Fellows Impact as a Result of ALI/EA, Project Concepts:

Through an increased focus on the Fellows’ projects and an interactive process of peer and mentor feedback, we hope to ensure the highest probability of project success.  After the first seminar, Fellows turned in project concepts and received feedback from their mentors at The ALI/East Africa Foundation.  During this third seminar, Fellows worked in groups with their peers to refine their project concepts, get feedback and inspiration, and then after refining their projects with this new input, they provided a short presentation on each of their projects.   A summary of all the project concepts is presented below:

John Ulanga, NGO Leadership Programme for Tanzania
The growth of NGOs in developing countries and Tanzania in particular has been challenged by a lack of adequate and effective leadership.  This is seen both in terms of competence and ethical standards of the NGO leaders.  The purpose of John’s project is to develop a leadership development programme for NGO leaders in Tanzania.  Short and long term objectives of the project are to:

• Develop the competence and ethical standards of NGO leaders in Tanzania
• Develop a new cadre of young dynamic and innovative NGO leaders
• Develop a permanent forum of NGO leaders in which they will continually exchange their experiences, learning and support each other
• Enhance the image of the NGO sector and the NGO leaders

The target group is young NGO leaders who are currently in medium to senior leadership positions in the NGO sector in Tanzania, preferable between the ages of 25 to 45 years, and starting with 25-30 participants per year.

Heri Bomani, THT Next Level
Tanzania House of Talent (THT) is the only performing arts centre in the country that gives youth the opportunity to develop their abilities in dance, music and drama regardless of their social, educational or financial background. It contributes toward empowering youth, improving the livelihoods of young people and strengthening their future job opportunities by developing their talent in performing arts.  The project will help TNT to expand to the next level by:

• Buying or building a centre that can accommodate THT
• Investing in equipment and improving the resources
• Introducing formal vocational training in performing arts
• Generating employment opportunities for youth leaving the centre
• Offering every full time member of THT a supportive welfare package
• Creating agents of change and ambassadors of positive thinking among youth
• Establishing income-generating activities that help THT achieve sustainability
• Implementing satellite sites throughout Tanzania

Victoria Chale, Mobile Library Services
The project will fight illiteracy, support the Government of Tanzania’s education policies and help to build a reading culture by providing access to books and other media to primary schools and surrounding communities. It will be modeled after projects like UNESCO and International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) administered by the Books for All programme and the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS) Camel Mobile Library Service (CLS) outreach programme.

The main beneficiaries shall be primary and secondary school pupils, teachers and administrators who will have access to Ministry of Education approved text books and other media to help with school work, projects, assignment and homework.  While both public and private schools are eligible, disadvantaged public schools will be given priority.  The secondary beneficiaries will be local communities neighbouring the beneficiary schools who will have access to books and other media for reading and information.

Aidan Eyakuze, Regional Integration in 4 Part Harmony
Aidan’s project will establish an East African Youth Choir (EAYC) to promote East African integration through youth participation in a regional choir with a region-wide repertoire of songs and music.

Kati Kerenge, Thrive
Kati’s project will equip youth with specific life skills to better 1) Communicate and market themselves 2) Plan: identify, focus and reach their targets.  She plans to do this through mentoring by linking youth with proven professionals for inspiration and guidance.

Nehemiah Mchechu, Transforming the Housing Sector While Upgrading the Face of Tanzania
Nehemiah’s project will work on transforming the key organization that deals with housing development in Tanzania with the hope of affecting the lives of more than 1 million Tanzanians

Nyiringango Patrick Kabagema, Public Interest Company           
This project concept is to create a company that belongs to the shareholders and is in the public interest.

John Mirenge, Mitigate Population Growth to Enhance Economic Growth
John’s project is to engage Rwandan youth (65+ % of the population) in proactive roles to participate in mitigating population growth so that Rwanda positions herself to achieve the projected population growth of 2.2% by 2020.  The purpose of this project will be to provide opportunities for youth to learn, own and practice leadership skills in serving their communities and country as a whole. This project will be implemented through service learning that embodies an opportunity for youth to practice leadership skills while reflecting on their experiences to learn more about themselves and their value to society.  Important skills such as brainstorming, decision making, setting goals, and working with others will be dominant focus in the implementation of this project. 

