Maximilian Hille and Philipp Block of the Stiftung Block foundation also visit Sister Elisabeth in Butiru as part of a project trip to Africa. Her daughter Christine, back in Uganda after studying in Germany, shows the visitors her mother's 30 years of work in and around Butiru. Maximilian Hille writes:
On a rattling motorbike – a boda-boda – we ride over steep slopes and narrow gravel tracks to the places where Sister Elisabeth works. Besides countless schools along the rivers of Mount Elgon, we get an insight into the beekeeping programme, and on the way to the next stop we keep seeing proud owners of a cow who wave to us. In the village of Tsekululu, at around 1,500 metres, we go to a “microcredit meeting” of a women's group.
In this programme, micro-loans of €25–50 are given to start a small business, such as selling fruit and vegetables at the roadside or handicrafts. The starting capital of €1,000 per group of about 20 women comes from donations. It is used to support the group's business ideas. Repayment works as at a bank, with a fixed term and interest.
We are invited into a house built of clay and cow dung (it keeps sand fleas away) to attend a ceremony. Not knowing what to expect, we watch the little hut fill with 28 women. Two head teachers are there who run the micro-credit programme across the whole Butiru area under Sister Elisabeth's supervision.
The women are welcomed in the local language, Luganda, followed by a long speech. Suddenly the women cry out, cheering, with happy faces. A little startled and none the wiser, we look at Christine and ask what has just happened. Christine proudly translates: the women have just learned that a mother from their village has been given a cow. Joy and gratitude burst out in a cry that went straight to my heart and that I will never forget.
Maximilian Hille, July 2024
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