Episode 51 - Jamila Mayanja, Smart Girls Uganda Foundation
The empowerment of girls and young women will shape and change our future. This is what drives the movement of Jamila Mayanja’s SMART Girls FoundationUganda, whose mission is to empower and mentor girls to develop their confidence and life skills. In this conversation, she and Christine discuss menstrual equity, how it’s connected to girls staying in school, and all of the ways SMART Girls Uganda is making a massive impact across the country. Jamila gets into the details of the incredible breadth and depth of programming SMART Girls Foundation Uganda offers and how each program helps to hold the greater whole.
Enjoy the video of this conversation on YouTube here.
Learn more about SMART Girls Uganda here.
Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor.) Jamila Mayanja (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing and production by Alex Ammons and For The Love Media, LLC.
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Transcript
Transcription for this episode provided by iqra_khurshid on Fiverr.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 0:03
Welcome to Soul of Travel. I am so grateful today to be sitting down with Jamila Mayanja, and she is the CEO of Smart Girls foundation in Uganda. So welcome today to this conversation.
Jamila Mayanja: 0:20
Thank you Christine. I'm excited to be here.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 0:26
Thank you. And for those of you that are listening, we were just discussing, we're both not in our normal location. She's preparing to speak at the Youth Connect summit in Ghana, and I'm not I haven't travelled nearly as far I'm just at my sister in law's house. But we both have different internet in different environments. So we're going to just hope that fate is on our side to have a great connection here for us.
Jamila Mayanja: 0:56
Yeah, fingers crossed.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 0:58
Yes. So if any, if either of us drops off, we'll be right back. Today, I'd love to share your story. I first heard Jamila speak on the Days for Girl’s international podcast. And I just was so inspired by your story and just your passion and your inspiration. And then also, personally, I just have such a deep connection to Uganda, that was one of the trips that I took when I knew that I was a part of a global community and that I really wanted to be a part of a global community and that I wanted to bring travelers around the world to have a similar experience to me. And it really opened my eyes to a lot of things. So I am just really grateful that there's that connection on top of it. And then this month, I've been working with also with Days for Girls to promote education about menstrual health and period poverty, and menstrual equity. And so this is also a topic that I know that you are really passionate about. So as we get started, I would love for you to just take a moment to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the work you do.
Jamila Mayanja: 2:21
Thank you Christine. My name is Jamila, Mayanja. I'm the founder and Team Leader at Smart Girls Foundation, Uganda, a social enterprise that empowers girls and women. I'm very passionate about social entrepreneurship. And women and girls empowerment. Because of the things that I do in Smart Girls have had experience personally that I've gone through. So they drive me to help young women in those areas. So I grew up in a family of 14 siblings, raised by my dad who had three wives. It's quite a big family, I went to my primary school that was called [Inaudible 03:05]. But then later on, I went to an all girl’s school that I really loved because it built me from the bullying. I had prayer from the primary school and after secondary school, I moved out and went to university. While at university, I lost my dad but later on it was also as a drive to home Mr. Smart Girls. So it's men girls all it's all about its impact business and social entrepreneurship, in helping young women and girls in keeping them employed healthy, but mostly on trying to solve mystery poverty, and but most also solving their own income economical empowerment. So we have different programs that encourage us young women into entrepreneurship, and young girls in things called and generally both women and girls getting out of Metro poverty.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 4:02
Thank you for sharing that. I think a great place to start actually, for people that listened last week, they've gotten a little bit of understanding. But can you help us to connect the dots between menstrual equity and staying in school and having a career later in life? Because I know that that's something especially in the United States and UK where a lot of my listeners are from that maybe this isn't something that we this isn't a challenge that we have to overcome, that we're really blessed to have the supplies and the education resources we need. But can you talk us through why that's so important in Uganda and for the girls you work with?
