Annet Nayiga relies on feet to make ends meet

Annet Naiga is very careful about her looks. Like most 40-year-old women, she has a vanity ritual that includes applying make-up meticulously and styling her hair before she steps out of her home. On a sunny Sunday morning I call Naiga to re-confirm our planned meeting and she tells me to keep time since she has a client and also had a planned musical performance in one of the islands on Lake Victoria. It is obvious from her schedule that Naiga lives a very busy life.

Meeting up at her home in Makindye Division, in Kampala, I find her busy applying lipstick and styling her hair with her feet. Although I am completely amazed by how easily she manages to do what to me seems like an inconceivable task, I think when she stops and looks at me, she feels the waves of pity coming from me. Smiling at me with a maternal warmth, Naiga reminds me not to feel sorry for her because she has at least accomplished a few of her plans.
An entrepreneur who makes home-made crafts with her feet, Naiga also doubles as performing artists who usually performs when given an opportunity at a fee.

A single mother of four children Naiga has spent all her life trying out different economic activities that she could earn from given her limited physical capabilities. “I am not very different from other women. I have the same hopes, aspirations, dreams and almost similar challenges,” she assures me.
To me what Naiga can do with her feet makes her look extraordinary. Without hesitation she shows me how she washes, weaves mats and other crafts, knits and writes, among others. “I have always felt special and I am truly thankful to God that I am able to not just take care of myself but I can also meet my other responsibilities as a mother and provider,” she relates.

She explains that her motivation to learn many things in life and to be self-reliant stems from when as a child, some charity organization attempted to take her away from her parents but all her family members fought for her to stay. “I am the first born in my family. All my siblings looked up to me and treated me with respect and even reverence to some extent. Most of the young members of my family find it hard to call me by my given name, they respectfully call me dada (swahilli word for big sister),” she relates.
She fondly remembers her grandmother the late Gladys Nambooze as one of the people who took time to empower her.
“When I was a teenager, I went through a phase of lack of self-confidence. I used to hide away from the public afraid of being judged. But my grandmother pushed me out of the house and told me to accept who I was and deal with the cards life had dealt me with dignity,” Naiga recounts.

Raised in a poverty stricken family, Naiga’s parents could not afford a wheelchair so that she could attend school. However, there was an immediate solution when her parents together with other family members chose to home school her. Through this rudimentary teaching, Naiga learnt how to read and write Luganda and some basic English language.
“Most of my family members were not highly educated but they knew how to read and write Luganda and that is the language they taught me. One of my uncles, who knew some English, taught me how to greet, count money and seek basic help. I can write a letter in Luganda and for me that is enough,” Naiga smilingly explains.

A mother and an entrepreneur
Naiga is a mother of two boys and two girls, three of whom she delivered at home under normal birth and one at a local health centre in Masaka.
“I feel so loved by God; I have never had complications with my pregnancies or delivered under complicated circumstances,” Naiga notes.

She explains that given her size and body no one noticed her first pregnancy and she simply delivered at home without undergoing antenatal care.
She has managed to raise her children and give them an education; her daughter has a certificate in hairdressing, her son is in Senior Four vacation, the last born is in Senior Three. Unfortunately, her other son recently passed away in a car accident.

Naiga suggests that she would be a successful entrepreneur but her projects have always been sabotaged by Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA). She says that most of her retail shops and craft stores are usually closed by KCCA due to delayed payment of revenue tax.
“KCCA is comprised of impatient officials who do not listen to me and they cannot give someone a chance to pay in installments,” Naiga laments.
With the aid of her feet, Naiga makes home-made crafts that include mats, baskets and paper bags which she both vends and also sells at home to earn a living. Naiga explained that depending on demand she can sell at least three mats a month at Shs80,000 each.
Supplementing her craft business, Naiga explained that she is usually paid between Shs20,000 and Shs50,000 for musical performances in various areas.

“I do have music but it is not yet popular that I can charge a higher fee for my performances. However, the beauty with my music is that when I sing people like me so much and I get a lot of tips from the audience,” Naiga further reveals.
Naiga has three gospel songs that are which are yet to be recorded and her wish is to have her music recorded by a professional. She also dreams of collaborating with top music artistes such as Catherine Kusasira and Rema Namakula who she thinks are amazing.
“I hear Bebe Cool helps upcoming artistes to do good music. I wish he could help me too,” Naiga says wistfully.

Future plans
Naiga’s immediate plan is to find capital to start a hairdressing salon for her daughter. She also wants to start building her own house so she can be relieved from the stress of looking for rent every month.
“I also want to continue sending my children to school so they can attain an education that affords them the opportunity to earn better and live decent lives,” the dotting mother notes.

Background
Naiga is a daughter of the late Henry Muwonge and Annet Nakabuubi of Butenga Village Masaka District. In a family of four siblings, Naiga is the eldest child and the only one who was born with disability.