WESTERN PROVINCE

KARONGI — The government in conjunction with the National Aids Commission (CNLS) has given single mothers in Bwishyura Sector, Karongi district a tune of Frw9m to set up income generating projects.

An official at the district said the money was deposited on the account of the beneficiaries three weeks ago. It has been established that the beneficiaries have used the money to open a hair saloon that will be run by a committee comprising of some single mothers, district officials and representatives from the sector.

Rose Mujawabera, a member of the committee says the saloon business will help members earn a living and save some money for future investment.

"I believe this will sort out some of the insecurity problems since these people will be kept busy,” said a police official in the area.

The official noted that in most cases the single mothers were found loitering at night, fighting in bars as well as fighting with other women over men.

"We believe this will work out for them and are training them on how to do this at their best, said Gashanana Cyba the executive secretary of Bwishyura.

Meanwhile, the beneficiaries on Monday under went a rehabilitation exercise and how to utilise the available resources to improve their livelihood.

The training organised by the Sector also taught participants about the merits of family planning, and voluntary HIV counseling and testing.

"I will use the money I earn from this business to redeem my life towards better work than what I have been doing,” said one of the beneficiaries.

Sector leaders say the problem of single mothers has been increasing over time and their actual numbers are not known.

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