{"id":12280,"date":"2025-12-12T16:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/?p=12280"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:13:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:13:56","slug":"this-roadside-business-is-just-the-beginning-bridget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/?p=12280","title":{"rendered":"This Roadside Business Is Just the Beginning \u2014 Bridget"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Matsiko Bridget is a 24-year-old mother of two from Muzaana Zone, Kikubamutwe \u2013 Kabalagala. She joined the SHE SOARS project after being informed by Mr. Frank Okuku, a Village Health Team (VHT) member in her community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

At the time, Bridget was staying with her mother\u2019s siblings. The household consisted of six people, and they often struggled to meet daily needs, especially food.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Baseline Situation<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Before joining the program, Bridget had studied catering at Jimmy Ssekasi Institute, a course she was able to undertake through the support of her aunt. Despite completing the training, she could not start her own business immediately due to financial constraints.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Through the SHE SOARS project, Bridget received further training\u00a0sessions\u00a0on Sexual\u00a0Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR),\u00a0Youth Saving and Loan Association (YSLA), Selection, Planning and Management of business (SPM), a course that ignited her to start the porridge business.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

They taught us to be self-sufficient, how to take care of our health, and how to become financially\u00a0independent.\u00a0The support and guidance I received from the project gave me the motivation and confidence to start my own\u00a0r<\/span><\/i>oadside food stall where\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0sell<\/span>\u00a0tea, porridge, and snacks in the morning and evening.\u00a0<\/span>I used<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>my\u00a0<\/span>previous<\/span>\u00a0catering skills to get started.\u00a0<\/span>My<\/span>\u00a0small stall sits beside a relative<\/span>\u2019s\u00a0shop<\/span>\u00a0who sells Irish potatoes and raw chicken to passersby.\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u00a0h<\/span>ave\u00a0<\/span>been\u00a0<\/span>operating<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>it<\/span> for a year now- <\/span>She notes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

Since she started her business, Bridget has experienced a shift towards economic stability. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

On a good day, I earn about 20,000 UGX in the morning hours. But on a bad day, my earnings can drop to as low as 3,000 UGX during the day and 6,000 UGX in the evening. Even with these ups and downs, my business has helped me cover my basic expenses.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>

Some\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0challenges she faces include customers not paying or\u00a0stealing her cups, which affects her operations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

She has successfully reinvested in her growing business by purchasing mandazi and bread\u00a0at a wholesale price\u00a0to boost\u00a0her\u00a0profits. Her income now enables her to contribute to her two children\u2019s school fees and cover household utilities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

ROM has given us hope\u00a0through the SHE SOARS Project. Even if there is a problem, I have something to hold on\u00a0to.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>In\u00a0the next three years, I aspire to transition from my roadside business to owning a fully established restaurant. The foundation that\u00a0<\/span><\/i>the project\u00a0<\/span><\/i>has given me\u00a0has\u00a0<\/span><\/i>ignited\u00a0<\/span><\/i>my confidence and determination to make this dream a reality,\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0She concludes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspire ME Inspire ME Matsiko Bridget is a 24-year-old mother of two from Muzaana Zone, Kikubamutwe \u2013 Kabalagala. She joined the SHE SOARS project after being informed Read More Matsiko Bridget is a 24-year-old mother of two from Muzaana Zone, Kikubamutwe \u2013 Kabalagala. She joined the SHE SOARS project after being informed by Mr. Frank […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":12281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-12280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12280"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12307,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12280\/revisions\/12307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reachoutmbuya.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}