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CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE STUDY FINDINGS
5.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the discussion, conclusion, recommendations, implication of the study and area for future study in line with the findings of the study in line with objectives.
5.1 Discussion of the results
5.1.1 Perception of peoples with disabilities regarding saving and investments in informal microfinance institutions.
The study findings revealed that people with disabilities have both positive and negative perceptions regarding saving, borrowing and investing in resources from informal microfinance institutions. All Persons with disabilities reported that informal microfinance institutions have improved their lives in terms of income generating. Persons with disabilities now have some money to start up and grow their savings. Some persons with disabilities have expanded their projects. This has reduced dependence syndrome among persons with disabilities. The community too no longer perceive them as objects of charity, (Bennet & Eron, 2017; Ayallo, 2018). Ibanda persons with negative attitude regarding saving, borrowing and investing with informal microfinance is due to unfavorable conditions, when they fail to pay back the borrowed funds. Failure to pay back borrowed funds informal microfinance institutions imprison them and their belongings are sold to pay back. This too was discovered by (Baxter, Leslie and Babbie 2019) who found out that most private microfinance institutions have taken land and property from their clients to get back their funds. This shows why most persons with disabilities are operating small businesses with little capital.
The persons with have negative perception that the ordinary group members will cheat them especially the visually impaired. The visually impaired reported that, they could not see the business activities. They cannot be sure whether the group members are saving and investing on their behalf. This is in line with the studies of (Karlan, 2017), (Ntegamahe, 2021), (Musinguzi, 2015) and (Nuwagaba, 2012). The visually impaired need human support as their eyes in business ventures. But unfortunately, ordinary group members prove not to be trustworthy. This violates people with disabilities rights to equalization of opportunities in development programs (UN, 2019).
However, some scholars state that, negative perception among persons with disabilities is also due to perception towards them by informal microfinance institutions and group members.( Bwire et al., 2019) notes that informal microfinance institutions have negative belief that some people with disabilities might fail to pay back loans. Others use their physical look to judge them as unable. (ILO, 2019; Lewis, 2015). This is due to lack of awareness on what is disability, persons with disabilities roles, family roles, community roles and respective government roles and responsibilities towards persons with disabilities.
5.1.2 Investment choices of persons with disabilities as individuals and as groups.
Findings revealed that people with severe disabilities wish to invest as individuals because of challenges like mobility, lack of vision and inability to communicate. Persons with severe disability prefer to work as individuals because they lack trust in ordinary group members. They prefer personal home-based income-generating activities because they have locally modified their homes to ease mobility. This limits opportunities for open engagement with others in income generating activities and people with disability must start their own income generating activities. This is similar to the study done by ( Doyel, 2002), J(ohn & Latreille, 2011) Meager & (Haggins, 2016) who too discovered that unmodified environment is a barrier to most Persons with disabilities inclusion in development activities. Due to mobility challenge they involve in home-based development activities and this makes them to miss benefits of group investments. In support of above (Dondo, 2019) discovered that people with disability prefer self-employment because of disability challenges. However, people with mild impairments, prefer to invest with others because of reasons like social support, more capital, controlled saving, different business ideas and loan security. They believe that in groups securing financial support from government is easier (Ltulme & Mosley, 2016; Dyer, 2016).
Findings show that, education and training empower people with disabilities to start and manage their own business. Business knowledge and skills like bookkeeping, profit maximization and customer care, helps in business sustainability. This is like (Faulu, 2017) and (Vermaas, 2020) that education promotes persons with impairment from charity to investments when they have relevant education and training. With business knowledge and skills, PWIs can start and maintain their income generating activities.
Findings reveal that the nature of disability directs investment choices among persons with disabilities. For example, persons with physical disabilities, achieve faster and better integration into groups than persons with visual disabilities. This is in line with the study done by (Abimanya, Ochwo & Mannan, 2014) who found out that person with physical disabilities participant more in income generating activities given assistive mobility aids compared to persons with visual impairments who needs a trusted human support personnel.
