East Africa Leadership Forum Convenes in Tanzania

Wendo Aszed of Dandelion Africa facilitating a leadership discussion

Knowing from our own experience that non-profit leaders often benefit from having a safe space to share experiences and coach each other in addressing challenges, members of Pangea’s Africa Pod asked some of our partners if they would find it useful to meet with one other. The answer was yes. So in 2016 we set aside a small amount from our grant pool to help our partners come together at the Dandelion Africa location near Nakuru, Kenya, in what we called the East Africa Leadership Forum (EALF).

The intention from the start was that the forum belonged entirely to the leaders, who would structure and facilitate the meeting to suit their needs. In 2016, Pangea members Bob and Maryann Ness, who have decades of experience with leadership development, agreed to help launch the forum in the spirit of conferring ownership to the group. Since that time EALF has been planned and run solely by Pangea’s partners, without any donors present. In 2017, SaCoDe in Bujumbura, Burundi hosted the forum. Here is the recap of this year’s Forum:

In June 2018, Pangea Giving’s East Africa Grant Partners came together for the 3rd annual East Africa Leadership Forum hosted by Margaret Nyungwe of long-time partner, Tanzania Deaf Child (TADEC) in Dar es Salaam. Rich conversation, collaboration, and mentoring took place over the course of 3 days. The conveners – a group comprised of 5 current partners and 3 past grantees – reported the experience was valuable both professionally and personally.

Deep dive sessions, inspirational leaders who are changing the narrative. So proud to be part of coaches, mentors, buddies who are committed to building each other. Am deeply honored to be part of this journey. Margaret Ikiara, CIFORD

The session began with an introduction of Pangea’s two new partners: Child Empowerment Program (Uganda) and Ufanisi Women Group (NW Kenya). Read more about these and our other East Africa partners here.

Participants reviewed progress made since the forum last convened in June 2017. Here are some examples of how the group has benefitted from collaboration and communication with each other:

Ferdinand Wafula of long-time partner BIOGI trained SaCoDe farmers in Bujumbura, Burundi on progressive permaculture methods to improve yields and nutrition, an idea born at the forum. In 2018, Pangea is continuing support of this collaborative project with a special grant that is making additional trainings possible. Read more here.
Several partners reported progress was made toward organizational sustainability by establishing new programs and training models.
Leadership skills deepened during the past two forums have helped participants motivate and mentor others and expand their programs.

Key themes discussed this year include:

Sustainability The place to think about sustainability is at the roots, the core of the organization. Strategic planning and leadership focused on the strategic direction of the organization are essential to long-term sustainability.
Growth & Scale Deep discussions took place around best practices for organizational development.
Leadership The importance of connecting the big picture and the everyday for staff and envisioning how best to create a platform for the organizations next leaders.
Linkages Leveraging the opportunity of the forum to maximize exchange of experience and thinking of new strategies for community development and social enterprise.

As a leader, in this experience I learned, was sharpened, empowered and energized. It was a pool of very strong ideas and experiences. Thank you so much for adopting/engaging me and the promise to continue being available for one another. I feel I belong to a great family. Robert Kalulu, Child Empowerment Program

EALF participants share thoughts on the support they receive from Pangea Giving

Each year the EALF participants engage with organizations outside of Pangea Giving’s circle of partners. This year, EALF participants met with two organizations that support people with hearing disabilities: Tanzania Sign Language Translation Development Organization and Counselling and Family Life Organization Tanzania.

Yes, it is a great feeling when you walk knowing that you are not alone. Margaret Nyungwe, TADEC

EALF is planning to convene next in June 2019 in Meru, Kenya and will be hosted by Margaret Ikiara of CIFORD Kenya, a past Pangea grantee and current strategic partner.

Thank you Pangea for coming up with this great innovation and thought. EALF is a platform where any leader will aspire to be. Through sharing and learning, the forum builds strong leaders, who competently lead their community development organizations based on Ethical principles and values. Joseph Jama, Ufanisi Women Group