Mediatrice.

When you have courage, you can do what you want to do.

I was just 17 years old when I fled.

In Burundi, I lived with my parents and siblings, but I don’t know their whereabouts now.

My name is Mediatrice, I’m 27 years old, a wife and mother of two.

Before coming to Uganda, I was living in Burundi near the border to Rwanda. I was still a young girl, but I’d purchase fruit and sell them in Rwanda.

In 2015, political conflict broke out. That day I had crossed the border. They found a set of bullets where I crossed and said It was me.

When I tried to go back, it was too dangerous. I could not stay in Rwanda either, so I escaped and came to Uganda and stayed in Nakivale Refugee Settlement.

I was just 17 years old when I fled.

In Burundi, I lived with my parents and siblings, but I don’t know their whereabouts now. I used to feel sad about it when I first got here. I missed them a lot. But I got used to being here and I know I can’t go back. So I have made peace with it.

Mediatrice weighs rice in a bag in her grocery shop

Life here in Nakivale is manageable.

I have a small retail business selling vegetables like tomatoes, corn and onions, as well as maize flour, groundnuts and oil. I get supplies from DRC and when I can’t go, my husband goes. I follow the seasons and purchase what the community needs at the time.

This business helps us buy food and provide education for my two children. When my children are sick, I can get them medication. So I can solve day-to-day issues at home.

Mediatrice sits holding a photograph of her sister in her lap.

This picture of my sister is very important to me. When I think about how my family is not near me, I wonder how my siblings are doing.

Whenever I look at this, it comforts me. I get to see a familiar face.

Before, life was not good. But now I have something to do. Even though it’s tough, I work and provide for my family.

Mediatrice smiles as she serves a customer at her grocery shop

One of my biggest challenges is that I sometimes don’t have what the client needs because I don’t have enough capital to purchase everything they need. Sometimes they come looking for a different soda and I only have one type due to a shortage of capital.

Lack of electricity is a big challenge, especially during the rainy season. When it’s sunny, we’re able to get solar energy, but in the rainy season we can spend 2 or 3 days without a phone and I can’t work at night or use the refrigerator.

If there was electricity and I could get a fridge, it’d help me out and those looking for cold drinks could get them.

Before, I didn’t have savings and I’d spend recklessly, thinking I could get it back the next day. But the training opened my mind.

Mediatrice looks off to the right of a camera, she is wearing a pink apron and against a green painted wall.
Mediatrice weighs rice in a bag in her grocery shop
Cooking oil hangs in plastic bags from a hook in Mediatrice's shop
Mediatrice serves a customer in her grocery store.
Mediatrice stands outside her shop.
Mediatrice shops in her local market for produce to sell at her shop.
Mediatrice shops for produce to sell at her shop. Here she engages with a seller about a product.
Mediatrice purchases goods at her local market for her shop.

I participated in training by Opportunity International on financial literacy. I learnt about good practices with money and how to save.

After the training, I joined a savings group. I save with the group and when I have an urgent problem, I can go to them and borrow some money. Even if we withdrew from the bank to use, it’s not nearby. But the savings groups help us.

We have started counting the expenses and income. We gave even stopped spending on things that are not important in life. For example, instead of spending money on a bike to go somewhere when you could just walk.

The biggest challenge for women is poverty.

It keeps women down, where we feel isolated, and are convinced a woman’s life is always inferior. Some are raising their children alone and struggle a lot.

It’s important for a woman to start a business because she’s always the one closest to her children and knows their problems. When you have your own projects, you can help yourself out of them. If your child has a problem that they can’t talk to their father about, like if you have girls and they need pads or soap. As a working woman, you can deal with those issues.

If I continue to grow, my life will change. My burdens would be less and I could invest in other projects. I’d like to buy a maize grinding machine; I sell maize but having a grinder would mean I could turn it into cornmeal to sell, and life would improve.

I don’t have the means right now, but it’ll come gradually.

Mediatrice smiles gently as she stands outside her grocery shop. Through her shop door you can see sacks and products piled up and big bunch of bananas.

Not completing my studies has been a big challenge for me. My hope is to send my children to school until they complete their studies and become important leaders.

That’s what I think about most - I believe my children will become very important people.

I’ve learnt that the biggest capital is you as a person, your determination.

Once you have that, you have to have courage. When you have courage, you can do what you want to do.

 

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