A New Start
A widow that is determined to care and provide for her family
Beyond the heartbreak of becoming a widow, Franscisca had to now provide for her growing family, alone
In 2019, Franscisca Kyuma faced the heart-wrenching news of becoming a widow. Beyond the heartbreak of her husband being gone, she knew she had to provide for her family. Each morning she would wake up worried about how she’d put food on the table for her five children.
Determined, she attempted to start a clothing business and took out a loan to get started. The business didn’t perform well and she barely made a profit. Then one day Franscisca’s worst fears became true. As she and her family were coming home, they realized they were locked out of their home due to overdue loan payments. Franscisca had hit rock bottom. With hope fading fast, she needed help and a solution.
Soon after, Franscisca heard of a new training program in agriculture being offered by the local church. Although Franscisca had tried farming before, her past experiences were disheartening, with meagre yields. But with no other options, she attended the training and started to try it out on the small plot of land she still had access to.
Soon, hope and excitement began to stir in her heart. Even though the weather wasn’t ideal for farming that year, these new techniques resulted in bountiful yields. Methods such as intercropping, no-till planting, and mulching helped Franscisca keep moisture in the soil – even when it didn’t rain for weeks. She says, “This kind of farming amazed me when comparing it to the old site versus the new site.”
The progress of Franscisca farm led her friends and neighbors to ask many questions, with many then being trained in conservation agriculture and seeing the same positive results in their yields.
This change from old farming practices to new has been life-changing for families. Children can attend school because parents can pay their school fees, and there is now less food shortage when droughts come. Because of you, families now have access to practices and methods that create everlasting change in a family’s food source and income.
Eventually, Franscisca took another loan to boost her results – this time through a savings group established by Tearfund and its local church partner, Fadhili Trust. The loan allowed her to pay school fees and invest in three chickens. “The chickens give me a continuous source of income and food. I did not know how to save money before, and now I can feel more security for me and my children looking forward.”
These changes to Franscisca has had her local pastor interested in seeing the progress and has visited the Franscisca’s farm several times. Franscisca and her family value the church; they attend and often share about what God has done for her family through Fadhili and Tearfund.
Thank you for supporting God’s work in Franscisca’s life, her village, and all projects.
