A Storm in a Tea Cup

1. Childhood

                    A storm in a teacup is how I was described by my Dad much earlier in life. Something was always going on with me. My parents and siblings were always a little bothered by my energy and the amount of noise I could make. I remember hearing Mum on the phone with a friend tiredly stating how since I had started crawling they had no peace. And I could understand her plight. Sometimes even I was bothered.

                    I was not the healthiest of children but I was always up a tree or down some hole or even up some vent looking for adventure. I was sure of one thing though. I wanted to be a boy. I talked to everyone about it especially during my questions stage when I was about 5. My Nanny had a ball with me. Telling me all kinds of things I could do to change my gender. So I sat in baskets ate boiled eggs though I hated them, ate standing up… so many things I tried. When I finally discovered George of the famous five I found a kindred spirit. Because boys seemed to have it all… no one worried when they climbed trees or slid down a balustrade or sat like a pirate or played with fire. And somehow I was surrounded by boys. Hence the need to belong.

2. A Whole New World

                  One of the books I first read as a child was the Lady in the Lake by Perry Mason and from then on every day was an adventure. A Case to solve. But my greatest confusion came from the little box of motion pictures we called a TV. It blew my mind the possibilities that were there. When I think of the fact that there was only one channel and that it started at 6pm and ended at 10pm it’s hard to imagine that it had much of an impact when I think of what we have in form of entertainment now.

All I remember is that that little box was filled with adventure and I could experience all of it. I was Bonny M on the Golden Oldies dancing with the mike stand, I was one of the kids in Sound of music hoping for Maria to marry our Dad and sing us into the future, I was on one of Perpenheimers’ adventures, or a cousin to the Cookie Monster on Sesame Street. Name it, I lived all these things. Je Je felt like a brother in Good Times and George Jefferson felt like that funny uncle we all have in the Jefferson’s. And then I discovered books. Anne of Green Garbles convinced me I had a twin out there and Sherlock Holmes taught me science and sarcasm.

3. An Identity Crisis

                 Anyway, I digress. In a nutshell, with my wild imagination and over active little body and tendency to verbosity, I did not fit in. Everyone seemed very good at sitting still, at being good, at remembering all they were supposed to do except me. And I was constantly reminded of this. So if you have a child that seems like I was, please remember that that might mean they also wonder why they seem different.

                Sometimes it made me sad, and when I lost my temper which was often and epic then I told my parents to return me from where I was adopted ( that was my coping mechanism; believing I was adopted from a family that was just like me). I got sad when I forgot again and again not to play with my Dad’s bike and ended under it. I was miserable every time I climbed the coconut tree and my dad had to get some man to bring me down. I was sad every time I returned home and realized I had lost two hours day dreaming. I was sad because it meant I wasn’t good. And that saddest thing was that ironically I was a people pleaser.

              Later on being different became a refuge, it helped me accept rejection, it helped me develop into the loner teen I later became because I accepted myself, grew into my skin and started to have fun. But that’s for later.

4. Hello Snowflake 

            What’s the point I am making? The point is you are a snow flake. A lot will make you different and people fear different. This sometimes leads to you experiencing a lot of rejection and then you begin the journey of hating and rejecting you. The snowflake God designed with so much love and so uniquely that he had you on His mind when he brought your parents together. And much earlier when He died for you. Dealing with who you are and who the world prefers you to be can be a stormy existence. A very stormy one. And my first real experience of some calm was when I was ten years old. 

5. I Meet Jesus

               All my life (yes all ten years of it) I had tried to be good but faced condemnation when I knelt to pray every night because someone in Sunday school taught me that my sins would add nails in Jesus’ hands.(I can see your eye roll) But one day, while taking a very unauthorized detour from my way back home from school I found a crusade at St James Church in my Jinja town and a man in a plaid shirt made a profound statement, “if you come forward and accept Jesus in your life He will come in and change you from the inside out”

                To my young ears this meant that Jesus could change me from the inside, without any help from me! So I stepped up to that podium and that man (I later learnt he was a young Pr Robert Kayanja) led me through a prayer and gave me a Gideon’s Bible.

