ABOUT MODO
At MODO School of Fashion, we believe that every woman should have the ability to design her own future. Our mission is to empower women by equipping them with knowledge and skills in fashion entrepreneurship. Our team is working hard to launch our fashion school by January 2020 and we need your help! We are looking for individuals to partner with us to bring our vision to life.
OUR BEGINNINGS
MODO fashions was launched by Susan Namirimu in 2013 in Gulu, Uganda. Susan learned how to sew from her mother and continued to develop her skill throughout university. She launched MODO fashions as a premier fashion brand in northern Uganda. Over the years, Susan has seen the number of tailoring schools increase in Gulu but saw no real improvement in the industry. She realized these institutions are training women on tailoring but missing out on the full picture by lacking in business, entrepreneurship and the development of softer skills such as confidence building. Susan has been offering internships, apprenticeships, mentoring and coaching
to girls that trained through other programs but didn't have a clue how to start
working in fashion
Susan met Morgan Ginn in 2017 when she moved to Uganda to work for a social enterprise. Morgan being passionate about the empowerment of women and a lover of sustainable fashion, was interested in co-creating the dream for the tailoring school. Susan and Morgan partnered together in 2019 as co-founders to launch MODO School of Fashion in 2020. They are excited about the launch of MODO School and the hundreds of women that will be impacted from its existence.
WHY A TAILORING SCHOOL?
35% of girls in Uganda drop out of school because of early marriage and 23% drop out due to pregnancy.
The above statistic is for the country of Uganda as a whole, but in northern Uganda these rates are even higher where the majority of girls drop out before finishing school. These girls are forced to stay at home to care for their baby or married early for their bride price (dowry paid before marriage).
At MODO School of Fashion, we believe that every woman should have the opportunity to design her own future. This means that every woman should have the opportunity to dream, to create, to aspire, and then to feel empowered to chase those dreams (& to look good while doing it).
Our Fashion school trains women on tailoring, design, and fashion entrepreneurship. We believe that tailoring is a powerful skill to be harnessed in Uganda. The skill of tailoring creates both employment opportunities and potential for new business creation. Our school exists to build up the future of Uganda's fashion industry through creating leaders and to give women who want to chase another career path a skill set that will provide employment opportunities while they pursue their dream. We're giving women the ability to aspire and then do.
Our programs will work with child mothers, out of school girls, refugees, and any person looking for a stepping stone between where they are now and where they want to be.
OUR VISION
On an individual scale, we envision a world where every woman has the freedom to design her own future. On an industry scale, we envision Uganda's booming fashion industry that is being led by MODO School graduates.
70% of second-hand clothing ends up in East Africa
The fashion industry in Uganda has not had the chance to truly develop due to the immense amount of second-hand clothing dropped in the country every year. This has acted as a major barrier to economic development and job creation for tailors. MODO is working to raise awareness about the 'Made in Uganda' movement and the potential for the development of a booming fashion industry, starting with MODO School of Fashion.
JOIN US
MODO School of Fashion is launching in January 2020 and we need your help!
We need to raise funds to:
- Provide partial scholarships for 30 fashion entrepreneurs:
- Our pilot class will consist of 30 women who will go through our one-year fashion entrepreneurship course. We want to offer partial scholarships for these 30 girls. Our one-year course is $500 and we will offer scholarships of $250. We want every dollar contributed by our students to be matched. We're looking to raise $7,500 to provide scholarships for 30 students. Join us and provide a scholarship to empower a fashion entrepreneur!
- Renovate our school space:
- We're building MODO School of Fashion from the ground. We have a space in Gulu town located on the second floor above a supermarket. The space needs to be completely renovated; from purchasing chalkboards to renovating our bathrooms. Be a co-creator in making our vision come to life by purchasing a chair for our space or contributing to our renovations.
- Purchase Supplies
- You can't start a fashion school without a couple of sewing machines. Support MODO by purchasing a sewing machine that hundreds of girls will launch their fashion careers on over the next couple of years.
MODO is a social enterprise and our long-term vision is where our school is self-sustained. But unfortunately "you need money to make money". Like every start-up we have initial starting costs which is why our ultimate goal is to raise $15,000 to provide scholarships for 30 students and cover our renovation costs.
Will you join us today to launch the fashion revolution in Uganda?
Learn more about our program by visiting: http://modoschooloffashion.com/
Have a question? Get in contact with us at [email protected] or [email protected]
