Kikondo, UG – Village Community Banking (VICOBA) group strengthens community spirit – 31 Dec 2021

The SMW family is enjoying successful bean and maize harvests from crops they planted cooperatively in August on 1.5 acres, led by YNM, with the KMK, LBL, SNM and BLC families. All the families are Zinabala VICOBA members and their group provides the larger group a model of working together using organic agriculture best practices.

These families now have enough food to feed their 23 children. They sold 3,000,000 Uganda Shillings ($863) of raw maize and the remaining maize is going to be dried so they can have maize flour. They harvested and ate fresh beans in November; now they have dried the beans to keep in their food bank. Zinabala members celebrated a successful 2021, despite economic and food availability challenges of the pandemic. Zinabala ended 2021 with 5,000,000 UGS / US$ 1,439 in member family savings, and earned 400,000 UGS / US$ 115 interest from crop loans and 100,000 UGS / US$ 29 interest from bee keeping loans which financed members’ businesses.

Zinabala VICOBA continues to grow in number of members and in member cooperation. At a December Christmas party they exchanged gifts and distributed “Save Pregnant Mothers” event shirts to members who together will participate in the December 30 Kiringente Marathon. The group hopes to add 10 more active members to 40 total at their January 6 meeting. Wamukisa will continue to mentor and train the group. In February the VICOBA will expand cooperative planting to 3 acres worked by YNM’s six family group and other adult members that will replace working children who return to school in January.