Jamila Mayanja: 4:44
So I have the same? And I always have this question that I always ask people and leaders in Uganda. Why are condoms easily accessible compared to had anything to do with production? Did in that time of the month that you would walk into a restaurant, and these are both of free condoms. And there is not a booth of reasonable pants or pants in general? Or you would even in primary schools or some government schools, you would say there is a counselor who has sometimes sanitary towels that are available, but all the time they're not available. Yet. Sex is a choice. And our girl when she's getting to happen, Mr. [Inaudible 05:30] time, if you cannot tell your menstruation periods, please don't come this month, I'm broke. I am not in the mood. Or I'm going to travel or I'm going to a restaurant. And I don't think I will get has their own going to a school. And or I'm feeling or my parents are poor. Please, my prayers do not come this time. So I always ask everybody always ask a scholar is as the local community, that way you're making sure that people are not getting having safe sex. Why shouldn't they make sure that girls have all the accessibility and they need when they're in their in their periods? Because it's not a choice, it's a must. And with the situation that we are going through how we take care of the choice of six. Here, this is not a choice. This is something that this so that's the equity that is lacking here. And it starts from our families. It says from where we grew up in the family, it's a taboo for girl to talk about menstruation periods in Uganda. So by the time a girl goes up in Uganda, oh, by the way, I'm saying here in Uganda, Burundi, in Ghana, so really, and so it's in my head because I'm from Uganda. So when it comes from the family, when I grew up, it is a it's quite a taboo to actually talk about menstrual health, it has to be a bedroom talk. Yeah, the stigma around just even openly talking about menstrual, your menstrual hygiene within your parents. Similar areas here, the, the mother has to look for what we call an auntie. So we call them a singer, or they wait for the, for the customers where the girls are going to school to actually start the topic. Yet, this is not a choice. This is something that has to come when the girl's body is ready. So for me, when I started my period, I don't even blame my mom at all. It's just because she was also raised that way, the person who's had the talk with me was a household who gave me toilet paper to use. And she didn't even tell me that that paper will later fill up and I will need to change it here go to school with toilet paper. And they end up mapping my dress and being bullied all thought primary school before the girl could have mapped had her dress and mapped also the table. So that means the bullying comes from the roots of the stigmatization than the lack of menstrual equity that comes even from just within the families that girls come from. So when you add the stigma summarization that poverty, and also the fact that the community locally, locally does under government at large are not really taking this issue as an importance, girls end up staying out of school, just because they fear to be bullied in school. And all they don't access what to use when they're in this time of the month in school. So it becomes a burden for them to be in school, they'd rather be at home in their own bedrooms, hidden until those five to eight days are done. Hence they're missing out on school. And when they start missing out school early, the chances of them staying in school in higher levels is quite very low. So that leads to early sex, early marriages and teenage pregnancies. So this small fact that you need to have a talk with your younger is leading, multiplying the chances of having bigger problems, gender based violence. So it's just that's from us breaking that equity and making sure it's balanced and removing away the poverty. So yeah, so I'm too passionate, and [Cross talk 09:06]
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 9:08
No, I'm grateful. And I'm equally passionate, which is why I immediately resonated with you when I heard you speaking. I believe, really that universally this is issues that we need to look at. Because I know when I grew up, we I mean we had a little bit of conversation in our school about what menstruation would be what that would mean for a girl but it was very diluted and it didn't actually tell me anything about like, how I was going to feel in that moment how I was going to manage that. What kind of products I would need, how to use the products, any of that and so there's still a lot of confusion and I can also really resonate with not really being bullied at school but definitely being embarrassed if a product leaked or something like that, and that you felt personal shame, you were definitely teased. I do know there were girls that maybe if they had an unfortunate incident that that would carry on with them clear until high school that people would mock them for that experience. And then also, when you commented about there being easy access to condoms, and birth control, but not pads and tampons, and I remember also in college having that same thought, like, I can either pay my food bill or my phone bill, or my electric bill or by the book I need for school. But if I do that, I can't buy menstrual care products. And so like, I think we need to be doing a better job as a global society at addressing this issue. And I have three daughters. And so I have really early on, like, because I had, you know, one and the next, the next they were very engaged with, like the birthing process and learning about bodies that way. And we've tried to create an open dialogue, but I can feel now that I have almost 12 years old, some of that body shame and stigma and things starting to come into her from outside sources. And so it's just realizing that knowing that these are the conversations that are going to be really important for her and her peers, and so I'm really grateful when I meet someone like you who is advocating who is working to have these hard conversations. And who really realizes that like you said, this is kind of seem small, but yet it just exponentially grows in what allows for in the future? Yeah. I wanted to talk about you, I know you say you have this kind of bottom up holistic approach to the way you create education and your programs, can you talk about what that means to you and how that serves the people that you work with.
