Mary struggled for many years – physically, emotionally, and socially. As a single mother with health issues, with no formal education, living in the Bison slums, the stress was almost unbearable. Then, in 2026, Mary was enrolled in Give Us Wings’ Community Youth Skilling program and everything changed.

Thousands of women fled the horrors of war and famine in the northern part of Uganda many years ago. Their husbands were dead or had abandoned them. Some of the women settled in the Bison slums in Tororo – a crowded area, often lacking proper sanitation, and most families live in one cramped space and sleep on thin mats on the floor. But it was all they could afford. In 2004, with the support of GUW, a group of women formed the “Hera Women’s Group.”

Immaculate’s decision to join her local cooperative was a pivotal one for her family. Among her peers in the Osia Cooperative, Immaculate found community, and received business training from our economic development program. And when Give Us Wings subsequently enrolled her in our tailoring training, things really began to change for her and her family.