            My ten year old self was elated, convinced of my transformation. I started reading that Bible… and soon asked my Mum for hers because it had the Old Testament and I discovered even richer better stories than my novels. Because these were true and they were about Jesus, who I was fast falling in love with, and how He transformed lives like mine. Needless to say I was less destructive and more distracted and meeting some Jehovah’s witnesses who I stressed with many questions deepened my journey. This transformation was very gradual... and more internal than external as Pr. K had promised. But it did happen.

6. A New Unfurling

              As He says in Mathew 10:39 it is only in losing oneself in Him that one can find themselves. There is no truer statement. In Him I found compassion love and acceptance. And then it started welling on the inside of me. I remember I started volunteering in Sunday school and would stay behind to help the Vicars' wife organize just to hear more stories about her and her walk with Christ.

             Every one of us has grown up with labels and masks. We need to take the time to pick them off us one by one and examine where these labels came from. When we mess up or make a mistake or act different we almost always experience rejection. When we do we respond either by brushing it off it we have a stellar self-esteem or by embracing that rejection and making it a label or a lens through which we see everything. Then we begin to respond that way. So what are the labels you have accepted about yourself? I am here to tell you that that may just be the lens. Step up to your Father and let Him show you who you are.

          When Adam and Eve sinned their guilt labeled them naked. And they saw themselves naked even before God. When I  would make a mess or fail to meet my parents’ expectations I would lash out, so I “had a temper” or I would respond in self-condemnation and denial by pretending I was adopted… hence labeling myself different. And doing a very good job of convincing others that I was indeed different. And not in a good way. 

The Devil is such a liar but we sometimes help him stretch the tales. 

        Hannah Hannard in her Book “Hinds Feet on High Places” speaks of Much Afraid, the little cripple who longed to go with the Good Shepherd up the mountain. However when you read the book you find that most of the obstacles she experienced were those she had learnt to shelter within her. Starting with her name Much Afraid. Her greatest obstacles were her habits and companions. 

       Are your companions, fear, rejection, sorrow? Have you let them define you? Or is it even your name? Your identity that you believe should also be your destiny? What labels are those that stand in your way? That you have to let go of? Yes it is hard to do that and for every label you remove you must wear a new one and there is only one place you will get new ones that do not scar you. In Christ’s love. 

In His Word, where He says that

                “Because you are precious in My sight and since you are honored and I love you, I will                         give other men in your place and other people in exchange for your life.” In Isaiah 43:4

He says 

              “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands, your walls are ever before me” Isaiah 49:16

In Jeremiah 31:3 He says

             “I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with everlasting kindness.”

                There is much more where that came from. So why not take a delve into His Word and start doing some label swapping?

7. An Adventure with Him

After just a bit of this in my own life ( and I am not saying that I have perfected it) As I have grown into loving who I am and even celebrating it with my mum, we have discovered that I am almost a carbon copy of who she was as a child! And the same happened with my Dad and brother! And it was the unconditional love of Christ that did that! I was already like them, but it is only seeing things through the right lenses that gave me the right perspective. I am not saying that you have to look for your parents in you… it might be the opposite desire for some… but that your identity gets clearer as you start to peel away the layers of unnecessary baggage.

So get your Bible, pen and paper and let's get peeling!

Kaaka Joy, A Woman after God's Heart and my First Leadership Experience

The woman I am proud to call my Grandmother was a tall light kinned beautiful and very reserved woman. She was also very emotional and wore her heart on her sleeve. She was also so demure that if she was angry or very happy she tended to cover her face shyly with her ever white pristine handkerchief. 

She had the most dainty hands, and later on in life I had the honor of massaging them whenever she had to endure a drip for her treatment for ulcers, something that ailed her all her life.

She had three passions in life, God, her family and her community.  She was widowed young and left with five children by a man who had loved sheltered her all her life. She managed to raise her five children and had almost 15 Grandchildren and three great grandchildren by the time she passed (That's Ethan Wall on her Lap). 

