Uganda: Lady Slyke and DJ Rachael for charity gig

The event, dubbed From the Slums to the Catwalk, has been organised by A Woman’s Worth, a private initiative that empowers women in Uganda by providing them with business skills and personal development training to become independent and self-sufficient.

Slyke, who is the founder of Slyke Designs, was part of the team of professional designers who trained the women from the Walukuba and Masese slums in the city of Jinja.

“Women are the mothers of the nation and when you support a woman you support the whole world,” she said. “I was happy to see that they were all eager to learn. Personally, I showed them how to make jewellery and necklaces.”

The founder of A Woman’s Worth, Susan Guerts, said that the women went through a six-month training programme.

“I am excited that for the first time, the women from the slums have a platform to show their talent,” she said. “There is a lot of hidden talent and normally they never get the opportunity or platform to showcase their work to the public. This will be the first. As a charity, we don't have a budget but it is has been amazing to see how many people share our vision.”

Guerts explained why she chose to work with Lady Slyke and DJ Rachael. “We decided to only work with female artists as the whole event is about women empowerment,” she said.

“DJ Rachael is very well-known, and she has over the years initiated women empowerment projects. As for Lady Slyke, she is into fashion. I am glad she came to work with the women because it was an amazing workshop.”

Slyke also spoke of the need for musicians to have entrepreneurial skills. “It’s important for musicians to have an alternative investment to enable them to sustain themselves and their families,” she said.

In Slyke's view, musicians can only thrive in today's economy if they combine their musical and innovative skills.

“The current state of our music industry cannot solely and continuously satisfy one's financial needs. So we need to have a retirement plan because we will not all be able to run around singing and dancing forever.”

Just last week, Uganda hosted a public dialogue where musicians were taken through tips on how they could sustain themselves in the music industry.

For more information about the From the Slums to the Catwalk charity event, click here.