Henry            Gaperi, From Poverty to Hope and Riches
Henry’s project is to help transform the situation of poor rural people from the outskirts of Kigali  by creating a business model that provides them with income and ownership – through a farm and a bakery.  In this model, cows will be provided to neighbours, who will provide cows to their neighbours and so on.

Monique Nsanzabaganwa, “I count” Women Initiative (“Mfite Agaciro ” in Kinyarwanda)
Monique’s project is to build multipurpose centers to help organize and empower vulnerable women so that instead of being a liability to the society they bring their valuable contribution to the wellbeing of their families and communities.

Robert Kabushenga, Career Choice for Young People
Robert’s project is to organize and facilitate six career choice and development courses for high school students.  This will be done in collaboration with a university, role models and a media house. The project hopes to meet the demand by young adults who need guidance and direction on career planning and options for their future.

Sebbaale  Kato, Provision of Sustainable Charity Medical Services      
As part of Dr. Sebbaale’s hospital's corporate social responsibility, his project will take on the medical needs of over 1,400 children belonging to the Watoto Childcare Ministries whose numbers will increase over time. Watoto provides holistic, residential care for orphaned and vulnerable children with the core vision to rescue a Child, raise a Leader and rebuild a Nation. The initiative has been extended to the war victims in the Northern Uganda.

Since the beginning of 2009, Case Medical Centre, Dr. Sebbaale’s hospital, has cared for 269 Children under the Watoto Child Care Ministries and has taken on a program of carrying out charity reconstructive surgery on the victims of the 20 year old Lord’s Resistance Army war victims. In October 2009, Case Medical Centre will in partner with Watoto Childcare Ministries to complete list of selected victims in need of surgery who were screened in June 2009 at Gulu Independent Hospital. The surgeries will be carried out at Case Medical Centre.

 

Maria Odido, Youth Leadership in Society     
Maria’s project is to initiate a series of discussions about youth and the community to help young people to navigate and deal with the challenges they face, provide them with tools and guidance to help them become successful and productive community-oriented members of society.  What the project will do initially is set up collaborations with selected schools, and will institute periodic discussion sessions with students in senior schools.  These discussions will focus on issues relating to (i) social and community responsibility, (ii) recognition of personal values, (iii) civil and communal rights, (iv) career choices and guidance, (v) dealing with peer pressure and other related topics.

Norah            Owaraga, Akadot Food Security & Environment Regeneration Project 
As her project, Norah has set up a demonstration farm through which poor and small holder subsistence farmers will receive a transfer of knowledge and skills in effective farming methods. The project will promote the establishment of kitchen gardens, intercropping of at least three food crops per acre, rearing of dairy animals and poultry, apiary, and tree planting for re-generation of forest cover and for wood fuel.  It will also provide farm inputs (seeds and seedlings) to poor families in exchange for their labour. In addition, the project will transfer knowledge and skills that will lead to awareness creation among the communities to: appreciate what the root causes of their poverty are; the advantages of working in groups to fight poverty; adopt the culture of saving; invest in income generating activities; prepare and consume balanced diets; and access legal services on issues that may disenfranchise them of their livelihoods. 

The direct beneficiaries shall be the women who will be targeted to receive the farm inputs, knowledge and skills and their families. Outcomes include improved nutrition in the home, improved health, improved productivity, improved incomes, improved school attendance and improved standards of living.  The overall community of Akadot will benefit through enjoying a better environment and having greater access to wood fuel, poles and timber.

Oskar Semweya-Musoke, Vocational University                
Oscar’s project will establish a vocational university/college to help provide skills to people so that they may secure gainful employment through jobs.

Paul Kavuma, Catalyst Foundation     
Paul Kavuma’s project is to launch the Catalyst Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Catalyst Principal Partners as its principal social investment vehicle.  Catalyst Foundation’s vision is to contribute financial and non-financial resources towards a mentorship and leadership development for the high potential tertiary education youth within East Africa, to advance their educational, entrepreneurial and professional endeavors while also enshrining the highest values for the greater good of society, and thereby developing principled future regional leaders across a diversity of interests and disciplines.

