Ageno Sarah’s life has never been easy.  She was raised in Padibe in Northern Uganda.  In primary two, her education came to an abrupt end when her father died and her family didn’t have enough
money to pay the school fees.  She spent her childhood farming and collecting wood to sell.

Sarah eventually met her husband while selling
firewood.  He was working construction nearby.  In her twenties, her and her husband and their two young children moved to the Acholi Quarter, to where her husband’s brother had already relocated.  Their marriage thrived and they had 3 more children.  Her husband continued to work
construction.  Sadly, in 2018 he passed away, leaving Sarah to struggle to care for the family.

An entrepreneur, Sarah has supported the family by dabbling in a variety of small businesses.  She
has made cooking pots from discard automotive parts.  She had a small bar selling beer and snacks along the main thoroughfare of the Acholi Quarter.  She is also a talented artisan and makes high quality paper bead jewelry, which she continues to sell by day on the busy streets of Kampala.  By night, she sells small packs of tea leaves she prepares.

Sarah yearns for greater security and stability and would like to open a small shop with a friend, selling crafts in the busy artisan market along Kampala’s Buganda Road.  In addition to selling the jewelry she makes, she would import clothing from Kenya and purchase small drums to sell.  She
needs about $800 to launch the business.

Like many women in the Acholi Quarter, her ultimate goal is to build a home in northern Uganda where her family remains, so one day she
could retire and live out her older years among family in her homeland.