The negative perception towards persons with disabilities by ordinary group members, make persons with disabilities not to join them easily. Most persons with disabilities especially those with severe impairments are week and unable to work with others. This is witnessed especially when marketing and selling their products. Persons with disabilities are perceived as poor with no security to join their business groups (Nuwagaba et al., 2012, Lwanga, Ntale, 2003).
Some persons with disabilities preference to join informal microfinance group investments is hindered by non- disabled group members who see them as expensive in terms of accessibility and human support. Scholars discovered the same that, some employers fear extra costs incurred in hiring persons with disabilities for example some employers are concerned about the costs of reasonable accommodation, assistive devices, facility modifications to mention but a few Rule and (John, 2011).
5.1.3 How Persons with disabilities acquire knowledge and skills they use while investing resources from informal microfinance groups.
The findings revealed that most persons with disabilities do not have enough business knowledge and skills due to limited regular education. Limited education is due to the level of disabilities and social-cultural attitudes towards them. With limited business education, it becomes hard to start and sustain their business ventures. It was discovered that, most persons with disabilities acquire knowledge and skills they use while investing, borrowing and saving with informal micro finance institutions from informal microfinance trainings, community-based rehabilitation programmes, insight learning from families and customer related experiences. With the help of community-based programmes, persons with disabilities have acquired knowledge and skills for income generating activities, daily self-care activities and independent living. Other persons with disabilities revealed that, they have attained business knowledge from institutional training in their home areas after primary level. This is in line with (Lyman, Roseberg 2019), (Johnson 2019) and (Wright 2015).
Persons with impairments reported that rehabilitation centers have empowered them with knowledge and skills to start up and maintain income-generating activities. Diagne & Zeller, (2016) noted that community-based rehabilitation programmes, identify persons with disabilities opportunities for training and empowerment in income generating activities.
5.4 Conclusion
This study done in Ibanda district in Uganda show perceptions of people with disabilities, regarding saving, borrowing and investment in informal microfinance institutions as both positive and negative. Some people with disabilities want to save, borrow and invest with informal microfinance institutions due to associated benefits but on the other hand, their negative attitude is brought by harsh conditions imposed on people with disabilities failure to pay back the borrowed funds.
Persons with severe disabilities prefer to invest as individuals because of lack of trust in ordinary group members. For example, the blind has a perception that, they will not see the business physically and ordinary group members might deceive them that the business is operating in losses yet realizing profits. Persons with mild disabilities prefer group investments due to benefits like big capital, enough security, easy to access government funds. This study revealed that in Ibanda district persons with disabilities get knowledge and skills for investing in resources got informal microfinance groups from insight learning, regular education, training institutions, community-based rehabilitation programmes, informal microfinance community training and customer related experiences.
5.4 Recommendations
The researcher made the following recommendations basing on the study findings. Findings revealed that failure to pay the borrowed funds, informal microfinance institutions take their property and others imprisoned. There is a need for respective government and NGO’s to intervene in form of “entandikwa’’ scheme where persons with disabilities can be given capital in form of cash and non-cash to start income generating activities for independent living. Persons with disabilities should be a priority in all district development programmes like the parish model.
Persons with disabilities and ordinary persons have intra and interpersonal negative attitudes respectively. There is a need for more awareness raising on what is disability, persons with disabilities, family and community roles. Community development officers in Ibanda district can do this. People need to understand each other’s needs and priorities for inclusion.
In addition to above, findings revealed that Ibanda persons with disabilities do not access regular education due to mobility and communication challenges. This limits their opportunities to join vocational training institutions for knowledge and skills gaining. Therefore, there is a need for ministry of education and gender, labor and social development to make sure that school going age from primary to tertiary levels are given free assistive devices and their facilities modified. Sign language should be universal and included in schools and colleges curriculum.
