Hellen Kakooza-Slade talks to i-genius about her early childhood memories in Uganda, and how urban migration and HIV/AIDS have made difficult the rural lifestyle of self-sustainance that she remembers so fondly. She goes on to describe her sustainable projects, which teach business skills to rural communities in Uganda, and explains the role that social enterprise can play in Africa as a whole…

Editor: What has inspired you to set up this initiative in remote areas of Uganda?
Hellen: My earliest childhood memories are in remote areas of Uganda and these were some of the happiest times in my life. We did not have TVs or radios; our parents told stories that they had learnt from their parents. After doing our home duties which included farming, and fetching water or firewood, we spent the rest of the day playing with friends, running freely all around the village, and eating a lot of fruit. Our parents never bothered with making lunch for us because they knew that we would be helping ourselves to all kinds of fruits. None of us had shoes or even books and pencils; we were taught to read and write by our elder sisters or cousins using sticks on the ground, and when the rain came we loved watching it wash away our writings.

Most of the illnesses we had then could be treated with herbs and parents took time to show us which plant treated what. There was an elder lady in the village who worked as a midwife, so the village was almost self sufficient and everyone pulled together to help out someone in need.

Much of this has changed now because people need money for school fees and hospitals. Most people have left the villages and moved to cities in pursuit of jobs. This has really changed the lifestyle in rural Uganda and an average teenager does not know much about old ways because parents do not have the time to pass the knowledge on. The situation has not been helped by HIV which has meant that many children are growing up as orphans living in orphanages as the grandparents don’t have money to support them. My hope is that by setting up these initiatives in rural Uganda, life will become easier again and by working together as a communities people will have time to appreciate and enjoy life as I did when I was little.

Editor: How do you feel that sustainable projects will be able to benefit these communities?
Hellen: Sustainable projects provide long term security for people as they will have jobs locally. At the moment, people in rural areas haven’t got money for basic needs like medicine. Often there are people dying unnecessarily because they cannot afford to have medical treatment that costs under $20. Children are not getting any education and those who do drop out at an early age because there are no secondary schools nearby or any other training centres.

When we set up sustainable projects, we talk to the communities and discuss what they would like to achieve. We then work with them after the project is set up to make sure that they achieve their objectives. Sometimes the need is too big for the communities to achieve on their own; on these occasions we do everything we can to help them.

We have already set up one project in my birth village and it has made a huge difference in only 2 months. We have set up a chicken farm which is providing jobs to 10 women, and they will be collecting eggs from the chickens and selling them. We have had the men from the village working on the buildings and fetching water. The whole community is coming together and really supporting each other. One of the main problems for the whole village is that the place from where they fetch the water is too far away. The farm cannot function with the water being too far away, so they are bringing the water closer and the whole village will benefit from this.

Editor: What have been the major difficulties so far in setting up this project?
Hellen: There haven’t been any difficulties as such, the people are very positive and grateful. It has been challenging to see how happy everyone is yet they have so little; we could learn a lot from them.

One of the challenging aspects of the project is teaching the people in rural communities business skills, but they are so excited and they are learning fast. People have been waiting for opportunities like this for a very long time, so they are very determined to make it work. I have every confidence they will make it work; it’s the most rewarding thing in the world working with them and watching them realise that this is actually happening.

Editor: At what stage of your initiative are you at now – what more needs to be done before it can be launched?
Hellen: We have one project going and we have already identified our next project which is going to be fishing and tourism on an island in Lake Victoria. It has been really useful to have a project early on as we have picked up a lot of knowledge that is going to be useful in all future projects.

We are now in the process of setting up a new company called Kyosimba Onanya. This is a well known Luganda phrase equivalent to the English saying “You reap what you sow”. The company will be investing in groups based in rural Ugandan communities. All the projects we invest in will be self-sustaining and have the capacity to repay the loan as well as make a profit for the individuals in the group to share. The members of the groups will also have jobs at the projects which will ensure a reliable income.

Editor: What is your vision for this project, and for the future of the communities that you are working in?
Hellen: My vision is that we will be able to reach as many rural communities in Uganda as possible and make fundamental permanent differences in their lives. There is so much that we could learn from them and we could teach them a lot too. I am hoping that children in the these communities will no longer have to miss school or have to depend on aid for everything. I am hoping that by giving vulnerable people back their independence, children will once more have a happy childhood like mine. I am hoping that we can see communities work well together as they used to in the past, and that old traditions like story telling by the fire and respect for all adults will no longer be a thing of the past.

Editor: What role do you feel that social enterprise can play in Africa?
Hellen: There are a lot of people in the west that do not really know much about Africa, all they have to go on is what is shown on the news or what they see when on holiday. There is so much more to Africa than illnesses, poverty, civil wars, and safari parks. There are real people trying to get on with their lives and social enterprise is exactly what they need. Africa is full of opportunities and already there are a lot of successful businesses all over the continent. The trouble is that the majority of these businesses for whatever reason are not dedicated to giving back to the people. By giving back I don’t mean handouts, there places in Africa that need aid, but the majority of the people just want a chance to work and look after their families.

What social enterprise can do in Africa is get a good return for investors and also provide opportunities for Africans in terms of employment, training, environmental awareness and community developments.

Its not just Africans that would benefit from social enterprise; besides making profit, social entrepreneurs get an opportunity to experience the magic of Africa. I am African but I am constantly amazed by the people and the different cultures even within one country. In Uganda for example, there are so many different tribes and languages that often I have to talk to Ugandans in English because I don’t understand their language. The thing that Ugandans have in common is that the people are so kind, welcoming, dedicated to each other and always smiling. My mother is a good example; she has so many friends and after a while she starts calling them her sisters. Up to now I don’t know which of my mother’s sisters are actually blood relatives or just friends because she treats them all the same. When I ask her she about this she says “they are all your aunties, just thank God for them and stop questioning!”