Jozyz
life & Style caught up with Ssekalio
Julius Ssekajja the organiser of Life and Hope Concert to be held on the 29th November
2013 at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala. The annual charity concert uses fundraising to
aid youth empowerment and skills
development through various projects in Uganda.
Tell us about your original idea for Life and Hope Concert?
Life and hope concert is a product of Life and Hope Uganda a charity initiative registered in Uganda to serve Ugandans with an objective to empower youths to take a more active role in their own lives through life skills education and empowerment programs. I founded life and hope Uganda in 2011 and started operating 2012 with our city cleaning activities. Our first concert was at Theatre La Bonita on 7th December (can view pictures at our Life and Hope Uganda facebook page).
Other than being the director for Life and Hope Charity, what other responsibilities do you have?
In addition to Life and hope, I manage the Ssekalio arts company where work as a painter and a contemporary musician. Here we nature young talents interested in art. You can see more at www.ssekalioarts.com.
What are your aims for Friday’s concert?
This year’s life and Hope concert is aimed at raising funds to support the project’s community programs starting with the Life and Hope fraternity which was established this year in Gulu district after the Life and Hope Clothing Drive.
Who are you looking forward to watching at the concert?
Isaiah Katumwa is the main performer accompanied other artists. Our chief guest is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru of Tooro Kingdom. I am excited about the entire line up. All great talents you won’t be disappointed.
Is it hard to get artists and performers to participate?
It’s very hard sometimes because they have many high expectations. However, for this year’s concert its a partnership. We have partnered with Isaiah Katumwa Foundation on various projects. Its great because this means that Katumwa’s performance is a donation to the project.
What’s the biggest success you’ve seen at Life and Hope Charity Concert?
Since we started in February 2012, the project has grown bigger and bigger and we keep on getting companies and people joining the movement.
What’s been your biggest success story with the Life and Hope Charity Concerts?
I can’t forget this year’s Clothing Drive which was held at the National theatre in May. We called on Ugandans to donate house hold items for Northern Uganda. It was a great success because we got 2 tracks of donations. I felt so happy seeing Ugandans donating to people they don’t know Because most people only want to give to those they know and maybe who are not necessarily in need. To me that was a massive success and breakthrough.
How important is social media to your online communities?
Social media is so important because in this dotcom generation, most of us can access internet with variety of gadgets, so it becomes easier to reach a wide range of people via facebook and such.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an organiser?
The biggest challenge i face is mobilising people to such events. Not many Ugandans believe in charity. Its hard to get them to give back to their own community so we try to give them what they want like best musicians to get them involved.
What is the one piece of advice you can give to a first time fundraiser?
Be prepared. Do your planning because anything can happen so always expect the worst but hope for the best. You are dealing with a lot of personalities. It’s not easy.
How do you bring a sense of community to these events?
We try and do activities that involve those that we are trying to reach. For example at last year’s event, we started a goat breeding project for an organization of Save Street Children Uganda. Our project is unique in a way that we don’t give money to an organization but we set up a project to sustain them for a while. For details on this please visit Life and Hope Uganda facebook page.
What’s the biggest challenge when planning
a fundraising or charity event? The
biggest challenge is funding the event, organizing an event is very expensive
and media is the most expensive part of it. Pulling all strings to get everyone
involved is also a challenge because you are calling on a lot of favours and without
pay many people don’t want to know.
How
have your efforts impacted donations?
Since the project started last year I have worked so
hard to have other people and companies on board to make work easier. I believe
in teamwork and it’s what I keep preaching to my team and other youth I meet. I
am glad to see people like you Jozyz Life & Style coming on board. We hope to keep this partnership with you over the years.
What has been your
proudest achievement?
Many companies have signed on to support this Year’s
concert. Also having the King of Toro accepting to be
the chief guest is a proud moment. I feel like all this hard work people are taking note and just maybe will join us, its exciting.
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Have you got any more Fundraising
ambitions?
Yes, i always want to use
my art to reach out to people so the art will be part of the fundraising. Am hoping to extend this initiative to the western world and connect on a wider scale.
Life and Hope Charity Concert
29
November 2013 at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala, Uganda
For tickets call + 256 788135755
www.ssekalioarts.com
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