“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” The proverb's origin is uncertain, but it undoubtedly came from Uganda. (Straight from Google.)
This has always been the mantra for Speakers for Africa. After visiting and living in Uganda with my mom since 1997, I have seen the best and the worst of charitable organizations (NGOs).
Speakers for Africa stands for education, sustainability and live transparency.
Live transparency, you might say? Well, see, it’s easy to fake a ledger. You can take a picture of 1,000 children and say they are your orphans. No one on this side would ever know. But through Facebook live stream, you cannot cheat.
On top of that, it teaches accountability and education for both sides. They must be honest because we can all see them in real time. And people who donate get to watch their money in action in real time and learn Ugandan culture. And Ugandans get to learn more about sustainable living and not typical handouts— as well as accountability and honesty.
They have a richness that we do not have. Though they may not have any money, and life can be so difficult for them, they have a happiness and a willingness to dance and laugh like you wouldn’t believe. You never see quarreling. You never see fighting. You never see arguing. They are rich in happiness. So our wealth cannot compare. That is why I keep going. I’d rather have that wealth.
Live transparency is a unique technique due to modern technology that exposes everything instantly. So if you donate, you will see every single dollar at work. I take 20% off the top to pay people to travel many many hours to deliver seeds and other agricultural products. It’s only fair and a much better wage than they would receive working in Kampala.
I never make anything. In fact, I probably spent a thousand dollars starting this organization. But I don’t care about the money. Maybe someday I can get some funding to go over, but for right now it is about helping them. And they need it. Badly. Especially the Karamojong in N.E. Uganda. Thankfully I am friends with the Member of Parliament for that district. So I have special access to get them the supplies they need. Honorable Christine and her daughter Joan have been such a big help for our organization.
We are trying to introduce regenerative agriculture. Helping them use fungi and other means, we believe we can save some lives. Because people are literally starving to death. But our model of food drops are always so finite. It runs out. And I want to teach them more about building their own lives. They have everything they need. They just don’t have the education sometimes.
Speakers for Africa is new. It only came because of the success I had through a couple Facebook donation campaigns. I doubled my goal three times and now I am taking it very seriously.
The website still needs some work so check out our Facebook too. The website will be done in a week.
Live transparency are unique techniques due to modern technology that exposes everything. So if you donate, you will see every single dollar on where it is going. I take 20% off the top to pay people to travel many many hours to deliver seeds and other agricultural products. It’s only fair and a much better wage than they would receive working in Kampala.
I never make anything. In fact, I probably spent a thousand dollars starting this organization. But I don’t care about the money. Maybe someday I can get some funding to go over, but for right now it is about helping them. And they need it. Badly. Especially the Karamajong.
(again, still need some work. But should be finished within the week).
If you have any questions you can always call me directly at 360-441-5200 or email us at SpeakersforAfrica07@gmail.com
720-580-1200 @soundmountainent
Sound Mountain Entertainment
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