The Kasega Project was launched in February of 2008 in cooperation with Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It serves as one model of economic development projects envisioned by CVT.
Kasega is located on the bank of the River Nile, but the village has no source of clean water. Like most rural Ugandan villages, Kasega has little economic opportunity apart from subsistence agriculture. Most of the villagers live in small mud huts with thatched roofs.
Local villagers worked to construct the Kasega piggery.
In Kasega, six acres were purchased for an agricultural project with funds provided by the Baltimore church. Villagers joined together to plant four acres of pineapples and construct a piggery for raising livestock. They will use the profits gained to support their families, perpetuate the business, and generate capital for more projects.
Profiles from Kasega
Matthew lives in Kasega, with his wife and eight children. Two of his children suffer from epileptic seizures, and one son passed away in November of 2008 due to seizures. To make a living, Matthew grows corn. If rain falls, he can make about $25 or $30 per month to support his family. He also has a small shop with about $150 worth of merchandise, but if there is no rain and no harvest, Matthew and his family must close the shop and live off the goods he has until he can raise more income from the next harvest. Matthew is a share-owner in CVT’s Kasega Project.
Leulence is a widow who was married to a man with more than one wife, as is all too common in Uganda. He contracted AIDS and infected both of his wives. Leulence has five children; three still live at home, and one lives at an orphanage more than three hours away. To ease the family’s burdens, one daughter married at the age of 15. Leulence grows and sells tomatoes, earning about $4 per month. Leulence is also a share-owner in CVT’s Kasega Project.
Kaslida is a noble Ugandan widow who cares for five of her grandchildren in her mud house, as well as a daughter who is bedridden with AIDS. They have no blankets or mattresses and use small animal hides for covering during the night. Kaslida has no source of income and relies on the church for financial help. Recently, one side of her mud house fell in, and the church rebuilt it. She is too old to participate in the labor of the Kasega Project, but as the project succeeds and as participants tithe to the church, more funds will be available to care for Kaslida and her family.
