Meet our Jinja designer Kasadha Faith. Faith (55) was born in Buikwe district in Uganda. She came to Jinja to find a job about 30 years ago. Faith speaks Usoga, Swahili and Luganda, but never went to school. She became an orphan when she was still very young; both her parents died of aids. To earn a living Faith is making jewellery and does some farming. She has 6 children and 10 grandchildren with whom she lives. There is a very strong sense of community in Uganda and it is very common that children/ grandchilderen look after their parents and take them into their houses. Also raising children is seen as every one’s responsibility, it is not just left to the parents. The extended family system in Uganda is very strong. The houses of Faith and the other ladies are made of mud with thatched-grass roofs or corrugated iron roofs and are quite small, but still up to 12 people can live under one roof. Faith looks forward to see her grandchildren being happy and to take them to school.
One of her children is supported by the foundation 22STARS through the provision of school fees and school uniform. The foundation in 2017 has also provided Faith with a small business training, through which she has learnt to operate a business successfully in all its aspects (strategic, financial etc). Faith is very grateful for the training received, as her dream would be to open a business to be able to support her children and grandchildren.