By Chris Mugasha
Recently, Kyamuhunga People’s SACCO (KYAPS) one of the leading SACCO in the Country celebrated its 25th Anniversary since inception.
During the celebrations, different beneficiaries gave their testimonies on how KYAPS has since impacted on their lives and on communities.
Western Focus Magazine will run a series of testimonies from the different beneficiaries.
In this report, we bring out KYAPS’s interventions in addressing climate change.
Unlike many institutions which only focus on generating and increasing profits, for Kyamuhunga Peoples’ SACCO (KYAPS) it has gone beyond its core objective of giving financial services to people but to also fund enterprises which addresses the menace of climate change.
Darious Musasizi Mwesigye a farmer in Katanda Sub County in Rubirizi district says KYAPS has supported him in establishing over 100acres of a forest whose main objective is to conserve the environment.
“In 2017, I partnered with the National Forestry Authority (NFA) who allocated me land but that had remained idle and empty because I did not have the capacity to clear the field and plant trees,” Musasizi says. He says KYAPS intervened and offered to support him to plant trees. Musasizi now boasts of over 100 acres of forest. “I cannot cut the forest because its main purpose is to conserve the environment,” he notes.
According to Musasizi, caring for such a forest is not easy since it needs close supervision. “I always approach KYAPS and it has helped me to maintain it (forest),” he explains.
As a result, Musasizi has been connected to international agencies/organizations and he is now earning from carbon credit-trading. “KYAPS is giving me more money to establish another forest so that I can tap more funds from carbon trading,” Musasizi boasts as he commends KYAPS for being sensitive and incorporating issues of conserving the environment/nature.
The KYAPS general manager Johnbosco Atwijukire said among the challenges which are currently affecting their operations include the issues of climate change.
Atwijukire said KYAPS has integrated a component of environmental protection in most of the loans they give out especially those of agriculture. “Addressing climate change is now part of our activities which we are focusing on because we are all concerned with what is happening,” the general manager said. End.
