While in Karagwe in January, 2024 I met with KARUCO staff and students who shared with me that they want to build a “MEL House“. Principal Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Ngambeki explained that the MEL House would be a business incubator hub that would 1) house MEL Program beneficiaries who need lodging in Karagwe and would 2) provide space where business entrepreneurs could share ideas, encourage each other and provide momentum to budding businesses in Karagwe. It iwill be a place of synergy, hope and realistic accountability.

The MEL House idea came about when KARUCO grads who were MEL Program beneficiaries realized they had nowhere to live after graduation from KARUCO. Jessca Domician and her baby lived far away from her husband so that she could earn money through the Pig Production business that she proposed. The Micro-Enterprise Loan (MEL) Program funded her business and she was on her way. But the price she paid was living apart from her family. She remains motivated to do so but suggested that the MEL House could help house KARUCO grads and MEL recipients who live away from their families in order to begin their entrepreneurial business and earn income for their families.

The ETI Board of Directors approved funding in March of 2024 and six months later, the MEL House was built. KARUCO hopes to raise more funds to provide furniture, solar power and other amenities.

The MEL House was named after the late Mel Breed, ETI Board Emeritus and friend to Karagwe.