Cake Baking for Youth Empowerment in Uganda

Donors, Here is our skills update 

How years and numbers fly, we never imagined reaching this higher, we have close to 250 LGBTIQ+ people demanding for the cake baking skills training.

With 364 cake baking beneficiaries in May 2022, we added 40 participants that were trained in August making it 404

Beneficiaries since 2016 when the cake baking skills empowerment was initiated. Such a milestone.

On the 18th and 19th of August 2022, we conducted a two days cake baking empowerment skills training for 20 LGT persons at generation suites in Mbarara district found in western Uganda. Selected participants gathered are six lesbians, Ten gay men, four transgender women.

On the 21st and 22nd of August 2022, we also conducted a two days cake baking empowerment skills training for 20 participants in Ibanda district at Ibanda Resort. Selected participants were ten gay men, seven transgender women, one lesbian and two bisexual men.

We re-partnered with kiddawalime bakery, a renowned company bakery here in western Uganda to host our intern members who have been equipped with adequate practical cake baking skills and bakery management.
During our trainings both in Mbarara and Ibanda MRF’s director of programs Miss Janet mutesi welcomed participants and briefed them on project concept and description of the cake baking project and the need to achieve the Five projects’ objectives like we have done in the past years. during our economic empowerment skills trainings, beneficiaries acquired knowledge and skills in cake baking and bakery management, improved household income, long term baking skills, foster self- reliance and have increased job creation.

Currently Maria and Mugisha our volunteers are supervising beneficiaries to enable them use the time allocated to benefit from the internships and offer capacity support visits to each beneficiary

Regards 

Dear valued Donors

Since the year began, with consultations and high levels of need, we selected two districts to begin with in western Uganda, that is Kabale and Rukungiri districts training 30 participants, 15 in each district. We realized that in western Uganda, many youths have poor knowledge, information, and bad financial behaviors much as we have equipped them with economic empowerment skills

Trainings, the trainings are creating visible impact, at least, savings groups have been formed, profit making is at peak, managing of finances is in progress.

On the 7th and 8th July 2022, we conducted a know your finances campaign in kabale district to talk about financial literacy, 15 participants that were selected gathered at samson hotel for a two days training. The 15 participants that attended are 4 lesbians, 7 gay men, one bisexual woman, 1 bisexual man, and 2 transgender women.
During the training, our financial consultant Miss Atuhiire Sheila working with Equity bank took the selected participants through the five key components of financial literacy that is earn, spend, save, invest, borrow and protect. Which we are focusing more on this year.

Participants have been able to learn that before you can start spending, saving, and investing, you need to know how much money you make, it was important to note that, creating a personal budget is very key, in terms of savings and spending, participants were taken through saving and the need to have determined financial goals.
In the end, it was noted that protecting and preventing your savings/money from fraud and access to third parties was a meaningful act in response to financial growth.

Your Donations are impacting lives and we continue to reach out to you for more support to impact many members.

Thank you 

JANET MUTESI 

Donors

Since 2016 when we initiated the cake baking empowerment skills program a total of 329 LGBTIQ persons have benefited with both cake baking skills and financial literacy training, so far this half year, we have added 35 Participants making it to 364 beneficiaries and looking forward to having more training.

On the 3rd and 4th of March 2022, we conducted a two days cake baking empowerment skills training for 20 LGT persons at samson hotel in kabale district found in western Uganda. Selected participants gathered are six lesbians, Ten gay men, four transgender women.

On the 16th and 17th of March 2022, we also conducted a two days cake baking empowerment skills training for 15 participants in Rukungiri district at Rukungiri Inn. Selected participants were ten gay men, two transgender women, one lesbian and two bisexual men.

With our strong growing partnership with kiddawalime bakery, a renowned company bakery here in western Uganda with branches in most districts, it has helped us to train and equip our participants with adequate practical cake baking skills and bakery management.
During our trainings both in kabaale and Rukungiri districts, MRF’s office administrator Mr. Osbert Tusiime gave a brief description of the cake baking project and the need to achieve the Five projects objectives which included to;

•Increase knowledge and skills in financial literacy, cake baking and bakery management
•Improve household income
•Provide life time baking skills
•Foster self-reliance•Increase job creation.

