Kasubi Emyooga Sacco is turning former offenders into skilled entrepreneurs

KAMPALA; The Kasubi Carpenters Emyooga Sacco, once a modest youth group formed under the Presidential Initiative on Job and Wealth Creation, has grown into a powerful engine of transformation for young men and women who had lost their way.

At the centre of this transformation is Wasswa Joseph, whose life mirrors the journey of redemption the Sacco stands for. Just a few years ago, Wasswa was part of a gang that terrorised pedestrians and motorists along the Northern Bypass. Today, the same hands that once snatched valuables from passersby now build elegant furniture pieces that decorate homes across Kampala.

“I never thought I would make an honest living with my hands,” Wasswa says with quiet pride. “But joining the Sacco gave me a second chance. I learned carpentry, discipline, and most importantly, the value of honest work.”

Founded in 2021, the Kasubi Carpenters Emyooga Sacco received seed capital of 50 million shillings and has since become a thriving cooperative. It equips vulnerable youth from former offenders to single mothers and sex workers with vocational and entrepreneurial skills to build sustainable livelihoods.

The Sacco’s chairman, Sulaiman Ssenyonga, and secretary, Alfred Olupot, attribute their success to a culture of collective savings, skills training, and access to modern carpentry tools. “We invested in machines like band saws, moulders, and cutting equipment,” Ssenyonga explains. “That has improved our production capacity and reduced our costs.”

Another powerful story of transformation comes from Christine Nassanga, a former sex worker from Bwaise. “I used to live one day at a time,” she recalls. “But through the Sacco, I’ve learned to plan, save, and run my own business. Now I can support my children with dignity.”

From 150 members at inception, the Sacco now boasts over 350 active members and savings worth 45 million shillings proof of growing trust and self-reliance. Still, the group faces challenges, particularly in accessing larger markets. Most sales come from walk-in customers around Kasubi, and the members hope for greater market linkages and promotional platforms to expand their reach.

For Wasswa and others like him, however, the journey itself is proof enough that change is possible. “When I see the furniture we make and the customers who appreciate our work, I feel proud,” he says. “I’m not the same person I used to be.”

Through the efforts of the Kasubi Carpenters Emyooga Sacco, crime-weary streets are giving way to workshops filled with the hum of machines and the promise of hope. It is a story of transformation of how a small cooperative in Kasubi is turning broken lives into symbols of dignity, skill, and economic independence.