Tractor!

PTU was approved for the PEPFAR grant we applied for back in January! Denis is in Kampala today picking up the check. Thank you US government!

Now the real fun will start. We'll be setting up farmers groups- first a 'PTU' group comprised of the guardians to our beneficiaries, then ten community groups, one for each parish of Pajule and Lapul sub counties. They'll need to be self-formed, with a bit of oversight, and need to develop a constitution for each group. They'll have to agree on the land to be opened/plowed, what will be planted and when, who will maintain the crops, and what will be done at harvest time.

PTU will subsidize the tractor rental costs for these groups, but will rent the tractor to non-group members and local businesses at a fee. The money raised from the tractor rentals (and profit from the sale of increased cassava and maize production on PTU's piggery land) will help support the academic scholarship program for the OVCs (after a portion is saved for tractor repair and maintenance).

I have high hopes for this project. Before I leave Uganda, I want PTU to internally generate enough funds each year to pay the school fees for our 20 orphans, and to use the outside donations for admin/additional program costs. We'll see...

It'll probably be a few months before the tractor is purchased and makes its journey from Kampala to Pajule, but I'm looking forward to riding on it once it arrives!