Meet Annet Namono: How Sourcing Market Avocados Keeps Four Children in School

Annet Namono raises four children in Eastern Uganda. Before starting her trade, she struggled to pay school expenses and purchase food for daily household meals. Her small home garden produced too little food to sustain four growing children, leaving her searching for a dependable income.

Neighbors in her village told Annet about Global Village Connect’s community development training. The program supports GVC’s mission to help parents build self-reliant family incomes. Annet enrolled to learn how to manage money and launch a retail trade.

Practical lessons in customer care and budgeting

Annet completed the course modules in price setting, profit tracking, and customer communication. She studied how to source farm goods directly from growers to maintain low purchase costs.

Avocados were in steady demand among local families, but market supplies were often inconsistent. Annet decided to buy fresh avocados from nearby orchards and resell them in the municipal market, adopting a direct wholesale sourcing method like fruit distributor Sam Wabuyi and vegetable vendor Christine Nadunga.

Sourcing stock and securing a market space

Annet borrowed 150,000 UGX (about $40 USD) from her elder sister and combined it with her personal funds. She traveled to local farms, selected ripe green avocados, and transported them to the regional market center.

Her first morning at the market brought friction. Established vendors attempted to intimidate her and claim her selling space. Annet remained composed, arranged her avocado basins in an open aisle, and greeted shoppers with polite confidence. Buyers gathered around her produce basins, and she sold her entire batch before midday.

“Other vendors tried to push me out on my first morning. I stayed calm, set out my basins, and spoke politely to every buyer. Customers appreciated my fresh stock, and I sold everything.”

— Annet Namono (shared with GVC’s field team)

Consistent income and educational support

Annet earns a steady daily profit of 5,000 UGX (about $1.35 USD). That income stabilizes her home in three specific areas:

• Daily Meals: Annet buys dependable food staples for all four children every morning.
• School Supplies: She pays term fees and purchases exercise books to keep her children active at school.
• Emergency Savings: She deposits small cash sums into a home reserve for medical emergencies and unexpected costs, following savings habits used by GVC graduates in local investment groups.

Annet maintains her client base through friendly service, fair pricing, and clean fruit displays.

Future plans for fruit expansion

Annet plans to add mangoes, passion fruit, and seasonal citrus to her basins. She is saving money to purchase larger fruit crates and rent a permanent stall space, following the business expansion paths of market peers Edith Namataka, Aida Mugide, and charcoal vendors Gladys Muduwa and Evelin Gimono. Her central ambition is to keep all four of her children in the classroom through high school graduation. (Learn more about local farming conditions in our field notes on farming and rains).

To support more rural mothers building independent micro-businesses in Eastern Uganda, please visit our donation page.