Hope for Justice has been supporting communities in Karamoja, Uganda over the last three years to develop sustainable, locally led businesses that strengthen family incomes and help reduce the drivers of child labour, child marriage, trafficking, and exploitation.
Through existing Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Community-Level Associations (CLAs), community members are building skills, creating new enterprises, and turning local resources into opportunities for long-term resilience.
Examples include practical, market-driven income-generating activities that enable families to support themselves while protecting children and promoting safer communities, such as:
Handcrafted Cultural Products: Community groups are producing traditional handicrafts that celebrate Karamoja’s positive cultural heritage while generating income and challenging harmful practices such as child marriage.
Shoe Making: Local shoe-making enterprises are creating new livelihood opportunities, helping families build resilience and reduce vulnerability to exploitation.
Shea Butter Vaseline and Lotion Production: Women are transforming locally sourced shea butter into marketable skincare products, turning traditional knowledge into sustainable income.
Liquid Soap Production: Groups are producing liquid soap for local markets, creating clean, child-labour-free products while strengthening household earnings.
Roasted Groundnuts and Simsim: Families are adding value to crops grown through community farming initiatives, increasing income and promoting self-reliance.
Millet and Sorghum Cakes: Community groups are converting grain into nutritious food products, creating alternative income streams and encouraging healthier uses for local harvests.
These enterprises demonstrate the power of community-led solutions. By investing in skills, entrepreneurship, and locally driven innovation, families in Karamoja are creating safer futures for their children and building stronger, more resilient communities.
Hope for Justice is delighted to have had this opportunity to participate in the three-year PREC Project, which comes to a close this month and which is funded by the European Union.
We would like to thank the partners that have made this possible: the Dutch humanitarian and development organisation Woord en Daad and TUNADO, the Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation.
Below, Madinah Kakyama, Community Programme Manager at Hope for Justice Uganda, explains more about these successes:
“In the semi-arid and often challenging environment of Karamoja in north-eastern Uganda, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are emerging as a powerful tool for transforming the lives of the households that are most vulnerable to their children being recruited into exploitative labour. These small groups of like-minded caregivers began meeting weekly for Positive Parenting training, block farming activities, and discussions on common social challenges. The groups gradually evolved into vibrant savings and loans associations. Through the simple act of saving a few shillings each week, caregivers have created a source of hope, resilience, and economic empowerment for their families and communities.
“As members invest in income generating activities, vulnerable household incomes are steadily improving. Caregivers are now able to send their children to school, access health care and improve food security and nutrition thereby reducing the economic pressures that often push children into exploitative child labour and creating a more secure future for their children.
“Beyond the financial benefits, the greatest strength of the SHGs lies in the unity and solidarity they have built among members. Through regular meetings, shared savings, and mutual support, members have strengthened social cohesion, encouraged collective problem-solving, and developed a culture of working together for the common good. The groups have become a model of community cooperation, demonstrating that when people unite around a shared purpose, they can overcome challenges, protect their children, improve their livelihoods, and create lasting positive change within their communities.
“The experience of SHGs in Karamoja clearly demonstrates that unity is strength. Through collective savings, shared responsibility, and mutual support, vulnerable households have improved their livelihoods and strengthened their resilience. The groups have not only reduced the risk of children being drawn into exploitative child labour but have also fostered trust, cooperation, and a strong sense of community. Their success shows that when people work together toward a common goal, they can overcome adversity, create opportunities, and build a brighter and more secure future for all. As their song says: ‘We are together, we are a family.'”
