Talent Academy for 100 Young Ugandans Annually

1st Report - Rockies Talent and Leadership Academy

“We are the Shapers of Culture, Workers for change, the Dreamers of Dreams!”

Dear reader / supporter,

We are very pleased to welcome you to read our first report on the journey of the creation of  Rockies Talent and Leadership Academy. Because it is the first report, allow us to inform you of the updates which we have achieved to date, we would like to draw your attention to our current works and existence as Rockies Organization and invite you to see what we have in mind for the near and medium term future of our project. Karibu!

Introduction

Rockies is a cultural organization  founded in February 2012 but fully registered as an organization in 2014 deep rooted from the African traditions, with a mission of Socially and Economically Transforming Society through searching, identifying, motivating and facilitating the development of Talents and Nurturing Professionalism in Creative and Performing Arts. Emphasis is put on less privileged young Ugandans aged 8-25 years especially the girl child, with a sole purpose of advancing their entrepreneurship skills, support them in education, health-care and give them the opportunity to appreciate cultural diversity and showcase their talents as professionals to help address unemployment and poverty. The Rockies composition covers all regions of the country. The organisation was awarded the best Troupe in our country 2016/2017, won national prizes and travelled to different continents, and utilizing this momentum, is now seeking to influence the life of more young Ugandans.

Leading the way is Ssozi Andrew Brian, who has been directing the troupe for the last 5 years, and with whom the troupe achieved prizes and international presence. I have witnessed Ssozi sleeping on the ground while each and every child under his supervision slept in a bed. With grace and humility Ssozi showed me his little white house, a small room big enough for his mattress and little more. When not teaching, coaching, and training the Rockies, Ssozi works at Makerere University, in Kampala, participates in many activities which involve civil society activism in institutions of higher learning and collaborates with the church. It is his Talent that has brought him this far, and the only way of giving back to community is by sharing what he has.

 This leads to a small introduction of myself, Ohad Frans Loffler, and how I got here. I met Ssozi in 2015 while spending some months in Uganda. After seeing the performance of the Rockies, I was immediately drawn to the project. Initially I supported the Rockies with small things while following it’s beautiful trajectory until I was invited to contribute more actively in this initiative. About me, I graduated from BA International Studies with focus on Sub-Saharan Africa in 2016 and work on my family’s ostrich farm in Mallorca, Spain. I love this project because I feel that it regenerates the self-sufficiencyas well as uniting arts, intellectualism  and entrepreneurship.

 Masesa Demiano became part of Rockies in 2014. Ssozi and Masesa have collaborated on other projects together and share a same mindset and values. Their vision for Rockies peaked after visiting a refugee camp which collaborated with the army. There, they decided that there is plenty to do to make the world a better place. Masesa has been working as a senior program officer at Center for Constitutional Governance, until August 2017 when he decided to fully work with Rockies. He has a degree in Business Administration and a Diploma in Law, therefore he is a wonderful asset to the project.

What have we achieved until now?

Having taken the first steps onto our journey,  the Rockies already  brag of  a strong foundation,  though  there is still much more to do in order to create a meaningful, sustainable impact. Here is what we have managed to do until now:

1. Ssozi visited the US from the 15th/09/2017 to 3rd/10/2017, invited by the Segal Family Foundation at their Annual General Meeting. There he managed to secure more funders and establish valuable connections with organisations working in similar fields.  
2. Partner with GlobalGiving. This may seem obvious, but is an achievement in itself.
1. This means that we have reached 40 individual donors! Thank you very much for your support.
2. The first instalment from GlobalGiving has reached our account already, and we have used it, to make a deposit on the land we want to buy, where we intend to construct our Academy.
3. Partner with Segal Family Foundation. We much appreciate Segal Family Foundation for its mentorship and contributions towards the development of Rockies as an Organization, both financially and morally. They have connected us to many potential partners who we are working with to positively impact our communities.
4. Set up a team for crowdfunding in and outside Uganda.
1. The Rockies Troupe will continue as always to gather funds at events, Church masses, social gatherings, etc.
2. Ssozi, Masesa and Ohad will be working hard to attract international funding via crowdfunding and others.
5. Collaborate with MindLeaps, an organisation working with dance to develop social-emotional learning of at risk youth. In this way both organisations will synergically learn from and contribute with each other.
6. Find a land which is suitable for the construction and development of the academy. This we have already achieved. The land has been found.

Land and Constructors Update

Our first milestone will be to purchase land. This land is situated close to a village called Nakawuka, Wakiso district, which is yet to develop. The presence of the Academy could be positive for the village as well and could attract population and investment. The land is close to a junction where 3 important roads meet, these lead to Kampala, Entebbe, and Masaka. The location may be found here. We have already made a deposit of $8,000 to this land, in this month of November, as we look for other funds to complete the payment.

 As for the constructor, we are starting to work together from May 2018. By then, we expect to have completed the payment of the first 2 acres of land and the construction can start.

Timeline

We have set ourselves the goal of starting our first courses in January 2019. In this way 2018 will be dedicated to develop the infrastructure, human resources, academic material and student body.

 2017

December - Purchase Land

2018

February - Design of the RTL Academy

April - Teachers will be announced

August - Curriculum will be published

November - Buildings will be constructed

December - Academic material will be completed and prepared

2019

January - Begining of academic year

December - Graduation

Why are we doing this?

Our dream is simple. We want to leave this world a better place than we found it. Not that it’s bad, but we can improve some things. Let’s take the effects of unemployment and poverty among the Ugandan youth for example. Kids start to do very nastythings when unattended to and with no hope left. Yet others who can focus their energy on creative and positive things, are capable of doing great things in life. Like they made the world recognized Yogi dance in India.

A few years ago some of these kids would not have believed that they could even get a passport. We believe that there is room for many more youth to experience this, and with the tools, qualities and especially talents they are acquiring, become successful and valuable parts of our society.

 Rockies Talent and Leadership Academy will train students in the following the concepts:

In this way the academy teaches in a holistic approach which enables young artists to perform, lead and create their own businesses and organisations related to their skills.

 And all of this is possible thanks to YOU.

 Therefore, we are extremely happy to continue working for youth in Uganda with your help, and encourage you to take further action. You may consider making a monthly donation as this is one of the most efficient ways to support this project.

Warm regards,

ROCKIES