Fauza grew up in a dysfunctional Muslim family in the Namuwongo slum. In her middle teens, she was in a dance group and using drugs, barely getting by.
She joined Touch the Slum in January 2021 and is now on staff as the Lead on our Media team and a documentary film maker.
This is her story.
Blessings,
Jennings
PS It costs $35/mo for us to take a girl like Fauza through Skills for Life, where they can become literate and learn a vocational skill that will allow them to earn a sustainable living. By donating today, you can impact these girls for the rest of their lives!
Last week, we hosted Ray Majanga as he did a week long workshop for the media team on documentary filmmaking. It was a long 6 days for the team, as you can see from Fauza in the photo above (haha!), but they did an amazing job and soaked up knowledge like a sponge.
Our media team is “home grown.” Monica and Fauza were our first two students under Teacher Deo. They also learned a lot from Ray’s own mentor, Bob Ditty, when he came to visit. Monica and Fauza are now on our staff as our official photographer (Monica) and videographer/filmmaker (Fauza).
Monica and a few others who have gone through our course now have their own photography business called Hype Media — they do wedding and event photography, and do an amazing job!
We focus a lot on media, mostly video, and spend a lot of time and energy to create great content.
Why?
The world is now digital, and most people will never go to Uganda. People have short attention spans, too, thanks to the internet, and you have to capture their attention. Video is the best medium for that quick “HEY LOOK AT ME!” opportunity.
While we can’t bring you ALL the sensations of Uganda, like smell of the slum (bad) or the taste of the food (amazing), we can bring you sights and sounds so that you can connect with the people, the place, and the work. The genius of DonorSee’s founder, Grett Glyer, was exactly this: for donors to SEE both the need and the way their money was making an impact.
We use that in all our work, not just on DonorSee, because it is so impactful. This is why I encourage you to visit DonorSee and our Instagram page every day to see — actually SEE — the impact that you are making with your donations, your encouragement, and your thoughts and prayers.
We can’t thank you enough!
Mwebele nnyo!
Jennings
PS We now have TEXT TO GIVE in the US! It’s so easy! Just dial 801801 on your smart phone and put in the message TOUCHTHESLUM. It’s quick and easy, and you can easily give again later or even become a monthly donor via SMS.
For Canadian donors, use 1-855-575-7888 with campaign ID 505470.
In early 2022, we raised the funds on DonorSee to create a computer lab. One of the main drivers for this project was that the government had used the pandemic lockdowns as the impetus for moving many of its services online.
Things like National ID, medical service access, and more were no longer available in person — and thus no longer available to the large percentage of the population (about 50%) who are illiterate and the more than 70% who do not have access to computers or the internet.
So at the same time as we were creating vocational literacy through Skills for Life, and linguistic and mathematical literacy through the Literacy Program, we instituted Digital Literacy so that our girls wouldn’t be left behind.
Teachers Justin and Gloria make sure their students can type (preferably with more than two fingers!), use Word and Excel at their most basic, and navigate the internet to access services and information.
The girls use the computers when they are preparing for exams, to research designs in African braiding and fashion.
The Photography and Videography students use the computers to edit their work.
Some girls are planning to use their skills to earn money by typing forms and documents for those in the slum who can’t do it for themselves.
The computer lab is an integral part of our Holistic Literacy philosophy and it was funded 100% by YOUR donations. We can’t thank you enough!
Mwebele nyo!
Jennings
PS The computer lab was a Large project on DonorSee. We’re allowed to have one Large project (over $500) at a time on the platform — our current one is the farm, which is 85% funded. We have several Large projects ready to go once the farm is fully funded. Can you help us get there? 100% goes to the project! Just click!
