Musana Empowerment Center (MEC)

I actually was given a tour of MEC two days in a row, October 25th and 26th, because on the second day, I tagged along with a team from Flatirons Community Church in Colorado. Jesse, Micah, and Pastor Jim stayed at the guest house for a few days, so I got to have meals with them and move around with them! They're awesome. 

Anyways, MEC! Walking over to MEC on the 26th, Pastor Jim, Jesse, and Micah were welcomed with singing and dancing. Juliet, the head of MEC, greeted us and escorted us in through the gate. The MEC girls tied skirts and furs around us guests and wanted us to dance. Their dancing was accompanied by singing and drums. They were so fun to watch!

After the girls' welcome performance, Juliet took us back outside the gate to look at the mural that had been painted on the surrounding wall. "What do you see?" she asked us. On the far left of the mural were people wearing dark colors, heads downcast, giving off the feeling of hopelessness. Once they reach the sun, Musana's logo, their colors changed to bright ones, their hands were in the air, and they seemed joyful. We shared with Juliet our observations, and she nodded and said that once the girls came to Musana, they were given hope and empowerment.

Juliet led us back inside and told us that many women here in Uganda are teen moms, single mothers of multiple children, or women with little education - sometimes all three. By age 38, many women may have six or seven kids. Some girls may even be pregnant by 14 or 15. She said that a large number of the men in this country are irresponsible. Also, after the two-year period where Ugandan schools shut down due to COVID, many girls had to find work and never went back to school. Or, they got pregnant and could not continue their education while they were raising a newborn. Many other circumstances along those lines may be the reason for the hopelessness and brokenness that women face as they are coming to MEC for the first time.

Juliet pointed right at her temple and said, "Empowerment starts here." Juliet and her staff love the girls who come in as their own, and that starts with reminding them that they are not failures, they can provide for their families, and they can have hope in God's plan for their lives. The next step is to equip them with a lifelong skill. While at MEC, they are taught either tailoring, knitting, or hair dressing. Their training runs from August to April with a holiday break in the middle. If the women have babies, there is a daycare where they are watched and cared for while the mom's are learning their skill during the day. Then, the moms do not have to worry about their babies being home alone. When the girls learn hairdressing, they are given a comb and a stool. They are not given all the advanced tools or equipment because they are taught that they can work and make money for themselves even with little. They all practice on each other! I told them that at some point I would return for them to do my hair, and they smiled and said they were excited. 

 

MEC has a hair salon with all the fancy products and equipment, which is used for outside customers who want their hair done. I don't remember if the girls are given some training there as well just for experience. 

The women who are taught tailoring and knitting are allowed to make clothes to sell for their own profit and also help with the uniforms for some of the Musana schools. This is a really cool aspect of Musana's sustainability. 

Pictured directly above is Prossy. Prossy does the work that is tedious but so important. She goes through every single uniform and makes sure that it is just perfect with no loose threads or missed stitches. 

Still another room is for production. If I remember correctly, Juliet calls this the fireworks room. This is where the logos are put on the uniforms and where all the clothes, accessories, baskets, coasters, wine sleeves are displayed. Some of the items are brought back to the US to be sold and some are sold locally in Iganga. 

Some of the women who have been through MEC's program have come back to work in the production room, helping with uniforms and other goods that they were taught how to make. 

These MEC girls, especially the ones learning hairdressing, became some of my friends and even took me on a super fun adventure that I will write about in one of my future blogs!