Because we believe. . .

The eyes of a girl child slowly open as the rising of the sun brings the village to life. It takes a moment for her to become fully coherent. Suddenly it hits her, today is her very first day of school. Raw emotions overwhelm her. Excitement, fear of the unknown, anxiousness, anticipation, eagerness, all in a split instant that has her mind reeling. She gets to her feet and as she is getting ready and between bites of breakfast, she is talking a mile a minute to her mom expressing all her emotions. The mom looks on with pride and just nods because there is no break for her to get a word in.



It is this moment that the mom has been waiting for. The months of work harvesting and preparing the shea nuts for market have finally come to fruition. Some were processed in the traditional fashion and sold locally as a source of nutrition. Some where dried and sold to the buyer so they could be cold pressed into what is believed to be the world’s most premium shea butter. At this moment it does not matter. All that matters is that the school fees are paid, and one more Ugandan girl child is given the opportunity to get an education.



Jump ahead a few years. The same child, who is now a young woman, opens her eyes to the sun once more. The same flood of emotions overwhelms her once again as it did so many years ago. This time it is her first day of university. Her mother looks on with the pride only she can feel. Her hard work has given this beautiful young girl and her family the chance at a better life. In time it may improve the life of the entire village.



We believe this little narrative could be played out time and time again in the villages of Uganda. It is this belief that has been one of the driving forces of Secrets of Uganda. Stella, the chief founding member, is herself a member of the Acholi Tribe of Northern Uganda. Along with her husband, Sheldon, a Canadian by birth, she has seen the struggles of the people and especially the women of Uganda. She also believes that the natural resources and products of Uganda have not had the attention they deserve. The desire of Secrets of Uganda is to open the world up to what Uganda has to offer and, in the process, increase the demand which will then allow the women access to more income from the shea butter production. This increase in income can then translate into more children having what they require to get a decent education. As a recipient of a scholarship, Stella’s plan is to have Secrets of Uganda implement a scholarship as well. This has been part of the plan since the inception of Secrets of Uganda and is being developed as you read this. One of our core purposes is to help educate those that would otherwise not have the opportunity. With our success comes their success. Educating one person can potentially educate a whole village in time. Along with you, we know we can achieve this goal.



Thank you.