the beneficiaries produce sanitary napkins that could be used continuously, and we also provided technical training.

The fabric napkins produced are also sold at low prices by the producers.

We will continue to help each person receiving our support to lead an independent life in a rapidly changing situation. We would like to ask for your continued generous support for Small Business support for South Sudanese Refugees.

Links:

• Terra Renaissance's homepage; facebook
• Terra Renaissance Global Giving

Dear Friend, 

In our project, Small Business Support for South Sudanese Refugees, we have provided six kinds of vocational training programs such as carpentry, knitting, tailoring, bricklaying, welding, and pig farming. The goal of this project is to enable the most vulnerable persons of the South Sudanese refugees and vulnerable people in the host communities to acquire the necessary skills through our training to open a business and generate income.

We have supported 197 refugees and vulnerable people in the host communities.  After 8 months of training, they are starting their business. Some people open their own businesses individually, while others open in groups. 

Those who have opened knitting shops use "knitting machines" that they have acquired skills on through training to knitting sweaters that are worn as uniforms during kindergarten.

One of our beneficiaries named Barbara (pseudonym) said, “I would like to earn money from the sweaters I am making now and buy more yarn for the materials for new products. I think I can receive more orders this year. My neighbors also told me they want to buy one from me.”

When you are in business, sometimes you run into difficulties. Not every day is smooth. That is why we keep continuing to support them so that they can continue to do business successfully and lead self-reliant lives. 

We really appreciate your warm thoughts toward our activities and South Sudanese refugees who are still suffering but trying to rebuild their lives. 

Links:

• Terra Renaissance Facebook
• Terra Renaissance Global Giving