Natukwasa: A midwife in love with goat farming

Highlights:

• She operates Genesis Clinic in the Makindye East slum, which serves the ghettos.

• She provides healthcare to at least ten people per day and refers serious cases.

Mbarara | At 28 years old, Patience Natukwasa, an enrolled midwife, aspires to be a self-sufficient woman, a role model, and an entrepreneur.

In addition to her passion for primary healthcare and the community she currently serves, Natukwasa is on a mission to generate additional revenue source and create jobs for people.

She chose goat farming for commercial reasons, and when asked why, she answered.

“We cannot rely on professional salaries, especially for health workers; the pay is insufficient to cover food and diapers,” the mother of one, said.

“On top of that, I am just an enrolled midwife; remember, there are those with degrees and masters.”

She stated that being a woman can make it difficult to find a good job. “Fighting the competition for a well-paying job, you know.”

She sells each goat for between shs150,000 and shs300,000, depending on size, season, and sex. She said female goats have a market.

We sell to people who own restaurants, bars, and butcher shops, she told tndNews.

Goat population in Uganda per region 

The National Livestock Census of 2021 results by UBOS show that Western region had the highest goat population of 4.6 million (26.3%) of the national herd size.

This was followed by the Northern region with 4.1 million, contributing to 23.4% of the national herd size.

Karamoja sub-region had the highest goat population of 2.6 million (15.2%), followed by West Nile and Ankole, each with about 2 million goats (11.5%).

Bukedi had the lowest goat population with 0.5 million (2.9%) followed by Elgon with 0.6 million (3.3%).

Watch the full interview below.