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Building Change from Within

AUGUST 2025 UPDATE • ISSUE #2

A Note From Our Founder

Dear friends and partners,

It is with a heart full of gratitude and excitement that I share this update with you. So much has grown from the seeds we planted together just 9 months ago.

When we last connected in May, our work was a powerful vision. Today, that vision is yielding tangible, life-changing results. The success we are seeing on the ground—from the thriving maize mill to the birth of a new invention—is a manifestation of the incredible power that is unlocked when a community believes in its own strength.

This journey is moving faster than I could have imagined, and it is your belief in us that fuels our progress. Thank you for walking with us.

With deep gratitude,
Francis Kumakech
Founder & Executive Director

An Update on the Lacac Pe Lony Maize Mill: The Ripple Effect of Success

Since our last update, the community-owned maize mill has become the beating heart of the village. It is now fully operational, and its success has created a wave of excitement and organic growth we couldn't have predicted.

The mill is so popular and so central to village life that the group's membership has grown, welcoming 10 new members to bring their total to 63 women. These are the direct participants in our program. But the true impact ripples out far beyond them.

Impact Snapshot: The Lacac pe Lonyo Mill

• Direct Participants: 63 women trained and empowered as co-owners.

• Community Ripple Effect: Over 370 family and community members are now benefiting from the project's success.

• Total Economic Impact: Over 3,000,000 UGX (more than $800 USD) in savings and value is being created for the community every single month.

See our impact →

The daily 5km journey to the nearest milling centers is now a memory. But the real story is what these numbers mean for a family. One woman shared that the mill now saves her family 12,000 UGX (about $3.20) every single week—money that now goes directly to school fees and healthier meals.

This sense of ownership is felt throughout the village, but for the women who co-invested their own time and labor, the feeling is profound. As one member, Filda, told us with a smile, pointing to the building:

"I built this mill house with my own hands. When I see it running, I feel that I own it as well."

This is the soul of our work in action: a successful enterprise, built on the foundation of co-ownership, that is so valuable the entire community is now lining up to be a part of it.

From a Promise to a Prototype: The Lyètch ManualPress is Born

In our May newsletter, we shared our dream of developing a clean energy solution. We said, "Stay tuned."

The Lyètch Press prototype being built in our Gulu workshop.

Today, we are thrilled to share the Lyètch ManualPress, our pedal-powered briquette machine, now in the final stages of its first prototype. We deliberately built it using metal scraps to keep costs low, ensuring our commitment to resourcefulness and responsible innovation, until it is fully tested. Born from listening to the women of Lacac pe Lony (No Work, No Wealth) savings group and shaped by local engineering talent, this design will transform an underutilized resource, like local grass and food waste into sustainable fuel, tackling deforestation in the process, and solving energy poverty and related health risks associated with unclean energy sources.

We expect to complete fabrication and begin community testing before the end of August after we fabricate the paddling system. This stage is about learning, refining, and ensuring the technology meets the community's needs before moving to full-scale production.

Read our blog →

The World is Taking Notice: A Global Spotlight from Ashoka

The most exciting news since we last wrote is a powerful validation of our community-led model.

🏆 In June, Resilience From Within was honored to be selected as a Winner of the 2025 Ashoka "Power of Local Challenge."

To be recognized on a global stage by the world's leading social entrepreneurship network is an incredible honor that gives us the momentum and the credibility to dream even bigger.

Read our blog →

What's Growing Next: Our Path Forward

•

Testing & Launching: Completing the community pilot of the Lyètch ManualPress with our partners at Lacac pe Lony.

•

Building Our Team: Using the support from our Ashoka win to hire our first key staff.

•

Seeking Major Partners: Actively pursuing strategic funding from global partners like the Mulago Foundation to scale our work.

A Call to Action: Join the Movement

This is a moment of incredible momentum. Your support can help us turn this spark into a blazing fire. Our mindful entrepreneurship training gives women the inner strength to succeed; this machine will be the powerful tool in their hands.

A donation today directly funds the final fabrication and community testing of the Lyètch ManualPress, turning our proven training into a sustainable, community-owned clean energy enterprise.

Help Us Launch Our First Invention →

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Resilience From Within
Plot 9, Eriza Lakor Road, Gulu, Uganda
info@resiliencefromwithin.org

RFW is fiscally sponsored by Angels for Angels, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.