Seisma pledge 1% to help break the cycle of poverty

With a strong alignment of values and a focus on the empowerment of women and girls in the IT space, so began our partnership with Seisma in 2020.

Seisma currently sponsor 85 of our secondary school girls as well as our IT Teacher, Jerome, and recently contributed to our Giving Day as matched funding partners.

We asked their COO, Heath Caban, some questions recently to get to know a little bit more about our major corporate partner.

Tell us a little bit about Seisma?

Seisma has been operating since 2004, but in October 2020 Liverpool Partners invested in the team and helped make us the IT services group we are today with a mission to become the largest 100% Australian owned professional services group with a social conscience.  We support the Australian economy and our amazing girls in Uganda with School for Life.

 

How and when did Seisma become connected with School for Life and our work?

As part of Liverpool Partners social governance we were introduced to the Generations Foundation and Pledge 1%.  We commit to donating 1% of our profit to social causes, and our main focus has been our involvement with School for Life.  We have been a major corporate sponsor for over a year now and we are so happy when we see what a difference this makes to the communities and the girls in particular.

 

Are there any key facets of School for Life that Seisma was drawn to in particular?

As an IT services company, we understand the gender imbalance.  We want to create a world where there are more opportunities for girls to become involved in STEM and the work that School for Life is doing in the ICT lab directly supports our mission.  Recently we participated in Giving Day and our team managed to raise enough money to support the wages for the ICT teacher.  We are so happy to have achieved that – and we are looking at other ways that we can lend our expertise as a mentor to the team on the ground in Uganda.

 

Why is it important for Seisma to support not-for-profit organisations like School for Life?

We have made a commitment to Pledge 1% of our profit to social causes.  We consider that this is just one of the many ways that we can demonstrate we care for our planet and it’s people.  Everybody deserves an opportunity to escape the poverty cycle and starting with early education of both genders, but especially girls, has been demonstrated to make a difference not only to the current generation but generations to come.  We are incredibly humbled to be part of a movement that is facilitating those opportunities.

 

In what ways is Seisma supporting School for Life to educate poverty out of existence?

School for Life are our Pledge 1% charity – but in addition we have a workplace gifting program where staff can donate from their pre tax salary and Seisma will match that amount $ for $.  This is in addition to our regular donation and is a great way for our teams to also feel connected to the mission of School for Life and our part, however large or small, in that cycle.

 

What is important to Seisma in a partnership with a non-profit? What kind of impact do you hope to have?

We hope that one day we can step back and see a whole group of girls who have graduated from the school, start their lives with careers of choice rather than passively taking on the roles of previous generations.  We love the updates from the team that allow us to measure our impact because it gives such a great perspective on the lives we take for granted here in Australia. 

 

Is there anything further you would like to add/share with the School for Life Community?

Your stories are inspiring – we love to hear from the families, the teachers and the students – but equally hearing the stories of fellow supporters.  There is community in our common cause.  A huge well done School for Life for keeping everything going through the COVID-19 challenges – you were able to pivot and provide essential services to families, and work to your teams and keep the students young minds active and engaged.

Thank you, Seisma, for your continued support. We are so grateful to have you part of the School for Life community! ❤️

If you would like to learn more about how your business can get involved with us, please send us an email at hello@schoolforlife.org.au.

Success Stories
Goretti

Sweet and shy Goretti lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a small house in the local village. When Goretti was younger, she moved in with her aunt and uncle because her parents could no longer look after her. She was one of our first students at Katuuso Primary, starting in 2011 when she was just 4 years old. Now, Goretti is in Senior One at Mbazzi High School, and is relishing the honour of being a high school student in her community - something that is taken for granted in Australia, but in Uganda, represents freedom and opportunity. Goretti also loves attending School for Life because she hopes to one day become a pilot in Uganda - a dream which she knows can only be reached with the help of a good education.

Violah

Violah has been at School for Life since since she was six years old. Sadly, Violah has experienced hardship no child should ever deal with. Her Dad passed away three years ago, leaving her Mum without the financial means to support her family - so she left Violah and her siblings with their elderly grandmother. Every day, Violah has to wake up at 5am to fetch water, cook meals and make sure that her younger sisters are properly looked after. Then she walks half an hour to get to school. Despite this adversity, Violah has flourished at school and has made many friends. She loves that School for Life is "helping me to build a future". After finishing school, Violah hopes to become a teacher to help other children.

Umar

Umar is one of our best performing students at Mbazzi Riverside High School - but life has not always been easy for Umar. His father abandoned the family in 2015, leaving his mother to struggle to support her five children on her own. School for Life has provided Umar with opportunities that may never else have eventuated for him. Umar begun his journey with School for Life at Katuuso Primary School, where his academic ability was quickly revealed. Now, he is a thriving member of our Senior 1 class and a formidable wing on the football team. With a love for mathematics, Umar is set on studying electronic engineering after finishing his senior studies - a goal which he is the first to admit is now within reach thanks to the skills and resources provided to him by School for Life.

Rose Nambooze

Rose is a 32‐year‐old single mother of one. She started working with SFL in 2013, after taking part in our tailoring training program. Prior to working with us, she was unemployed and living in her father's home helping to care for her father, who had cataracts, and his farm.
Thanks to her full time employment, Rose was able to save enough money to pay for an eye operation and restore her father's sight, allowing him to return to work as a mechanic. Now, Rose has moved into her own home and no longer relies on her father financially. 

Joseph

Joseph is one of our Special Needs teachers at Katuuso. After surviving a severe case of malaria at age four, he was left permanently deaf. He was raised by his single mother and attended a nursery school for the handicapped and later transferred to a school for the Deaf in Kampala. He eventually mastered sign language and pursued a university degree in education. Joseph decided to become a teacher so that he could give the gift of education to others who are hearing impaired.

Teddy Namatovu

Teddy is a participant in the Kumi Tailoring Program and four of her five children attend Katuuso Primary School. She and her husband farm two acres of land, which supplies fluctuating revenue. Participation in the Kumi Tailoring Project has secured income to reliably pay for school fees, nutritious meals and renovations to the family home. Teddy has gained a great deal of self-esteem from her ability to support her family and she takes pride in independently financing the education of all five children. Teddy has also been working on her numeracy and administration skills. She was appointed Treasurer of the tailoring group and will be responsible for keeping records of their savings.

Flaviah Nassaazi

Flaviah Nassaazi started working at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011. Prior to cooking at the school, she and her husband were subsistence farmers. They worked tirelessly for small yields and minimal income to support their family. Flaviah's cooking job not only enables her to pay school fees for her children, but she has also invested in a local barbershop business. She is now passing her cooking skills onto her eldest son Frank, who has also joined the school's cooking staff. Flaviah and her husband attend the adult literacy classes offered weekly at the school. Her English and reading have improved immensely, as well as her confidence.

Rachel

In 2010, Rachel began as a cleaner at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School. She was working to save money to study to be a teacher at University. Thanks to Barrie and Simone Goldsmith, her dream of studying came true and she is now fully qualified.