Irene Wetaka, one of WMI's local coordinators, is fond of the phrase: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others."

This simple saying encapsulates the attitude we have at WMI. The success of the loan program and its impressive growth throughout East Africa is contingent on a large (and growing) network of rural women who are dedicated to empowering their counterparts through WMI microloans. We understand that while visionary leaders on their own can pioneer meaningful change, it takes a team to make a lasting impact on a community.

This is the rationale behind WMI's administrative structure. Every one of WMI's 12 rural loan program partners has a single head administrator who is supported by a robust team of local coordinators. The coordinators are responsible for collecting loans on scheduled repayment days, visiting borrower businesses, writing reports, running support group meetings, interviewing potential new borrowers to the program, and mobilizing group members to follow up with defaulters. Many of these coordinators go above and beyond their assigned duties to assist the head administrator with additional tasks. The position is at least a 20 hour commitment per week.

The fact that these women commit so much of their time to WMI is impressive when you consider the daily schedule of a typical coordinator, outlined below:

5:30 AM: Wake up to pray.

6 AM: Go to the gardens. Families in rural E. Africa typically have their own gardens in which they cultivate agricultural products such as bananas, maize, cassava, coffee, tomatoes, cabbage, etc. These gardens require daily work; depending on the season, women may be weeding beans, harvesting coffee, etc. Women often do much of the work in the gardens; waking up early in the morning you will see strong women walking through the villages balancing bunches of bananas on their heads and hoes across their shoulders.

7:30 AM: Return home from the gardens to bathe.

7:45 AM: Take tea.

8 AM: Go to school/work/tend business. Many coordinators are teachers at local primary schools; others may have businesses such as retail shops or salons that they tend. 

3 PM: Visit WMI office. The work required to be done by the coordinators changes on a daily basis; but typically the coordinators come to review their loan deposit books, conduct meetings with the Director, complete loan application surveys for borrowers, and file documents.  The ladies are diligent about maintaining their files.  WMI is also switching to computer tracking of documents and that requires constant updating of computer records.   Slowly by slowly, aspects of the program are being automated at the village level. 

6 PM: Return home from WMI.  Graze the goats, feed the cows and tend to other livestock.  This  is a time-consuming daily task as all families have animals to care for in their compounds.

7 PM: Begin preparing supper for husband and children. For most women, supper is comprised of a Ugandan staple food called "matoke", which is mashed unripe bananas, usually topped with groundnut paste or beans.  It is cooked in large pots and usually covered with corn husks to seal in the flavor.  Depending on the season, other local crops will supplement the matoke.

8 PM: Eat supper

8:30 PM: Clean up

9 PM: Do any preparation necessary for the following day. This may include preparing school lesson plans, or keeping business records

10 PM: Go to bed

At WMI we often say that a woman is the "mother of the nation". In Uganda especially, an astonishing multitude of duties are imposed on women within a family. Women are responsible for cooking meals, taking care of the children, tending to the animals, working in the gardens to bring home food to eat - the list goes on. For a rural woman, every minute spent outside of daily chores or lucrative business opportunities imposes a difficult trade-off.

The fact that our coordinators dedicate so much of their time to WMI is testament to their belief in the benefit that these microloans provide to their communities. This tenacity and sense of objective provides a common bond not only among the coordinators within a WMI hub, but between loan hubs - making for an international team of purpose-driven community leaders. We are grateful for the dedication, diligence, and excellence of our coordinators - WMI could not operate so successfully without them.