How an Impromptu Sales Pitch Helped Me Rethink the Future of EQUATE Foundation.

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Salespeople no longer come to us directly. They set traps for you to go to them instead.

Side Note: We recently discovered that the same issue that made mom undergo surgery last year reoccurred.

So last week, right in the middle of hospital shenanigans, I decided to step aside for a cuppa. It was just 2 hospital visits and I’d already made friends with those coffee girlies.

They offered a seat this time. I played a bit with the keys before I told them that someone may have forgotten their keys.

The lady who was seated a few centimetres from me declared that they’re hers and that she was already coming to talk to me.

Me?

Yes!

Me to me: oh shoot!

Me: ahhh okay…?

Her: you know I work with Old Mutual so I want to tell you about it.

I’ve been curious about Old Mutual. I’d seen those influencer ads but I hadn’t fully understood them so I waited for her as she had asked.

She tried to tell me about how Unit Trusts and T-bonds work. She confused me somewhere with her calculations. She wasn’t sure of the numbers so she checked on her phone but even after that, nothing clicked but in the middle of our sales chat, I figured I could ask her about how I should go about a long term plan for Fabian and Favour’s education.

Backstory:

The idea behind Equate Foundation was to give underprivileged children equal access to education. From 2014, I ran charity outreaches that shared food and clothes every Christmas, but in 2019, I saw how less impactful that was.

When I took time with the Sustainable Development Goals, Education clicked. I shared the idea with the kind people I’d done charity with for the 5 years. Some were scared but I convinced them this is doable.

With this work, I noticed that I majorly draw faith from how things looked impossible for my mom but she made them work. I was sure that as a “village” there was so much that can be done for these children.

We started out well with two beneficiaries that were in a government-funded school.

We talk about how COVID-19 terribly shook different entities but no one talks about how messy it is when a virus forces itself to be a twin to a newly birthed idea. The very people I walked this journey with lost jobs and others lost their businesses. The times were so harsh that even those that had pledged to give 10k per month, couldn’t afford it. But in the midst of all that, we managed to have the two complete their Primary level.

Towards the end of 2021, we decided to start afresh. Some people had gotten new jobs. Fabian and Favour entered the chat, but from 2021 to date, I’ve noticed how the monthly contribution model I chose may not be sustainable for the long term. Sometimes money comes in and the terms are fully paid and the other terms are quite a struggle when the funders are faced with life’s hardships.

We started with these kiddies while they were still in middle class. Courtesy of the friends we make, I managed to secure a bursary for these minions for their primary school education. For the last 3 years of our primary, we have had both seasons of great harvest and droughts.

I made a calculation of how much we would need (school fees, school requirements and a little pocket money) to sustain us in school for a full term and the estimation was about UGX. =1,600,000=. With the three people that are still consistent on this cause, we are UGX. =690,000= secured.

Just recently I wondered what it is we can do as a team to pool UGX. =4,8000,000= per year so that we can have money that takes us through a whole class and I still haven’t gotten a concrete idea.

The conversation with the insurance lady made me quickly realise that I could take her offer because insuring then both required the same amount to be collected annually for 5 years…I think. And she said it would be for their secondary school education.

Before solving the future though, I’d rather work with the present pressing need. I am currently looking for =800,000= (0742 733 433) and a sustainable crowdfunding idea that would keep these little ones in school.

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Written by

Nabuguzi. Kiwanuka

Lawyer. Founder, Director, CEO at Equate Foundation. Podcaster - Hash Time with Nabuguzi Kiwanuka. Drawer. Dance lover. Music lover. Risk-taker. Daily learner.

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