While in Kabale, we invited the Resident district commissioner (RDC) to officially open the training, in his opening remarks, he urged participants to utilize skills and opportunities and put in use whatever equipped with, he thanked MRF for such innovations as they fight unemployment, as they contribute to sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the country.

We usually choose previous beneficiaries to break the ice about our cake baking skills training and this time one of our 2018 beneficiaries Mr. boldwin Atwiine, introduced participants to the theory part of the training from being a clean baker and producing good shaped quality cakes as one way to bring more customers. Mr. boldwin is a 23- year-old gay man who had been disowned by parents, and drooped out of school but due the cake baking skills training that have earned him a living though his start up cake baking business, he has slowly built acceptance with his parent who have now boosted his business by providing him with more capital to invest in his business.

“I’m 100% certain that we can build broken acceptance with our families, economic empowerment skills trainings, equipping rural LGBTIQ people with financial literacy trainings and giving out loans or startup capital leads to financial independence and growth hence building wealth among the LGBTIQcommunities, and this can later build acceptance. Every parent needs a rich kid”, Said the finance manager of MRF, Mr. Flavour K during the training.

MRF monitoring team that compromises of the executive director Mr. Raymond, the programs director Ms. Janet and two volunteers Maria and Mugisha usually visits sites where the participants are having the empowerment trainings from, and continue to do follow up visits thought the enter year, during the visits, the teams offer, advices on certain things like enhancement of business, mitigating risks and support for growth.

The trainings are conducted in partnership with kiddawalime as a host and some of our previous beneficiaries as facilitators and are conducted in our local language of Runyakole – Rukiga commonly used in our grassroot areas and this helps participants to better understand well what is being taught.

warm regards 

Dear Donors

In our economic empowerment skills trainings last year, we introduced a Training of trainers (TOT) where we have selected and equipped 10 LGBTIQ people with enhanced skills in training other fellows, we realized that if we train some of our peers with skills and Knowledge on how to train others, in the near future it will be cost effective, sustainable and has long term impact, “it is Ours training Ours”.     

Amdist COVID_19 challenges, we didnt shy away from supporting our fellow communities and below one of our participants - Alicia shares;

when I got selected to take part in the cake baking project, I was very excited to take it on, I had early on faced  difficulties in finding  myself a job because people had questioned my gender many times, I was sure and attended all the cake baking skills sessions and at the end of the  training which was successful, I had acquired skills that transformed my whole life, I started looking for startup capital which wasn’t easy,  my family had rejected me and they couldn’t give me any support, in the end I managed to raise ugshs 200,000 from Friends and that was a breakthrough for me, I started baking from my rental accommodation single room till when I saved enough money to sub-rent a shop with my friend, things are going on well despite the Continuous COVID crisis, am hoping when we are all vaccinated, we will be set free to live the new normal and to me I haven’t faced any challenges besides the pandemic, I see the future is in business, I would be maybe in prison now for any offence or dead because I thought my life chances got finished till I was selected and I thank Staff at MRF for having selected me to take part in this life changing skills training”.

Alicia went on to urge participants to acquire skills and start a small-scale business on their own.       

This year, we hope to continue changing lives and offer 90 LGBTIQ people with cake baking skills. 

Until later

warm regards. 

At MRF we are so proud of donors like you that are supporting this project.  

Thank you so much for the way in which you support the rural ugandan LGBTIQ+ people. Your gift means so much to us as an organization because it means we can continue to make a difference in the lives of the LGBTIQ+ people we serve! Our Cake baking economic empoerment program inspire the LGBTIQ+ community to be the best versions of themselves and raise out of poverty, in turn, it contributes on their wellbeing. 

The LGBTIQ+ idetifying people here in Africa have been seen as waste products, and as a group of people who are menatlly ill and can not do any productive thing, they are not considered as normal, it is with this project that we are proving the society that the LGBTIQ+ people are like anyother human being and can also be finacailly and economically independent. 

The trainings that we offer brings about positive changes in economic attitudes and already inspires and creates opportunities for them to be useful and engaging in their well being. 

Currently amdist the COVID crisis, we have gone ahead smothly to offer skills and we are requesting on your continued support.

Thank you