For years, Ms. Chepkwemoi Metrine watched government poverty alleviation programs come and go without directly benefiting from any of them. Like many rural Ugandans, she often heard announcements about government support but never imagined she would one day become a beneficiary herself.
Today, the resident of Kaplakatet Ward in Kween District is running a growing piggery enterprise thanks to support received under the Parish Development Model (PDM), a government initiative aimed at lifting households into the money economy.
Chepkwemoi says that when she applied for PDM funds through the Kaplakatet Upper Maize Growers Model Group, she did not believe her application would succeed.
“I thought it was just a dream,” she recalls.
But that dream became reality in 2024 when she received financial support and decided to invest in pig farming. Since then, the project has steadily grown, providing a new source of income for her family and strengthening her confidence in the future.
The mother says the piggery enterprise is helping her meet household needs and plan for her children’s education, something she previously struggled to do.
Her story reflects a broader transformation taking place in rural communities where beneficiaries are using PDM funds to establish income-generating projects and create sustainable livelihoods.
Chepkwemoi credits President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the government for bringing financial services closer to ordinary citizens, saying the program has given many people an opportunity to invest in productive enterprises for the first time.
As government officials continue monitoring projects across the country, success stories such as Chepkwemoi’s are emerging as evidence of how access to small-scale financing can empower households, stimulate local economic activity, and create pathways out of poverty.
For Chepkwemoi, PDM is more than a government program—it is the opportunity that turned hope into enterprise and a dream into a source of livelihood.
