Nakawuki Stella Lukwago is a Social Innovation Consultant and a Certified Lobbyist.
Stella currently works with 500+ rural women and girls every year in social innovation, digital literacy, and sustainable agriculture. She has spoken at different global events as a guest speaker and has mentored and coached different social innovators that have won global awards and recognition.
Stella was born and raised in a rural area before leaving to attain her education in Kampala as it is paramount and critical to fulfilling her desired dream. She returned later to work in rural Mpigi for the past 9 years. In her words, “I know what rural women and girls go through; the struggles to access resources, the battle to be heard, the toil to survive economically, and the effort to acquire and afford basic education and most importantly realize their potential to the fullest. It is rural women and girls that support the rural ecosystems to thrive and without them, communities cannot thrive”.
With all the struggles rural women and girls go through daily as she had once experienced, the passion and interest to cause change spurred her. And with this passion, she came up with solutions that could support rural women and girls, and that birthed Social Innovation On Wheels.
The name “Innovation On Wheels” was inspired by a bicycle that moves from one place to another transporting almost everything from one area to another.
So far, her organization has impacted over 900 rural women and girls in the Mpigi district and reached 50 villages and 20 sub-countries.
She noted that her journey was inspired by Having worked in rural areas for the past 9 years, observing, feeling, and seeing the challenges rural women and girls face to realize their full potential as responsible citizens, yet they are the majority contributors to these communities that without them, communities can not thrive.
One of the challenges she currently faces in her organization is the limited space at their learning center to accommodate, train and empower a larger number of women in their programs but these challenges haven’t stopped her organization from achieving success and breaking records as her organization has been recognized by the Local government as a Community-Based Organization in Mpigi that works with rural women and girls and having reached a target of over 500 beneficiaries.
Other wins of her organization include:
- Organizing community engagement sessions and men turning up to study with their women for one day as a way of bringing everyone on the same page to avoid conflicts in households.
- Men coming to their programs to support women through community engagement sessions.
Aside from what she does in her organization, Stella is Social Innovation Consultant and a Certified Lobbyist and she consults with different organizations in social innovation and entrepreneurship.
One of the myths in her community regarding gender equality as she stated is that “Gender equality wants to deal away with men and that Gender equality is only benefiting women alone.”
She also mentioned that the role of religion and culture in disempowering women especially African women from realizing their fullest potential is a gap that needs to be bridged in women’s empowerment.
Stella’s watchword or mantra as a nonprofit leader is “unlearning, relearning, and learning.”. This has shaped her operations and impact as a nonprofit leader.
So far, her work has attracted partners and garnered some resources to further expand her organization’s mission and make more impact.
CONTACT STELLA
