Help Silvia go to Uganda

Story

Hi! I’m Silvia Ahn, currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship & Change at Pepperdine University. I joined this program because I wanted to figure out how to take my facilitation skills of training people on the intersection of faith and racial equity to the next level. Over the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to run my imagination wild to create theoretical programs and products in a team and personal setting that centered and uplifted marginalized communities. Yet, I still didn’t find THE thing that deeply resonated in my heart, mind, and body. Until recently, I learned from my housemate, Paige Balcom, about a community savings group model, officially known as Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA), practiced among her staff at Takataka Plastics in Gulu, Uganda. ROSCA is essentially an informal mutual aid group of friends or family who provide mutual financial aid. A group comes together for a fixed period to contribute a determined amount to a pot that gets distributed to one person each time they gather, until each person has contributed and received the amount. It provides quick access to capital and increases their social capital. I had assumed this was only a Korean practice until I researched more extensively about ROSCA. I connected that ROSCA was global and common in collectivist cultures, especially among marginalized communities, and used by my grandmothers, who were organizers of ROSCA in their communities. My hope in returning from Uganda is to amplify this resource and somehow modernize this practice through tech for women and marginalized communities to access capital. What I Will Do Next month, I’ll be embarking on a 2-week journey with three classmates to Gulu, Uganda, to visit Paige’s social enterprise, Takataka Plastics, locally transforming plastic waste into quality, affordable construction material while providing jobs for at-risk youth. Traveling to Uganda is part of my program where we work with an international organization discovering further what we hope to do for our future work. Our class requires us to crowdfund to support the trip's costs and give any surplus to the partner organization as a gift. I will learn, observe, and interview multiple ROSCA groups in Gulu to learn how ROSCA has impacted the community members and workers at Takataka. Our team will also offer Takataka our organizational assessment to provide an outsider perspective. But it will ultimately be up to them if they choose to use any information we provide. How You Can Help Traveling is one of the best ways to stretch my small view of the world. Your contributions to my campaign will help cover essential travel expenditures such as airline tickets, visas, vaccines, and lodging. Any amount is appreciated! I plan on sending short updates on my experiences and what I’m learning in Uganda. If you’d like 100% of your funds to go to me, Venmo me at @Silvia-ahn-1 or send by Zelle. If you can’t give, I also covet your tips, well wishes, or prayers for me to stay healthy before, during, and after the trip. One great fear of mine is getting covid, and I’m sure my kids and partner will want me back healthy after being separated from them for two weeks! Thank you so much for helping make this trip happen!