Mentor Fiona Lifts Up Youth and Breaks Down Gender Barriers in Northern Uganda
For nearly eighteen years - throughout the 1990s and early 2000s - the insurgence of the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda incited violence. Today, the region still grapples with high rates of poverty, low primary and secondary school enrollment rates, and underdeveloped infrastructure. For young people, these challenges are especially acute, and youth unemployment is higher here than in any other region of Uganda.
In spite of this, young people in Northern Uganda and young women in particular – like Educate! Mentor Fiona – have been driving progress and acting as agents of positive change for their communities.
Captivated by the entrepreneurial spirit early on, Fiona had just started her first small-scale agricultural enterprise when she encountered Educate!. Drawn to the program’s focus on practical and entrepreneurial skills, she never missed a skills course lesson and participated eagerly in the interactive curriculum delivered by her Educate! Mentor – a confident young women named Pamela. Through the Student Business Club, Fiona learned how to conduct market research, exercise critical thinking and creativity, and manage her finances. Leveraging these skills, she applied what she was learning in the classroom to her own enterprise, and began scaling up her business. Fiona identified market gaps where she could expand her product line, invested in new materials, and experimented with unique marketing strategies.
Today, Fiona currently runs a successful business manufacturing liquid soap. Her buyers include the National Teacher’s College, local hotels, primary schools, and restaurants. Using the heard-earned income from her business, Fiona has enrolled at Gulu University, and she spends her weekends working towards a degree in business administration.
Fiona is also first-year Educate! Mentor, following in the footsteps of her Mentor, Pamela. “Educate! introduced me to motivational mentors who taught me the skills, creativity, and perseverance to thrive. It is because of Educate! that I am able to shine,” she says. Fiona juggles a busy schedule, balancing her classes, business, and duties as a Mentor. She’s able to manage it because of her passion for giving back to the youth in her community - especially young girls. In addition to her role as a Mentor, Fiona serves as a Youth Peacemaker with the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI). As a Peacemaker, she engages in community dialogue, teaches conflict resolution, and participates in the development of youth-led businesses. Currently, she’s working with a coalition of youth to launch a new goat-rearing enterprise.
As a Mentor, leader in her community, and young business owner, Fiona knows that she’s a role model for other young women in her community, and she has a unique opportunity to support them in achieving their full potential. Most recently, Fiona has started holding trainings in her home, purchasing large quantities of soap-making materials with her own money, in an effort to help girls launch their own income generating activities. The success of this initiative has filled her with pride, as many of the young girls who attend her trainings have started their own enterprises and now contribute to their school fees and family’s living expenses.
“As a woman, you don’t need to be reliant on someone.”
- Fiona, Educate! Mentor & Business Owner
After graduating from University, Fiona plans to pursue a post-graduate degree in supply-chain management and would one day like to leverage her knack for managing money as an accountant. Although formal employment in her community is scarce, she believes she’s acquired the foundational tools that will help her successfully navigate these challenges to achieve her goals. And as she looks to the future, she plans to continue to lift up those around her, creating ripple effects across the region through the exponential nature of women’s empowerment.