Jamila Mayanja: 12:16
So, this is something I learned when I travelled to the US [Inaudible 12:23] college, and it was through the fellowship. It's called the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. So I was sticking under the business truck for six weeks at that mark University. So we learned something called design thinking. So you know, how we design you've had such a problem in the community and right are you think of a solution. So the bottom up is really to design with them, you design with the beneficiaries, really, to make sure you coming up with the right solution. And that's what I do. With all the programs that I've done, I keep them refining them within implementation. So for example, when I had first found out when I went through my own issue, my own body shaming and my own [Inaudible 13:10] bullying, when I went to secondary school, I went to an all girls school, but I loved that school so much, because it helped me build my self esteem. I was with girls from all sizes, shapes, decks, colours, skins, and it felt like a safe space for me. So my work started from that time. So when I left I used where I used to do a lot of work for girls and women. But when I reached compass, I noticed more girls were going through worse situations, I was actually privileged for the lifestyle I had. So I went on I didn't know by then before I actually travelled for yearly that I was actually doing the design thinking. I've kept on always asking beneficiaries and the people that I work with and the women that I help, what would you need? So with them I design the solution. So with the menstrual pad exactly at first held an event called the father daughter dance, to fundraise for reusable pads because at that time, there was some of the girls that I had talked to all they needed was access to a patch to use during their menses, instead of using cloth and toilet paper. And remember, I had gone through the same issue that I had ever used toilet paper and it's not safe. So I said, I didn't have so much money, I decided to first fundraise for an event. And so that out fundraise money to buy reusable pads. I did this for a number of years. And then I went for yearly. I created a lot of creative attraction when I applied when I come back from yearly when it what the more I learned about design thinking it asked me to always go back and understand if the interventions have done actually working. So it led me to go and ask the young women young girls that had actually given reasonable pants and that had come out from the event of the father daughter dance, if they were actually staying in school. So this showed where the research I did some had actually succeeded Lee and stayed in school, but some were still out of school. And this was a reasonable attempt, some girls can even afford a reasonable part, they don't have access to how to carry those pads, they don't have access to water, when they successfully carry the reasonable quads and go to school. Some schools do not have the time period within using those reasonable quantities quite little, to wash them and hang them. Sometimes they're the same. So it was still an inconvenience for them to be at school while having these usable pads. That the drill I use them from home. So that's how I innovated the smart bug. So like so you see that process was from asking, and then I first did the first in the first prototype, and still tested it. But still, even with the first prototype, some girls were still staying out of school, then I improved it to another prototype that was the recycled smart bag. And still, we're still some dog’s thinner of school now improved it even later, to the recycled soulless mud bag. So when I mean bottom to up, it's actually holistic.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 16:12
I love that I think it's really aligned with a lot of times I talk about community based tourism. And that is similar, where you have to ask the needs of the community and build tourism around those needs. I just want to make sure that you're still there.
Jamila Mayanja: 16:34
Yes, I'm still here. You're about to [Inaudible 16:36] check the internet.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 16:39
Okay, thank you. And so with community based tourism, you ask the people in the community, how can tourism serve them? How can it benefit them? And we've had similar conversations on this podcast about philanthropy and philanthropic efforts, where a lot of times people step in with this solution that they think is geared towards meeting the need, but they never asked the question of what is needed. And so they ended up sometimes creating a structure that serves a need that isn't truly what would be best serving for the community. So I love that you are using that design thinking to ask the questions, to know the real problems, and then find solutions that actually create impact. And then also creating one solution, seeing how that works and letting it evolve. Because a lot of times people maybe have either pride or limited time. And so they just do one level and like well, I solved the problem. That's good enough, but without following up to ensure that is actually working [Cross talk 17:52]. So I love that it was kind of it has been this continually evolving project with smart bags for girls. So you mentioned there's the rewash able products, but then there's also the bag that they can carry them in. And I've heard that as well. Oh, do you have curious about the solar that you were talking about? And what does the solar allow for Jamila, why is that important?
