During the COVID-19 pandemic, Praise was forced to drop out of school at the age of 15 because of the prolonged lockdown. In that difficult period, she entered into a marriage that sadly ended only six months later. With two young twinned children to care for, Praise returned to her parents’ home to begin life again while raising her twins within her family’s modest subsistence livelihood.

The situation was challenging, but Praise refused to give up. Six months after returning home, she decided to pursue a tailoring skill. Through training, she learned how to make textile products and began repairing worn-out clothes, especially dresses for young children in her community. At the same time, she started sharing her knowledge by informally training girls in her neighbourhood.

Her journey took a new turn when her area chairperson introduced her to The Ability Youth Initiative (Tayinu)’s Upskilling and Promoting Sustainable Economic Transformation for Adolescent Mothers (Upstream) Project Funded through the AU-EU Youth Lab in Partnership with Oxfam . Praise enrolled in the program and participated in business and entrepreneurship training.

After completing the training, she joined the Akatafari TRF Group where members save together and support one another through a revolving fund to raise capital. Through their collective effort, the group established an Emergency Response Plan (ERP), and the fund grew to UGX 150,000.

Praise had a skill she loved and wanted other women to benefit from it. She began mentoring 14 fellow group members in making “obusero”—crafted woven bags used for packaging. Since the
group already met every Friday for their revolving fund activities, she suggested that they learn the skill together and turn it into a group income-generating project.