The program dubbed I Save was introduced last year by the National Union of Persons with Disability-NUDIPU and rolled out to district unions to empower PWDs to start saving and improve their livelihoods.
Persons with disabilities in Greater Arua have
embraced a voluntary savings program to alleviate poverty in their households.
The program dubbed I Save was introduced last year by the National Union of Persons with Disability-NUDIPU and rolled out to district
unions to empower PWDs to start saving and improve their livelihoods.
A year later, the I Save program in Arua and Terego has
registered success with 35 Savings groups of which 17 groups are in
Arua City and 18 in Terego district.
According to Jacinto Angutoko, the chairperson of the Arua City Union of PWDs, through I Save, the groups have been able to save over 85 million Shillings and this he says has now greatly empowered the PWDs to undertake
cheap borrowing to improve their livelihoods.
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Viyo Ajai the chairperson of the PWDs Union in Terego district says with the
savings in place, some of the PWDs are now able to engage in various income-generating activities like poultry, crop production and small-scale general
merchandise businesses to support their families.
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According to Mercy Ocotoko the coordinator ‘We Are
Able’ program for PWDs in Arua City, Yumbe and Terego, there is a deliberate need
for a change of attitude towards PWDs if full inclusivity is to be realized for
PWDs in West Nile.
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According to household data from NUDIPU, the We Are Able Project, Arua City has 4,779 PWDs of which 2,331 are males and 2,448 females,
Terego district has 5,713 with 2,999 males and 2,714 females while Yumbe district
has the highest number of PWDs standing at 7,275 of which 3,944 are males and
3,331 are females.