Jamila Mayanja: 18:23
So when I first design the bang, was to have a component where the girls can carry their unused reusable pads that have been provided by ASBO, or any other partner. So a place that is safe, where they can carry, I'm going to show you a little bit then when they get to school, and they don't have time, or the access to water or place to wash the spot. In the back. There's also a component where they can keep their used reusable pads. So it's like you wouldn't imagine a girl is carrying heavy usable pads in here. So that when they get home, they can wash them. So while we're implementing the first bag that we did was absolutely cloth. And it just had those two components because that's what I was first solving to give them convenience to be able to use the reasonable client. So I noticed it being closed and Uganda being a very rainy season, when they would walk to school says they work quite a distance and the quantity will get wet. So that's when we also thought of using getting recycled plastic question embedded into the bag to make it waterproof. Oh by the digital component where they could carry their books and everything. And it's quite big. So later on when we're doing with such the recycled smart bag, what worked wonders because it was perfect. It was waterproof and it was amazing. But then when they some girls, when they got back home, they would then bring the girls they would first do a lot of housework in the evening. So by the time they would finish their housework it was already dark. And most of the girls most of it the most where the skills come from, they come from rural areas, and their toilets are detached from the main house. So they need to work quite a distance. So at night, when you have a heavy flow, they couldn't access the wash facilities because it's dark, and they don't have lighting. So the solar panel was reading, it charges a detachable light that helps the girl’s access toilets at night. But most importantly, late at night, when they don't have lighting at their homes, they could use them to read their books. Because it was also an issue, the fact that we're getting out of school being out of school because of their messes. But in return, they also want more behind schoolwork says they couldn't be able to do their homework after dark. So their satellite helps them to be able to keep up with schoolwork, but also help around with the household. So that's why the solar panel came in. And we're even thinking later on, we are trying to innovate something and trying to refine and design a solar powered reading tablet, because of COVID girls have been out of school quite a lot. And the issues of teenage pregnancies are increasing. So that they can be connected to the digital world, but also make it really quite user friendly. Some of them don't access electricity, and the content we're giving them like we add a menstrual health management booklet, we add kit on how to make more of them to make them more reasonable pants. So this template will also help us add more content around sexual reproductive health, that will be embedded within the tablet to avoid a lot of contact and doing a lot of activities because COVID has proven to show we need to go and they get to the world. So that's how it all embeds in with a smile back to absolutely make it smart. And absolutely keep juggling school in their messes, but it also in other situations that it can solve for them.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 21:54
Yeah, that's so brilliant. And again, spending time there, I can totally imagine that journey. Because one of my, my favorite mornings I have ever spent travelling actually, I was staying outside of a rural village. And I was probably I don't know, maybe two miles from the school. And we were going to be meeting with the headmaster. And so I decided to walk to the school the morning, like the children would be doing. It was beautiful. And I just thought I would do. And as I was walking to the school, I could see the kids in their uniforms. And they were like bright yet red and bright yellow. And you could see these little trails of children like coming down the mountain towards the school where I was, and along the valley and the ridge line. And then as I approached the school, like all the children were walking in, and I was arriving, and they were very curious about what I was doing there. And it was so beautiful. Like I just it was, it was just such a really cool morning for me to like be a part of a moment in time like that. But I can also then really understand when you're looking at a girl who is navigating what you said, like when you say they have to walk a long way to school, in context, that that really is a very long way. So for people who are listening, I wouldn't have thought about that with products getting wet school gear getting wet. And then to have to return home and do the chores, it is quite late in the evening, by the time that they would be addressing their schoolwork. So I think that is just such an amazing way, like you said to just keep adding on and answering the next question and the next hurdle. Because when girls do have to stay home, if you add up the numbers, it's so much time that they miss. And that was kind of one of the experiences that I had when I first learned about menstrual equity was realizing what that actually meant for a girl to be missing that amount of time of school. And then at university or for a job like if you can keep continuing to have to miss that much time then you're losing jobs, you're having to switch jobs frequently because of that inconsistency in your performance and I can only imagine if you also then have any sort of menstruation related health concern that makes you have irregular periods or longer periods where you can't even really plan around your cycle. Yeah, that that would be really difficult. So I it's just really amazing to me how this enables girls to start out on their on the right path. So I would love to talk a little bit more about one of the next programs that you created with girls with tools. Can you talk about how that originated and what that allows?
