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Founder Interview: Dennis Okwera
From the battlefields of Northern Uganda to the runways of London, Dennis Okwera has turned adversity into action, using fashion and philanthropy to empower the next generation through education and hope.
- Words: Gentleman's Journal
If the Shoe Fits…
“Every journey begins with a single step,” is a clanging cliché of entrepreneurship. It’s also, like most clichés, completely and utterly true. The quickest and most reliable way to fail in any enterprise is by never starting, that first mental (and sometimes physical) hurdle that so many would-be founders never quite leap over. This founder took that step with purpose, venturing into an uncertain and complex field with a blend of courage and conviction. Here, they share their approach to creativity, what keeps them optimistic about the future, and what progress truly means.
Introducing Dennis Okwera
Dennis Okwera is an activist, model and actor originally from Lumule, Northern Uganda. After fleeing his war-torn community as a child, he sought asylum in the UK, where he established the Lumule Foundation, an organisation dedicated to empowering children in Northern Uganda through education.
How have your personal experiences informed the work that you do?
My personal experiences have deeply shaped my approach to the work I do. I've witnessed firsthand the impact that inequality and lack of access to food during school times can have, leading to limited opportunities for individuals and communities.
How do you balance your roles within the worlds of high fashion and philanthropy?
Balancing these separate worlds has been both a challenge and a real privilege at the same time. But for me I've had to find ways to see both worlds as deeply connected rather than separate.
What have you learned from your time in the fashion industry?
Fashion is a platform that has given me a voice and the opportunity to help fund what I had dreamed of seeing in my communities. I have learnt that both fashion and philanthropy have the power to help us imagine a better world and guide us to bring it to life.
What has been the most surprising part of your entrepreneurial journey?
The most surprising part of my journey has been discovering how deeply people resonate with purpose. The high fashion world can seem superficial or exclusive, so I kind of expected my philanthropy work to be secondary, but I've found it has connected to a lot of the fashion communities.
What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced on your journey with the Lumule Foundation?
One of the main challenges I've faced has been navigating the balance between vision and capacity. I am so passionate about creating change, especially in my community in Lumule, but the need is overwhelming and the desire to do everything at once is so real. I have had to learn how to pace our growth while staying focused on the original vision of the foundation.
Where do you find hope?
I find hope in people’s resilience, compassion, and the quiet acts of kindness that I see around us.
What are you proudest of in your career?
I’m proud that I’ve been able to use my difficult times growing up to fuel me to bring to life my childhood dreams of creating a safe and nurturing educational space.
What does progress mean to you?
To me, creating lasting change that empowers others to thrive on their own terms is real progress.
What do you hope people will take away from your story?
I hope that whoever reads this realises that no dream is ever too small and no act of kindness is ever wasted – so just go for it.
What are your ultimate goals for the Lumule Foundation?
The ultimate goal for the Lumule Foundation is to empower any child or adult in any community. With purpose, resilience and compassion, it’s always possible to turn personal challenges into platforms for positive change – whether or not that changes the world, you have done your part.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
The best piece of advice was from my late grandmother Silvia, who I used to hide with in the bushes during the war. She told me that despite the uncertainties we were going through, my cup wasn’t empty. It was half full and it was up to me to believe that I could fill it up for me and use it to do good for others. That has always stayed with me.
For this Entrepreneurs Series, we have partnered with Allbirds, the sustainable footwear brand with a commitment to make better things in a better way. The company has become a positive disruptor in the footwear industry, using wool, tree fibre, and sugarcane as alternatives to the petroleum-based synthetics far too frequently found in this field.
In the spirit of this innovation, we wanted to celebrate a group of inspiring entrepreneurs who are also disrupting their industries and making an incredible impact in their respective fields, embodying the Allbirds ethos while wearing their innovative designs.
