My name is Mirembe Claire. I am 24 years old. I am a fresh graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology. I lost my mother 6 years ago just as I completed my senior six exams. She left behind a five months premature baby, two underage boys and my then 18 year old self. Prior to her death she was the major bread winner for our family, her untimely death made it difficult to still have what we knew as a normal life. The first year of her death, I spent it taking care of my premature baby sister before I joined University. I was always worried about what the future held for me and my siblings, I think that uncertainty cannot be put to rest entirely, given that my mother didn’t have the time to set her affairs in order.
I Joined the MEMPROW Girls’ Network five years ago and I must say, my journey so far has been educative, informative, fun and definitely not lonely. I have been fortunate to attend various trainings, Intergenerational dialogues and Feminist conversations with MEMPROW. Each one has impacted my life and those around me with so much good. A few of the trainings include; Personal and Organizational Management, Feminist Consciousness and Analytical Skills, Entrepreneurship/ Business Management Training, feminist conversations on; Masculinity and Femininity, Feminist Living, Feminism and Personality to mention but a few.
Through the feminist conversations , I got to put an actual well understood definition to who a feminist is, how to stand up for equal rights for and among women by first of all being conscious of what my rights are as a woman.
Two years ago, I started an events décor business to enable me have a source of income even after I graduated. Unfortunately last year when it had just started to pick up, we were hit by a worldwide pandemic that got me panicking and looking for a way forward. I got to attend the entrepreneurship training at MEMPROW as soon as the lockdown was lifted. In this training, as a group we got to address how COVID 19 affected our businesses and find solutions to the issues we had. I also got to realize that I wasn’t doing a few things right for the growth and success of my business. I got to understand the importance of bookkeeping besides just taking notes on my profits and expenditure that also enables me to set realistic goals for my business that is to say whether my business is eligible for a loan or not, if am able to handle new partnerships or put the discussion on hold. I also got to realize that people trust you with their money if they actually get to meet you in person which is a precise and effective marketing strategy for me, I get to tell people about my business each chance I meet new people. All these tips and more are helping me make wiser decisions when it comes to business.
I have been trying to get my relatives to resolve certain matters regarding my late mother`s property so that my siblings can get a good education but all my efforts were not yielding results because of the conflict between my grandmother and my step father. All this was too much for me to handle but I thought I had to just endure everything since I didn’t know any better, with time it started affecting the other areas in my life. However, when I attended a training that involved self-care in advocacy, I got to learn how to take care of myself while taking care of others too. This has enabled me to keep emotionally stable while I deal with the many family challenges. All this is just a tip of the ice burg from my ongoing journey with MEMPROW. I thank MEMPROW for giving young women, such as myself, an amazing opportunity to realize and tap into the potential that women carry to change the world.