Jamila Mayanja: 25:02
So this [Inaudible 25:04] is amazing because first as a person because you know, most of my programs come up come from my personal stories. When I was in primary school, I've always wanted to my dream was to become an architect. But because I was really bad at physics, I found out it needed to be physics. And everybody told me a stupid in not stupid that way. But my brain wasn't ready for physics. So I decided to take a business. So that has always been on my mind. So fast forward when I was at finished campus and as helping out young women, mostly who are who are young mothers when I've just gotten a young mother. So I would have them as I started something called the Jim Obi laundry business. So as getting women and they will do a door to door wash hand washing, and later on puts them into a new one a paper skills training. And after the training, I would have them stay in the cycle for only three months, so that they can be able to launch their workshops. So I went steel for nearly came back. It became my head because I started with only just like three or five ladies, it grew to 30 young women. And but later on after a few years, I noticed these young women were studying the same kind of businesses, they would start at the market stalls, they'll start at the small food vending. Although such small shops and sister from the same area in the slum areas, they'll end up struggle for clients. And if they'll struggle for clients, they'll end up back in their situations that are strained to get them out. Because most of them were either getting out of gender based violence, the with violent husband or the wife trying to get off of drug abuse, or the like sex workers were trying to get off sex work. So I noticed I wasn't solving the problem. And one day I was watching an animation. It's called Zootopia and soba young bunny that really wanted to become a policewoman. And I was very fascinated how this small thing was to compete with these huge men. So I kept on thinking how do I challenge the young women here, but also challenge society to think that young women even when we're as if we they say weak brains, we can't take up.
We as they're not ideally made for us society believes are not meant for us. Well as after watching Zootopia, one of a friend of mine invited me to help him around market his garage, his mechanical garage. And because I had a really my qualification is big business administration. I majored in marketing and really a good marketer. So I told him, but no, I'm not going you can't afford me to market sugar. But what I want, I wanted to inspire some of the girls that I've been helping in my GMO bio to see if they can take up, they can be challenged to take up and become mechanical engineers. And that's how the girls with tools was born. I started with a Gaza what I had in my prior, I'm kind of innovation that GMO by laundry, the GMO baloney business. Now I inspired them to take start learning mechanical engineering. And it was a heat when I put them in overalls and they started learning, they started attracting more girls. So we grew it from five girls. Now I empower over 200 Girls, we added Metro fabrication, we added carpentry, we added now we add the construction. But don't get this wrong. We have some girls who can take up some young women who can take up the stereo set. So the ones who said you know what, as much as this is cool, I can do this. We enroll them now in our tailoring workshop, because the tailoring workshop would teach them on how tailoring and they're the ones who make the smart bags. So the idea is to inspire women, young women, mostly those who left school early and believe they did not have chances to bigger business or they believe they are. They don't to do to get small monies to inspire them and show them here. Guess what, you can do much more, you can do this much. Yeah. So we train them in these skill sets in this hands on skill sets. And we try and make sure they get government certification in the industrial training. And later on, we inspire them to start their own business clubs. And those business clubs will even work with a lawyer to make sure they are registered. And with them. We get businesses at a revenue share. So but they can still get businesses independently. Those who absolutely are not so entrepreneurial we work with local workshops and companies who are in those the skill sets to try and connect them to work. So it grew from five girls. Now we even now right now at the centre, I left, we are enrolling our new cohort, and really have 100 girls just that we wanted to pick up the skill sets. So that's what we call the girls with tools.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 30:17
I love that all so much. And I love I have probably watched Utopia a million times with my children. And I have never like, I have never looked at that that power play on that dynamic. Like I understood that she really wanted to be a cop. But I didn't really go with the metaphor that I'm sure was intended there of her being this little bunny trying to make it against all these big creatures that were all male. So that's a little mind blowing for me. And I also I feel like we're such kindred spirits, because I remember when I was young, I really wanted to take the woodshop class at our school. And then I really wanted to take the small engines and the mechanics and the building classes and there was no girls. And I would like stand outside and I would kind of look and I would really like just wish someone would be like, are you interested in this, but no one ever was, they were like, pretty much like, be careful, get away from here. And, so I love…
Jamila Mayanja: 31:20
I trained the girls every day, I feel like they're living my dream. Like the girls were in construction when I see them, because everybody asks me all the time. Do you know the things that you're teaching the girls Oh, in my car, like, feels? And I have to call them too because I call them my girls and my women. And they call them to come and work with my car or the girls in electricity installation where when they call the matter site at a house to measure up what the house needs for electrical like I feel so fulfilled, that they actually living exactly what you're saying they're living my dream. They're living what I was dreaming governance Yang, so I get so excited and emotional. But so when people tell me, you actually know what you're teaching them like they are they know, so I know.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 32:10
