Najjuma Florence's family is from the village of Kasanje which is not far from the Bwanda convent. Najjuma has seven children living in her household and has also taken in two young women who have left their husbands, due to ongoing domestic violence, and had nowhere else to go. Six of her children are girls - Nattabi Gloria (13 years), Najjingo Rose (12 years), Namagga Jackie (11 years), Nakaweesa Rose (4 years), Nafawa Juliet (3 years) and Nalubwama Sarah (3 months) and one - Tomusange Isaac (3 years) is a boy. Although she has a small plot of land she struggles to provide for them all because the land has become depleted.
Najjuma Florence is hosting two women who have left their husbands because they were being physically abused and had nowhere else to go. The two young mothers occasionally work in the Bwanda banana plantations when they can find work.
Najjuma started working for the Daughters of Mary about three years ago when she was having financial difficulties. Different from other women in her village, she completed high school and also had a chance to go to a vocational school where she learned farming skills. She and her husband divorced after she realized that he had three other women in the nearby villages and had stopped giving them enough support.
She has a piece of land where she grows food for the family but it is not very productive since they have been using it for some years without adding fertilizers. She thinks that once she gets pigs she will use the urine and the dung to fertilize her land and sell the piglets to earn money to buy scholastic materials for her children.
One thing she wants donors to know is that she has farming skills and she just needs financial support to start a sustainable business. She is a single mother who is also helping other women who are struggling in their marriages and in their lives. Women in her village look up to her for her leadership skills and the support that she gives them.