August 2020 – Prime Time Communications

News

#OutToLunch Money for 22 Landcruisers is enough to set up a high tech cancer treatment centre

By Denis Jjuuko Since the last Sunday of August 2012, Ugandans have become accustomed to doing one thing annually – waking up to participate in the Rotary Cancer Run. Every last Sunday of August, cancer has been the talk of the town. From a few participants in 2012 to approximately 50,000 people in 2019. From a parking lot of a shopping mall in Lugogo to the more spacious Kololo Independence Grounds and then to 50 towns across the country. The Rotary Cancer Run was the first and only event in Uganda that was carried out simultaneously in every major town of Uganda. Last year, the run even moved to outside Uganda. Working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Rotary Cancer Run was held in Mombasa in Kenya, Kigali in Rwanda, Pretoria in South Africa, Berlin in Germany, and Moscow in Russia becoming the first Ugandan event to have a global presence. A few Rotarians ran in Florida and Pennsylvania in the United States. Over the years, the Rotary Cancer Run has raised awareness about cancer and built a 36-bed cancer treatment centre at Nsambya Hospital and donated funds that led to the construction of the Rotary Blood Bank at Mengo Hospital — the only second such bank in Uganda. All this was achieved in the first four years of the run. Over the years we have raised approximately Shs3 billion net, but with our network, we have managed to do stuff worth much more than the money we have raised. The building alone at Nsambya is worth more than Shs1.5 billion but was completed when we had raised less than Shs300 million. Our network as Rotary enables us to achieve a lot. Nevertheless, this wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of Centenary Bank and the Parliament of Uganda among many other key partners. From 2016, the Rotary Cancer Run has been raising money to build bunkers at Nsambya Hospital, which will be used to house modern cancer treatment machines. Construction will soon commence following approvals from the Atomic Energy Council. I have been privileged to work as one of the organisers of the Rotary Cancer Run since 2015 as a Rotarian and volunteer. This year, I am serving as Chair for the organising committee. I was appointed to this position about a year ago and last September, we started working on the 2020 edition of the run. We wanted to maintain or even increase the number of towns in Uganda to participate and also have the run in more cities across the world than we managed last year. This year we were planning to become the first Ugandan run to have at least 55,000 people participating. Then COVID-19 happened! We were all frustrated, and our spirits dampened. How can we just cancel the run that people have become to note on their calendar, for now, nine years? As we deliberated on how to inform people that the run won’t be possible given the COVID-19 pandemic, we realised we could do it and break new ground for virtual events. We announced that we will have a virtual Rotary Cancer Run 2020. This has given us opportunities to hold the biggest run ever in Uganda and we expect that more than 60,000 people will be able to participate in Uganda and many others elsewhere. As I was writing this, I received news that many global superstars have agreed to participate in this year’s Rotary Cancer Run. You will see their videos soon and we hope that the messaging will create more awareness about cancer. Since around February 2020, as a country, we have focused a lot on COVID-19 and it is perfectly understandable given the rate of its infectiousness, but we shouldn’t forget that cancer is still here as well. We need to do all we can to inform people about this scourge and what we need to do to avoid it and go for regular medical check-ups. We also need to ensure that we have the facilities in place for people to get treatment at an affordable cost. Flying to India or even Nairobi that is usually the case isn’t sustainable and COVID-19 has even made the case better that cancer treatment must be carried out within the country at an affordable rate. Many companies donated a lot of money to COVID-19 as well as brand new pick ups. The cost of a modern cancer treatment centre costs less than 100 brand new ordinary pick up trucks or just 22 Landcruiser V8s. The writer is a Communication and Visibility Consultant and Chair Rotary Cancer Run 2020. djjuuko@gmail.com

August 19, 2020

News

#OutToLunch. 10 businesses one can start with capital of Shs150,000

By Denis Jjuuko There is an increasing number of Ugandans especially in Kampala starting roadside businesses since the partial lifting of the lockdown. On the roads to the suburbs where people live, there are more people selling fruits, liquid soap, and other such household items. Some look like people who have been formally employed before given their dress code and some how they speak. Some vend from fancy and expensive vehicles. With many jobs lost, this is a good thing. Over the weekend, there was a post circulating on social media (mainly Whatsapp) where somebody was inquiring what business they could do with start up capital of Shs150,000. Some people ridiculed the post as something impossible while others argued it was possible. I thought of businesses one could start with Shs150,000 and came up with 10 of them. In no particular order, here they are. Fruits vending 60 passion fruits (Masaka type) are retailed at Shs10,000. This means that one can start such a business. So with Shs150,000 one can start with more than 15 packs of 60 fruits. An apple is sold at about Shs1,000 at whole sale prices and retailed at Shs1500. So one can start selling them with 140 apples. Many other fruits can be sold with the said start up capital. Toilet paper Toilet paper vending in traffic is common these days. Retail prices range from Shs10,000 to Shs20,000 depending on the quality and location. This is another business one can start with Shs150,000. Liquid soap Making liquid soap is so easy and ingredients are readily available. One just needs to learn how to make it. A 5-litre jerrycan is sold at Shs10,000. This means that one can easily start the business with 75 litres. Shoe shinning The new normal of working from home seems not to be working. Offices are open again and Kampala is full of people. The dust in Kampala isn’t about to go away. So this is one business one can be able to start with Shs150,000 if they identified a busy location. Household supplies If you identify a few families in your neighborhood, you can start supplying them with household items. With a capital of Shs150,000 you can buy stuff from the market and you are paid on delivery. Hair plaiting Once you have the skill, you can identify a salon which you sub rent per a hour whenever you have a client. The capital is then used to purchase hair braids or weaves. Where weaves are more expensive, you simply ask a client to pay in advance or identify a shop where you can get them on credit. Fresh beans and peas vending In Kampala’s traffic, you can easily vend fresh beans, peas and vegetables all of which you can start with Shs150,000 or less. You can also identify buildings with many offices and ask for permission to deliver to clients in their vehicles as they depart after work. Bricks and sand supplies A small tipper (Elf) carries about 800 bricks. Each brick made out of ordinary soil is about Shs150. You can hire a truck and deliver them to people’s construction sites at a profit. You can also deliver sand to sites. Social media influencer I assume you already have a smartphone. You can start a business of tweeting, and making posts for organisations and individuals. Many of those standing for election don’t know a thing about social media. You can start making favourable posts for them. All you need is data and OTT. If you don’t have a phone, you can still get an affordable one. Cleaning services There is need for cleaning services in homes and business premises. You simply need soap and some pieces of cloth all of which cost less than Shs150,000. You can even employ other people to help. Where you need machines such as vacuum cleaners or high pressure pumps, you can hire them. Imagine if you negotiated with an office block and they allowed you to wash cars as office people worked, you could easily clean 10 cars a day earning Shs100,000 a day for at least five days. You can also hire brush cutters to slash compounds. There are hundreds of other business ideas one can start with Shs150,000. I just picked these ones. The writer is a Communication and Visibility Consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com

August 5, 2020