A Mother’s Wish to her daughter
The Trip
A mother’s wish: My daughter Megan and I recently went to Uganda to experience firsthand the incredible work being done by Street Business School (SBS). It was so special to take this trip with Megan because we have both been involved with BeadforLife/Street Business School for over seven years, as volunteers and as employees. Street Business School aims to lift families out of poverty by empowering women to become entrepreneurs and it was so inspiring to see this mission in action.
Megan and I felt the love of our Ugandan staff in the morning dance circle and were impressed watching these powerful coaches out on the front line in the community helping women create their own businesses. We visited several SBS alumni who are running thriving businesses five years out of the program and we were inspired by their confidence, their business acumen, and their success! We then saw an actual Street Business School session and we felt hopeful to see how dedicated the students are to creating a better life for their families.
A Mother’s Wish
As a mother, it meant so much to me to have my daughter see the positive impact that SBS has had on mothers and their families on the other side of the world. On this Mother’s Day, this is what I wish for my daughter Megan:
I wish that you always feel compassion for others. Seeing firsthand the hardships of some of the people living in poverty in Uganda was a difficult experience but you opened your heart to them. You danced with them, you sat and listened to their stories and you hugged them like they were old friends. I hope that you always open your heart and show love and compassion to others.
I that you feel a sense of empowerment to shape your own life and create your own path. It’s easy to get caught up in things and feel doubt about what we can do. But seeing the alums of Street Business School creating success for themselves despite enormous odds was truly incredible. They just exuded confidence, it was palpable. It inspires us to believe we have the power to do what we set out to do. As our SBS alumni said, “I am my best asset!” Megan, you are your best asset!
My wish is that you always create a space in your life to feel joy. We often spend so much time focusing on life’s challenges and we feel that we need everything in our life to be going right in order to feel joy, but the women we met in Uganda taught us a better way. Despite incredibly hard days and difficult times, they make a point of being joyful every day. We could all learn from this. It’s okay (in fact it’s important!) to set aside the hard stuff for a while and just dance.
By Julie Pielke
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