Vision Fund has brought Benjamin’s dreams to reality.

A walk through Kayuga village in Mpigi District (Central Uganda) gives a calm experience as the people peacefully  go about their daily work. Their friendly gestures encourage me to approach them and ask if they know of one villager  am looking for.  Before I even mention the man’s second  name, one person screams from the far end, “are you looking for the “Mwanika”, they ask?Upon inquiring, I learn that “Mwanika” means treasurer in the local language. Someone that is good at keeping money and or putting it to good use.

Benjamin Mutekisa,aged 47, is a husband and a father of eight. He is the Mwanika in his community because of the good reputation he has with finances. This name came after he got a loan from Vision Fund(VF) and flourished in farming. Before VF, Benjamin was like any other ordinary farmer that grew maize, beans and potatoes on a small scale with merger returns.He started farming after getting a loan from money lenders but who unfortunately frustrated him with a high interest rate(20%)  where he ended up paying back with most of his profits. It was until he saw that his life was not changing for better that he opted to give VF a chance and got a loan of 5million ($1862).He increased his farming by growing more crops like cassava, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, matooke (Bananas) and IrishPotatos. He also rears chicken and cows as well as planting trees. Due to his bountiful harvest, Benjamin started to supplying food to a University and a technical institute. On a monthly basis, he would get about 8 million ($2,979). He only had to pay VF back with an interest rate of 3% which seemed too good to be true.

Benjamin paid back his loan on time and got another of 10 million ($3,724). With this he took his children to better schools, bought vehicles(motorcycles, taxi hires and Lorries) which he used to employ the youth in his community through paying them whenever they  they drove them as they transacted  his or their own businesses.  He also bought a bigger piece of land that was on 50 acres of land in order to expand his farming.  The profits were increasing by the day so he decided to build a house. The most beautiful house in Kayuga village belongs to Benjamin. It is a four bed roomed house that is surrounded with beautiful flowers and gardens .”Benjamin was a good example to us on how he handled and managed his finances so we chose him to be our treasurer in the village saving group. He is always available to advice us financially and each member has really benefited from the savings and been able to educate their children as well as meet their domestic needs. If it wasn't for his constant advice, this group would have collapsed” says Phionah Nabadda a member of Kayunga Silk  saving group.

Benjamin’s selfless character has also made him encourage other people to get loans from VF and do as many investments as he has been able to. “VF trusts me so much and when someone I know wants to get a loan and they use me as a security, they will not be denied one because they know am accountable and can never default” says Benjamin. He also says that his motto is “zibulaatude” which means that one who lacks money is one who keeps seated. This motto is embedded in his logo which appears on all is vehicles, paper work and receipts. When asked what his dream is, he says he hopes to get a much bigger loan and start up a big farm where he can rear cattle on a big scale and employ more youth in his area that are languishing without jobs.

Benjamin has proved to many that indeed the sky is the limit and as long as he keeps working hard, he will have more than he ever dreamed of.