Georgette is an elderly single mother and caretaker of seven children in her household, many of whom are her own grandchildren orphaned while fleeing from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda. A survivor of the area’s armed conflict, she has made her home in Uganda’s Nakivale settlement and is now an active member of the Wakati Foundation’s women’s group. Through Lifeline’s SAFE program, Georgette is also an employee of the energy kiosk in New Congo village, an income-generating project that establishes sales and distribution channels for efficient energy products. In her role, she and other kiosk staff are driving the SAFE project past its first phase as they continue to place orders for EcoSmart stoves. With hard work, Georgette and her family know that SAFE will keep benefitting their community as a means of income and daily employment. And, her own family can now afford a meal each day and earn more for household needs like clothing and school fees for her grandchildren.
As designed, the SAFE social enterprise model continues to operate on revenue from local stove sales, and sales records from each kiosk and vendor serve as measurements of consumer demand. One of the most promising signs of success? The Nakivale refugee settlement Energy Kiosk team is expanding to a second kiosk location independent of ILF’s involvement.