Archbishop J. Cabana Ssunga Health Centre IIIHealth Center III
MICRO FINANCING PROJECT
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.
Ssunga Health center III is located in ssunga village Bukakata sub-county, Masaka District along the main road connecting Masaka to Kalangala District. The health center has a catchment population of 9,963 people of different ethnic origins and majority of which are peasant farmers and a few who are involved in fishing. Its catchment area extends to the western shores of Lake Victoria with landing sites and fishing villages of Lambu, Kabasese, among others.
Archbishop Louise Joseph Cabana -Ssunga Health Centre III was founded by the sisters of the Immaculate heart of Mary Reparatrix ( known as Ggogonya sisters) in 1985 as a Private Not for Profit Health Center (PNFP). It is under Masaka Diocese supervised by Masaka Diocesan Health Coordinator. The Health Centre was established to provide health care services to the people in the area especially to children and expectant mothers due to the high maternal and mortality rate at that time. Over the years, the health center expanded and currently provides both Inpatients and Outpatient services, antenatal, and community outreaches for immunization and primary health care education.
SAFE BIRTH PROJECT
The safe birth project was started in January 2020 with support from Microfinance Partners in Africa with a piggery project as a base flock, to support impoverished mothers who come for Antenatal visits by providing a piglet as a microfinance project for economic empowerment and to receive free obstetric scan services to avoid incidences of fistula in mothers. In December 2020, 12 mothers received their first piglets and so far 56 mothers have received piglets from the base flock as well as give backs from mothers.
All the mothers who receive piglet are first subjected to a training of piggery production and management. They must attend at least two – three trainings by the project extension worker before they can be they can receive a piglet.
More to that each mother is requested to have a sty or a safe pen to keep the pig and must have food for the pig. Close monitoring and on-farm support supervision is always done by the field extension officer and the coordinator to ensure that mothers can have safe and health pigs. The extension officer gives training to mothers on food production for the pigs and offers treatment for the pigs and on other occasion’s advice on piggery management.
MOTHERS SUCCESS STORY: Nabagereka Maria
Nabagereka Maria is one of the beneficiaries of micro finance Africa project who has a success story to share after getting a piglet from this project. She got her piglet on 9 June 2021 from Ssunga Health Center. She is a resident of kisaaka B village in ssunga parish, bukakata sub-county, Bukoto- East Constituency, masaka District. Nabagereka Maria aged 33-year-old, a married woman of 5 children all are girls, all are still in primary, she has been able to pay their school fees and support them even in other daily needs.
Nabagereka was struggling to come to the health facility because of having a low income. From the piggery project, Nabagereka diversified to other income generating activities mainly poultry and farming and now she has developed capacity from her projects to stabilize the income.
After selling off the piglets, she has managed to use a portion of money to setup a poultry project and currently she has over 50 Kroiler birds which is an additional income to cater for her family.
In addition, she uses dung and urine from piggery unit to make composite manure that has helped her to boost the productivity of banana and coffee plantations.
According to the project arrangement as every mother who is given a piglet must raise it and give back two piglets which are passed on to other mothers who continue the cycle. Nabagereka has fulfilled our promise of passing the piglets and continues with her projects.
Nabagereka Mary who is a mother of 5 feels empowered to take care of her family and an old mother in-law, a widow.
In her words Nabagereka acknowledges that; had it not been for this project that granted her a chance of getting a piglet that multiplied her income eventually, she might not have achieved all this.
Contact us at the Masaka Diocesan Medical Services (MDMS) office nearest to you or submit a business inquiry online.
Masaka Diocesan Medical Services (MDMS) really helped us achieve our financial goals.
