Ruth – A widow’s story

“Before ACT’s help … I had lost hope for my kids”

– Ruth Nabwire

Ruth

Ruth Nabwire had a stable life, happily married to a respected local Pastor in the village where they lived near Jinja, Uganda. She had been blessed with 6 children. Her husband grew crops on a small patch of land behind their house which he sold in the markets to supplement his low wages as a pastor, while Ruth stayed home to look after the children. But in 2006 tragedy struck, her husband was involved in a fatal car accident. Then everything changed.

Ruth now needed an income to look after herself and her 6 young children. Struggling to cope with her own crippling grief, she now had to go out to the local markets to sell her farm produce including carrying trunks of sugar cane — a back breaking work. But she needed the money to feed her 6 young children. Her day began tending the land on her small farm. She then prepared food for her children before going around the markets to sell her produce, sometimes travelling long distances to catch the markets in nearby villages. Money was scarce for essentials such as clothing for the children, let alone paying school fees or buying school uniforms. Her children “almost failed to go to school, due to school fees problems”. Help and support from the community gradually dwindled away. She began to feel she and her children were all on their own.

Supporting the widow

Ruth and her family came to the attention of ACT, which had begun working in Uganda a year earlier. ACT provided educational support for two of her children, Peter and Dan, who were then able to continue their studies with school fees paid and other school items provided for the them. In addition, ACT helped to supplement the family’s food cost and provided clothing and material support. ACT support for the family was a relief that provided respite for Ruth. It dramatically reduced the weight of burden on her and more importantly restored hope. She regularly received visits from the care team of Christian Vision Ministries, our partners in Uganda, which helped her emotional balance as they provided counselling and friendly support. Her son Peter describes ACT as “the genesis of his second chance for life”.

Whole Life Skills Project

Ruth benefitted from our widows’ whole life and business skills project. Learning about how to manage her small farm, improving crop yield and selling her produce in the markets. She learnt about working together with other women in a cooperative, which helped to lighten the burden of carrying her produce to the markets, as they could combine their efforts which reduced the need for her to travel long distances to sell in different village markets.

Hope for better life

Ruth’s dreams of her children going on to higher education became a reality in 2018 when Peter gained a place on a Diploma in Business Administration course at the Uganda Co-operative College, Tororo.  Dan also secured a place on a diploma course studying clinical medicine, at Medical Health Professional College. Peter has completed his diploma and hoping to secure a good job and help to support his mother and younger siblings.

Coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic is having a major impact in Uganda. Her income has been affected. She is unable to travel to markets to sell her sugar cane, but the price of essentials such as salt, cooking oil, soap, go up daily as availability decreases. Promised government relief food packages have not materialised. As a result, she and her family survive on just one meal a day. Many people in her community have lost their lives to coronavirus. ACT continues to work with their partners throughout Africa to help to alleviate these secondary impacts of the virus and the lockdown.

ACT is for the people otherwise forgotten

With your support we can help many more widows like Ruth and her children to break through poverty and have hope for a better future for themselves and their children.  Our widows programme aims to empower the widow so that she can generate income to support herself and her family in a sustainable way. Please consider supporting a widow like Ruth, particularly during this dark time. Please click here.

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