It is hard to believe we are already a quarter of the way through 2023. We have been working hard the last three months to expand the bakery and start training our first tailoring group. Below are some updates about each of our current projects, and some news about upcoming events.
THE BAKERY:
The bakery is the biggest current project. We employ six staff members in the bakery, three full time, and three part time. Three of the staff are also former trainees who were trained in our pilot group last year!
The year started off strong, but just last week we were forced to make some difficult decisions changes. Unfortunately, we were forced to terminate our two lead bakers. Because they helped to start the bakery and trained our women, Fortunate, our executive director, worked with them to correct some of the issues that developed in the last month. Despite efforts to work with these individuals, they continued to disrespect other staff and our executive director. This culminated in blatant violations of company policies that resulted in their immediate termination. Not phased by a challenge, Fortunate immediately went to work to find solutions. In just a couple hours she hired a new lead baker and promoted an assistant to fill the second position. Another couple hours, and we had delicious baked good to sell to our customers.
During the last few months, we have established a few consistent customers, including two school canteens. As our staff become more familiar with the products and processes, we will continue to expand our clientele and our product selection. We are working to hire more of our trainees in the next few months. Most of the trainees only want to work part time, so we are developing a schedule that would allow each person to work one or two days a week baking small batch goods. We will have a rotating menu so each day there is something different sold from our shop. This will help the bakery to grow and give us the opportunity to train more women in a variety of skills.
TAILORING:
In late February, we began training our pilot tailoring group in Kihihi, Uganda. The group of 10 women are training with a professional tailor and trainer. They are learning to use treadle sewing machines, and hope to be able to start a business making uniforms for their local schools. We will be visiting the group in the next couple weeks to see their progress, discuss future plans, and learn how we can better support their efforts.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Graduation:
To celebrate our 2022 trainees, we have decided to host a graduation ceremony! This will be the first event that will include all of our groups, and our first event as an NGO. We are so excited to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of our group members, especially since this is the first graduation for many of our members.
Annual Board Meeting:
As an NGO, we are committed to including all of our groups in our annual board meeting. This ensures that the groups guide organization efforts, and that the board can properly allocate funding and programs. This also helps groups to learn from each other how to apply skills, how to set up businesses, and how they can support each other's work.
FUTURE PLANS:
When our sister company (Margaret & Emma, LLC) began in 2014, our focus was teaching women to make artisanal crafts such as baskets, paper bead jewelry, and plastic woven totes. When the nonprofit was started in 2020, we had already trained 7 groups in these skills. Our focus shifted away from crafts making, but we knew we wanted to find a way to incorporate handmade products into our organization. In an effort to support our artisans, we have decided to set up a crafts shop at M&E headquarters! We already have a stock of baskets that were purchased from our groups. We will install shelving and a desk in one of our empty storefronts, and will begin to sell these products locally. Plastic totes are used regularly for shopping as they are durable and able to a lot. Traditional woven baskets are used in traditional introduction and wedding ceremonies, and are often given to friends and family as gifts. Operating the crafts shop will allow all of our groups to sell their handmade products in a steady market.
With so many plans in the works, we will be hiring an administrative assistant to help Fortunate to run the organization. This will give her support with day-to-day operations at HQ so she can focus on our groups, continue to plan new projects, and begin to write grant proposals now that we have our NGO status. In addition to an administrative assistant, we may also need to hire managers for both the bakery and the crafts shop.
As funding allows, we hope to establish a hair salon and a tailoring shop at HQ. This would allow us to begin training groups in new skills and offer job opportunities to our trainees.
If you have questions about specific projects or if you would like to partner with us, please email us through the "Contact" page on our website.
Donations can be made through the "Donate" page on our website. All US donations are tax deductible through our US partner organization FirstFruits Foundation.
Commenti