Givology - give to learn, learn to give

Lillian is a student in Educate!’s Socially Responsible Leadership Course that focuses on the entrepreneurial and leadership skills students need to find solutions to poverty, violence, disease and environmental degradation. Educate! trains teachers who become mentors to their students (like Lillian), building powerful relationships that give youth the confidence to lead change. The mentor also facilitates the Educate! Social Entrepreneurship Club that gives students like Lillian practical business skills while aiming to solve a community need. The amount requested covers the cost of training, salary and transportation for the Educate! mentor, as well as all materials/handouts/textbooks provided in the Socially Responsible Leadership Course.

An orphan from a young age, Lillian had to drop out of school when she became pregnant. This became a turning point in her life. The struggle she went through pushed her to become an inspiring leader and mobiliser on all fronts. She developed a passion for community development which inspired her to unleash her potential to serve the poor and marginalized through entrepreneurship, knowledge and skills transfer.

Her projects include teaching a woman how to make chapattis (local snack made with wheat flour bread) and partnering with her to start a small sustainable business. She formed a women’s Bible Study Group that draws on positive messages to inspire women to strive for success. She has led student discussion groups in school and her teachers say this has improved academic achievement amongst group members.

Most impressively she is the founder of the Namugongo Good Samaritans Organisation that provides basic counseling services and community support to 36 widows and HIV/AIDs infected women. She gets her funding for this group by teaching her fellow women how to make recycled paper jewelry.
One of Lillian’s great strengths is her charismatic smile and her ability to build alliances with individuals and organizations to further empower her community. Most recently, she was hired by Educate! to provide a practical skills training in jewelry making for the entire Educate! team.