Some of the single mothers in a media engagement at Chez Johnson Hotel in Kampala
By Ambrose Gahene
Uganda Single Mothers under their Umbrella organization; the International Network for Single Mothers (INSM) have vowed to stem poverty through participating and promoting income generating activities among members.
The single mothers made the resolution at a one day media engagement conference, held at Chez Johnson Hotel in Kampala on Wednesday. The conference held under the theme: “From Street to Digital”, was aimed at empowering single mothers through digital transformation.
Ms. Nassanga Winfred, INSM Chairperson, in her opening remarks, said single mothers are not a burden to the taxpayer but an untapped economic engine. She said when people speak about single mothers; they speak about vulnerability, charity and pity!
“Today, we are here to dismantle that outdated narrative and thinking because single mothers are the most resilient resource Uganda has”, she said, citing the majority of small and medium (SMEs) businesses in Kampala and other urban cities as being run by single mothers.
She said INSM focus is moving single mothers from hand to mouth labour to value addition, in which single mothers will be self -sustaining, and that INSM is building the Launchpad.
“We are training our women to produce market ready goods that can compete anywhere, whether it’s in commercial Agriculture or tourism”, she added.
Ms. Nassanga added that; statistics show that a mother reinvests up to 90 percent of her income directly back into her family.
“This means better health, better nutrition, and quality education for over 400,000+ children”, she further pointed out.
Ms. Doreen Keita Kagabi, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) winner for Makindye West Parliamentary seat, congratulated single mothers for uniting to stem poverty in the community.
She said the 17000 women mobilized to join INSM in all Kampala Divisions and the establishment of single mothers’ leaders at every Parish is testimony that the organization will meet its objectives to eradicate poverty among single mothers’ households.
She promised to support single mothers who were recently evicted from carrying out informal businesses on the streets, by relocating them to market stalls and advocating for them to access Parish Development Model (PDM) Funds to boost their businesses.
“Mindset change is very important for single mothers. We have to look for alternative income generating projects, even after being evicted from trading along the streets”, she said.
Lt. Col Judith Asiimwe, Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Officer, charged with addressing the welfare of UPDF School Children, said H.E President Museveni is committed to supporting single mothers’ plight to eradicate poverty, and that the President made the promise during his Presidential campaign rally of Kampala City.
She also called on single mothers to market their products online if they are to get reliable and genuine customers.