Her strict discipline and tough parenting helped all her children get a good education which was quite the fit for a woman of her times, who was never really educated. 

Growing up, all her grand children had a taste of her love and discipline. She named almost all of us. My name Nabaasa was from her. She named me Niwe Abaasa meaning "It's God who is able" but it was shortened to Nabaasa. She invested time in each and everyone of us. 

She spent time in our homes and we spent time in hers. She mentored her children in parenting as well. Cleanliness and godliness were her mantra. She was also very hardworking.  I learnt to weed the garden and some other chores from her. And most that I know about our culture I learnt from my time with Kaaka. I remember my visits to her home. I was a sickly child with allergies to hard water and yet she always found a way of treating the water to protect me. 

I was also very naughty. I had a very poor appetite and I remember one night in the living room they gave us millet and meat. Her dog was lying in the corner. I hated millet so I kept wrapping meat pieces in millet and throwing it to the dog sneakily in a dark corner since we used lamp light then. That night I was praised for finishing my food....but that dog betrayed me. He ate all the meat and left the millet which was discovered the next morning. That spanking was righteous I tell you. But despite my shenanigans she got me to eat somehow. 

She taught me about Christ. From the time I was three she always talked to me as if we were peers. She spoke to me of Christ but the true Gospel was the one she lived. Her home always had people coming for counsel, prayer and she would always see them off with gifts of food or some gift someone had given her.  Every night she would have us sing and pray. She was up at the break of dawn praying and then going to her garden. She taught me the Zabuuli or our local hymnal and taught me her favorite hymns. She is the reason I can speak my mother tongue. When I was nine she had me visit her for a month and forbade me to speak English or Luganda for that whole month. I had to learn Runyankole. Up to th hat moment I could only understand it not speak it. But by the end of that visit I was almost fluent. I was so proud to weave her a bag for her Bible when I was ten. And I was even more proud to have her at my Graduation,  and to bring her my children. The sadest but still a proud moment was that when she rested, I had the honor of preparing the Order of Service in English and Runyankole. Using the Zabuuli she gave my parents. These skills were all thanks to her diligence in making sure we knew where we came from and were proud of it.

Kaaka was generous to a fault.  She would literally give the clothes off her back. She gave me my first watch when I was eight, a very expensive leather watch someone had brought her from abroad. She taught me to always have a clean handkerchief on hand and got me addicted to earbuds. 

I do not drink alchohol to this day because when I was three she made me promise never to do so. She said I was a special child from God. I believed her. I was very sickly as a child and I remember finding a letter from her to my mother saying that she believed I was a gift from God and that Mom shouldn't despair if I was too ill. She waa always a pillar to everyone and I remember when she passed all her children who even had grandchildren were so stricken... No one could imagine life without her. She was a force to reckon with.

I am proud to be told that I look like Kaaka. I do not have her light skin and regal build but I have her strong teeth and eyes and her smile. I also inherited her love for people and especially children. 

Her home was always open and her heart always learning. She was very resilient and raised strong hardworking resilient children and grandchildren. 

She is still alive in so many of us and today I celebrate her love for God, her resilience,  and her passion for family.

Some of Her Wisdom

1. Pray and read your Bible Daily

2. Always tell the truth

3. Appreciate honesty, it means well

4. Always have a clean handkerchief 

5. Work with your hands, it is blessed.

6. Love practically

7. Do not pursue material things

8. Spare the rod and spoil the child

9. Walk with Jesus Daily

10. Love your family, family comes first.

I love you Kaaka. 

Ninsiima Ruhang'Owakumpeire

The Role of Innovation in Promoting Access to Justice in Uganda

1. Background

Access to Justice is a subjective concept. This is because it differs from one individual to another. Just like an elephant, although we might struggle to describe it fully and precisely however we can recognize it when we see it, or even better, we are certain when we do not see it in actions.  Access to justice simply means understanding your legal rights, being able to exercise these rights and obtaining a just outcome.

Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law and it is a fundamental Human Right that is necessary for the protection of all other human rights. It is important to note that access to justice is not only about Physical access, it also entails affordability of legal services and availability of information pertaining to the law and dispute resolution. All these facets of accessibility should be coupled with non-discrimination.

2. Barriers to Access to Justice

In Africa today, there are many barriers to access to justice and this has accelerated the violation of people’s rights. Ugandans encounter considerable obstacles in terms of access to justice. These barriers may be through the country’s normative framework- or national laws or may be through the country’s institutional framework for justice which includes law enforcement and court systems.

According to HiiL on Justice Needs of Uganda 2016, one of the major inhibitors of access to justice in Uganda, is that many users of the justice system have experienced limited fairness in the processes and outcomes of their justice journeys particularly when they go through the justice system. Furthermore, the cost of legal advice and representation continues to push people away from accessing justice.

3. The Need for Innovation in the Justice Space

This is a call for us to continue to innovate for the betterment of access to justice by all. One of the saviors that has been presented to us is technology.  In this day and age the constant changes in technology are pushing us to think of new ways of addressing the multiple and complex problems faced by litigants, victims, witnesses and those accused of crime.

With innovation, we are able to create or take the necessary steps to promote fair, transparent, effective, non- discriminatory and accountable services that promote justice for all. In the recent past, the Uganda law society launched an App called “Pulida Wo” translated to mean “Your Lawyer” -an innovation that is aimed at extending Pro bono Legal Aid services to the masses.

Furthermore, innovation enables us to address the existing challenges that are affecting access to justice and changes the way we interact with the justice system. For example in the courts of Uganda today, it is possible to conduct a hearing via video conferencing. The use of these facilities is to reduce the constraints of time and distance as well as the possible intimidation of witnesses.

Another way in which innovation may promote access to justice is through creating access to affordable legal advice and services. The reason as to why many Ugandans do not use the justice system is because of the high price of litigation and other legal services which an average Ugandan cannot be able to afford.  The creation of a solution that will meet this particular need of the users of the justice system will not only promote access to justice but will also encourage people to resolve  their matters or seek redress through the system.  In this regard, there is an online platform called LegIT.com which aids people in drafting legal contracts in just a matter of minutes after which the document is sent right to your mail inbox at just a fee of about Ugshs. 50,000 which is relatively low considering what one would ordinarily spend on paying a lawyer to draft it. However this price still relatively high for  an average Ugandan.

4. Conclusion

Innovation and technology are scary to a lawyer as it seems like their jobs are under attack. However that is not the case. It is impossible to fully replace lawyers. It is therefore worth noting that technology driven tools can provide information and guidance where no support from a lawyer is available and can boost the work of lawyers through automation and online platforms thereby reducing cost and increasing accessibility.

Therefore promotion of access to justice is a journey that we all must embark on and it is through endless innovation that we will reach our destination- where there is a system of administration of justice by the courts of law where all citizens have unhindered access to constitutionally established court of criminal or civil jurisdiction which are free from bias. The citizens must also have the confidence that there will be no usurpation by any other person of the functions of the court.

Only then shall we claim to have achieved access to justice. So until then, we continue to innovate.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND SME GROWTH IN UGANDA.

1. BACKGROUND

Government has taken up many initiatives to promote the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises as well as promoting Regional Integration through Trade between Partner states to ensure that Uganda as a country can grow and attain Vision 2040.

There is need for strategic industrial and business development for our country and the need to increase our exports as we create more business and employment for our people which in turn aids the growth of our Economy.  The Government has supported the Economic Partnership Agreement and the African Continental Free Trade Area because it is the leverage for the business people and professionals to ensure the widening of markets for them to do business.

There have been attempts to also make it convenient for investors to export their products within Africa and beyond and as such the SME’s are key to aiding this initiative.

