Harpenden Spotlight on Africa
Pursues sustainable long-term development to help transform the lives of some of the poorest people in impoverished Eastern Uganda.
Six years in P&G in manufacturing & HR (United Kingdom)
P&G Alumni Sponsor Andrew Mayo is a founder and Chair of the Harpenden’s Board of Directors. His career took him several times to Africa, and he has travelled to Uganda every year since 2011. He also serves on Harpenden’s Foundation board working to advance its mission.
“As a P&G production manager, I was taught all the basics of good money management – which is invaluable in the charity sector, and in Africa itself. P&G taught a set of ethics and respect for others that stayed with me, and the P&G Alumni Foundation embodies those ethics.” ~Andrew Mayo
Ranked 131st in the world for unemployment, household income in Uganda is among the lowest in the world. In response and established by residents of Harpenden, England in 2006, 25 pro-bono volunteers work in partnership with the local on-the-ground Spotlight on Africa – Uganda Foundation promoting economic empowerment and education. Harpenden partners closely with local government authorities, local NGOs and its community to successfully deliver against its mission – working hard to counteract generational poverty.
To learn more about Harpenden Spotlight on Africa, click here to visit their website.
The Tailoring and Design Centre has been built in partnership with an existing tailoring business, creating a social enterprise and community cooperative. It will develop job skills and create employment, through vocational training, production and marketing of products from the centre.
The original concept for training in tailoring came from members of the local community, which empowers particularly women. Building on the learnings from two pilot training workshops, the Tailoring and Design Centre will contribute to our integrated approach and be viable in the local community (e.g., making school uniforms for local schools).
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Grant support of $20,000 by the P&G Alumni Foundation will be used to support Harpenden’s new Tailoring & Design Center, which will provide vocational training and employment primarily for women in Bukasakya (Eastern Uganda), which has seen a sharp influx of refugees from neighboring, war-ravaged South Sudan.
Funds will be used to fully equip the Tailoring and Design Center, as well as cover fabric and operator training costs working in partnership with an existing tailoring business. The project is estimated to create a business cooperative, training 300+ individuals in the first 5 years and impacting 3,600 community members, with a ready market comprised of school uniforms and other necessary garments.
“The Student Becomes the Teacher”
Carol – once a student – proudly introduces her students for graduation. Carol Kamisha was one of the 1st graduates of Harpenden’s tailoring class. She started by working on her own, making clothes with simple fashions and mending other people’s clothes. Advancing from making some extra income to now becoming one of Spotlight’s key instructors, Carol has seized her opportunity. The picture below shows Carol happily introducing her students on their graduation day and thanking Spotlight for not only their but her success.
