Another amazing person I met while in Uganda in July was Peter from React Now to Save Young Mothers. He is a young man who saw a need in his community to support pregnant teens and young women who were illiterate and/or unable to complete their studies due to early pregnancy. These girls are then unable to get any work and end up continuing in the cycle of poverty. In his first two years, he has supported 300 girls.

He decided to start a school where he offers boarding for the girls and basic vocational training. He is a tailor as well but due to the regulations in Uganda, he cannot actually make money from his tailoring because he is registered as an NGO and not a business. If he wants to make money from his trade, he will need to get a different license and pay fees to the local government. So he cannot actually make money to support his foundation.

He started with tailoring and knitting but is now adding hairdressing and catering. He was also approached by the community to help the boys so he has a motorcycle mechanics program as well that both boys and girls can take.

The way he is set up is that he asks the parents to pay small fees if they can in order to support his programs and then he relies on community donations and donations of time. He has a tailoring teacher as well as a mechanic that works with the students who want to learn the trade. Then for the other programs, until he has the supplies himself to be able to teach the required skills, he has the students go to local businesses to learn on the job.

Because the reliability and time available for the students and the businesses are not always there, Peter wants to be able to have the equipment at his school so that the women can always practice and the teachers can come to teach instead of waiting for customers to practice on.

He currently has sewing machines and knitting machines but wants to add the equipment for the salon school and eventually for the catering business.

When I asked Peter where he gets the money the run his programs, he said that he just does what he can with what he gets. He does not have a donor who supports him and he relies on the generosity of the community.

As always, ISEE works with education based organizations. React Now to Save Young Mothers is an amazing example of a Ugandan seeing a need and serving that community selflessly. Peter did not wait to have money to start, he started with the belief that the community would support his programs that are so valid.

ISEE would like to be able to support his salon program and supply him with the required materials to be able to run that program effectively. While we were
there, the girls were using bits of hair to practice braiding and other basic skills.

We are looking for individuals or groups to sponsor individual pieces of equipment to create a fully functioning salon school. These are the items that need sponsoring:

Hair dryer on a stand x 2 – $100 each

Hair Steamer – $200

Washing Sink x2 – $80 each

Salon Trolley on wheels x 4 – $20 each

Hair Chemicals x10 – $20 each

Salon Rollers x 5 – $20 each

Straightening Irons  x 2 – $50 each

Weaves x 50 pkgs – $1.00 each

Practice heads x 20 – $20 each

All donations $20 or more get a tax receipt.

If you would like to support this amazing organization, please donate through the PayPal link or send a cheque to the Kelowna address on the tab on the right. Maybe you know a salon who might be interested in sponsoring some equipment? Maybe you are someone who works in the hair and beauty industry and you would like to develop this skill in others? Not only will you be providing a life skill for these young people, you will also be providing a future for their babies. How awesome is that!

Thanks for your continued support.

Webale Nnyo

In friendship,

Erika