Yeah, it's so great. And it's I love that because that door was closed for you. You didn't allow for it to be to remain closed or like no wait a second. Like I maybe it wasn't there for me, but I can make it there for somebody else. And I just think I mean, that's where it all begins as we ask the question, and then we have to create the action. And I just I think that is so amazing. And those jobs. I mean, they're more sustainable, like you were mentioning that you pay higher. They're typically more respected and communities because they're held by men. I mean that I think is again universal, not just Uganda, right? We're looking…
Jamila Mayanja: 32:53
Can I tell you story of one of our girl she's called Jennifer and she comes from the far east of Uganda? And when she came to us, its half father really, I was very empowered by this gentleman. His the father has himself who enrolled her. And he kept on saying, I don't know if this is going to work out she failed. She failed in school. She's a failure. But I'm just doing this because I'm I love my daughter so much. So when COVID happened, Jennifer was a heat so she learned electrical engineering. And she had not yet even got her qualification. But during COVID the lockdown last year she was the one who was doing most of the electrical works in their village down there. In my UK. Everybody calls her engineer Jennifer, that the father called me crying and she he cannot believe it is like oh my god like the difference that changed. It has changed everything for her the family. The father walks like a king in the village because had his daughter is being called an engineer. Like you could think she runs the village but just because she's stood out and she said no to the father accept it and say no to the fact that the society's thought said fold the elbow exams so she's stupid, but she was actually talented. And it's amazing. I don't have to tell you this. It's amazing. Like she can't stop saying thank you. But yes, it's a saying thank you because now she inspired more young women in the north to enroll for the program. So it's amazing.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 34:37
Yeah, oh my goodness, I won that what I really thought of is my dad when he gets to say like how proud he is of his girls. And I know that that's something that a lot of fathers look to their, their sons to be that person that they're proud of. Right? And they decide that their daughters are going to be that person So, I again, I just love that this creates a space where the girls get to be heroes and get to be the strong ones and get to be confident and have more control over their bodies and their lives and their livelihoods. So he just so I just am really enraptured by this whole program. And I'm just so grateful that we're connected, and I get to learn more about the work you're doing.
Jamila Mayanja: 35:29
Yeah, when you come to Uganda, it will be nice for you to come and check it out. At our centre, we've set up a full centre Learning Centre in the in the central and we plan when we get funds to set up all these learning centers from all over the country. But start with the centre then going to the east, because before lockdown, we even had foster facilities where we'd get girls from all over the country, and land but because of COVID, we have to limit the numbers. So we plan to make sure we have centers in the different parts of the country, and have them well equipped. So we make sure with each girl that comes in and pays to take up that fee, that it helps us enroll another girl who can manage the fee to be enrolled. So it's the same thing with a bag, each bag we sell, we make another bag that we give out for free. So all our clients who are buying or enrolling their daughters actually know that and they do that self willing, because they know if my daughter of an old hat is free, it's going to help another girl get the same exact impairments that she couldn't afford, or because that vocational skilling or hands on schooling is quite expensive. So sometimes funding has reduced with decide to, before we were doing only give doing looking for funds and getting out but we need it to be sustainable. So we have a dream of making sure we reach most of the girls in the country, and later grow even out of instead of Uganda to East Africa and the whole of Africa.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 37:03
I'm really excited to see you achieve your goal because I feel like nothing is going to get in your way. So I hope that people listening are really inspired to learn more. And we can I guess talk a little bit about this now that I know one of your dreams too is to connect with travelers when they come to Uganda to share them the product the show them the projects and have this become more of an educational experience. And kind of a community based tourism experience as well. So I know that I will be there. So I'm grateful that I will get to have that experience. But for others that are planning to come to Uganda, just make sure that you can reach out to me, you can reach out to Jamila and kind of be the beta test for what this program will look like in the future and kind of know that it's in the works, because I think that will be really powerful because for me as a traveler, those are the experiences that really connect me to a place and make me feel like I'm a part of that world and that, that we're all having this shared human experience like those moments are so valuable. And so I really encourage people to seek that out and not just not just go somewhere to go on safari or see it because it's a beautiful destination, but to actually really be immersed with people and learn about what their daily lives are and to celebrate programs like this. So I hope this really goes well for you. We so we talked about girls with tools smart base for girls, do you want to walk through either her startup or the girl’s health program or mentorship? Is there one of those that you'd like to expand upon?
