Mirja K.

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Month: juli 2016

Business with a purpose

2016-07-16 by MirjaK 6 Comments

imageMy time here in Uganda has come to an end. I can not put into words how much the children, teachers and the director family at the Ssenyange school has given to me. All the love, joy, fighting spirit and the exhange of knowledge we have had. As each day passes, it becomes more clear that I have definately chosen the right path for myself. To focus on social enterprise, to be a part of this essential movement of integrating social and sustainable change into the business model. Here, I can to the fullest use my drive, my energy and my strong will to make a difference in the long run.

It has a meaning.

To take the big leap and start my own social enterprise, Northmans, is the absolute best decision I have ever taken. In spite of that I am only in the beginning of the startup I have already met many inspiring people, made new fruitful connections and learned a lot more about myself in just three months than I have within the last years.

Northmans will intertwine e-commerce/retail and social sustainable change by offering home and lifestyle products where every purchase results in a contribution given to one of our development partners focusing on charities and nonprofit projects in developing countries. It will be within Northmans’s DNA that everything we do we do with compassion and for a worthy cause. There should be no doubt about our vision and together with our customers we will be a part of building a better tomorrow.

I am of the strong belief that a business must use it’s power to be socially responsible and give back.

In order for human development projects to be sustainable and work in the long-term we must invest. A steady flow of money is required and the devoted people in the field must be allowed to focus on what they do best instead of worrying about the next payment. One big part of that steady flow of money is available from businesses. Even a small company that gives just some percent of it’s profit can contribute and make a greater social impact than one may think and also gain a lot of it in return in other areas, a win-win situation. It is not only about the money. Communication is vital and must reach out to the internal and external stakeholders so that it becomes an important and natural matter for all. We are all part of the same world and we must reconcile and help each other out to find ways to make things better.

I have high ambitions for what I wish and want to accomplish with Northmans and I also have a vision in an even bigger perspective. Some might say that it is big talk for someone who has never run her own business before and who has just reached the startup stage. But in order to succeed I must live in the belief that it is possible and that I have the ability to achieve my vision. How can I otherwise find the motivation if I start off by doubting myself or the cause? I am aware of that it is going to be tough. I might not know how tough but that is probably for the best. I am also aware of that I will have to sacrifice many things that for some people are hard to understand. But that is ok. We are all different and we make our own choices of paths and for me this is the right path for me to walk.

During my time here in Uganda I have had several insights on a personal, business and spiritual level. In opposite to what some may say would be good, my work defines me. Because for me, it includes all the different levels mentioned above. I have had many discussions with friends not understanding how I can put so much energy and time into ”just” a job. But my work is my hobbie, it is my biggest interest. It always has been. When I improve and reach new knowledge or meet new people within my work, I also improve on a personal level and vice versa. Of course, it has been times when it has been way too much and not always fun but in the long run it has been so rewarding and my own choice to push myself even more. I have met people thanks to my work that later has become close friends and mentors and who has given me important pieces to my self development puzzle.

During my years I have never really felt satisfied or in harmony. Always felt that something has been missing, that I have been standing still and waiting for something else, something bigger. Many times the thought ”is this all?” has struck me and it has frightened me and making me go up the wall. If I had really listen to my inner voice I would have heard it telling me that I was just on the wrong path and that I needed to change course. But I played it safely, I went for the things that ”I am suppose to want and do”.

Writing this I am in Kampala. I made a small change in my travel plan since I one late night two weeks ago started to source local suppliers in Uganda for future references. Not expecting to find anyone so fast, I indeed found a very interesting community project for women and children in need, Project Have Hope. After making some research and having a very good communication with the Director I yesterday visited the community project in Acholi Quarters situated on one of Kampala’s many hills. And it seems that I have found my first supplier in a developing country with focus on sustainable social change a lot sooner than I had anticipated!

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These are some of the women who has been given education and help to establish their own businesses by Project Have Hope organisation

imageSo, no more safe play. It gives me neither the thrill nor motivation in life. I could not be more excited than I am right now about the adventure I have ahead of me and I am really happy and grateful for every one of you who are there for me and supports me along the way. Thank you. Or, to use one of the beautiful Lugandan words I have learned;

Webale.

 

With love,
Mirja

Posted in: Improvement, Social enterprise Tagged: human development, Project have hope, self development, Social enterprise

The strong bridge between Uganda and Sweden

2016-07-05 by MirjaK 2 Comments

imageTwo devoted, warmhearted and beautiful minds. Both determined to invest in the children of need. Both with small means but yet the strong belief that it is possible and that you at least have to start somewhere.

