Cissy is an experienced baker and small businesswoman, but in Uganda’s difficult economy, she can’t make ends meet to sustain herself and cover educational expenses for her two sons, Ethan (13) and Eran (10). She’s fundraising to start teaching baking classes, to bring in more income and to share her skills with others, especially other single mothers.

I met Cissy while I was living in Uganda for my dissertation research in 2001 and 2002. We keep in touch on Facebook. She’s smart and determined, and she loves her boys and wants to give them the best possible chance in life. There is no free public schooling in Uganda; the boys’ combined school fees alone cost around $4000/year.

If you were to order a cake from Cissy, she would bake it and decorate it beautifully for your occasion - even sculpting law textbooks for a graduation celebration. If you were to order lunch at her campus cafe, just outside the capital city of Kampala, she’d make you a plate of katogo, a starchy vegetable stew, with some slices of avocado to garnish the plate, and maybe a chapati, a fried flatbread reflecting the Indian influence on Uganda’s food culture. She’s a skilled baker and cook, and has run both of these businesses for years. But the economy in Uganda is tough; 60% of Ugandans live on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank. When money is tight, students don’t eat at cafes, and people don’t order cakes.

Remember during Covid lockdown, when everyone was learning to bake? (At our house, it was olive bread and macarons!) It turns out that happened in Uganda, too. So over the past few years, Cissy’s found that fewer people are ordering cakes - but more people are asking her about lessons, to learn more baking and decorating skills themselves.

Working with a small business consultant, Cissy has developed a detailed proposal to expand and diversify her confectionery business by starting to teach baking and cake decorating classes. As part of this plan, Cissy has a specific goal of paying it forward by training at least 10 other single mothers in hands-on skills that they can use to generate income as well, even if that means subsidizing some classes so they’re within reach for women with limited resources.Cissy also plans to start baking more everyday treats to sell herself, such as bread, cookies, and donuts.

Cissy’s business prospectus includes a detailed list of the specific things she needs to take this big step, including local prices.* A $35 donation will cover eight offset spatulas; a $50 donation will cover eight muffin tins; a $100 donation will cover eight sets of piping bags and various nozzles, and so on. If you’d like a thank you card that specifies what your gift helps Cissy buy, I’d be glad to send one - to you or to pass on to someone else! (Unfortunately, while some of these things might be cheaper in the US, shipping and customs costs mean we can't help by buying them here and shipping them to her.)

GoFundMe does not operate in Uganda but allows fundraisers for international beneficiaries as long as there’s a clear way to transfer funds. I will receive your donations and send them to Cissy using WesternUnion, which I have used to send funds to Cissy many times; it’s established, trusted and effective. I will keep careful records of all funds that come in, and ensure that that exact amount is sent to Cissy. That documentation will be available to any donor upon request.

Cissy’s actual goal to fully fund her new business venture is $8000. If you have ideas about other donors, projects or grants that might help her get there, please reach out. We can easily share her business prospectus, and I’m sure she’d be happy to be in touch directly. (We talk via Facebook Messenger; she also uses WhatsApp.)

Through our help, Cissy envisions improved household incomes—not only for herself but also for other single mothers—through self-employment opportunities in the baking industry, with the goal of being able to help herself and others house, feed, educate, and care for themselves and their children.