Depositing money with hardware shops helped me build my house

After graduating in 2009 from Makerere University Business School with a Bachelors degree in Procurement and Logistics, Saadah Nassuna went back to stay in their family home in Bushenyi District.
“I went back to the village after failing to cope with the tough life in the city. Thieves had stolen items from my snacks shop in Nakawa and I was singlehandedly raising a daughter I had while at the university,” she shares.

Nassuna returned to Kampala in 2010 after her sister persuaded her to give life in the city another shot.
She opened a soft drinks and cosmetics shop in Ganda surburb.
“The shop had a spare room at the back and this is where I slept,” she says.

The house idea
One time, as she sat inside her shop, a friend paid a visit and shared some information with her. He said his sister had been jailed and needed quick money for bail.
“He told me his sister was also building a small house within Ganda suburb but construction had halted after she was sent to jail. He begged that we visit the site, something I agreed to do,” Nassuna says, adding: “The building had only been built up to the wall plate (around the ventilation area) and he told me to pay Shs10m for it.”

The plot of land bearing the incomplete house measured approximately 30 by 29 feet. At first, Nassuna turned down the offer fearing that the building was probably being sold without the consent of the owner.
“He insisted that his sister knew about the plan and needed the money to secure her freedom. I finally gave in to the idea because he was my good friend. I bargained and bought it at Shs6.5million, an amount that was accepted,” she says.

The money (Shs6.5 million) had been savings and profits accumulated from the soda distribution business. Upon her release (in 2012), the woman, her brother, Nassuna and the area Local Council One chairperson visited the site and signed documents transfering ownership of the property to Nassuna.

The construction
Upon transfer of ownership, Nassuna says she devised a plan of constructing the house to suit her taste and standards. The problem was that she did not have the required money to do all the finishing at once.
“So, I decided that every time I accumulated savings or made some good profits from selling merchandise from the shop, I would use the money for finishing up different parts of the house,” she says.

She adds: “I would work at my shop and check my account every month. Whatever amount I had accumulated, I would call up the engineer and ask him what the amount of money could do.”

For instance, there was a time Nassuna saved Shs400,000 and used the money for plastering the kitchen. On another occasion, she had saved Shs500,000 and used it for coating the kitchen.
“Then, there was a month I made a profit of Shs300,000 and instructed a welder to make for me bathroom windows.
“And that was how the building process went. Whenever I got some money, I would immediately inject it into finishing up some part of the house.”

Windows
Fixing doors and windows as well as plastering and painting of the interior part of the house went on throughout 2013, 2014 and 2015. The work was done in stages whenever the money was available.

The expensive roofing
For the iron sheets, she needed Shs3m while the timber framing required for the roof was about Shs1 million.
“But I still did not have the money. Rather, I decided to make frequent deposits at a hardware shop as a way of saving for the iron sheets. Sometimes I put Shs100,000 or Shs500,000 into the shop’s account,” she says.

The money accumulated in six months before the roofing process finally began.
“I refused to buy all the required iron sheets at once. I was afraid that if I purchased all the sheets at once, they would be stolen by the builders. So, I would buy in installments,” she says, adding: “When builders normally say that one is using 50 iron sheets, they steal some of them…When, you leave the site, they remove some. When they tell you to buy 50 iron sheets, just buy 35 iron sheets and you have to be there during the roofing…You will be at a loss if you do not closely supervise…However, if you buy few, it will be quite difficult to steal them.”

The roofing was completed in 2016. Nassuna moved into the house in April, 2017. The shop she was staying in is a few meters away from the house.
By the time she moved into the house, the outside part had not been finished as it had not yet been plastered or painted.
“I was advised to have it completed because an incomplete structure easily invites thieves,” she says.

So, she occupied the house with her two children, she continued saving money until she had accumulated enough for both painting and plastering the outside part of the house.
“I was charged about Shs1.7m for the exterior work, including labour. This was done in a space of five months,” she says.

Today, the house is complete with electricity. It has a living room which is combined with a dining room area, two bedrooms, kitchen, an inside bathroom and toilet.
She has not yet installed piped water. She buys water at Shs500.

Having her own house
Nassuna says one obvious advantage is that she does not worry about paying monthly rent. Secondly, she continuously receives a lot of admiration and respect from residents in the locality.
“People usually ask me how I was able to build my own house and I am always happy to share my story,” she says.
Also, the house has earned her a number of male admirers. “Imagine, someone getting interested in you because you have a house. I cannot accept such a man in my life,” she says.

The household items
Furniture: The three sofas were custom made at Shs600,000 including labour and design from Nanssana.
Curtains: Each of the nets cost Shs30, 000. The curtains on the other hand cost Shs180, 000 from Kiyembe lane in Kampala. The labor cost Shs30,000.
Dinning set: The seats and table were made from Bwaise, a Kampala neighbourhood at Shs300,000.
Television: The television was ordered from Dubai at Shs500,000.
Microwave: Also, ordered from Dubai at Shs200,000 from Dubai.
Television stand: It cost shs200,000 from wandegeya, city suburb.
Fridge: She was given two fridges, both costing a total of Shs1.7m from Kampala. The other fridge, the upright freezer, is home while the deep freezer is stationed at her shop.
Oven: It cost Shs800,000 from Kampala road.
Her personal bed: The 6 by 6 size bed was sold with a mattress and mosquito net at Shs1m.