David Wampamba

Category: Tips

  • How to uplift a rural child in Uganda.

    How to uplift a rural child in Uganda.

    In Uganda, approximately 70 % of young people living in the urban areas don’t have access to computers. Worst of the matter is that you may find 40% of them have also never seen or practically used a computer for once in a lifetime.
    They are possibly like me at 14 years of age, I had never seen one though I heard about it, I used to think it referred to a walking robot, such as the one I watched in movies. However, that happened to me a decade and 2 years ago. Shocking isn’t it? I wouldn’t expect someone today to find it hard to access a computer or be able to use one!
    However, similarly to other countries in Africa; the largest part of Uganda is a rural area. Rural areas are negatively affected by having poor education, poor health care, ignorance and many disadvantages you could imagine of including poverty. 
    Some of the biggest reasons why youths and adults don’t have access to computers is ignorance & poverty, in my own opinion.
    Other factors could be lack of connectivity to national grid hindering the access to electricity which could be used to power the computer devices. And even if the connectivity was in existence in the rural and urban areas of Uganda, many families struggle to put food on the table, which means they couldn’t afford spending on computers.
    In many countries children use computers to create things like robotics, play games, have fun with friends and this keeps them curious, creative and productive. It also helps them not to get involved in drug abuse, sex abuse and many other bad habits.
    The same or better, is what I also want to happen in Uganda. At least by 2030, it should be very easy for someone to access and effectively use a computer. Employment opportunities among the youths to have improved due to skills acquired through using computers.

    How is this possible.

    We can start by building less power consumption, portable and affordable computers. 
    With only $100, it’s possible to build a portable DC powered computer for a youth. Two or more youths can even use one in intervals so that everyone gets to learn how to use a computer and leverage the opportunities that come with it.
    Since Uganda’s population is largely young people, actually 78% all being below the age of 35 years; according to wikipedia and the Uganda’s recent census in 2015. This is not a one man’s task.
    What shall we do together?
    We shall build portable, DC powered functional computer kits, installed with open source software.
    Though we shall be able to build sellable computer units, our major aim is to uplift rural communities for free. And we hope to approach impact & climate change funders, to invest the initial capital to support us to build the first 50 pilot units.
    Our pilot phase, will involve introducing community labs comprising of 3 to 5 units per lab per community. This means, in a day of 8 hours, one lab will be able to give access to 24 up to 40 youths at a rate of 1 individual per computer per hour.
    The computer kits!
    Each computer set will be a composition of a Raspberry PI, Memory Card, LCD monitor, USB keyboard, USB mouse and other necessary cables. Each full unit could cost between $120 to $145. Approximately UGX 407,249/= to UGX 492,093/= according to Google currency converter as of today 09/Oct/2016.
    Initial training
    In the first week, after setting up the lab, we shall conduct free workshops, to train youths and citizens of that particular community, on how to use these computers, troubleshoot them and in partnership with other social enterprises, we will educate them in personal development and leadership.
    Our aim for these workshops, is to build/develop a self-sustaining project in which the citizens of the community have a bigger commitment and responsibility.

  • CMS Africa Summit here again and this time in Abuja.

    CMS Africa Summit here again and this time in Abuja.

    It’s happening for the forth time in Africa, it’s a summit to learn and share a lot of information especially about web technologies, content management systems in particular.
    Catch up the recap of the recent CMS Africa Summit 2016 in Kampala at Gems Cambridge International school below.
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DebjlCdSSRk]
    When you go to this event  you could become an influencer in your niche. You could as well improve the market for your products and services. You could also discover new ideas and ways of executing them. My biggest take away was networking with many new people who love what you love.
    Similarly if you attended as a participant there is a lot more to learn, competitions to participate in and win.
    In 2017, CMS Africa Summit will happen on 10th and 11th March, 2017 in Abuja at FUNTAJ INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
    What’s amazing are the friendly prices of the attendance tickets. Imagine a full day ticket goes for 3000 NGN while a 2 day ticket is at 5000 NGN. Every ticket you get qualifies you to Entrance, Coffee Break, Certificate, and Workshop. What a cheap way to learn, educate, and network.
    This year’s theme is empowering technology through opensource. I encourage you to come as individual, or team or group of friends,  you won’t be disappointed.
    Membership types are attend, speaker and sponsor. Click here to buy a ticket and learn more about the event.

