Asha Batenga is a renowned baker, founder and proprietor of Cakely Uganda, The Kampala Cake Fair and The Cake Affair, a publication covering everything pastries. Every year, Batenga and Cakeshop Uganda Facebook group organize a CSR campaign as a way of giving back to the community. This year they are focusing their energies on mental health, which is a concern globally.
I had a chat with the seasoned baker on what she and her team have up the sleeves this year, their expectations and why they are making the world a better place.
Tell us about the annual Cakeshop Uganda CSR project and its goal
We are not just about creating awareness but also doing something about it. As a Facebook community with individuals who are concerned about what’s going on around us, every year we involve ourselves in a Corporate Social Responsibility project that gives us an opportunity to give back to the society. We believe that everyone can do something and it takes all of us to create a difference. That’s what we strive to do every year.
Why did you choose mental health?
Everyone has a degree of mental illness although we ignore it. The increasing number of insane people, accidents, and suicides are all connected to our brain health, but we blame them on superstition and other things. Mental health needs to be taken seriously because every action you take revolves around your mental wellbeing. We need to help those dealing with it because it is possible. Drugs, alcohol and lack of a strong support system all have an impact on our health. We are losing a lot of talented people because of things that are unavoidable. Reach out to someone who is depressed because you don’t know what they’re going through.
This time, we narrowed down to this single family that has struggled a lot due to mental health, and decided to help them find hope. Her story reflects the harsh reality of a largely patriarchal society and of life after losing a spouse due to mental health. We want to help her!
What was the highlight of the last year’s campaign?
We managed to buy an ambulance for mental health patients. Because they can sometimes get violent, it is safer to transport them via an ambulance. Check out other things we were able to do on our Facebook page and group. CakeShop Uganda.
How do you want other people to come on board and be part of this project?
We encourage individuals and companies to join us. Ware trying to buy land and build a house for our beneficiary which will costs us about 15m. We have so far collected 6 million UGX through our Facebook group contributions, and other companies that support us. We need more resources and money, just contribute as you wish.
See how to be a part below
Rosemary Pino’s story
Our campaign is geared towards supporting a lady whose story reflects the harsh reality of a largely patriarchal society and of life after losing a spouse. Our first encounter with ROSEMARY PINO also known as Harriet Gune left no dry tear in the room. Her story is gut wrenching and almost unbelievable.
In her own words, she told us:
I am Gune Harriet (Rosemary Pino), aged 62. I was married and was blessed with six children. However, as fate would have it, my children started dying mysteriously, one after another, leaving me with 3 children. My husband joined my in-laws in chasing me away from my matrimonial home, claiming that I was under a curse which had killed my children. They nicknamed me ‘Mufiisa’, a ridicule indicating that I had killed my children.
Neglected, dejected and isolated, I moved from our house in Kayunga and migrated to Kampala, settling in a one roomed house in the slums of Kalerwe, together with my 3 remaining children.
Despite this, I started business as a roadside vendor. With the help of God, I used the proceeds to send my children to school. Two of them studied all the way to A level and the third one joined vocational school where she acquired skills in hair dressing. Life seemed to return to normal, albeit not the best, but with my daughter (the hair dresser) providing a helping hand. But this happiness did not last long either.
Three years ago, she passed on mysteriously. To date, I do not know if she died from domestic violence or it was suicide. She left behind 2 children; a boy aged 3 years and a girl aged 3 months.
I took these children in and they became dependent on it for everything. I provide everything they need from food to clothes to shelter to general sustenance. I am the only one they have in this life. Life has really dealt me blows.
Four months after the death of my 4th child, my remaining daughter became mentally sick and was admitted to Butabika Hospital. To date, she still has mental health challenges and receives mental treatment and support from Mulago National Referral Hospital. My remaining son who completed A-Level has also not been able to advance to university because there is no money to send him to school. Ours is a circle of poverty, death and disease.”
That is the story of Rosemary Pino (Gune Harriet). It is shocking, it is saddening, and it is disturbing. Rosemary also has mental health sickness and also suffers from a spinal problem. Nevertheless, she continues to support her grandchildren by selling roasted groundnuts by the roadside. She also collects empty plastic bottles which she takes to recycling centers and is paid some little money. It is these two sources of income that enable her to pay school fees for her grandchildren and also rent for her one roomed house in Kalerwe.
However, this is not sustainable and is not adequate. Her rent was recently increased from UGX 80,000 to UGX 100,000. The house is in a sorry state in itself. She can neither afford the increment nor afford to take care of herself and the children satisfactorily in the circumstances. She therefore relies on well-wishers, sponsors and donors.
Execution of the CSR
We believe that when one woman is empowered, a village is empowered. Supporting Rosemary helps us to support her family too including her grandchildren. However, it is important that whatever we do is sustainable and breaks the cycle of poverty. To this end, we believe that Gune should be supported to find better accommodation and to start up an income generating business.
We hope that the Cake Shop Uganda group will raise UGX 15,000,000 (Uganda Shillings Fifteen Million Only) to achieve this goal.
We also hope to collect physical donations such as clothes, foodstuffs, household items which will be handed over to Rosemary.
The UGX 15,000,000 will be used as follows:
a. Pay rent for 6 months in a better place at UGX 150,000 a month as construction is going on. Total cost is UGX 900,000shs
b. Buy an identified piece of land in Mukono for her at UGX 3,000,000
c. Balance will go towards House Construction.
d. Get her medicine too so she is in the right state of mind to take care of the grand children.
With a current membership of over 90,000 people and growing, we believe that this target can be achieved. CSU has always been responsive to social causes and we hope that this will not be any different. If 1500 to 2000 members of the group donated 10k or 5k or 50k or any desired amount of money, we would be able to raise the funds needed in order to give Rosemary Pino and her family a new lease of life.
Please take note that we have listened to different advises and due to her mental state, we have agreed that all money collected will go to house construction and land purchase.
Please tag everyone
0782 945281
0756 006284
Asha Batenga
C/o CSU
satisfashionug@gmail.com
