KALENZI finds satisfaction in spreading joy to underprivileged 

During the annual lent period, Christians abscond from several vanities to reflect on their experiences with God.

It is through this dedication that ESTHER KALENZI, 35, founded 40 Days, 40 Smiles (4040) foundation to help vulnerable children and communities to access education and entrepreneurial training.

As Samuel Muhindo writes, Kalenzi has grown the organization from a mere call to share her Easter holiday with less privileged children to an organization that has brought smiles to more than 3,000 children.

It the entrance of Merowa Junior School, The Observer is welcomed by a building under construction. A fusion of brick, mortar, and containers is being patched together.

“That is the Angaza resource center,” Kalenzi said. She added, “Angaza is a Kiswahili word that means ‘shine’. We want our children to shine”

THE RISE OF 4040

Two years into her job at an advertising agency in Kampala, Kalenzi decided to change the lives of underprivileged children.

“It was all a wild thought. I just wanted to be like reality TV host Oprah Winfrey. Even when I didn’t have the means, I also wanted to change the lives of needy children,” she said.

Around February, 2012, she decided to celebrate Easter with needy children.

“Since I am a Catholic, I am aware that several Christians abscond from vanities during the Lent period; I wanted these people to direct these resources towards helping needy children.”

Kalenzi opened a Facebook page called 40 Days over 40 Smiles. She called it 40 days, hoping there would be at least 40 children (beneficiaries) and 40 smiles impacted by acts of kindness.

“I aggressively used Facebook to rally people to donate to the cause. We didn’t register much success in the earlier days until the last week of Lent when I was overwhelmed by support. We raised Shs 3.1 million and several children’s items. Most of the support came from my friends, workmates and relatives.”

Kalenzi and her team used the money to buy several scholastic materials and food items. On Good Friday, they spent the day at a children’s home in Kyebando.

“We also hired a chef who prepared lunch for the children. The home hosted about 90 children. The children and their caretaker stayed in a three-bedroom house. During our day-long stay at the home, we participated in games with the children and shared with them the little we had carried. On holy Saturday, we visited another children’s home in Nateete and did the same.”

Shortly after the outreach projects, Kalenzi invited everyone that had joined her during the two outreaches for a meeting at Centenary park in Kampala.

“I wanted us to reflect on the role that 4040 would play in changing the lives of several children in our communities. The people that showed up on that day created a foundation for our volunteer arm. We were young people who were passionate about changing the lives of children”.

PROJECTS

Around 2014, Kalenzi resigned from her job to concentrate on the activities of 4040. Although she had no job, pleas for her assistance kept coming in.

“I realized that I was cheating my employer yet I was giving my work divided attention. I had to give 4040 my undivided attention. Even when I didn’t have money to support my projects, people kept coming to me asking for assistance. Since we needed a sustainable project where the impact could be tracked, we agreed to concentrate on the education of needy children residing in vulnerable communities. Some years down the road, we zeroed down on community primary schools.”

To fund their projects, Kalenzi and the team at 4040 ran several online campaigns. One of the major ones was dubbed Buy a brick.

“We valued each brick at Shs 500. The first one was to build a dormitory. Through aggressive social media campaigns, we supported Happy Times Junior School in Luweero to establish a dormitory for their underprivileged pupils. We raised Shs 28 million and put up the building in 2014. It now serves about 210 children. We also supported Elohim Development Centre to put up a dormitory for girls in 2015. We raised Shs 20 million through another Buy a brick campaign. There was a growing need and we knew we couldn’t do everything but we did the best with what we had. We had to find a clear home where people could access our services in one place.”

ANGAZA RESOURCE CENTER

Around 2017, Kalenzi and the team at 4040 won the coveted NSSF torch awards. Kalenzi had pitched her desire to establish a community library.

She zeroed down on establishing the community library at Happy Times Junior School which had a high population of learners and could be easily accessed by children in the community.

Years later, she expanded the idea to establish a major resource centre dubbed Angaza. Although it will also host a community library, it is anticipated that the resource centre estimated to cost approximately Shs 176 million will offer other services that young people need.

“Since we can’t be in several places at the same time, the Angaza centre will allow people to walk in, access our services like reading, and interact with teachers, among others. Although we have a shortfall of Shs 25 million, we hope to train approximately 200 teachers and 3,000 children from Makindye division over the next few years.”

Unlike most projects which target only children in school, Kalenzi noted that they had decided to vail their services to all the children irrespective of whether the children are in school or not.

“Several children dropped out of schools because of the pandemic. The best we can do for them is to allow them to access the resource centre. They should at least be able to read, operate a computer and articulate themselves in public”.

She added: “The gift we are giving these children is a mindset change. We are currently partnering with two schools serving about 250 pupils. At the start, several schools were hesitant to include reading on their timetable but most of them have now embraced our idea.”

She further said they have donated books to several schools to aid the reading and public speaking classes. The volunteers visit these schools every Friday afternoon to conduct these children through several sessions of reading, writing and public speaking.

“We want every child in these underprivileged communities to get out of their shell and feel seen. We encourage the children to be fluent in any language because fluency in a language isn’t limited to English. We have created a programme that allows each child to shine. Some children are excellent visual learners; the rest are writers while some are fluent in speech. Our program also teaches self-awareness, resourcefulness and community agency. We encourage the learners to understand who they are, what makes them that way, and how they can influence their community, regardless of their background.”

Although 4040 runs on a tight budget, Kalenzi insisted that their success has been tied to the volunteers who have pledged their time and energy.

“Our volunteers are the only resources that we have. We also teach them skills like how to crowdfund, communicate, prepare for interviews, sell merchandise, etc. By the time a volunteer leaves, they have attained transferable skills. They are a huge part of what makes our community great.”

WHAT VOLUNTEERS SAY

Interviewed, Ivan Kabandize, the programmes manager at 4040, said, “I joined 4040 in 2017 as a volunteer. I joined because I was intrigued by Kalenzi’s vision and resolve to support children from underserved communities. A privileged person can rarely place their privilege aside to commit fulltime to live the dream of serving people for no pay”.

Like Kabandize, Gloria Mbabazi, the project lead for the Angaza Resource Center, commended Kalenzi’s resolve to serve underserved communities.

“It has been a learning opportunity for me as a volunteer at 4040. I envy Kalenzi’s people management. It is not easy for you to keep volunteers that are not paid happy. I have been given opportunities through Angaza. I have capitalized on these opportunities to give back to the organization. 4040 is a unique place for dedicated young people. You don’t leave the way you came”.