“We all can make a difference. We’ll start by looking within, from dependence to ascendance. Come on all, let’s shift the power.
“You got the power in your hand to make a positive change in the land. Alone I can go real fast but when we put our hands together we can go way past. How do you know? There is power in unity. Everything we want is right there in the community.”
These powerful words are from the song Shift the Power Zambia (watch the music video below!). It’s a catchy song and a great message from the Zambian Governance Foundation.
The video is part of the #ShiftThePower campaign, which is a call to move away from a top-down view of grant-giving and to shift instead of people-based development. This means channeling the funding to get it closer to the ground where the work is happening.
This message is not foreign to those who have been following Spirit in Action over the years. We know the power of community organizations. We trust and rely on local leadership. And these connections help us channel our resources to where it can support self-directed transformation.
84 Grant Applications!
In our first open call for applications, we received 84 grant proposals from grassroots organizations in Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda! This week I will forward those applications to our African Advisory Board and they will review them and make a recommendation for funding. These six individuals know Spirit in Action and they know the local context on the ground.
At the formation of the African Advisory Board, Kenya June 2019
Visiting Kenya in March!
In just under one month, I’ll fly to Kenya for two-weeks, to visit current SIA partners and also to meet with the African Advisory Board to figure out our new grant-review-decision-making process. Our grant partners tell us that these visits are important to them for accountability in both directions.
During this trip I’ll also be making my first visit to the Pastoralist Child Foundation, one of the amazing organizations that we are supporting with general operating support this year.
Jane is one of the 19 girls who have been sponsored by Pastoralist Child Foundation to attend high school and university.
Pastoralist Child Foundation focuses on empowering girls in Samburu, Kenya to continue their education. They also support girls to have an alternative rite of passage, rather than undergoing the traditional female circumcision. PCF’s latest campaign had the theme, “Unleashing Youth Power” to promote youth to lead the movement for social change and a more positive future.
If you don’t already receive these posts by email, you can sign up here, and also follow our Facebook page here. I’ll be reporting from Kenya and posting photos from my trip at the end of March!