It wouldn't happen without them. This group of people are leaders of amazing Organisation In Uganda : Kimuli Fashionability . It's because of the them, I have this amazing opportunity to experience their culture and share mine.
Namujju Juliet
Director
When I was six years old my father got in a terrible accident. He became lame because his legs were amputated. He lost his job and was not able to fend for the family. He died miserably. My mother remained sad, lonely and died too soon after. I was neglected, abandoned and lacked a cared for childhood. I hated myself to the level of regretting why I was born.
I was then raised by my poor grandmother who was a tailor. She inspired me to start making my own dolls from waste, using a hand needle since she could not afford buying me a doll. The tailoring with my grandmother supported my school fees and when I completed high school, I went for a short course in Fashion and Design. Founding Kimuli Fashionability gave me the chance to transform my difficult past into a strength to fight for inclusion of people with disabilities and for environmental conservation through upcycling.
Kiggundu Cyrus
Director
In the morning of 22nd july-2002 I got the devastating news that my father, had got a terrible accident and he was in coma, That’s the day I saw my future deteriorating to zero point, the vulnerability took him almost 4 years being nursed at home, his limbs were damaged hence was not able to any more farming yet he was illiterate and in Africa persons with disabilities are excluded in all affairs of our societies.
The double burden of looking for food, nursing and fees payments remained in one hand of the jobless poor mother. In that entire situation, poverty engulfed my family severely, our studies were all no more, my 3 brothers became drop-outs and 3 sisters where pregnant at the early teen-age. I can’t remember how many times I was chassed to go back for fees but due to my love for education I was forced to go for work on people’s farms to look for school fees and food which was a real hustle. This means that me reaching high school, it is the highest level of education attained in my family.
With such a kind of a painful story, being a victim of disability that almost destroyed my life and family just motivated me to come out and speak out for those who can’t speak for themselves. Founding Kimuli Fashionability gave me the chance to transform my difficult past into strength to fight for equal treatment of people, inclusion of people with disabilities and for environmental conservation through turning waste into fashion.
Kavuma John Mary
Director
I am Kavuma Johnmary an orphan aged 23, from Uganda. The year 2003 was such a time to remember when severe hunger struck due to a prolonged drought which was believed to have been caused by environmental degradation like over cutting of trees. I witnessed people dying of hunger for the first time sufferings where most families could sleep on empty stomachs or a glass of water to those who could access, People abandoned their families that later caused death. Plastic waste disposal is a monger the causes of environmental degradation.
Accumulating day by day everywhere due to poor disposal, according to the National environment authority (NEMA), it shows that 600 tonnes of plastic waste is poorly disposed in Uganda every day, connecting it to my personal story all the sufferings we passed through became my inspiration to fight for a green planet through Up-cycling plastic as one of the causes of drought and degradation that affected the lives of many people in my community. I decided to start up environmentally conserving initiatives to leave our planet flourishing to the next generations.