How baking changed Suzan's life

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Michael doesn’t differentiate between Ugandans and refugees. He treats them equally.

Suzan is a 43-year-old mother of six who was forced to flee her home in South Sudan when war upended their lives. In her search for safety, she brought her family to Kampala. Faced with the challenge of navigating a new country in an unfamiliar language, she wondered how she could support her family.

She prayed for someone to come along who could teach her a way. And then she met 25-year-old Michael Sekalala. Her first encounter with Michael was in his own bakery, Joy Bakery. She used to buy bread for her family there and found herself enjoying watching the people behind the counter mixing, kneading and rolling dough.

When Suzan got involved with the FIND Project, she was excited for Michael to be her mentor. Michael was not only a talented baker and entrepreneur, he was sympathetic to Suzan’s experience because his wife, Joy, was also a refugee from South Sudan.

The first thing Suzan told him when their mentorship started was that she wanted to learn everything. Cookies, cakes, cupcakes, bread, icing, decorating. She wanted to master it all. She can’t wait to open her own bakery one day. When she does, she wants to train other aspiring bakers, the way Michael taught her.