A Treasure Name Lovina

 In 2008, the US Travel Team and the ACT Staff established a program, which at the time was named Muko Empowerment Program. This program was created for the purpose of providing a market for local women with HIV to sell their baskets and beaded jewelry. There were about 25 women in the beginning all very eager to participate to earn cash to be able to send their children to school. 

2008 

Guma with MEP Weavers 2008

With Guma (Alexander Gumoshabe) leading the MEP Program, it grew and grew. We have carried thousands of baskets, jewelry and sewn items back in our suitcases for 20 years!

Soon after we began the program, we learned of Lovina! Lovina was clearly the standout best basket weaver in our program. Lovina is lame, unable to use her legs except to walk in a squat position. She is such a strong woman. Her lack of able-ness does not even slow her down. We soon gave her the title of Basket Quality Manager and her responsibility was to come to the ACT Resource Center once a month to receive finished baskets from the women. She evaluates them and accept them or work with the women to improve their skills. 

Lovina Tugumisirize preparing the papyrus reeds for weaving

Lovina lives with her parents in a small 2-room house of adobe. On one of our trips, she invited us for lunch at her home. We drove up the side of the mountain, got out of the van and began a climb down a dirt path so steep that we were holding onto small trees along the way to keep our footing. This is the path that Lovina goes up each time she leaves her home to go anywhere. She say, "It was a matter of good luck that I was identified as an experienced basket maker. ACT invited me for a one-week training in April 2010 where I learned more skills relevant to basket weaving." With her wages, she also is able to hire other community members to work in her Irish potato garden. 

Lovina speaks very little English - unlike most villagers. She is illiterate. As a differently abled person she was not given opportunities to go to school. With her salary from ACT, she took it upon herself to travel to Kabale Town and enroll in a school to begin to learn to read and write. 

Lovina is always cheerful and ready to help other basket weavers. She has identified her purpose and ACT has been the beneficiary of that purpose!

We renamed our MEP Program, Uniquely Uganda Handcrafts. You can always visit our online store of handcrafts to purchase items anytime! 

Click here.  

(note: we are having issues with making changes to our payment processor online so if you want to purchase something please call Sue Waechter with a credit card and I can enter it manually for your purchase! We hope to have this resolved sometime in Feb!)