2. A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

All over the world, there is growing evidence that SMEs and small businesses play an important role in the national economic development of any country. The extra growth in the World’s economy over the past years has been largely due to the growth of SMEs. SMEs are becoming more and more a subject of high attention in the developing countries and countries in transition but also in countries with developed economies. In market economies like Uganda, SME’s are the engine of economic development thanks to their private ownership, entrepreneurial spirit, their flexibility and adaptability as well as their potential to react to challenges and changing environments, SMEs contribute to sustainable growth and employment generation in a significant manner with the main areas of their presence as manufacturing, distribution and logistics industry as well as the services industry.

In the manufacturing industry they produce goods by using skills developed historically and accumulated by individuals, they also produce products whose raw materials and goods are limited in terms of transferable time  they operate fields in which are many processing and manufacturing methods and whose economic efficiency can be enhanced by specializing them in the areas of expertise and they produce products whose market size is too small for big companies to enter while operating in markets where innovative entrepreneurs take risks, commercialize new technologies and develop new business.

In the distribution and logistics industry they distribute a variety of goods efficiently from the manufacturers to consumers and for that reason the existence of many SMEs having businesses tie-ups is essential in any economy.

In the Services Industry they operate in the presence of many services provided both to businesses and individuals where due to constraints of time and distance, a large number of SMEs are needed to provide them.

Until recently, the private sectors of many emerging economies were missing the middle level of development. Globally, Investors, policymakers, and professionals dedicated most of their efforts to big companies of over 500 employees, larger enterprises or multinationals. Large Enterprises and Multi-National Corporations were a target of TAX incentives and subsidies whereas organizations like World Bank and UNDP were focused on supporting the micro-enterprises, which usually have less than 5 employees. Between these two extremes, lie the SME businesses. In the past, SMEs were considered non-essential to the economy, however, lately there have been many promising initiatives to support the SMEs operating in crucial segments of emerging economies not only by investors but by business leaders as well, leaders who clearly recognize the role of SMEs in sustainable economic development.

3. ROLE OF SMEs IN THE TRANSITION OF THE ECONOMY.

Integration into the global economy through economic liberalization, deregulation, and democratization is seen as the paramount way to triumph over poverty and inequality in Countries with transitional economies. Important to this process, is the development of an animated private sector, in which small and medium enterprises can play a central role. SMEs have a propensity to employ more labor-intensive production processes than large enterprises. Consequently, they contribute significantly to the provision of productive employment opportunities, the generation of income and, eventually, the reduction of poverty.

Meanwhile entrepreneurs have established enterprises on their own resources, efforts and self-responsibility in order to make the living for their own and their employees.

For the economies in transition, it is important that the development of SMEs offset the effects of difficulties caused by the reconstruction of the state enterprises and provides enough tax revenue to maintain the development of the society.

SMEs development together with the FDIs seems to be the only two alternatives at this phase but we have to recognize the second alternative is not that advisable because the economy may be dominated and depending from the business conditions or policies defined by the foreign capital companies. Therefore, the role of SMEs that creates corporations and conduct business activities is very important. So, the main objective is to ensure incentives for such activities while promoting business practices that enhance the fair competitiveness among them.

SMEs also make a significant contribution to the transition of agriculture-led economies to industrial ones, furnishing plain opportunities for processing activities, which can generate sustainable source of revenue and enhance the development process.

4. BENEFITS OF SMES

SMEs being less mobile than large corporations are more likely to have ties of dependence and familiarity to their communities, which ensures that they protect their reputation and relationships among customers and neighbors. One study of European SMEs notes that 67.5 % of them regularly practice forms of social responsibilities such as supporting local charity activities.

The presence of a developed SME environment correlates with several economic factors including the growth of national GDP. There are many acknowledged benefits of SMEs in growing an economy. Researchers have shown the following findings for SMEs: They;

•     Are labor-intensive, providing job opportunities for low-skilled employees

•     Are correlated with lower inequality in the income distribution

•     Are an important part of the supply chain for MNCs

•     Are necessary for nations being under the transition phase from agriculture-oriented to industrial and service oriented economies

•     Are excellent for innovation and sustainable initiatives due to their flexibility and risk-taking qualities

•     Serve as a train of knowledge spillover

•     Expand the competition for new ideas and human capital

•     Expand market diversity and productivity.