  • Why the way you treat money determines your financial freedom?

    I have had a chat with someone who has seen me struggling to clear debts and going after my goals. In our conversation, he asked. David you’re an entrepreneur, ain’t you?
    Me: Yes, I am.
    Him: How comes you don’t live a life of a smart entrepreneur?
    Me: Why are you saying so?
    Him: David whenever you receive an income, you have a debt to clear. Why is it that way?
     
    Of course, I had answers like, I don’t have a stable income because my businesses are not profitable at the moment. Also a lot of people owe me money that in total the amount would buy me a good brand new car or a plot of land or even better make me a great investment in one of my businesses.
     
    That’s it David. I see a lot of that among aspiring entrepreneurs and it’s one of the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t.
     
    Money is money, it’s a necessity everywhere in the world. The only difference is how it’s treated.
     
    What if you lay down a strategy for your income. For example break it into percentages, so that whenever you receive it. You save part of it and part to spend on paying debts. That means you don’t all of it paying debt at once but you remain with some. Of course the savings you also be done with a goal in mind.
     
    You’re just not saving just for it. You are saving for the money to help you live fully. Otherwise like most unsuccessful people in this world, they become slaves of money. Because they’re live expenditure, they borrow, they work then they pay debt, and the cycle goes on.
     
    They will blame the poor economy and systems as the cause for their failure. On top of underestimating their potential and responsibility in playing a role to make everything around better. By forgetting that at some point, you will grow old and be the one to blame or thank. You become a prisoner of poverty. Success is a journey, so live by traveling it.
     
    Me: I’m listening and learning.
    Him: Have you ever worked for low pay because you badly need money?
    Me: Yes of course, because sometimes I need pay my bills and if I don’t settle for this less I won’t be in the position to take care of my bills.
    Him: And I tell you that is what is called not to live fully. Producing quality comes at a good pay. Of course people negotiate, and pay slightly less your quotation which is totally different from accepting a low pay because of the need to work on bills. By the way, would you work on this particular client, if you were sure you have a saving that can take of everything as you hang for someone who is able to pay you what you want? Of course not.

  • How can I help the human race progress? The 7 Tips

    Have you ever looked for someone who can give you some tips to help you progress at anything in life? How about challenging yourself to share 7 tips to people. For me my people are my blog readers. Because you care, I also care and would like to share with you my tips. We humans survive if some humans cares and gives a hand otherwise we would lose hope. That’s why I have decided to write this series once a week. The posts in the series will be about anything in the categories but not limited to personal development, business, coding and writing etc.

    1. Don’t launch unless you’ve done research.

    Because we are desperate for recognition, we sometimes forget the basic principles to birthing ideas. Of course all ideas are mostly problem solving but you don’t want to approach your solutions the same way others do. Because that would feel like copy and paste. So to be on the safe side do some research and analyse whether your solution is not offered by others, and if is offered by others, how best and authentically can you beat competition. Research does not only help you to uniquely package your idea, it also helps you find and define your audience.

    2. Define the client avatar.

    If you want to be a top seller, you would never leave out this stage, else you would be doomed. Whether it’s a non-profit idea it’s needs a buyer, all ideas need buyers in form of consumers. As much as you some entrepreneurs start by targeting a mass market, not many start ups, can sustain this. Lack of client avatar usually misleads because without it you don’t know who to focus on and at the end of it, you listen to everyone. Everyone may not buy. Yet developing and producing for everyone takes a bigger budget than producing for a a targeted audience. So know who you want to sale to, how many are they, where are they located etc.

    3. Build and keep a happy inspired team.

    However much the idea is the best at the right time, without a team it will never make it to the second consumer, assuming you and your family are the first consumers.
    To take it out there someone must be committed to put in time and develop, package, market, sale it, listen to customer feedback, correct errors and the cycle continues. Which means if you don’t keep a consistent,  happy and inspired team you will likely experience hardships if not fail completely.
    How to keep the team happy and inspired, first hire character as much as skill. The rest about this story for another day.

    4. Let your brand standout!

    If your brand doesn’t standout it will eventually fade out completely and serve no one. Corporate branding is important, so do and keep it professionally smart, unique and consistent. In Uganda, I know and have worked with many branding agencies those who serve locally and internationally. I have found Gagawala Graphics to be the new kids on the Brock, but understand the game. Check them out! They take you through choosing the right colors, to logos, flyers, brochures, colors, invitation cards, business cards, and all the way to building and launching a website.