The project will be measured by the quality of the Leadership Seminar and its lecturers, by the number of participants, by the number and quality of mentors and organisations willing to give time to participants, and by the amount of funding contributed by the Foundation and the quantum of 3rd party sponsorship generated.  Over time, the project will ultimately be judged on its impact on the development of dynamic principled young leaders in the region.

Strathmore Business School, in Nairobi, Kenya has been identified as the preferred partner to host the mentorship and leadership courses.

Martin Kimani, Metamorphosis: A Journal of Ideas 
Martin’s project, Metamorphosis, is an online journal of ideas whose mission is to explore public life in Kenya and the wider East African region from the perspective of war, civil violence and power.  It will carry analysis, theory, debates and reportage on how the ideologies and practices used by those who wage war, unleash or suffer political violence and seek or submit to power intersect with the major questions of our time: the crisis in the nationalist project; elite formation and behaviour; economic globalisation; the future of democracy; global and regional governance; developmental; religion and belief; and the nature and evolution of work.

Salim Amin, Empowering African Journalists to tell the African Story 
Salim’s project will train African journalists from around the Continent with the necessary skills to be able to tell their stories to a pan-African and global audience using new media technology. A training programme and curriculum has already been designed and the trainers sourced.
On a micro level it will be creating a community of young African journalists around the Continent that will be able to support themselves and their families using their newly acquired skills. On a macro level it will enable better information on the Continent to be produced and distributed thus changing the perception of Africa both within the Continent and externally.  Funds are being sought from both local and international organisations, and broadcasters. 

Julie Gichuru, Angel Warriors
Angel Warriors is a movement for change designed to build, guide and support a young generation that is willing to put its energy and zeal into the development and defense of the good society.  Angel Warriors will build young champions for the good society.  Julie’s project will benefit the youth by equipping them with life skills, building their talent, uplifting their status in society, benefit families by providing parenting skills. It will be implemented through school visits and nationwide talent search competitions.  The project will be implemented through school visits and mentorship, involving sessions with students, teachers and parents. Nationwide talent search competitions to identify, reward and nurture talent, and the creation of social networking communities to provide constructive advice and support for the youth.

Patrick Edward Obath, HIV/AIDS to Wellness
Patrick’s project is to reduce the stigma associated with Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS and lead to more voluntary testing by promoting the change in services offered to include other tests such as blood sugar, blood pressure, tuberculosis, sight, dental and VCT. It will increase the participation in VCT in every institution that has a health management system leading to better HIV management opportunities in enterprises, in the community and the country (Kenya).

The beneficiaries will be employees of companies and the community in which they operate. The companies should also see an impact by reduction in bottom line health care costs. The community will benefit through longer productive lives of those with HIV/AIDS. The project will be implemented through:

• Engagement sessions with major opinion leading companies to adopt the model and implement
• Share measured compelling outcomes to the next level of companies and implement
• Share results with government and get programmes going in government facilities.
• Create policy changes in HIV/AIDS national programmes to embed changes into custom and practice in health care programmes

Rose Ogega, Total Financial Make Over (TFM)         
Many people earn a good income yet they often find themselves in a financial bind as a result of low level and/or complete lack of financial knowledge.  Rose’s project, TMF, will impart practical quality financial education as a basic life management skill and will start by focusing on salaried staff.  It will identify12 champions, create a network of institutions, and recruit transformation enablers. The project will unlock financial bottle necks for the target audience through the following;

• Getting to the heart of the money problems.
• Creating opportunities to identify limiting beliefs and habits.
• Imparting practical education relevant to the situation in a manner that inspires one to take action.
• Learning ways of unlocking one’s financial potential.
• Creating opportunities to practically apply the knowledge acquired from the Program
• Providing an environment for self challenge

Muchiri Wahome, Turning Waste into Light
Muchiri’s project hopes to provide basic lights in 1,000 homes in Kenya's rural and marginalized communities in the next year. Over 90% of Kenya's poor use pit latrines for human waste disposal. By tapping into these storage pits, bio fuel technology can, with very basic infrastructure and technology, convert this latent "waste-resource" into energy.