When I was a little girl, I loved creating beaded jewelry. I would craft for hours with my little bead kit. Any time I got allowance money, I invested it in more beads. My parents always taught me that if you wanted something, you had to work for it. Although they provided a comfortable life for me, I was not just given everything I wanted. So I would take my little creations and lay them out on a card table in front of my mom’s apartment building with a caboodle full of coins I dug out of the couch and my allowance money so I could give change to the passersby who purchased my works of art. I remember the extreme pride that I felt when someone bought my jewelry; they would tell me it was a gift for a friend or for their daughter, and I would smile and say, “I hope they like it.”
I felt important that I could give joy to someone else. My mom called me her “ little entrepreneur.”
Flash forward to today where I have been accepted into a community of women who are selling beautiful jewelry and fashionable closet essentials on card tables across America. This time, the jewelry is there to provide not only joy but also a future for our sisters across the globe: ladies who feel pride knowing that the creations they make are purchased as investments in quality accessories, or being given as meaningful gifts. Because of Sseko, they feel important knowing that they can go to college and support their families with the fair wages and benefits they are paid.
I feel so blessed to be a part of this journey, not only for them but also for myself. Working with Sseko has ignited a passion in me that I didn’t even know I had. It has sparked a sense of wonder, and a desire to travel- not just anywhere, but to East Africa to see the impact we fellows are making firsthand. It has certainly brought me out of a rut I was feeling not knowing my purpose. Because of Sseko, I have experienced so much joy from doing something for someone else, and a hope that I can spread that joy around the world.
My advice for others? Find something that you are good at and use it to do something good. It will ignite your passion, spark wonder, fulfill your purpose, and spread joy to others. Whether you are an advocate, a philanthropist, a missionary, a prodigy, a human being, or your mom’s little entrepreneur, get up and do something for someone else.
