The term “sustainability” is abusively common in development. It’s ubiquitousness makes it hard – at least for me – to really peg down what it might mean and what sustainability might look like. Over at Women of Kireka, we are no less guilty of using the word sustainability. Some days – particularly when we are struggling to make ends meet or are trying to overcome a structural challenge – the use of the word sustainability, which is at the core of our business’ mission, seems even more difficult to define.
However, this past month, WoK’s hard working members have brought a more concrete definition to the word sustainable. Independent of any Project Diaspora or other external support, WoK’s members came together to form a savings group. Each woman pays 5,000 UGX into a funding pool every week and one woman receives the savings on a weekly rotating basis. This means that each week, one woman receives 70,000 UGX.
This type of self-initiated activity, I think, speaks to Ugandan journalist Rosebell Kagumire’s comment in support of Good Intentions Are Not Enough’s “A Day Without Dignity” (a counter campaign to TOMS A Day Without Shoes). She writes:
These children and women don’t need anyone’s shoes. They need to be empowered to buy their own things which fit their needs.
Here are a few snapshots from this week’s savings circle:
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