Yonas’ Journey from Hardship to a Thriving Tailoring Business

In 2021, Niwamanya Yonas moved to Kyenjojo to care for his elderly grandmother. To provide food and other basic necessities, he survived by doing casual work, including digging in people’s gardens.

“I would dig in other people’s gardens just to earn enough money to care for my grandmother and myself. It was not easy. Sometimes we would go to bed hungry,” Yonas recalls.

His life changed when he enrolled at Anna Fashion and Design through the Skill Up! Project implemented by the Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE). There, he acquired tailoring and entrepreneurship skills that gave him a new direction.

Today, Yonas owns Yonas Akola Ebriungi New Fashion and Design at Bunoga Trading Centre. His business has become a source of livelihood not only for his family but also for other young people. He has trained five youth in tailoring. Three have established their own tailoring businesses in Kampala, while two are employed in the tailoring sector and are earning a living.

Yonas now saves UGX 150,000 every month through Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), has purchased two plots of land worth approximately UGX 4 million, and comfortably supports his wife and two children.

“I started with just 10 pieces of kitenge fabric, and people loved my products. I never had the opportunity to get an education, but JESE gave me skills that transformed my life. Everything I have today is because of that opportunity.”

Key message: “You can’t sleep hungry when you have a skill.”