Getting Some Advice

At a cafe in Kampala, one morning not long ago, three of us met for a conversation. Alex and I had travelled from Buhugu the previous day, and Dorothy had arrived from Mozambique on a late flight. She'd be leaving for the US in a matter of days, and made time to meet us - to talk about chickens.

Dorothy founded an organisation that's doing some interesting work in a rural community in Uganda (Jinja district). Women's Center for Job Creation (WCFJC) is all about partnering with low income women and helping them scale up their income generating activities. It's high powered business consulting meet resourceful rural women. An MBA and US corporate experience meet goat and poultry ventures. It's women (for the most part) figuring out how to break the patterns of the world they find themselves in.

The women of WCFJC having a discussion. Dressed in blue is Dorothy.

We count WCFJC among our friends, and also clients. The monthly news updates are delivered to the web by Buhugu IT. But, when we were thinking up our poultry project, it occurred to us that we could learn much from WCFJC.

Over coffee and soda, Alex and Dorothy discussed all things chicken. It was an open and spirited exchange. It's conversations like this that spark and mould ideas that eventually find expression as a "project".

There was something unusual about it too. It is not common to find people involved in grassroots initiatives sharing openly. Perhaps it's the competition for funding or perhaps it's a fear of admitting difficulties or failures. It's a pity. For by sharing with us her ideas, contacts, successes and also challenges, Dorothy, and WCFJC, have helped us better prepare for our experiment.

Thank you, Dorothy.