    5. Learn marketing and embrace marketing 3.0

    Today is not industrial days, today is digital and it will continue to be for some years until virtual reality will take over the world. Which is not going to happen soon since the technology is not as affordable as smartphones. Marketing 3.0 is about inventing solutions which solve real problems, and are spiritually connecting with the consumer. It’s also about complementary goods. You don’t want to miss out. It’s cheaper than traditional marketing, for example a $5 USD daily budget, would get you into eyes of many.

    6. Be ready!

    Are you ready, as in do you really know people? Like Simon Sinek, said if you don’t know people, you don’t know business. I totally agree with him. You must be ready to understand what people need and not only that, you also need to provide them what’s better than they want. Look at Apple products for example, at their prices, their consistence, durability and portability is taking allover the planet. Simply everyone needs a phone, but a phone which is secure and can take good photos, is just better than a usual phone. Are you ready? Define your craft, work it intensively, be ready to offer the best. And also be ready to be reject sometimes.

    7. Get a mentor and a leadership coach.

    I don’t agree with you, if you think you are the only genius on this planet. School grades tend to hype people and they forget that the solutions they must make large depends on the people’s lifestyle. This is why you need a mentor. You need someone who is knowledgeable, open-minded and willing to educate. You need that person has gone through it, seen it all, had a fair share of failures and enjoyed some success.
    It will be helpful to spend less while learning quality and fast enough. As much as you need such people in physical life, sometimes it’s hard especially in the developing countries. Then social media should be your best market place to find an indirect mentor. Check out linkedIn profiles, facebook and instagram. Choose the best in your field, follow them, interact with them, read their biography, ask them questions, buy their books, DVDs and give time to listen. You won’t be disappointed.

    Conclusion

    If you read up this line, then you care, thanks for supporting me and feel free to send me questions. Add tips through comments and if you think the information may help someone, please share it.

  • How do you find courage to push on hard for success?

    Many of us have a vision and dreams which we really want to achieve in this life. In fact, we try to work hard, set goals and objectives but it just doesn’t happen or it is about to happen before we quit. Don’t give up, read this article of series in which am sharing 10+ important lessons which have discovered and embraced to keep me on track for success.
    First of all, many people treat success like a destination though in actual civilization success is a journey we travel to create reality from our dreams and visions. Paint your vision.

    • Find your passion

    I like to agree with one professor who said “Passion is the fire that lights your way“. Put yourself in a position of tasking in a dark cage without light, how far will you go?

    • Know WHY

    “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
    If you don’t have a reason, then you purposeless/directionless take a journey. Such journeys end nowhere. The WHY is the reason you are here on this planet, breathing and perhaps do whatever you do.
    Let me share something with you about me.
    I’m passionate about developing solutions using computers, and various skillsas resources available to me. I’m also passionate about talking to people about the positive side of things.
    I didn’t know how to do this effectively to benefit myself without wasting resources or being used to advantage. When I was introduced to David Reeve, Unleash Dreams and Unleash culture founder, I put in time to learn about the reason “WHY”. I’m happy that I can stand before you with my head high and say my purpose to you in a simple sentence. Everyday I live, everything I do, the question is am I fulfilling my purpose?

  • 3 Mistakes every youth should avoid to get to the top of entrepreneurship game.

    1. Avoid getting loans in early stages of life and idea development.
    Getting loans is one way of solving lifetime obstacles, in fact not money people have been able to succeed without getting a couple of them. Loans sometimes are a catalyst of self motivation to working harder. Because you know you got a debt you must pay, so you work hard to beat time limits and pay back. Pretty good, isn’t it?
     
    Where is the mistake?
    If a loan is to work for you, it should be at a time when you are able to service it. Those times when you have enough income flow, or properties which you are ready to sell off if things don’t go right.
     
    By the way, it doesn’t matter from who you get the loan. Because eventually you will have to pay back. And if you delay then you are essentially harming your network/society indirectly. Do you want to be in such a situation where someone who would be able to help his/herself has to turn to others for help? And the only reason is because they gave out a loan to a friend who is unable to pay back?
     
