One Mango Tree & one woman's story

During the past few weeks significant progress has been made in our One Mango Tree venture. When I am not working on writing reports, emails or trying to sort through my millions of thoughts for GYPA, I have been in Namuwongo with the women’s group. One of my biggest weaknesses is over-commitment and I was definitely concerned that I had given myself too many tasks when I decided to stay and work on both GYPA programs as well as Halle and my own. However, working on OMT has been a much-needed breath of fresh air.

The women’s group of the Youth and Women’s Framework Organization is the first of what Halle and I hope will be many artisan groups that OMT will do business with. We are still working on our official business plan and as soon as we have a website up and running it will be made public to all. In summary, what we are doing is:

We select artisan groups based on very detailed criteria, which will basically ensure that the group is already established and locally run with an efficient structure and system of accountability. After we have identified that the group meets our requirements, we will offer our services. Our main service is the provision of a market in the United States. In the beginning, we will market products on our website, in the future we hope to have some form of a gallery. We will pay the artisan groups an agreed upon price for their products, which will factor in materials, labor and will be higher than the price they would receive selling products locally. Our relationship will provide supplemental income for the artisans. In the United States we will sell the products for a higher price and the additional profit will do two things. First, it will be invested in OMT so that we may provide artisan groups with shipping and technical assistance including product design, and organizational structure and systems advice. Second, once OMT has enough money, we will set up a grant program where our artisan groups can apply to receive grants for specific items or initiatives that will benefit their organization as a whole.

Our mission is two-fold. We want to provide artisans with supplemental income to increase their standard of living. We also hope to spread awareness about the artisan groups, their history and mission, and the issues that the individual artisans face in their day-to-day lives. When a buyer purchases a product from One Mango Tree, they will also be gaining insight into the story of the artisan’s life. Through providing artisans a market, we are also providing the market with unique and quality products and disseminating awareness on important issues at the same time.

Over the past few weeks Halle and I have been working on our business plan, and Halle has been busy working on setting up our structure on the U.S. side. I have been working with the women’s group on product design and forming the first OMT – artisan group relationship and agreements. They are very understanding of the fact that OMT is new, this is our first venture, and we are in the experimentation stages – anything could happen. I have spent time with the women, sitting, talking, and sharing our life stories. This particular women’s group collects all of the proceeds from product sales and then carries out an election where the three women who are most in need of financial support at that time are selected. The money then goes to the individual in the form of a grant to help them start a business. Yesterday the women took me around Namuwongo to visit 5 of the 10 women who have benefited from their program thus far. All of their pictures and stories will be on our website once it is set up. We spent many hours together, but the time flew by in a second as their stories broke my heart, inspired me, and gave me hope. Here is one of their stories.

“My name is Jacklin Nono and I come from Kitgum, northern Uganda. I left Kitgum in 2002 to escape the rebels. I had 4 brothers and 2 sisters, but they were all killed by the rebels – 3 were killed by a landmine and 3 were shot in an ambush when they were walking between Gulu and Kitgum. I am the only one left. My husband left me in Kitgum so I came to Namuwongo with 5 of my own children and 5 of my siblings’ children. The oldest is 16 and the youngest is 5-years old. We live in a two-room house and it is very difficult for me to pay rent, for all of their school fees, medical care and for enough food to feed them all.

When I came to Namuwongo I met many other women like myself who had run away from the north and were looking for a way to survive. I came up with the idea of a women’s group and was elected the chairperson. The women’s group has had a large impact on all of our lives. In my own life, it has given me some money that has allowed me to start a business selling charcoal to the community. In the future I plan on expanding my business and eventually I hope to buy a lorry so that I can distribute charcoal to the larger community.

If the war ends I will go back home. Life was better there before the war. Life in Namuwongo is very difficult, but at least the children cannot be abducted – at home you can die at any time”.

Yesterday’s visit reminded me yet again of why I am here, why I love being here.

What characterizes the “Africa Bug”? I think part of it is the draw towards humanity in its most raw form that exists here. The human struggle for survival and the human capacity for perseverance becomes real when I look into the eyes of these women…