5. CONCLUSION

African Governments have to commit to the growth and establishment of more SME’S as this will accelerate the growth of a common market for the whole of Africa and avail these businesses with all they need to tap into the various opportunities available for the next phase of development. Growing the purchasing power of Africa would attract investments within the region and Africa at large upon the integration of the African Market.

Africa is now the newest destination for emerging markets investors. From 2001 to 2010, six out of the 10 fastest-growing economies were in Sub-Saharan Africa and actually the economies of most African nations have grown by an average of 5-6% per year over the past decade giving momentum to the continent as a whole.

SMEs help provide home-bred solutions that work for the various unique African business challenges we’re faced with, and to provide an opportunity for Africans to work with Africans because in the end we all have the same objective.

The Administration of Justice Bill: Its Importance to the Legal Fraternityin Uganda

1. Background

Article 128 (1) of the Constitution demands that the Judiciary just like other two arms of State (Executive and Legislature) be independent.

The Article demands that in exercise of their judicial power, the courts shall not be subject to the control of any person or authority.

But the current practice is that the Judiciary’s annual budget approval has to be first subjected to the Ministry of Justice’s adjustments instead of them handling it directly.

2. The Current State of Affairs

Currently, the Judiciary depends on the consolidated fund and depends on the goodwill of the executive and the government priorities for funding.

This is the reason that even the Judicial officers are currently inadequate in numbers and sometimes ill equipped to handle their duties.

In a democratic setup, the Judiciary constitutes one of the three arms of Government alongside the Legislature and Executive. 

The judiciary plays a universally accepted key role in the era of constitutional democracy, a role that entails, safeguarding the rights of individuals through the enforcement of individual liberties enshrined in many constitutions and holding government accountable through judicial review.

One cannot talk about separation of powers without judicial powers; that is to say, the power to exclusive and ultimate jurisdiction over all cases concerning civil rights and liberties, civil and criminal matters; the power to review administrative acts and compel government to act where a legal duty exists. 

Institutional (or collective) Judicial Independence as explained by Dickson CJ of Canada in 1986, means;-

       “…the preservation of the separateness and integrity of the judicial branch and a guarantee of its freedoms from unwarranted intrusions by, or even intertwining with, the legislative and executive branches. 

When judges reverse their decisions in the wake of political or media criticism, the judiciary as an institution is presented as unacceptably supine. 

When judges are exposed to removal from office at the behest of politicians who dislike their decisions, they are highly vulnerable to the improper pressure that diminishes their real neutrality. 

When judges are submitted to unrelenting political attacks by people who would know better, there is a danger that the public will draw from the silence of the judges an implication that the criticism was justified. 

Yet silence is ordinarily imposed by judicial convention”

2. Why Support the Bill?

1. It seeks to make Judicial Independence a statutory and financial reality and this would be the backbone of the Rule of Law
2. It seeks to increase Judicial accountability through establishing a Judiciary Administration Council that has all the Justice Stakeholders on it.
3. It seeks to operationalise provisions of the constitution relating to  the judiciary, and to streamline the administration of Courts.
4. It seeks to establish structures of administration, to provide for employment and disciplinary control of employees of the Judiciary

3. Conclusion

This Bill, while it may not solve all the Judicial problems Uganda as a country has, will go a long way in strengthening the Judicial Institutions and independence. This strengthens the Judiiary's ability to check the power of both the Executive and Legislature creating the healthy balance that democracy seeks.

As the Uganda Law Society works towards its mandate to foster the Rule of Law, we shall need a robust independent Judiciary to make the proper administration of justice a reality.

How to Make The Most of The Covid19 Lockdown

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
― Albert Einstein

1. Introduction:

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many companies are suggesting—even requiring—that more employees work from home. Working from home can be a lonely enterprise in this era of social distancing, but it doesn't have to be. Having to balance this with house chores, demanding children and pets can be a real challenge and that is what we want to discuss today.

