Ledia, a wife and mother to five children, first arrived in the Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Uganda in 2017 after fleeing South Sudan.

In February of 2022, Ledia joined Unity Seed Effect group. There are nine tribes represented among the thirty group members.

In March 2023, Unity Group completed their first savings cycle and celebrated their share out. Here’s what Ledia shared about the impact Seed Effect had made in her life:

“We are very happy. It was very hard, but we found at the end of the savings cycle, we realized some good amount of money and that encouraged us to start immediately in a second savings cycle. So that way we will have a good plan for this year as we continue to save with Seed Effect. We are not willing to leave. We will save forever. I got 700,000 shillings in my first share out. I am very happy with the money I received. I bought a goat, was able to improve my house, and I’m planning to invest in my garden work growing g-nuts (peanuts). I am hoping as I continue to save, I’ll save more, and I’ll set more targets for myself.”

And the impact extends beyond financial.

This group is like a church. When you start a church, people from different tribes come together. Because of all of us coming to the group, we became a family called Unity.

Ledia with members of ‘Unity’ Seed Effect group.

We are encouraged to help each other. When I am sick, my group members come and visit me. When one is lacking, the group members can contribute and help.

This group has grown more and more intact. There is a lot of cohesion in this group. When one of us is not around, we feel the gap.

We are grateful for this group and the encouragement of the 4 key relationships.

In difficult relationships we were not loving each other where we came from [in South Sudan]. But coming here now, we have shown more love and we realize there is a mandate to relate well with our neighbors, ourselves, God, and even the environment. This has taught us a lot. We hope these teachings grow on more and more so that by the time when peace comes to South Sudan, this will be a transforming agent because we now know how to relate with our neighbor.”