Our People Are Your People

Mercy, Global Advocate Alumni and Co-Founder of Nguzo Foundation for Women & Girls

Team Mama Hope is finally floating back down to earth in the wake of our annual Partner Conference. Every August, we bring all of our partners together for a week of collaboration, learning, planning for the future — and a truckload or two of laughter. While expanding our understanding of sustainability through exercises in systems mapping, business planning and exploring advocacy, we learned a valuable — and unexpected — lesson. Perhaps it isn’t quite as tangible as the rest, but we’re pretty sure whoever said “the best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched — that they must be felt with the heart” had our 2018 Partner Conference in mind…

… Just kidding, we know it was Helen Keller, and we are full of admiration for her ability to perfectly capture this idea, because it’s something that pops up in our work every day. Each year at our conference we work hard to build on the strength of our partner organizations by planning for sustainability and collaborating on ways to increase their momentum.

This year, our movement was given new life with the recognition that the people our organizations serve aren’t “beneficiaries,” but our greatest resources. Thank you, Denis Ssembuusi for that piece of wisdom! Denis spoke aloud the words we all know to be true: that the work we’re doing isn’t for people, it’s with them — and it wouldn’t be impactful or sustainable without them positioned at our very heart.

We learned at this year’s conference that the sustainability of each of our partner organizations is completely wrapped up in collaboration: how we build in response to community voices, how we work alongside other organizations, and how we share our big visions for the world with everyone in our orbit.

So, in an attempt to share a little bit of the heart on which we are building our movement, we are proud to present our people.

Our people are INNOVATORS.

Bernard Boateng — Programs Manager at United Hearts Children’s Center (UHCC) in Bawjiase, Ghana — shares what he’s learned in the process of becoming an expert mushroom farmer during our Success in Sustainability session.

Bernard developed the idea of mushroom farming as an income-generating project for UHCC when he saw a gap in the market and recognized the opportunity to fill it. He’s spent the last two years researching and implementing mushroom farming techniques, and now he’s starting his own spawn lab so he can supply to other mushroom growers in Ghana. His advice when it comes to sustainability? “Keep the money in” by designing a closed-loop system that allows him to provide his own inputs from start to finish, In doing so, Bernard has found a way to maximize the profits available to support the children that UHCC serves.

Our people are RESOURCEFUL.

Denis Ssembuusi — Sustainability Programs Manager at the Budondo Intercultural Center (BIC) in Budondo, Uganda — reflects on the importance of making use of the resources available within their community.

The BIC engages community members in training sessions, relying on strong networks between neighbors to spread awareness on issues related to population, health, and the environment. The BIC also runs a number of diverse and creative income-generating projects, including a motorbike program that provides jobs and transportation services to the community, a demonstration farm and nursery, and a community hall where people gather for sports events, celebrations and trainings.

Our people are DETERMINED.

Sheila Akoth — Maendaleo Hub Manager at the Riley Orton Foundation (ROF) in Kisumu, Kenya — explains some of the challenges her group identified in working towards their organizations’ visions.

Our Partner Conference is a space where everyone is both celebrated in their successes and supported in their challenges. Through vulnerability, collaboration, adaptability, and perseverance, our partners turn their challenges into incredible opportunities for growth.

Our people are DEEPLY CONNECTED to their communities.

Easter Mwanjesa, John Kessy, and Julita Kessy of White Orange Youth in Moshi, Tanzania draw a systems map that outlines the ecosystem of other actors that impact their work.

From governments to churches to civil society to the community members themselves, one of the key ways Mama Hope partners ensure the sustainability of their work is by building meaningful connections with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Our people are COLLABORATORS.

Veronica Ensign — the Founder of Running Chicken in San Francisco — and Tobias Ounga — the Founder of Tropical Focus in Kisumu, Kenya — work together on plotting connections between the women and children Tropical Focus serves and the other actors they’ve identified in their systems map.

By analyzing the strength and nature of these connections, our partners mapped out key areas of opportunity for collaboration. This exercise encouraged our partners to explore the different ways in which the other actors in their space can help further their mission and vision — and vice versa.

Our people MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Courtney Tucker — Country Director of Shanti Uganda — brainstorms with the BIC team and Amani Lukumay — the Cofounder of Maarifo ni Ufunguo in Arusha, Tanzania — to coordinate building out a network of maternal healthcare providers in Uganda.

Just days after the end of the conference, Courtney visited the team Budondo to learn more about BIC’s work and expand on their plans to work closely with Shanti!

Our people are PROBLEM-SOLVERS.

Beatrice and Pastor James — co-founders of Tanzania Children’s Concern (TCC) in Moshi — work with business consultant Tayeb Noorhbai on the ins and outs of their finances, marketing, and what it means to run an ethical business productively and sustainably.