2. For Employers

a. Support Essential On-site Staff

b. Social distancing is important in every environment, especially at work. 

c. Discourage employees from using lunchrooms and breakrooms if at all possible and if that isn’t feasible, impose the six-feet-apart guidelines set by the CDC.

d. Space out warehouse and plant workers as much as possible, relocating staff to other duties if necessary. 

e. In close-quarter open offices, relocate workstations so that employees aren’t using cubicles or workstations that are too close together.

f. Lighten the Financial Load

g. Provide modems, data and airtime to aid offsite work 

h. Communicate often and educate

i. Purchase some online communication tools

j. If plausible ensure the medical insurance covers are provided

3. For The Employee Working at Home

a. Draw up a strict time table from when you start work to when you end

b. Establish a work station that is inviolable

c. Use earphones while working to shut out the family for that time

d. Communicate this clearly to the family and create boundaries

e. After work put away gadgets and be PRESENT

f. Avoid cabin fever and get out for every break.

g. Be as strict about family time as you are about work

h. Schedule client calls as often as possible the client who is not in touch with you now will not need you when this is over.

4. For School Going Children

a. Set up a study area

b. Draw up a time table for the children. 

c. Allow for break times

d. Allow them to change after school

e. Again let the children out a lot during this time

f. Make them contribute to all these efforts

Remember that children find security in predictable schedules.

5. Family Time

a. Plan family picnics in the compound

b. Plan races and out door games

c. Remember to have church service 

4. Make meal preparation a family occupation.

6. For Your Business

a. Do online short courses and get certified in areas you have always wanted to be certified in

b. Call up your clients and discuss their challenges with them A client you are not talking to now w

ill not need you after the lockdown.

c. Get involved in social causes and remain present on the social scene. It is important for your social capital.

d. Start on that book, or project that you can do from home.

Let us keep focused on the silver linning.

VIDEO CONFERENCING FOR LAWYERS

As we keep away from our offices in the effort to adhere to the directives of the Government in these hard times, it is important that we adapt to the situation sooner rather than later. By this I mean we should quickly adopt the available alternative means to work to ensure that our businesses continue to operate. 

The oldest profession as it is referred to has to learn new tricks.

For long we have lamented about our business being threatened by technology or being encroached on by other players. Covid19 has leveled the field. 

So what next?

When you watch the news, you will note that a lot of reporting  is being done by way of video conferencing due to the disruption by Covid19. This mode of engagement has been there for  a long time since the inception of Skype. Today, with groundbreaking technologies that have been developed, a phone can help you hold a training online, make a power point presentation to people in Cuba, and have an online house party with people from all over the globe.

I therefore believe that this is an opportunity to reinvent ourselves and use these applications to keep our businesses running. 

I will just list a few;

ZOOM 

 This is a popular app because it is free and for those who need more features it is more affordable. You simply download the app on your phone, open an account and you are good to go. It is easy to use and due to its popularity, it is easy to engage many peers. 

Skype 

This is one of the oldest and yet one of the best as it is collaborative with most Microsoft applications. It is also good with non Microsoft based applications. 

Hangouts Meet by Google

This is video conferencing by google. It comes in two apps Hangouts which is a social networking account then Hangout Meet which is a  video conferencing app. In all this beware of cybersecurity  issues and get advice.

Of course there are many other applications that one can use for video conferencing ranging from Whatsapp calls to Face Time by Apple. The choice depends on the number of people one intends to have attending one particular meeting. A really fun one is House Party for when you want to let lose some steam and have an online party. For more information this article is a good reference. https://www.owllabs.com/blog/best-meeting-apps

I will be conducting a zoom meeting on the COVI-19 effect on Business and Employment on April 6, 2020. This will be a good opportunity to hear from other business people what they are using during this time.

To join, you have to download the Zoom App and signup. Then you will enter the code below and you will be part of the event. Hope to see you there!! 

To join click on this link:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/562258142

Meeting ID:552 528142 

Pheona Nabasa Wall,

Faithful Available Teachable