One of the spirits based just outside Masaka town on the countryside of Uganda had decided to dedicate his life to help orphaned children in need. Being an orphan himself that was helped by friendly people who paid for his school fee he become a teacher, worked hard in Kampala and met his wife, teacher Mrs. Gertrude Zaweede. For the money he earned he bought a land in 1970 but due to the dictator Idi Amin he could not start building until 1991. In 2003 he was housing 15 orphaned girls in his small livingroom, his family in the other room and a few orphaned boys sleeping in one of the three classrooms. With no help from other organizations or from the Ugandan government he was struggling with money while teaching and taking care of the children who had nowhere else to go. A lot of difficult times, worrying and doubting of the school’s further existence but with a great ambition and determination Mr. Mutesasira and Mrs. Gertrude kept on fighting for the children.image

The other spirit, Matilda, from the small town Våxtorp in south of Sweden, was working as a volunteer for six month in Uganda and her former colleagues had collected 2 990 SEK for her to give to a project of choice. Searching and screening carefully after a serious and right-minded project the two spirits’s paths cross and an impressive, beautiful story of building a strong bridge between Uganda and Sweden began.

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Thanks to these money they were able to house six more children, i.e. 25 children in total. They were also able to invest in mosquito nets to prevent malaria, mattresses, sheets, blankets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, wash tubs and school supplies.

Coming back home to Sweden, Matilda, seeing the great potential in Mr. Mutesasira and the school, was determined to help out even more and they kept contact. As she spread awareness about Ssenyange in her environment many people wanted to help out and every month money could now be sent to Ssenyange.

The genuine caring is one of the things that makes this school unique. Since many of the children have experienced things no one should ever be experiencing they are truly in the need of love and care. With a non-violence policy at the school it is strictly forbidden to use any kind of abuse towards the children. Due to the violence against women and children being quite common in Uganda members of the staff have also experienced an abusive childhood and learned that this is the way of handling children. Hence, critical situations have occurred at the school as well. When this has been revealed the management have taken action and the person has been fired.

One of Mr. Mutesasira’s dreams was to be able to afford a new dormitory for the girls and thanks to Matilda’s drive and performing of talks in several associations they could start to build the dormitory only one year later in 2004.

Like branches on a tree, the Swedish private sponsors and Swedish companies contributions has spread widely and the school has expanded a great deal. New buildings have been built like two more dormitories for boys, kitchen building, assembly hall, two toilet buildings, nurse clinic, staff housing, library, sewing hall, smaller woodwork shed and rooms for volunteers at the top floor of the boys’s dormitory. Several teachers, head mister and head mistress, matrons, kitchen staff, a nurse and a secretary has been employed and in total they are around 30 employees at the school.image image

The number of students has gone from 25 in 2003 to over 600 today whereof around 450 are boarding students.

Another unique thing is that they do not let go of the children when they graduate from Primary 7 as they do in other schools. The children are then between 12-15 years old and early on Mr. Mutesasira and Matilda decided to find a solution so they could be able to continue their education at secondary level. Otherwise, they would not have been able to pay the school fee which would have ended up they staying home with relatives in best case or, in worst case, they would have ended up on the streets.

In addition to caring and education the project focus on health whereas one basic and essential matter is having safe and clean drinking water. This is not always accessible in schools or orphanages but if it is one thing the Ssenyange school prioritises it is the water. They have invested in sustainable solutions such as a distilled water tank for drinking water, several water storage tanks that collects rain water for washing and taps in the compound. Water stations has been placed around in the school area where the water is mixed with soap for the students to wash their hands before eating and after visiting the toilets. These kind of hygiene factors are not common at all in Uganda.image

When visiting the students at secondary schools you get struck by their great ambition and humbleness. All of them express their gratefulness for the Ssenyange Education project and the caring received from Mr. Mutesasira, Gertrude, Matilda and all their sponsors. Being well aware of the chance they have been given to have a brighter future they truly seize it and work hard to get a better life.

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This school project and Mr. Mutesasira has become very well-known due to the successful structure, the results of graduating students and not least the impact it has on the society by taking care of children in need no matter what religion or disability they have. Supporting and encouraging, and turning them into well educated young adults that can provide for themselves and even create new employment opportunities while starting their own businesses. Beyond this the project also creates many employment opportunities itself. In 2012 the king of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, had noticed the school and was eager to visit in order to see the project with his own eyes and while being there he officially opened the new dormitory for boys.imageAll over the school you see the strong connection to Sweden. The Swedish flag being raised along with the Ugandan and Bugandan flag, Swedish flags painted on the buildings, buildings being named after Matilda, her family, volunteers etc. ALmost every school in Uganda has a morning assembly where songs are sung but this school is probably the only school in Uganda that sings the Swedish national anthem and a song written by Mr. Mutesasira dedicated to Sweden. I doubt that there is even a school in Sweden that sings the Swedish national anthem every day.image

And all this, thanks to the beautiful bridge of spirits between Sweden and Uganda.

I am so grateful for receiving the chance of being a part of this human development project🙏🏼❤️

”The future depends on what we do in the present”
-Mahatma Gandhi

With love,
Mirja

Posted in: SSenyange Education Centre Tagged: Education, future, Ssenyange Education Centre, Uganda
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