Grace Savings Association was a branch off group from the women’s Twezimbe Micro Credit Loans. In Uganda, women do not handle money (nor do they make much of it) but women, as a whole, do not have bank accounts, save money or even understand finances because no one has ever taught or trusted them to do so. The women that were successful in the Micro Credit Loan Program found themselves with money that they did not know how to handle and were uncomfortable keeping it in their homes and putting themselves at risk of theft. So out of necessity the Grace Savings Association was started with a group of our most successful and trusted women. To be part of the association you must be voted in and attend meetings. At each meeting the member women bring a portion of money and put it in the security lock box that is kept in the safe at our office. Each deposit is recorded to keep accurate records of who has invested a certain amount. They collectively pool their money together to accumulate larger sums of money and then vote who will get the first pay out to use for something big that they could not have afforded otherwise. Some have used their payout loan to purchase land, to build a home and thereby free themselves from paying rent, purchased livestock for sustainable food source or like one of our women purchase a boda boda (motorcycle) for quicker & easier transport of her tomatoes to markets/villages farther into the jungle!  This is truly a project that had brought together the women to further themselves and take responsibility for their success and future.

The Tailoring Women is part of the Twezimbe Project and works much like the Micro Credit Loan Program. A woman taken into the Tailoring Program is given a brand new sewing machine to work on and begins learning sewing basics. The program is 6 months long and during that time, the participant comes each day for skills training and is part of not only the Tailoring Women but the Twezimbe Community of Women as a whole. The items made by this group of women is sold locally, in the capital city of Kampala as well as right here in the United States both online and local stores. The income is given directly to the woman that made the item to enable them to pay back their loan as quickly as possible. You see, each brand new sewing machine is $100 USD and is a tool that will enable the woman to generate money wherever she is it. Over the six month period, our hope is that the woman participating becomes part of the Beyond Uganda family, attends the weekly seminars and training and learns all aspects of sewing to have a skill that will enable them to make a living for a lifetime. At the end of 6 months, a graduating woman has passed each level land paid back their $100 and they graduate with a certificate and their earn sewing machine that they can take with them back to their home or village to have an income earning business of their own for life!!!!!