My name is Rose Abwooli Kabasinguzi and I am a vendor based in Kalerwe; one of the suburbs in Kampala. I can proudly say that I am one of the people who have reaped big from the ReBUILD program. I come from a community with so many women in dire need and most of them have lost hope but I can say that ‘’I am a rose that has grown in concrete’’ as my name goes.

Before the ReBUILD program, I was facing so many challenges, and what sparked off a period of misery and suffering in my life was the loss of my job. This made me go through depression and frustration because I didn’t know where to start and I was also worried about basic needs like food, the education of my children, and my whole livelihood in general because I was on the wall.

With everything that was happening in my life and being in a situation where you don’t know what to do next, I can say ‘’struggle can be a blessing in disguise’’ because it is during these hard times that I got to hear about some sort of training that was going to take place for three days from one of my distant friends and I didn’t know that I was getting initiated into the ReBUILD program because my friend had told me that it was a training for refugees and the host community. I didn’t take it seriously in the beginning because I thought it was a scam because nowadays people are looking for money in all corners but I later made up my mind and decided to go for the training as my friend had said. This how I got to know about the ReBUILD program.

The first day I entered into KOWED premises, it was an enthusiastic feeling because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing because what was a scam in the beginning turned to be a dream come true; like everything just felt different and it also felt like it were ‘’heaven on earth.’’ My first visit was a roller-coaster of emotions because it all started with the great meals and the whole action-packed activities that really made me develop a feeling that I was now in the right place and I was about to reap big. Departure time came, and I got a transport refund an this now was my journey to greatness because I took it as free money in the beginning but in the long run it turned out to be a treasure because I am now on a way level.

First of all I want to applaud KOWED and the ReBUILD program because they really widened my understanding of so many things that I personally thought I would never get chance of even doing but here I am making wonders because of the knowledge I acquired from the various series of trainings that we had. We started with Urban Savings and Loans Association and this was also one of the turning points because I am one person who literally never had the saving culture because I always believed that my money was for my children’s education and other basic needs and I neglected saving . The best part of it all is that we were taken through a session about savings and this fully equipped me with the skill and at the end of the day we formed a group and we named it ‘’Tree of Hope’’ and now this was the real deal. I actually started by saving the transport money that were being given every evening (she laughs). It is from our group that I got a loan that turned tables and changed my whole life. I used the money to venture into business because they also took us through Entrepreneurship Skills which fully equipped me with the business skill; I then started with second hand shoes and later switched to stockings. My business has been moving smoothly because I can get at least between Ugshs. 40,000 to Ugshs. 80,000 on a daily something that is really a true testimony because initially I had nothing but now I am always touching money (she laughs) and I can say I rose from ‘’grass to grace’’ because I now have the bag in my hands(she laughs).

There were also so many beneficial trainings that we underwent and these were also life changing trainings for example the Briquette making and I now days also teach some women how to make the  Briquettes. We also had the home gardening where we had the hydroponics, spinach and we were also given seeds to plant and I sent the seeds to my son in the village and he is soon going to start harvesting onions, garlic; but as for the Okra and egg plants, I can say we have been eating fresh food from our small garden we had put up at home. All these projects were beneficial to us but we had a challenge with the hydroponics because it’s not an easy one to deal with and it is also expensive because it needs a lot of money to run the garden; it’s also hard to implement. I would actually recommend that more emphasis be put on Mushroom growing because the mushrooms have ready market and people are reaping big from it because at times I go to Nakasero Market very early in the morning and you see people scrambling for the mushrooms. Mushrooms also have so many benefits and I second that this be done instead of the hydroponics. I can say that say I have really learnt a lot from the ReBUILD program.

With all the knowledge I have acquired from the ReBUILD program, I think my plans will be venturing into mushroom growing and poultry farming because I am passionate about these two and I also think I will have to continue with training women on how to make briquettes because this is one thing that is cheap and it is also friendly to the environment. These are things that I am looking forward to doing in the future and I know I am going to do all of them because I now believe in me. After all, ReBUILD rebuilt me (she laughs).

My message to the people out there who are going through challenges right now; first of all they should believe in God and they should also be on the move because the opportunity will not find you in your house but it will find you on the move and lastly they should never lose hope because  I am a living example showing that ‘’the stone that the builder refuses becomes the head cornerstone’’ because I lost my job and I became a boss (she laughs) and I am reaping big daily.

I would also recommend other people to join the ReBUILD program because your state of mind can never remain the same you can get a different perspective about everything which makes you do away with negativity because our teachers like Apalang, Julianna, and Jethro always motivate us and here we are making wonders because of the knowledge they gave us. I thank KOWED for giving me the opportunity because they gave me room for a new course in my life and here I am smiling like never before. May God bless you all, I really appreciate and long live to all the people who transformed my life.