By Mulengera Reporters
Rubanda West County Member of Parliament Bruce Baraba Kabaasa has donated 300 bed sheets to women undergoing advanced skills training under the Generating Growth Opportunities and Productivity for Women Enterprises (GROW) Project at the Uganda National Institute of Teacher Education (UNITE), formerly Kabale National Teachers College.
Kabaasa made the donation on Thursday evening after arriving at the institution in Kabale at about 8 p.m., where 300 women from Rubanda East and Rubanda West counties have spent nearly 12 consecutive days undergoing intensive training without returning to their homes.
Each participant is expected to receive a pair of bed sheets as they prepare to conclude the training on Friday. The closing ceremony is expected to be presided over by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi, who also represents Rubanda East County in Parliament, as Guest of Honour.
The legislator arrived shortly after a prayer service organised to seek God’s blessings for a successful conclusion of the training. The service featured energetic praise and worship songs conducted in Rukiga.
Accompanied by a convoy of two vehicles, Kabaasa entered the main hall to loud applause from the women, who stood up to welcome him. Officials from the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), which implements the GROW Project, received him before he addressed the participants.
Speaking predominantly in Rukiga, Kabaasa told the women that their participation in the programme had convinced him of the potential of the initiative to transform livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction in rural communities.
He said he had followed the women’s progress through telephone conversations and testimonies while they were attending the training, adding that the practical nature of the programme had impressed him.
“I have been hearing about GROW for a very long time, but I had not really paid a lot of attention to know what it does,” Kabaasa told Mulengera Media.
“The testimonies I got from the women who are here were extremely convincing that GROW is indeed a very exciting programme and, if used or applied and it reaches the entire country, there is a possibility that it can equip women with skills and actually participate heavily in poverty alleviation processes in this country,” he added.
The MP said the women had acquired skills in hairdressing, makeup, tailoring and improved agricultural practices, equipping them to establish businesses and engage in income-generating activities.
He described the training as practical and meaningful, saying it could transform communities if the participants applied the knowledge acquired.
Kabaasa also proposed that the women who had completed the training should become trainers of other women when they return to their communities.
He argued that developing locally based trainers would reduce the cost of training and enable more women to acquire practical skills within three to four years.
“It is very expensive to train. If we can have home-grown trainers, then it is possible that every woman can have a skill in about three or four years,” he said.
Bed sheets as a gesture of appreciation
As he concluded his address, Kabaasa presented the bed sheets, using one pair to demonstrate the gift before the distribution to all 300 participants.
He explained that the donation was not a reward for the best-performing participants but a gesture of appreciation for everyone’s discipline, patience and commitment throughout the training.
“The distribution of bed sheets was a mere token from me in appreciation of their discipline, their patience and their interest,” he said, adding that political and other leaders should recognise and encourage people who participate in meaningful development programmes.
Kabaasa further explained that the donation was intended to promote personal hygiene and proper care of household items, including bedding.
He said the women could use the gift to explain the value of the training to their husbands and families, while demonstrating that the programme had equipped them with practical skills and encouraged better living standards.
Kabaasa urges men to support women’s economic empowerment
The legislator also addressed concerns raised by some participants about how their husbands might respond when they return home and begin pursuing income-generating activities.
He acknowledged that some women feared their husbands might be sceptical of their efforts to become financially independent, particularly in a society where men have traditionally dominated household economic decisions.
Kabaasa urged men to embrace gender equality and support their wives’ participation in development programmes, saying women’s economic empowerment should not be viewed as a threat to men.
“We live in a patriarchal society where men have been dominant over time,” he said, adding that Uganda’s Constitution and the President’s messages had emphasised gender equality.
He interpreted the fact that the women had been away from home for nearly 12 days as an encouraging indication that their husbands were increasingly willing to allow them to participate in meaningful activities outside their homes.
The MP called for continued emphasis on discipline, financial literacy, welfare and peaceful coexistence between couples to help women apply their new skills without creating unnecessary tensions in their households.
He said the ultimate goal should be to enable women to earn money, contribute to family welfare and become breadwinners while their husbands celebrate their achievements rather than feel threatened.
The GROW Project, implemented by PSFU through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development funded by the World Bank, seeks to expand economic opportunities for women through enterprise development and skills enhancement. For the 300 participants from Rubanda East and Rubanda West, the conclusion of the training marks an opportunity to apply their newly acquired skills in their communities and potentially train others.
Kabaasa’s visit and donation added a gesture of support to the participants as they prepared to return home and put their training into practice. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
