C A F E C C

Christian Action for Empowering Church and Community (CAFECC)

Client Stories

The best testimonies to the work God does through CAFECC are the stories of its clients – how God transforms them and how they help transform others. Read about some of our clients and how they have experienced God’s grace.

Monica

Farmer

Like most single moms of young children, Monica Eliru knew she had to find a way to provide. Farming is what she knew, so in 2011 she invested the very little she had, less than $10, and bought very basic farm tools. Her brother helped her with a small amount of startup capital. Monica struggled for the next seven years, but she persevered. In 2018 she took the meager $50 She had and hired men to help with digging and planting. That’s also the year that she became a client of CAFECC, and everything began to change. Monica says, “I learned of CAFECC as a Christian microfinance program and the loan officer guided me through the process and gave me inspiration to apply for my first loan.”

beco With faithful repayment of that first small loan, more training and encouragement from CAFECC, and larger and larger loans, the business finally took off. She used her second loan for ground nut (peanut) farming, her third loan for banana farming, her fourth loan for cassava farming, and subsequent loans for beans and maize (corn). Monica now has a large, diverse farm and is also rearing goats, cows and chickens. CAFECC has helped Monica learn to save, to keep good records, and make good decisions. She now employs six full time workers and also hires two to four people for part time work. She has grown from only selling in her small community to selling in other parts of the region, and people rave about the quality of her farm products.

Monica was able to educate her two children and also two orphans. She finds joy in helping the elderly and others in need in her church. She generously shares products like cassava, beans, maize, bananas, salt and sugar with those in need. She has trained a number of women who were in dire circumstances similar to hers, and they are now farming to support their own families. Monica sees her farm as much more than a business; it is her ministry to extend more of the kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Perry

Chapati and Mandazi Baker

Two years ago, Perry’s husband died and she was left a widow with four young children. Within the same year, thieves took one of her goats, and she fell and hurt her back chasing after them. While she was in the hospital, thieves robbed her house again.

Perry was able to persevere through these difficult events with help from CAFECC. She took out her first loan in 2011 and has since received 7 loans that have helped her to grow her business and provide for her family. She now serves around 200 regular clients door-to-door. Her products are high quality and are sold at different sizes to be more affordable to children and the poor. She has expanded from serving individuals to institutions and now takes catering orders for special events. She now employs two younger women to keep up with the growth in her business, and hopes to one day own a bakery that could create even more jobs for her community.

Perry is considered a role model in her community, becoming a leader in her local Mother’s Union and Christian Women Fellowship. She encourages other widows in Arua and teaches them to make and sell her products so they can support their families. She is a finalist for the 2014 Lydia Awards.

Richard

Convenience Store Owner and Cassava Processor

Richard began with a $100 loan from CAFECC, to grow his small convenience store. He soon decided to expand into the cassava business, because it was popular in his shop and was in demand year round. He purchase raw cassava, cuts it into chips, and grinds them into flour that can be packaged it to sell. He learned to purchase the cassava early, before it ripens, in order to minimize costs. With support from CAFECC loans, he has succeeded in creating a very high-quality finished product

Although he was the sole employee of his grocery business, he now employs more than 10 people in his cassava business. His employees include youths who are dropouts from school and women who are struggling to look after children. Richard is also an active leader in his community and church. He is the youth chairperson in his village church, and helps to mentor youths who are prone to godless behavior. He used profits from his business to help purchase a sound system for the church, which will make it more attractive to youths. Richard’s success with his business and his commitment to giving back to his church helped him to win the 2013 Lydia Award.

Florence

Clothing Retailer

With CAFECC’s help, Florence has grown her business from a small roadside stand to one of the most well-respected businesses in Arua, becoming a source of guidance and support for many.

After losing her husband in 2007, Florence struggled to support her five children while managing her own physical handicaps. Nevertheless, she trusted God would help her, and she began her first venture in clothing retail to generate enough income to send her children to school. As her business grew, she began borrowing from CAFECC. Through the guidance and financial support she received, she doubled her inventory and moved to a busier location to acquire more business. Florence has used her business to share her faith with her employees and customers, keeping an open Bible in her shop and reading from it frequently. She uses her enterprise as an opportunity to minister to others – she conducts business with and even gives her products away to friends and fellow vendors, and her generosity has made her a pillar of support in her community—many come to her kiosk for fellowship, business advice, prayer, and spiritual counsel.

“When I see someone in need, I pick clothes from my shop and give. When the church asks me to give to clothing drives for prisoners, I give…When I joined CAFECC, I realized my business was not for me alone. My business is first of all what I can offer to the church, offer to the poor, offer to the needy. Although I am disabled, I am able to give to them, my fellows.”

Florence has plans to grow her business even bigger and buy a motorcycle for easier transport, so she can hire more employees and have an even greater impact where she lives.