    2. Don’t give loans.
     
    Whether giving loans is your business or not. Evaluation should be at the front otherwise it’s a huge mistake. Many people have the potential to become rich but mistakes like giving out loans to friends on that basis is not right. At least am saying this out of experience, because many times I’ve got/gave loans from/to friends but we ended up hurting ourselves in the process. Believe you me, unless it’s a life taking situation, always there is another way than a loan. In fact in life talking situations we usually come to the rescue by giving out to save a life.
     
    3. Don’t order unless you have cash.
     
    Every business on this planet grows by having a steady cash flow.
     
    Try so much to avoid traps of ordering for services/products when you don’t have cash. This will help you develop and hook up strong networks. It won’t only show your authenticity, it will translate in care and fairness for everybody around you. The minimum you can order on expected income is when you are 150% specific on the dates it’s coming in. In addition to having self trust that when it comes all you will do is submit the payment. Actually the service provider should know and agree with you, with pure understanding of your the situation. If not that then it’s a mistake you are doing which will be felt like exploiting others. The harm this brings is not felt only by the people/businesses you exploited. It will actually be felt by you, your family and network.
    In summary, say no to loans, order with cash. You won’t believe the speed of personal/business development you will have.

  • Using minimum resources available to empower communities in Uganda!!!

    Uganda has more than 100 districts occupied by 35 million people, Kampala being the capital city hence the district of preference for everyone. The capital is a home for 1.5 million people. This district is attractive to many due to better education, health, transport, communication etc services than other districts. It also  has modern towns such as Kabalagala, Nsambya, Kansanga and Makindye in contrast to those of other districts.
    The factors about Kampala, are the major migration attraction for young people from many under developed districts to this area.
    Though it’s the best place for anyone in Uganda, it’s not the same for the opportunities it avails. For example, many young people from other districts end up sleeping on streets because Kampala doesn’t welcome none skilled individuals. Without skill, one has to have relatives in this area to accommodate, for sometime as he/she learns something to do.
    As of today, over 1000 young men and women are living and sleeping at the streets, they become beggars, crooks or robbers. The only optional available if they are to stay alive living in Kampala. It’s easier to say, than to see or experience. Life at the streets has never been a preference, it never becomes good, it just deteriorates from being someone to becoming useless, hopeless, forgotten and all alone.

    I believe something can be done.

    Many people say we can’t change lives because of the government system, which accommodates corrupt, unaccountable, certified but not qualified and lack of passion officials. In addition everyone who takes care of his life and family, has nothing more to give; when you work and earn, all you get is what can keeps you living today. Without being extra creative  you may some feelings have to live the next day on an empty stomach.
    Life has many options, we just don’t have to relax in our comfort zones, but we can do something. Recently I ran local a crowd fund, of UGX 500,000/= equivalent to US 150$. Of the crowd funding goal, 7 of us were able to contribute the little we had and raised UGX 249,000/= about US 74$ in total. What this fund will do is wonders. It will be handed to the youths of Soweto in Jinja, where life is not as expensive as Kampala.
    The youths here will be able to start small but sustainable income generating activities.
    This will reduce the number of youths and young kids who end up at the streets of town centers.
    In this area school fees is as low as 30,000/= equivalent to US 8$ per term of 3 months, but 80% families cannot afford this. Now that we raised this money I believe if the youths use it to implement income generating activities and keep committed, it will take a few years and they will have a better life than now.
    Hope is restored, when someone knows someone can be there for them. So we promised some parents some start up capital too and school fees. I will also be visiting them once in a month or 2 months, to train them, inspire them and check their progress.
     
     
     

  • What vs Why in business.

    Many of us from East Africa start up businesses on the principle of results. I want to have some income, I want to be respected, I want to feed my family or I want to be called so and so. As if our sales will be automatic which in reality it can never be. What if we pulled plug on Why and What principles?
    Embracing “Why” when involving in any business puts us in pole position to succeed since it  pushes one to look at the realistic bit of things.
    Why is the attraction of How, What, Where and When.
    Without why, one is set to running a business by default as opposed to design. The most successful business people in the world observe it. Take for example, facebook. Mark Zuckerberg had to ask  why start facebook.com, How will it work and help in daily life, Where will facebook used (Who will use facebook) and When.
    Whatever answers, he got must be the reason why we use this platform everyday, everywhere and everyone virtually uses it.
    Additionally embracing “What” helps you define an idea (business) or be part of one. This definition is also the reason why others come on board.
    Of course Why defines the purpose for what a solution is created but not everyone will comprehend the why, this is when the What will come to help the people you are talking to understand.
    The easier it is for them to understand, the easier it is for them to work with you.
    See you at the top! 🙂

  • How to build relevant networks and improve your business.