Jamila Mayanja: 39:01
So those are all embedded within the both of the programs because the girls which was in the [Inaudible 39:07] exam main programs, so how startup is actually we've changed it to the business girl magic is really for young girls who the girls who have already graduated from the gods with tools, or young women who are studied up businesses, and they own their own businesses. So we started her startup to try and create, get mentorship and connect young women who have started up businesses, to mentors likeminded women who have been able to develop in business to give them inspired and running and determined not to give up on their startups. So we call it now the business girl magical will organize coffee talks for the young girls for the young women who've already started businesses, mostly from the girls with tools and the ones who are already out there and have their own different businesses to keep them running. And to give them like inspired that the women out there who have done it, who started where you're starting. So you can make it don't give up on your businesses. So that's embedded in all the programs and mostly the guys with tools. So the health is also still it comes with a menstrual hygiene, but it mostly comes in with the girls with tools. Because at our centre what we do, we, since we empower others from all over the community, we do not care if she has a kids, or she has like whatever she comes with most important thing that she wants to steal. So we noticed when we're enrolling them when we're having, we're having the ones in hostel, we girls go through a lot of health issues, and sometimes we can't access them. So we do what we call peer collaborators, and peer trainers that were trained in trained in health matters that they can talk to the girls, mostly the ones in Gaza tools. And at the centre, we make sure we have like a daycare for their kids, so that they can be have free time when they're studying. And they're okay to know their kids are being taken care of. We have mental health awareness, this for them to understand, for you to be successful at work, your new mental health comes first you need to take care of yourself, you need to eat trade, we have yoga and self defense classes there, so that they can appreciate that their health comes first. They need as much as you're working to survive and get money, you need to take care of your health and you Kids Health so that you can be able to achieve the goals you want to achieve. So this is done for the gods, which was the centre we organize different health camps. And we do also peer collaborators that can go into the community and talk about talk to young women and girls, the importance of taking care of their health, their mental sexual health, so that they can always achieve and not be and, and be able to take care of the generations that come after them. Yeah, so those are all embedded in the both the programs but our main programs that are girls with tools and smart box for girls.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 42:09
I think that is also so brilliant. As an entrepreneur who spends a lot of time in women's circles of entrepreneurs here in the US. Those are the themes we talk about, like who who's going to mentor us, who's going to hold us accountable as our businesses grow so that when you come up against the challenges that you'll face, you have a team that you can count on. Because when you own your own business, you don't have someone that you can lean on for support often, and so you really need that enable to ensure success. And then looking at you know, personal health care, mental care, like the I think that's what we spend a lot of time focusing on to knowing that if you put everything into your business, without taking care of yourself, then your business will still fail. And I'm like learning how to understand how all of those pieces come together are so important. And I love that that is built into the model that you have created so that it is again like this really holistic entity, like you're not just coming for this one piece and then sent out into the world without everything you need to actually succeed. And so I think…
Jamila Mayanja: 43:25
Actually, we noticed COVID what we used to do in COVID happen this lockdown. So we had just opened up the school, and we had so much food because we provide within lunch and, and SAP are the ones who stay around. So we did like a food give out for the women who are in our neighborhood. So much so we had a second lockdown this year. So this time we didn't have food because we're out of funds and everything. And this also led me and challenge me like to empower the young women also in urban farming. Because as much as you're working and you need to eat so we assist you when you're saying holistic, we've really tried to make sure we put them in Slip space and assess of mind that everything is encompassed to make sure you achieve and you succeed, to try and support them in every angle, but of course maximize on the other important things. So right now at our centre, every girl owns like a plant or vegetable that they can grow, to teach them to inspire them that when they go back in their small spaces, even when they can't access land, they can grow spinach, they can grow tomatoes, they can grow onions, and it's amazing how something small can also change our mindset as much as she's a mechanic and she has something growing. She notches and she's seeing it like she's mature and you're like a kid and later she has to eat it has reduced costs. So when you holistically empower and support young women they can massively achieve Most of these young women, because