CAPs Friday 19/2/10

Do read about what impact DARECHA, Julius’ CAP, has had on its first winner!

 

TRANSFORMATION OF MY VILLAGE IN TANZANIA

My name is Lusekelo James Nkuwi. I am 18 years old and an advanced level student at Kibaha secondary school in Tanzania. My parents are teachers at Saint Carolus Secondary School in my home region Singida, hundreds of kilometres away from Dar Es Salaam. Apart from studying for my science courses I also like to get involved in business and agriculture activities in my home village. At first, I had the dream of being an entrepreneur but I’ve always thought, “not at this age.” This is due to a lack of entrepreneurial spirit in most of our young people of my country and a lack of capital for even those who are interested.

The Tanzanian education system does not encourage students to get involved in extracurricular activities such as business, so the youth only concentrates on their studies and waits until they’re being employed. For me, something has recently changed the path of my life. In 2009, I participated in Dar Es Salaam Young Entrepreneurial Challenge (DARECHA) under the youngest CEO I’ve ever met, Mr. Julius Shirima. He organized this event with his team of students from the African Leadership Academy in South Africa. I learned a very useful entrepreneurial lesson through this business ideas competition. Among more than 500 youth participants, I became the first winner of the business idea presentation challenge.

 

Being the first winner of DARECHA 2009, I was awarded 500’000 Tanzanian shillings, which is approximately 250 GBP. This was the first capital I ever possessed to start implementing some of my business ideas. While thinking of starting a business, I thought of starting a business that could help my village. This is why I opened a small medicine shop. I offer medicine that I was sure the villagers would need regularly; such as pain relievers, anti-malarial medicine, anti-flu medicien, antibiotics or cough medicine. There had been no such a shop in the centre of the village.

 

Apart from the shop, I have also become engaged in agriculture. I asked my parents to give me one acre of land where I started my own farm with the cash I received from DARECHA. I now have one acre of maize and it is going very well. I expect to harvest in the mid-June 2010. I am going to sell my harvest in order to expand my businesses. Also, I intend to use part of my harvest to feed the needy members of the community, such as old people and orphans.

 

Now, I am facing some challenges which include: time to closely monitor my businesses because I am away at school and proper facilities for my business, such as computers that will enable me to do my work in a more professional way.

My greatest appreciation goes to DARECHA who exposed and trained me and to the British Council Global Changemakers who sponsored the first ever Dar Es Salaam Young Entrepreneurial Challenge in 2009.

For more info about DARECHA follow the link http://darecha2009.wetpaint.com

Written by Lusekelo Nkuwi
First winner DARECHA 2009