Social Protection and Nutrition in Karamoja

Ama Atai 63 years, Labour Line Village, Moroto District, Karamoja

Ama was among the first in her district to become enrolled in the SAGE programme, in 2012. Through the programme she has been able to buy books and pay school fees, as well as purchase food for her family. The money has also helped her to join a Village Savings Loan Association (VSLA) group, through which she has been able to buy iron sheets for future house construction, and has seen some profits.

Ama explains that the programme has been especially helpful for her diet. She now buys meat and cooking oil occasionally, despite that these are expensive items. She says the programme has also improved her health generally, and that before she only ate once a day, and it was a poor quality meal. Now Ama can afford to eat twice per day, breakfast and dinner.

As well as supporting her to feed her family, the money has enabled Ama to start a small business of posho selling. At home she says it has brought the family together, and improved family unity. Ama has 7 children, though two have died, and 9 grandchildren. She says she plans ahead with the money, budgeting for household food and for school fees. She is happy because her ability to send her grandchildren to school has also greatly increased.

Ama says she would be interested in receiving any health or nutrition education because though she may think she has the information, she feels she probably doesn’t know enough. Knowledge is power, she remarks, and when you get the right information it helps you to buy nutritious food. She believes that having access to health and nutrition information would help her family to live in a clean environment and would reduce on medical costs. If there was an opportunity to receive such education she would happily stay longer on SAGE paydays.