While it’s difficult not to feel sad when a colleague moves on, we have been very lucky to have Twimukye Macline Mushaka at the Poverty Alliance for so long – 15 years in fact! During that time she has made a difference to many lives and we know she will continue to do so in her new post as Lived Experience Coordinator at Shelter Scotland.
Many of you will know Twimukye from her work in the community, her delivery of Poverty Awareness training sessions or with projects such as Get Heard Scotland. You may even have bumped into her at an airport as she travelled round the EU championing the rights of people who are often overlooked.
We asked Twimukye what’s the best thing about working with the Poverty Alliance? She told us:
“The best thing has been the opportunity to champion the participation of people with lived experience, who have now become a formidable force to reckon with, and who tirelessly continue to educate us all about the daily grind of living in poverty. We owe each of them an enormous debt of gratitude.
“We have grown stronger and louder in our policy and campaigns work, our advocacy for better public services, our fight for adequate incomes, and ensuring decision-makers hear the voices of people who are seldom heard.
“I have had the opportunity to work with Poverty Alliance members, stakeholders, and people with lived experience of poverty and low income across the country. I would never have dreamt of going to places such as Wick, Thurso, Golspie, Scottish Borders, and the Western Isles. I have also been lucky enough to travel to Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Latvia and Austria because of the work that we do with the European community. For 9 years, I coordinated the UK delegation to the EU Meeting of People with Experience of Poverty, and it was a privilege to work with many wonderful people in Brussels.”
We also asked Twimukye what piece of work she was most proud of. She said:
“The biggest highlight of my work has been getting the voices of people with lived experience of poverty heard in places that matter such as the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, Poverty & Inequality Commission and at local authority level. I will treasure the memories of this work and the progress we have made. I recall the Give Me Five Campaign and how parents I spoke to were eager to stress the importance of that extra support but were equally pessimistic about expected results at a time of austerity. The Scottish Child Payment is, in my view, an example where participation has informed policy change. We need more examples like this where we can achieve success with the people that give us their time and share their experiences with us.”
Twimukye’s hopes for the future in her new role:
“I have built good relationships across the country through my work at Poverty Alliance and some of the people I have worked with have lived experience of housing related issues and homelessness. As part of my new role, they will be invited to take part in developing the new participation process. I am confident that the experience I have gained so far will be an added advantage to my new role and I am excited at the opportunities for engagement and continued partnership with the Poverty Alliance for many years to come.”
Twimukye also had a message for Living Wage Scotland:
“Each new organisation I have worked with has been encouraged to become an accredited Living Wage employer and this ask has been reciprocated, with Living Wage Scotland encouraging Living Wage employers to become members of the Poverty Alliance. In fact, only a few days ago when talking to Saheliya, a charity supporting black, minority ethnic, asylum seekers, refugee and migrant women and girls, I was reminded by them that I encouraged the organisation to become accredited in the first place. I’m sure this cooperation will continue and together you will carry on the fight to end poverty and ensure that workers earn enough to live on.”
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance had this to say:
“Twimukye has been an important part of the Poverty Alliance team over the last 15 years. She has played a key role in developing important pieces of work and processes – in particular helping to establish our Community Activist Advisory Group, delivering Poverty Awareness Training to hundreds of organisations across Scotland, maintaining and developing our links with grassroots community organisations, supporting Scottish delegations to the annual European Conference of People with Experience of Poverty, and delivering the implementation of Get Heard Scotland. Through all of this work Twimukye has brought a tangible sense of commitment and dedication, not only to the work that was being carried out but also to the overall mission of the Poverty Alliance. This commitment has been evident not only to us as colleagues, but to the many activists she worked with over the years. They will miss her support and input that has helped ensure that their voices were heard and their experiences had an impact.”
Anyone who knows Twimukye, will know that she is the most unassuming person with the most wicked laugh and we want to thank her for her optimism, her courage and her kindness over the years. Twimukye would never mention this herself but she is an Evening Times Community Champion winner, and you can read her story about living with long term conditions in Humans of Scotland.
Our loss is definitely Shelter Scotland’s gain!