    How to build relevant networks and improve your business.

    Any idea whether charity or business needs at a collage of these 5 elements, to grow. In fact, so many of underrate one of the elements, but if once neglected, however much the idea will develop, it may completely fail when it finds a stumbling block. The Idea, The Labour, The Skill, The Market and The Capital are such elements which foster a developing cause/product/service. They are largely equivalent, and are none is bigger, none is smaller which means a good entrepreneur must balance them in his/her eco-system to experience success and sustainability.
    How does network get’s it way in. A relevant network is the only way we have those elements in abundance. In this network some are buyers (market) also talk good of us and what we do, some are business partners or charity partners – they invest/fund, some are your employees providing skill and labour, while others could are innovators creating and building ideas. Your Network is your Net Worth so how can you build and sustain it?

    Focus on your interests.

    Because you need good people around you, it doesn’t mean any famous or popular individual is worth having in your circles. Some have achieved through by hurting others and you don’t want to involve that character in your own personal life or brand life. Because at anytime it can hurt. So know yourself first, know what you are interested in and build your brands are that too. As you do that the people you will attract will most likely have similar interests who posses the qualities of the interests you know you need.

    Be responsive

    I also suck at this but am doing my best to improve. When you get a new friend or have an old friend, he/she deserves to know you care. Press that phone call or send that text, email once  in a while you never know the nourishment it may bring. This is also necessary, when these people reach out for you. Be that someone that is not focusing to impress everyone but just being there when it’s necessary. And the emotional attachment will improve.

    Be supportive

    Some day, I was having a Facebook chat with my friend from France. We were discussing about the class I was going through and I hinted on the award winning. Then he hinted that I should be careful about awards. This meant a lot of me, it showed my friend from a far is supportive to me and wishes me the best. Many people who have money desires think such support like a word or two is not that important. For me it’s important.

    Be honest

    To me honesty is key and a person who is honest has a unique character. It means to be true to yourself as well as others everywhere. This eliminates unnecessary doubts, and it’s fuel to great networks. Just keep calm and always be who you are.

    Go to events

    If there is anything to be done, can only be done out there – Ortega Ian, a friend of mine said this to me. Choose the events about the causes you love, attend them because chances are; you will meet inspiration there and make new networks.
    They are more things you can actually do to build networks and sustain them, feel free to share with the world. By sharing them through comments.
    Wish you success! #OneLove
     
     

  • Take action and paint your vision.

    Take action and paint your vision.

    For so many months I have been pondering on whether I should learn git or not, I know I needed it than I wanted. Though I kept on procrastinating which made everything difficult. To the extend that even the little I knew evaded from my brain.
     
    A few weeks ago, a friend(Bosco Anthony) shared his with me, his TedEx talk video and did more to me especially igniting my motivation.
     
    In his video he shared about the game changing ingredients which are Purpose and Momentum. And he shared what he knows are the 5 real life applications for fueling one’s purpose. What interested me more was accountability and vision.
     
    How would you achieve a vision if you are not accountable, how easy will it be if you practiced clarity?
     
    Last night I wrote a tutorial which could help anyone learn how to create a WordPress plugin.
     
    Yesterday (3rd/July/2016), besides being a Sunday, I utilized the day instead of relaxing to create templates for the products I’m about to bring to the market, in addition to creating a WordPress plugin, which will help WordPress website owners add 120px by 600px banners to their websites without writing a single piece of code or waiting for a web administrator to do it for you.This plugin is already uploaded to github.com.
    github-git-cmd-push-photo
    A screenshot of the process as I pushed to github via Git CMD.
    So that anyone can do whatever he wants do to it for free. Whether you install it on your blog or fork it and contribute to it, you’re welcome. Before the end of the day, I will try to upload it to WordPresss.org, fingers crossed. It will be my first in the repository. You may find it here, if you want it.
     
    Little of this would happen if I hadn’t watched this 18 minute video. In fact, sincerely, the words Bosco shared helped me find Rhythm and introspect.
     
    You can access the video here on youtube.
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