What's In the Box?

A box, with at least one lock. It begs the question – what’s inside? What are you keeping under lock and key? What is so important?

The short answer is “money”. The long answer is much, much more.

This box is owned by a group from Bubago Lutheran Church in Uganda. There are 27 women and 3 men who took the intiative to set up a credit scheme or plan. Some call it a savings club!

The group has met for four years on Thursdays. All members give 500 Ush (about $.15 in USD) weekly and that is kept in the box. These funds are used to distribute to members who have an emergency such as losing a relative and needing to pay for the burial or a family member who is sick and they have no funds to seek treatment.

The group also contributes other funds as they are able. They use this money for their main objective – to distribute loans, paid back with interest, to members to create small businesses. It is a beautiful pay-it-forward plan that shows their desire to be self-sufficient and provide for their families. They have aspirations to purchase livestock in the future. They also hope to have t-shirts to identify their group!

The members regularly bring gifts of household items, like plastic cups and plates, to their weekly meetings as gifts for other people in the group. They also work to support each other in teaching their children good morals.

The group has a council of seven people, including the secretary, who keeps the box. She does not have a key. Three other members each have a key and all three are necessary to reveal the contents! She also keeps the attendance book and tracks loans and repayments.

So the box does keep money, but it holds much more! Hope, encouragement, dreams, resilience, commitment; the list is long. Connect to Uganda is honored to be a small part of a community that is so dedicated to caring for each other and works toward

a better life for all. Our Far Away Friend program will contribute to helping this group achieve their goals. If you would like to become a Far Away Friend or make a donation to the program that will get them a step closer to their aspirations, visit our website. Let’s help them fill that box!