Cake Baking for Youth Empowerment in Uganda

Donors

Since 2016 when we initiated the cake baking empowerment skills program a total of 329 LGBTIQ persons have benefited with both cake baking skills and financial literacy training, so far this half year, we have added 35 Participants making it to 364 beneficiaries and looking forward to having more training.

On the 3rd and 4th of March 2022, we conducted a two days cake baking empowerment skills training for 20 LGT persons at samson hotel in kabale district found in western Uganda. Selected participants gathered are six lesbians, Ten gay men, four transgender women.

On the 16th and 17th of March 2022, we also conducted a two days cake baking empowerment skills training for 15 participants in Rukungiri district at Rukungiri Inn. Selected participants were ten gay men, two transgender women, one lesbian and two bisexual men.

With our strong growing partnership with kiddawalime bakery, a renowned company bakery here in western Uganda with branches in most districts, it has helped us to train and equip our participants with adequate practical cake baking skills and bakery management.
During our trainings both in kabaale and Rukungiri districts, MRF’s office administrator Mr. Osbert Tusiime gave a brief description of the cake baking project and the need to achieve the Five projects objectives which included to;

•Increase knowledge and skills in financial literacy, cake baking and bakery management
•Improve household income
•Provide life time baking skills
•Foster self-reliance•Increase job creation.

While in Kabale, we invited the Resident district commissioner (RDC) to officially open the training, in his opening remarks, he urged participants to utilize skills and opportunities and put in use whatever equipped with, he thanked MRF for such innovations as they fight unemployment, as they contribute to sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the country.

We usually choose previous beneficiaries to break the ice about our cake baking skills training and this time one of our 2018 beneficiaries Mr. boldwin Atwiine, introduced participants to the theory part of the training from being a clean baker and producing good shaped quality cakes as one way to bring more customers. Mr. boldwin is a 23- year-old gay man who had been disowned by parents, and drooped out of school but due the cake baking skills training that have earned him a living though his start up cake baking business, he has slowly built acceptance with his parent who have now boosted his business by providing him with more capital to invest in his business.

“I’m 100% certain that we can build broken acceptance with our families, economic empowerment skills trainings, equipping rural LGBTIQ people with financial literacy trainings and giving out loans or startup capital leads to financial independence and growth hence building wealth among the LGBTIQcommunities, and this can later build acceptance. Every parent needs a rich kid”, Said the finance manager of MRF, Mr. Flavour K during the training.

MRF monitoring team that compromises of the executive director Mr. Raymond, the programs director Ms. Janet and two volunteers Maria and Mugisha usually visits sites where the participants are having the empowerment trainings from, and continue to do follow up visits thought the enter year, during the visits, the teams offer, advices on certain things like enhancement of business, mitigating risks and support for growth.

The trainings are conducted in partnership with kiddawalime as a host and some of our previous beneficiaries as facilitators and are conducted in our local language of Runyakole – Rukiga commonly used in our grassroot areas and this helps participants to better understand well what is being taught.

warm regards