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(PROMO VIDEO) Melissa Kyeyune - Book Publishing & NGO Communications in Africa, North America & Europe

View my profile in PDF format, with clickable links:  Melissa Kyeyune Communications Profile 2020
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UN Story ~ Ugandan students turn waste to wealth

A student holding an SDG badge. Photo: Solomon Musisi Writer- Melissa Kyeyune | Organization- UN | SDG- Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production | Year- 2019 |  Namugongo is a lush, forested community in central Uganda where tall trees are home to colourful birds and noisy monkeys. The community has a tragic place in history: on 3 June 1886, 22 Ugandan Christian converts were publicly executed, on the orders of King Mwanga II of the Buganda Kingdom, in an attempt to ward off the influence of colonial powers with whom the Christians were associated. The converts were elevated to sainthood by Pope Paul VI in 1964. Ugandans today see those converts as martyrs. They commemorate every 3 June, Martyrs Day, with weeklong celebrations that attract thousands of visitors from around the country. During the week celebrants discard tons of waste, including plastic bottles, food and sewage, often throwing them into open channels, where they are likely to be transported by h

eBooks - An environmentally-friendly way to enjoy literature

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | A few year ago I founded KHAMEL Publishing where I edit and create eBooks for African writers.  eBooks reduce our carbon footprint and conserve the natural environment (trees), because they do not consume paper during their production.  All the eBook titles are available on Amazon.com. Site: www.khamelpublishing.com . 

A quick rundown of my time as a Communications Intern at UN Headquarters, New York, 2018 (+ photos)

  How to become a UN intern:  https://careers.un.org/ So what exactly did I do during the internship? From July to November 2018 I worked in a great team in the Sustainable Development Section, Department of Global Communication (formerly the Department of Public Information) at UN Headquarters, New York. Section website: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment We organized an annual high-level event, the 'SDG Media Zone', which took place alongside the 73rd UN General Assembly, at the UN Headquarters in New York. The 'Zone' featured moderated panels and interviews with world leaders, young people and celebrities telling the world about how they were advancing the sustainable development agenda. More about the Zone: https://www.un.org/sdgmediazone I edited videos for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). More about the Convention: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-di

Story - Anne's Clean Family Business

Writer- Melissa Kyeyune | NGO- Water For People | Country- Uganda | SDG- Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation | Year- 2017 | SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | For about a month now, Eric has come home from school every day to find his mother Anne talking to a different neighbor from their village of Okidoi in Soroti District. Today he has just completed his Primary Leaving Examinations and should perhaps be celebrating with the other children, but he has rushed home, set his schoolbag down and slipped easily into his mother’s negotiations. This is his favorite part of the day. “The satopans are fifteen thousand shillings,” he tells the neighbor, with a big smile. His mother nods at him to continue engaging this prospective customer, while she goes and talks to another one who has just arrived on his bicycle. Eric continues to make the sale enthusiastically, “Once the satopan is in your latrine, you will no longer have flies. There will be no bad smell!” The customers usu

Story - Ignatious' One Stop Shop

Writer- Melissa Kyeyune | NGO- Water For People | Country- Uganda | SDG- Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation | Year- 2017 | SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | A piece of Ignatious Epuwat’s company SANQUA Engineering can be found in almost every rural home in Asuret sub county, Soroti district. Originally providing generic construction material, the company was identified and mentored to start offering sanitation products and services under Water For People’s ‘Sanitation As A Business’ approach. The partnership went beyond training. “Water For People gave us a lot of our startup stock,” Ignatious says. This stock includes ring liners, concrete slabs and Sato pans to for improving latrines. SANQUA Engineering has now cornered the market in Asuret and sells products daily to retailers, masons and other individuals. “All 300 of the initial satopans that we were provided with under SAAB, have been bought. That is a huge achievement for us.” Under the SAAB approach, Water For Pe

Story - Grandmother Knows Best

Writer- Melissa Kyeyune | NGO- Water For People | Country- Uganda | SDG- Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation | Year- 2017 | SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | Francis Edilu is a farmer with an impressive business card. The words ‘agric-consultancy’ are emphasized on it, because he is ready to give advice to farmers who want to enter the same chili business he is a part of. Currently he grows chili in Okidoi village then sells it to a middleman who finds market for it throughout Soroti district. The fruits of his labor are evident in the concrete house he has built for his wife of one year, and their young son. Inside, a small color television shows the latest Nigerian film. Clearly, Francis is someone that other farmers would like to seek business advice from. There is one unlikely person, however, who might have given him the best advice ever- his grandmother Alleluya, who lives a short walk away from the young couple. One month ago, Alleluya told her grandson that his hom