Before Seed Effect came to Moyo, Joyce Aziku already worked hard. She farmed, she planted, she harvested. But hard work alone was never quite enough.

In her own words:

“I cultivated and planted crops, and I used the harvest to earn money to pay my children’s school fees. The rest of the harvest I used to feed my family. However, it was difficult to get enough money to do other things I wanted to do.”

Seed Effect has been working in Moyo since 2017, and when Joyce’s group formed, she was ready. She started saving, and that single decision set a chain of changes in motion.

From a Passbook to a Roofed House

In her first savings cycle, Joyce received a loan of one million shillings. She split it deliberately: part went to her children’s school fees, and the rest she used to make bricks.

In her second savings cycle, she increased her participation, saving more consistently. With the loans she accessed that year, she was able to raise the walls of her house. Then she found herself with 265,000 shillings still in hand.

“I used this remaining amount to buy cooking oil and started a small business of making pancakes. Because of this small pancake business, I was able to save comfortably.”

At the end of the year, the group shared out what each had saved and the interest earned. Joyce used her earnings to buy iron sheets and hired an engineer to assess the timber and labor needed to roof her home. After the roof was finished, she reinvested what remained in her business and used a further balance to purchase chickens, a goat, and a pig.

The numbers tell a remarkable story. Over three years of saving with her group, Joyce contributed a total of 3,086,000 UGX (~$857 USD) of her own money. At the end of each cycle, when the group divides up everything saved plus all the interest earned on loans, Joyce received back 4,670,400 UGX (~$1,297 USD) — a profit of 1,584,400 UGX (~$440 USD) earned through her group’s collective discipline.

Along the way, she transformed her household: her home is now built with cement walls and a finished roof, and her livestock has grown to include cattle, goats, pigs, and poultry.

And Joyce is not done. Now in her fourth savings cycle, she and her Ale Ozo group members are still saving together independently without any ongoing support from Seed Effect. This is a testament to their sustainability and the strength of what they built over three years.

A Leader in Her Group

Joyce has served as Chairperson of the Ale Ozo Saving Group since the very beginning, a role that speaks to the trust her community places in her. Through three cycles, every school-aged child in her care has attended school regularly. Her family eats meat more than once a week. She has started a new business. And through it all, she has continued to show up for her neighbors.

What stands out about Joyce is not just that she saved, but how carefully she deployed every shilling. A loan was never simply spent; it was divided, allocated, and then reinvested.

“I divided the one million shillings (~$277 USD) into two parts: I used part of it to pay school fees, and I used the remaining amount to make bricks… After roofing my house, I re-invested the remaining balance into my business so that I could continue saving in the group. I still had some balance left, which I used to buy chickens, a goat, and a pig.”

Joyce’s story is not the result of a single breakthrough moment, but of a pattern repeated over time: save, borrow, invest, and reinvest.

A Transformation That Goes Deeper

But Joyce’s transformation didn’t stop with her finances. At each graduation survey, she reported growth in her relationships — with herself, with her community, and with God. By the end of Cycle 3, she described dressing well as a sign of growing self-worth, sharing what she had with those in need, praying every day, and planting trees. All evidence of a person who has moved from scarcity to generosity.

When summarizing the impact she’s seen in her life, Joyce highlights the spiritual aspect of Seed Effect’s program.

“I thank Seed Effect so much for the training they have given us, especially the part where they share the Bible. It has given me strength and courage to face life confidently. It has helped me to do things boldly on my own because I put my trust in God.”

Joyce Aziku came to Seed Effect as a farmer who worked hard but could never quite get ahead. She is leaving her three years with the program as a homeowner, a businesswoman, a livestock keeper, a community leader, and a woman who says she now faces life boldly — because she has learned to trust God and herself.

*Exchange rate: 1 USD = 3,600 UGX (as of March 17, 2026)