TCC runs St. Timothy’s Primary School and has a number of income-generating projects that allow them to cover 100% of the school’s day-to-day operating costs without relying on donor funding.

Our people are ACTIVISTS.

Denis Osiolo of ROF, Pastor Elisha of UHCC, and Elly Sarakikya — the Head Teacher at Sega Girls School in Morogoro, Tanzania — practice their advocacy skills during a role-playing activity.

As leaders working closely with their communities, all of our partners have valuable perspectives to share with decision-makers, the public, and the world. We explored how we can raise our voices in these spaces to strengthen our work and build the world we envision.

Our people are THOUGHTFUL.

Salim Said — Board Member of the Nguzo Foundation for Women and Girls in the Hai region of Tanzania — began advocacy day unsure of whether or not he was really engaged in the advocacy space. After a very short time, however, he came to consider advocacy as an integral part of the work he does in his community.

We learned that advocacy isn’t just what’s done in large-scale media campaigns or meetings with government officials. Advocacy can be helping people understand their rights, hosting a community event to promote a cause, or writing a social media post to push for change. Advocacy comes in all shapes and sizes and this year, we learned how to utilize it as a valuable tool to strengthen our impact.

Our people HELP each other out.

Mama Anastasia — the founder of Our Lady of Perpetual Support (OLPS) in Kisumu, Kenya — and Athanas Sekwiha — a teacher and key team member at Queen Elizabeth Academy (QEA) in Mlali, Tanzania — share laughter and insight with each other between sessions.

Some of the best parts of our Partner Conferences are the “in-between” moments of connection and friendship that can’t be planned.

Our people are DREAMERS.

Harmony Afandi (left) and Phionah Musumba (right) of the Malkia Foundation in Gamoi, Kenya have a vision for their community that sees girls empowered with education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

To achieve their dream, the women of Malkia is expanding girls’ understanding of their rights through training sessions at schools in their region, and plan to build a STEM school for girls. They’re pictured here with Mama Hope’s founder, Nyla Rodgers (center).

Our people are MOTHERS.

Teopista Mukisa (left) runs the Budondo Intercultural Centre (BIC) in Uganda with her whole family, including her son Denis Muwanguzi (middle).

We see ourselves as a family. We support each other, love each other unconditionally, celebrate our wins and work through our obstacles together, always. The Mama Hope family is full of nurturers, encouragers, and scores of incredible women who balance the demands of motherhood with running impactful organizations. The BIC is one of many Mama Hope partners that functions as a full-family affair. Alice Matthew (right) runs Glorious Orphan Care in Arusha, Tanzania. She’s a mother not only to her own children but, like so many of our partners, treats all the children in her care like family.

Our people MAKE SPACE to listen.

Harmony Afandi — of the Malkia Foundation in Gamoi, Kenya — and Sifael Chagonja — of NHub, an organization working with women to see their dreams fulfilled in Moshi, Tanzania — were both freshman participants in conference.

With many new faces in the room this year, there were even more voices and perspectives to enrich all of our discussions. Listening, learning, laughter, and love were the pillars of the week.

Our people WORK WITH LOVE.

Evalyne Anyango — of ROF in Kisumu, Kenya — and Sherry Nyolo — our newest Global Advocate East Africa who will be working with OLPS in Kisumu — are pictured here sharing their wishes for each other over the next year.

Prior to the conference, Sherry and Eva had never met. Yet during this week, they spent time engaging deeply with one another, sharing professional ambitions, personal passions, hopes, and fears. The conference creates space to build new relationships and strengthen old friendships from a foundation of love. This mentality spills into our partners’ work, and it in turn creates space for our partners to build strong pillars of community support.

Our people GROW TOGETHER.

Mercy, Salim, Aika & Jacob — The team behind the new Nguzo Foundation for Women and Girls in Tanzania.

Mercy and Aika were part of our first class of Global Advocates East Africa. Since graduating the program, they have continued to build momentum for menstrual health education across Tanzania, and are now one of Mama Hope’s newest partner organizations. As Global Advocates, they worked closely with our partners at QEA in Mlali, where they recently launched their pilot training program. The strength of the relationships between our partners is a testament to the value they see in growing together, and a key focus of the conference each year.

Our people are YOUR PEOPLE.

Most importantly, in the words of Erick Aluru — the Sustainable Programs Manager at OLPS in Kisumu, Kenya — our people are your people. There are so many individuals and organizations among us that exist for one pure intention: to make the world work better for everyone in it.

There is no stronger cause for hope and celebration than that.

Our 4th Annual Partner Conference would not have been possible without our incredible sponsors. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to the William Zimmerman Foundation, The Assemblage NYC, Lottery.com, and Akoin.