Josephine and John

Josephine, 60, and her husband John, 66, have lived in Kirembwe A Village, Uganda, for the last 41 years.

The couple have lived most of their life hand to mouth, struggling to feed their family. They were blessed with seven children but tragically three have passed away, Despite their struggles in life, Josephine and John have developed a strong sense of resilience.

“Our son died and left us with two orphans who we struggled to raise and support considering that we were getting older. Then Ripple Effect stepped in to give us a hand in raising the children. It is now more possible than it was before.” - Josephine

Joesphine says her family struggled to grow enough food to feed their children as their yields were poor.

“With the new farming knowledge we learned from Ripple Effect and with animal manure from the cow that was given us, in the same acre of land where we grew maize, we were able to harvest 1,500kg, where we harvested just one bag of beans, we now harvested three bags and where we harvested one bag of coffee, we now get three bags."

Josephine says that the most immediate benefit was eating nutritious vegetables. She claims that she today looks younger than her 60 years! Her family now eat more than two meals a day and are raising chickens so that her grandchildren can eat eggs. She is hopeful that life will continue to improve and she will be able to pay school fees for her grandchildren and keep herself and John in good health as they grow older.

“We are instead growing younger each passing day. I sold surplus vegetables and was able to buy a phone. I also was encouraged to rear chicken where our grandchildren are able to get animal protein. We eat like kings. This is beyond our wildest dreams.”