now they know, they know how to take care of themselves, health wise, they know how to even grow their own food. They know they have the hands on skills, to give them economical sustainability, they easily take they're there. Now they're quick to take their kids scored, they're quick to make sure their kids didn't go through the issues they went through, they're easy to say no to gender based violence. It's like a ripple effect. Like it brings out the nation that when you empower a woman, you empower the nation, like, the woman will make sure when she's empowered and the knowledge is received, will trickle down generations to generations. So it's very important when we design programs to design solutions. Even if you can't holistically make it, you bring on partners that can actually come on board. So I'm a very big believer on partnerships, holistically, create a solution that will help a woman achieve and aspire because when she achieves and aspires, she'll be able to make sure this trickles down to the generations that come after her. And yeah, it's amazing.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 46:09
Oh, I mean, I just don't want anyone to say anything else that so like, I just thought it I, I love how you've shared that. I mean, this is the message that I try to share as much as possible is that it's not it's not about educating one girl and keeping one girl in school, like anything you do for one girl is so much far reaching beyond the one girl. And it's, it's just, it's so important. And like you said, it will change your whole country, it will change it will change our world. If we can figure out how to create gender equity and keep girls in school and progressing forward and being equal members of our communities around the world. So yeah, with that I don't notice there anything else that you want to share? How can people if they want to connect with you? How can they find you and how can they support you?
Jamila Mayanja: 47:13
So we are expanding our small bags program in South Africa, and Limpopo. So with called Echo’s foundation there, we plan to have sales there be business to business where they would buy for people don't give out and or business to consumer. And with each bubble you're selling in South Africa, you're making another that we're going to give out for free in, Uganda. And you're also even right now. Well, I'm at a summit in Ghana, we are also expanding to Ghana, to try and help so many women with us my back to expand us man back to be impactful for young girls in all over Africa. And later on, we're also expanding to Tanzania. So if you're in any of these countries, most of all South Africa or Ghana, and you feel you would love to support or affiliate with us, you can always contact me by our pages. For Smart Girls Uganda, and also my personal pages. I'm very quick to reply. I'm always on social media, because people. They're quite amazing people out in the world, who even just tell you, I love what you're doing. Can I buy five bucks for girls, so you can contact me on my pages Jamila Mayanja on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and also Smart Girls Foundation, Uganda Facebook, Smart Girls [Inaudible 48:36] on Instagram and Twitter. And I'm also on LinkedIn, and so Smart Girls on LinkedIn. So in any way you'd want to just chat, if anybody just wants to chat, he wants to be inspired or share might tell you about more about the girls we help. Or if you wanted to a bag or two for girl all works out, or you have a connection. So I'm always welcome. I'm always talking to people I am. I'm a very big believer of your networks or your net worth. I feel they have taken me in places that have helped me helped more girls and women in whatever I do both in Uganda and out of Uganda, because the women have meant in South Africa. Oh my god, the girls, the women I'm partnering with in South Africa is off the hook like they are doing it themselves. They are helping me themselves. So it's because of the networks and people understanding and believing the work they do. And because I do it with a clean heart. I will you woke me up at night and asked me and I will immediately tell you women and girls empowerment and point out so thank you so much Christine for giving me the platform to share. And I hope more people like you can come to Uganda through because as you said we're trying to have under us with so many people in all over the world where we have so much smuggles and want to travel to Uganda or even in other countries that we are going to base in, going forward we are scaling in to have our own give back community experience, whereby even if you come with your own travel costs, or you come through a travel agency, we give you a give back experience. So you do not have to donate directly, you might want to come and donate with your own [Inaudible 50:22], your own smile, your own hug. So it all works in whatever way that anybody wants it.
Christine Winebrenner Irick: 50:29
Yeah, I appreciate that all so much. I love that you said it's so ingrained in your heart that if you were working from a deep sleep, you would know exactly what you do. Again, like I feel, I feel like we have a very similar mission. And that's for me, and I know that your network will do wonderful things because as you said, it's coming from your heart. It's not about it's not about you, it's about your love and your passion and how many girls that you can encourage to have big, beautiful lives. So thank you so much like this is really for me the essence of soul of travel. So I appreciate this time together and our connection and I look forward to seeing it grow.
Jamila Mayanja: 51:17
Thank you.