Liberia’s deteriorating economy made 2019 a difficult and trying year. As inflation increased, may businesses and nonprofits folded due to rising costs. People went to work and have not been paid for months. Banks ran out of money causing international organizations like the Peace Corp to withdraw their people from the country.
Throughout the year, Kelvin Fomba, Co-Founder & Director, found ways to keep things afloat by using his skills as a master mechanic. He often donates his income to support daily operations. He also uses his skills for exchange services to further our cause.
On October 30, he and another person agreed to trade deal in lieu of cash. This person wanted to help UDS but didn’t have the means. However, he had a jeep that needed major engine repairs. Kelvin had the parts needed for the job and completed the work with his mechanical students in a few days.
UDS Hair Salon
Upon completing the work, the person offered UDS his shop within a five-minute walk from our center. We moved our cosmetology department to the new location. Our team painted the exterior walls with our colors, built shelves and workstations, and purchased hair and other products. Through Kelvin’s efforts, UDS now has a hair salon as part of our social enterprise initiative. The sales from hair and products will provide an additional revenue stream.
As you can see in a cash-strapped economy, the barter system plays a pivotal role in helping people sustain themselves during a crisis. In this case, Kelvin provided $1,000 of work this equated to $1,800 in rent of the shop ($100 monthly rent).
In close, this gave us the means to start this small enterprise. And we hope to receive additional support to build more workstations, buy sinks for hair washing and hair dryers, and other material to make it a full salon.
On Saturday, December 8, Uniting Distant Stars held their annual board meeting to elect officers and start planning for 2019. First, we like to announce the re-appointment of our officers (Philip Kaleewoun II, Adam Pederson, and Diane Anastos) for another year. Congrats to our 2019 Board Officers!
Fundraising Team
Second, we like to share that three of our board members (Rita Apaloo, Adam Pederson, and Beyan Gonowolo) agreed to collaborate on our fundraising efforts for 2019. Specifically, this tremendous trio will be looking at various events, outreach to businesses and organizations, and other creative ways to fundraise. Thus, this supports Liberian Youth seeking to learn a skill and achieve self-reliance.
Strategic Plan
Third, we discussed the implementation of our strategic plan initiated in June 2018. With this intention, we plan to diversify our revenue streams to meet our main objective of financial stability. For example, the establishment of four social enterprises coupled with our courses as follows:
Tailoring Shop: sew custom uniforms & clothes or repair clothing.
Hair Salon: offer services for hair, face, and nails.
Auto Repair Shop: provide regular maintenance service and repairs.
Contracted Electrician and Plumbing Services: bid for contracts to build homes, schools, etc.
With this intention, a social enterprise or business allows us to reinvest the profits back into the program and beneficiaries. Also, we have envisioned a social business since we started working in Liberia. Because these small businesses provide the revenue stream to run the day-to-day operations and hire our graduates for permanent jobs.Consequently, Liberia’s economy continues to remain in a slump and this limits any job creation opportunities. Our Liberian Team established some small businesses since we opened our center. So as to generate funds to cover some of the needs. Including selling water and renting out our great hall for events or workshops. In order to expand into these other areas, a list of additional equipments and tools will be compiled by our team to determine the next steps. Ultimately, by transforming our facility into a multi-purpose center, we can achieve our strategic goal of financial stability.
We will keep you posted as we move forward with our plans for 2019. Thank you for your generous support in 2018!
