About

Donna Kakonge: Illustration Credit - Megan Leonard

Finally she started a business, and like the Frank Sinatra song, she did it her way (with a lot of help from good people). When Donna Kakonge was 29, she began working on a long held dream to own a multimedia magazine.

The magazine she created with the help of a business plan and other interested partners is called Donna Magazine. It was like a People Magazine that focused not on stars, but the people who get up for work every morning and shave with one hand while diapering their baby girl. For people who have decided to devote their whole lives to volunteer work and received honorary degrees for it. For people like you and me, who are taking life one day at a time and often their fascinating stories never get told.

Donna first started a magazine called Miss Sassy when she was about 8 years old with her younger sister Lisa. That magazine had drawings of the dolls of Lisa and Donna, plus interviews with the models done by the late Michael Landon (he did not REALLY do them for us). We just both really loved Little House on the Prairie.

The launching of Donna Magazine happened with the start of her business in 2005, as well as doing her master’s degree at Concordia University. The launch in 2005 was a low-key affair with Donna working away in her office and going to bed early.

Donna did not have a lot of experience at first at running a business. Over the years of the magazine, it aims to tackle many interesting public affairs topics, from health to war to gender issues. Donna Kakonge follows another passion of hers – teaching at Centennial College, Seneca College and George Brown College. She teaches writing, broadcasting and English.

This magazine is something where you need to sit back, have coffee or tea and take your time to go through. The inexpensive means to pull something like this off could not have come without the power of technology and the ability it has to uplift the common man or woman. Donna has also written 40 books and has three audio products for sale that can be bought at http://stores.lulu.com/kakonged. Her official business website is: www.donnakakonge.com.

The photo above is by Megan Leonard. For more of her work, please check out: http://meganleonard.carbonmade.com/.