A bit about Anna and Nalu Afrika
My name is Anna Nalumansi, I was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda until the age of 12 when I moved to the UK. I was a dancer and fitness instructor before I started Nalu Afrika. The inspiration to start an African fashion brand came during my final year at university studying Urban dance.
At the time I was working on my final year dance piece – Mwana wa Afirika (Child of Africa). This was about cultural identity, showing my journey from Africa to the UK and how my cultural identity had gotten lost along the way, but I rediscovered it again. The piece was a mixture of dance and spoken word and I wore an African inspired costume that I made myself. The moral of the piece was to always hold onto your cultural identity, always remember where you come from no matter where you end up in the world.
All Nalu Afrika products are handmade, some in the UK by me, and most of them are handcrafted in Uganda by local tailors so every single item is unique. By working directly with local craftspeople, I am generating work opportunities, supporting small businesses and ensuring fair wages and trading.
I am very passionate about “paying it forward”. Whenever I was in Uganda, I came across children and families that were in need of support and so I would do what I could by either paying for the children’s school fees or providing them help with their daily needs. I had seen these children on the streets and it always broke my heart. I’d always wondered how I could help.
For a long time I had been hoping to partner with a charity that had the same goal as me and that is S.A.L.V.E. International. Straightaway I was drawn and inspired by the work they do. As a single mother myself, I can relate to the mothers that S.A.L.V.E is supporting whose children ran away to the streets due to poverty. Luckily, I have been able to start my business and survive through different resources. By partnering with S.A.L.V.E., this is my way of “paying it forward” and supporting children and families that do not have these resources available to them.
Every purchase of Nalu Afrika items is not only supporting a small business but it is also enabling me to help those in need, so I thank you very much for your support for Nalu Afrika and for S.A.L.V.E. International.