Hadija is a mother of six children, two of whom are now grown and living independently. She continues to raise four children on her own in Kampala and has carried the full responsibility for their care and daily needs. For a long time, she survived by washing clothes for neighbours and other families in her community. It was physically demanding, unpredictable work, and even in a good week she would earn only UGX 10,000–20,000 (about USD 3–5). This was rarely enough to cover food, rent, and school fees for four children. As a result, her children were sometimes eating only once a day, school fees regularly fell behind, and housing remained insecure. The family was under constant pressure, with no financial cushion to manage even small shocks, creating very real risks for the children’s wellbeing, education, and stability.
Hadija was referred by a trained and trusted para-social worker in her community to Child’s i Foundation to take part in Street Business School. This created an opportunity for her to access practical business training, psychosocial support, and start-up capital of UGX 750,000 (about USD 203), alongside connection to a local savings group and Play Box group. Through the programme, Hadija gained knowledge and confidence in how to start and run a small business, manage limited capital, keep simple records, save regularly, and respond to changes in demand. With these tools and support structures around her, she began baking donuts and supplying snacks to a tea seller in Kampala, supplying around UGX 50,000 (about USD 14) in snacks a day and earning about UGX 20,000 (about USD 5) in daily profit from this activity. She also started trading in seasonal fruits, for example buying a box of apples for UGX 110,000 (about USD 30) and selling it for a profit of around UGX 30,000 (about USD 8).
Today, she earns around UGX 120,000 a week (about USD 32), around six times more than she earned before. She is now paying school fees and rent more consistently, her children are eating properly each day, and she is saving regularly through her community savings group, putting aside UGX 2,000 a day (about USD 0.50). She is also using the skills she gained to track income and expenses and make better decisions about how to grow and adjust her business. Most importantly, her children remain together at home in a safer and more stable family environment. Hadija’s story shows what is possible when families are connected to the right opportunities, practical knowledge, and community-based support. It is a strong example of prevention in practice, strengthening families so that children can remain where they belong.