Onegiu

Kiosk operator & Landlord

In the face of serious medical needs and business failure, Onegiu found CAFECC and took a loan from us in 2006. He is now one of our best clients, and his success is a testament to the power of God. Keep reading

In 2003, Onegiu had a stroke. After almost a year of hospitalization, he faced a ruined business, serious physical setbacks, and an expensive three-year rehabilitation process. Subsisting on income provided by his wife’s small business and selling assets to pay for medical treatment, Onegiu and his family were desperate. Onegiu heard about CAFECC at his church and decided to take out a loan. Although shunned by most lending institutions due to his disabilities, CAFECC organized a special loan offer for him, and Onegiu took out his first loan from us to begin a roadside kiosk business.

Since then, Onegiu has expanded his business to sell a wide variety of food and small goods, and he has even ploughed the profits to build a seven-room apartment complex, providing a comfortable two-room unit for his family and a large second source of income. We have helped him send his children and extended family to school, become a large contributor at his church, and qualify for larger loans from traditional banks to continue growing his business. He attributes his success to the love and service he received at CAFECC.

“I couldn’t get support anywhere else, but CAFECC helped me when I needed it the most.”

Edoma

Manufacturer & Retailer of Concrete Products

IEdoma worked in construction for many years, but due to poor working conditions and the transient nature of his work, he wanted to find a different way to support himself and his ten family members. Toward that end, he used his experience in the construction market to start a side business retailing concrete products.

In order to expand his business, however, he needed to acquire tools to begin creating his own products. He took a loan from CAFECC in 2010, and using the extra capital, he began buying the fixed assets he required to grow. Now he works full-time in his business and employs three others.

“I have over 10 dependents. I am able to use my income for food, and also for paying school fees for the children in my family. That is where my business helps the most.”

Cadribo

Shoe Repair

Many men in Uganda struggle to find employment to support their families, and Cadribo Alfred is no exception. However, he faces one nearly insurmountable challenge: he was born with a disability that prevents him from using his arms.

Cadribo attended school as a child, but stopped in the 7th year of primary school because his father could not afford to pay for his secondary education. He is now married and has one daughter. Although he cannot use his arms, Cadribo has learned to write using his legs. He gives back to his community by serving as a leader of his church’s choir and instrumental music group. Cadribo has no source of income, as his disability makes it difficult to find employment. Before he heard about CAFECC, his entire family depended on gifts from the public. Since then, CAFECC has helped to train his wife, Gladys, to operate a party business that helps her to support the family. CAFECC is also helping Cadribo to find a trade that he can work in despite his disability. He has learned to repair slippers, but still struggles with learning to repair shoes. Furthermore, he lives out in the village and has no means of transport to come to town and do his business. One of CAFECC’s loan officers visited the family to pray with them and to help them work through these challenges.

Cadribo has no source of income, as his disability makes it difficult to find employment. Before he heard about CAFECC, his entire family depended on gifts from the public. Since then, CAFECC has helped to train his wife, Gladys, to operate a party business that helps her to support the family. CAFECC is also helping Cadribo to find a trade that he can work in despite his disability. He has learned to repair slippers, but still struggles with learning to repair shoes. Furthermore, he lives out in the village and has no means of transport to come to town and do his business. One of CAFECC’s loan officers visited the family to pray with them and to help them work through these challenges.

Cadribo and his family would greatly appreciate prayer for their 4-year-old daughter, Vevene Setara. They would like her to attend school so that she can one day help her family to live a better life. However, schools in Uganda charge fees to attend, and a good nursery could start at a cost of over 100,000 Ugandan shillings. Cadribo hopes that he and his wife can expand their businesses and save money for their daughter’s education.

Cadribo’s story is just one example of how CAFECC is truly reaching out to the disadvantaged communities throughout Northwestern Uganda. Even $1 of support can make a huge difference in the lives of people like Cadribo.

Mama Jessica

Livestock Farmer

Mama Jessica began her small business in 1987, the year after a coup in Uganda. For decades she subsisted on the profits of various retail kiosks she managed remotely from her home, raising her seven children while her husband worked as a reverend.

In 2006, Mama Jessica began taking loans from CAFECC. At first, she used them to grow her kiosk business, but as she acquired larger loans, she dreamed bigger. In 2008, she used the money from her Lydia Award to build an enormous brick henhouse and fill it with chickens. Now she can employ her sons and pay the school fees of her younger children, and she is excited to be really contributing to the church and donating to charity. Jessica has bought even more land she plans to build on and has added pigs to her livestock collection. Her family is living in better conditions and her children are enrolled in school.

To watch a video about our Clients click here.

About Us

Christian Action for Empowering Church and Community (CAFECC) is a Christian microfinance institution working to empower families, communities and churches to be economically stable and spiritually transformed. Discover how we are transforming lives in Arua, Uganda, be inspired by those we serve, and participate with us to empower the poor.