Women of Kireka

WoK has spent the first few years developing its organizational structure and working model. With a team comfortable working together and aware of quality and timeliness demands, WoK is ready to diversify its product line and better secure financial sustainability. We believe that the following timeline will help us achieve this goal: • Short-term goals: By September, WoK will have developed a small line of metal/paper bead and wood/paper bead jewelry to test on the marketplace and eventually begin selling online and in boutiques. Within the next four months, we will have also redone our website and adjusted our price points to accommodate a wider market. Working with our new marketing volunteer and a set of new marketing materials, we will also have approached a minimum of twenty boutiques on stocking WoK jewelry. We will also be applying to grant programs in order to fund a full time coordinator in Uganda and eventually a part-time marketing coordinator in the US or Canada. By next summer, we will have developed and introduced a line of new home wares including paper bowls, beverage sleeves and cup coasters. • 2-5 year goals: Within the next five years, we hope to expand in two directions: (1) tailoring (we currently have $1,000 to invest in this expansion) and (2) collaborating with local designers and craft-store owners who would design products for the women to create. Along with these expansions, we want to have secured funding and hired a full-time, paid local coordinator and a part-time, paid marketing coordinator in the US or Canada. I will be applying for a yearlong fellowship to fill this position in 2012-13 and WoK is also looking for grant funding opportunities to assist with these salaries. • 10-year goals: Within the next ten years, WoK will be an independent and self-sustaining social business. At this point, WoK will only rely on PD for its services in exploring and engaging the international marketplace through the website and Western retailers. Through product diversification and increased revenue, WoK also hopes to expand and accommodate new members. Since 2008, we have learned a number of key lessons. In particular, we began to understand, through the internship program, the importance of having at least one full-time staff member based in Uganda. Through our school fees funding program, we also learned about the role of charity in undermining accountability and creativity. In our search for funding opportunities, we developed a better understanding of how the ‘development’ marketplace is oriented towards funding NGOs rather than social enterprise models. We also now recognize the importance of core financial investments: if WoK received a sufficient grant to cover the salaries of two employees in a year (totaling about $15,000 for a part time Canada/US based marketing coordinator and $10,000 for a full-time Uganda-based coordinator), we would undoubtedly be able to reach financial sustainability within that year. The following three statistics illustrate the kind of impact Women of Kireka has had so far: • We have helped each woman double their salary from $30 USD a month working on the quarry to around $60 USD a month working with WOK. • WoK members have independently started a savings scheme. Each woman pays 5,000 UGX into a funding pool every week and one woman receives the savings on a weekly rotating basis. This means that each week, one woman receives an additional 70,000 UGX. • Last year, WoK helped pay full or partial school fees for a total of 55 of its members’ children.