Mothers-in-Motion, Bwindi, Uganda

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Mothers-in-Motion was started in 2021 by women from Bwindi, Uganda who had no choice but to drop out of school because their families did not have enough resources. Jacinta Jesent Kyompeirwe, who learned traditional African basket weaving from her grandmother, teaches young women the art so they can produce and sell baskets to fund their children's education. Jacinta's group of women has more than doubled from the original 30 weavers, with many more on the wait list. There is a wait list because more baskets have been made than can be sold to the limited number of tourists who come to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to see the mountain gorillas. Once more baskets are sold, more materials can be purchased and more mothers can learn to make baskets. Jacinta believes that they must develop access to markets beyond Bwindi in order to sell more baskets and bring more women into their group.

In the fall of 2024, The Ladybug Project worked with Bernard Munyanziza from Nziza Hospitality, a tourism company in Uganda that operates throughout East Africa, to transport baskets from Bwindi.  The transportation initiative will allow hundreds of baskets to make it to a broader market. To support Mothers-in-Motion in and its goal of helping children in Bwindi access education, The Ladybug Project will offer baskets to families enrolled in its four Montessori partner schools in the United States.