“I found life much easier when I was younger because I had people by my side to help me. Now I am left alone to complete the work of many by myself.” - Dorothy Dorothy Kansungwa
Dorothy Kasungwa has experienced a lot of loss in her life. She has buried seven of her eight children and now works her land alone, sometimes finding it a struggle to make ends meet as she cares for her two grand-children, aged 12 and 19. Her age doesn’t allow her to do much work on her farm. In 2014, she was able to grow maize and beans but had very little left over to sell and make a profit. Dorothy joined the project with the hope to expand her farming activities.
A loan from a savings and credit group supported by the project enabled Dorothy to pay her grandchildren's school fees. She also received groundnut seeds from the project, which she planted alongside her other crops. With the surplus, she was able to feed her grandchildren decent meals. Her harvest gave them enough to eat for two months only. For the rest of the year, Dorothy had to work on her neighbours' farms to make ends meet. She was paid in food. Dorothy admits that she was afraid to borrow too much,