Victory Africa Ministry is an indigenous faith-based non-governmental organization dedicated to finding sustainable local solutions that fit existing socio-economic patterns that hinder community transformation.VAM has a conviction that women’s lives changed by Jesus Christ, can make a significant difference for a better Kabale, Uganda, and the world.

 In January 2011 Victory Micro Enterprise project was started to realize this cause. The project started with 18 unemployed women and has developed into a vibrant  project that has empowered 350 women who own small-sized businesses in Kabale Municipality. Victory Micro Enterprises uses a community-based participatory development approach to empower women to overcome poverty, disease, and hopelessness. This  strategy has proved to create new opportunities for growth and reduce dependency among women in Kabale Municipality.

Judith a beneficiary of Vime a mother of two narrates how hard it was to raise her children. She had a very low-paying job that she decided to quit. She then joined the Vime project. She explains that the first soft loan business loan got from Vime assisted her to buy grass cutting machine which she now hires. The money she gets from hiring her machine has helped to start a fresh food business. The second loan was also injected into her business which has expanded.  She is now a wholesaler of fresh foods in Kabale Town. She says VIME has played a vital role to increase her income, feeding her family as well as educating her two children. She says that she feels more independent and free to make her own decisions.

 VAM is changing the lives of women in the Kabale community, did you know that each month $450 is given to women groups who are trained to run small businesses? It’s worth noting that 74 women have been trained and are running micro businesses. This is a very important step to change the lives of women and their family members. It’s pretty awesome seeing lives being changed.

Vime seeks to enhance self-sufficiency by providing training in soft business loan management, entrepreneurial skills, and biblical stewardship with a win/win outcome that leads to maintaining the viable creation of self-employment and job opportunities. A win/win results in the way that the community, infrastructure, families, and individuals benefit with a long-term focus on generational change. In Deuteronomy 15:1-11, we find that loaning to help the poor regain economic security was central to God’s original formula to help the poor and needy within a community. God even pronounces a tangible blessing, encompassing all of life, to those who “regard the poor.” Psalms 41:1.

Solidarity groups of three individuals are formed and thereafter trained in business practices and mentored in developing a simple and realistic business plan. After 3 months of training, if meeting all the criteria, individuals from the groups take a soft business loan to start a business or expand on an existing business. The qualified and experienced micro-enterprise coordinator gives ongoing training and support to each individual with a business, to ensure success. A service fee (set by the leaders of VAM) of 2% on reducing balance is charged. The fee helps pay administration costs as well as forming a buffer against bad debt and devaluation that decreases the revolving fund.