We wish you all happy holidays!

As promised, we asked Ntunga trainer, cohort 1 alumni and class leader, Barbara, to share her story and reasons for joining the Ntunga team:

“My name is Nakirima Barbara. I am 23 years old and live in Bisenyi village, Buseruka sub-county, Hoima district, #Uganda. Unfortunately, I had to leave school in fourth grade because my family could not afford the fees. I worked as a farmer and sold my produce to earn a living. When I heard about the #Ntunga training program through the local chairperson, I decided to join and gain fashion and design skills that allow me to become self-employed and obtain a better life. Now I know that my future lies in fashion design.

During training, I enjoyed learning how to design different bags, dresses, and shirts. I also bonded with other students who later turned into good friends. I had to walk long distances to arrive at the Ntunga centre, and the COVID-19 lockdowns forced us to take a long break from training, but I still managed to graduate and even become a class leader.

When I was asked to stay as a trainer after graduation, I saw that it was an excellent opportunity to practice what I had learnt and pass it on to others. As a trainer, it is important to me that my students #LearnForLife and will be able to #SustainThemselves through their skills. Training can be challenging, but I continue acquiring new skills and knowledge and am eager to bring them to the lessons.”

Thank you, Barbara, for being such a bright light of inspiration!

#NtungaProject #Ntunga2021 #ChangingLivesThroughFashion #FemaleTalent #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen

Ntunga Streetlights Uganda

Did you notice the workers overall on last week’s Ntunga cohort picture?
It’s a long process to learn tailoring a #WorkUniform that withstands the demands of #ConstructionWorkdays. After graduation, Ntunga Hoima alumni have continued perfecting their skills in designing and producing professional clothing and are enthusiastic to begin working on their first bulk order soon. With our business partner #SBIUganda, we have paved the way for program alumni to accept business orders as a group and, thus, see the tangible results of their vocational journey with Ntunga.
Let’s face it, most crafts and sewing initiatives around the globe struggle to translate craftsmanship and tailoring skills into sustainable livelihoods. No wonder. Local demand is low in times of cheap imports, souvenir goods rely on tourism, and scale and pressure dictate the export market. Workers’ uniforms for local industries are a niche for sewing initiatives like Ntunga to establish themselves on the corporate market and an opportunity for businesses to act on their #CSR and stand with us in #ChangingLivesThroughFashion.
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#NtungaProject #FemaleTalent #BusinessPartnership #CorporateSocialResponsibility
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Ntunga Joan Nabwire Victoria Merab Streetlights Uganda Tamar Dekel Maria C. Erhard

We’re welcoming our second cohort to Ntunga Hoima! We are delighted to work with these twelve talented women for the next half year and beyond.

Most importantly, we are excited that our very own cohort 1 alumni and class leader, Barbara, has joined the Ntunga trainer team. She has already begun to pass on her #passion and #proficiency in sewing to the new cohort in Hoima, Western #Uganda. Clearly, she deserves a post by herself, and we look forward to sharing her story here soon. Since the first Ntunga centre opened in the Kibuli slum in #Kampala in 2017, we have been on a constant learning curve of how to sustain the impact of sewing and vocational skills training and mentorship on women’s lives and livelihoods. The train-the-trainer methodology is a crucial element in what makes Ntunga what it is today: a female-led #WomenEmpowerment program whose impact goes beyond skill transfer, among others, by investing in #Ugandan women trainers – young #FashionDesign graduates and program alumni – to become agents of social change and earn a stable income from investing in others.

#NtungaProject #Ntunga2022 #ChangingLivesThroughFashion #FemaleTalent #WomenSupportingWomen
Streetlights Uganda Victoria Merab Joan Nabwire Tamar Dekel Maria C. Erhard