Lightup Impact Days 2022

Sustainable Development of
CBOs and NGOs in gender and
health in East Africa: the way forward

By Nicole Bezuidenhout

Lightup Impact community members and partners at the Chak Conference Centre during the Lightup Impact Days 2022 Event

On May 30-31 2022, over 50 Lightup Impact community member organisations and external partners got together in Nairobi, Kenya, to foster exchange, networking, and collaboration. It was a crucial step towards strengthening the organisational development of CBOs and NGOs in East Africa to become sustainable. The two-day event focused on the sustainable development of CBOs/NGOs in gender and health in East Africa, with ample discussion of key leadership strategies, system strengthening, and resource mobilisation. It hosted inspirational speakers from several regional organisations (see speakers list at the end) who gracefully shared their experiences and knowledge. We were privileged to have Hon. Dr. Linah Jebii Kilimo, Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs, and Special Programmes, as our keynote speaker; who took us through the Anti- FGM Campaign and how it all began.

Lightup Impact community members registering before the event began (left) Vincent Ogallo of Tunaweza Empowerment introducing his organisation at the event (right).

Why the event?

CBOs and NGOs are vital in advancing gender and health equality, especially in resource-limited communities. However, with limited resources, many of these impactful organisations struggle to get off the ground and become sustainable i.e. meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Organisations aim to balance economic, environmental, and social issues with sustainability. Capacity building is a well-known strategy for achieving this balance and works best when tailoring systems to the people and the environment. When organisations and communities can develop and strengthen their skills, processes, and resources, they are better positioned to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world. Throughout our event, speakers and participants discussed several key points to achieving sustainability.

Topics of discussion at the event

1. Leadership is key to sustainability

Sustainable leadership emerged as one such key point. Considering the various pillars of sustainability, this type of leader prioritises capacity building at all levels. With organisational goals and a long-term vision in mind, sustainable leaders focus on, for example, extensive collaborative engagement, working proactively, and improving the quality of life of all stakeholders involved. In this way, sustainable leadership provides organisations with opportunities for sustained competitive advantage, innovation, continuous improvement, and long-term success.

Caren Wakoli, Founder and Executive Director of Emerging Leaders Foundation (ELF-Africa) – an organisation that nurtures the next generation of ethical leaders for Africa’s transformation, provided further insights into this important topic. Some key takeaways from her talk were that being a leader is difficult, but to be successful, leaders shouldn’t shy away from asking for help or sharing responsibility. She also emphasised that leaders should focus on their leadership development first, acquiring skills in social entrepreneurship, pitching, negotiation, and people management. And finally, ideally, founders should build and routinely evaluate a credible board that can assist in developing strategy and overseeing management, ensuring that organisational goals are met on time.

2. System Strengthening

Capacity building is a consistent and persistent strategy focused on creating a sustainable and effective organisation. Simply put, it involves any action needed to push an organisation to its next level. Making this part of organisational growth crucial for any organisation that wishes to strengthen its systems and advance, but more so for startups. Whether it’s operational, systems, or financial development, organisations should always focus on their vision and mission when building capacity.

For a better understanding of this approach, Arinolah Elizabeth, an organisation capacity-building consultant from Warande Advisory Centre, walked the founders through an engaging and interactive session, which began with how and why the founders started their organisations. Arinolah reiterated the importance of a deep understanding of organisational vision and mission when building capacity and eventually strengthening organisational systems. No matter the developmental stage, corporate vision should be the focus, with the mission as the guiding tool. Finally, as organisations progress, founders will find themselves among a team of allies willing and capable of walking the journey with them, helping to create impact as they continue to sharpen skills and build relations through networking and opportunities.

3. Resource Mobilisation

Having the right resource(s) at the right time can determine if a movement, event, or organisation succeeds or not. Resource mobilisation theory, originating in the 1960s, argues that the success of social movements or collective action depends on the ability to obtain the necessary resources. Specific to the topic at hand, there are five categories of resources, namely material (e.g. money), human (e.g. labour), social-organised (e.g. social/community networks), cultural (e.g. organising a community event), and moral (e.g. celebrity endorsements). Discussions at the event highlighted resource mobilisation, labelling it the backbone to “achieving the dream” – helping organisations to execute their vision. When discussing fundraising, Arinolah highlighted relationship building or “friends-raising” versus purely raising funds, and the guest of honour, Hon. Dr Jebii Kilimo, stressed the value of sharing experiences and telling stories to engage a community of changemakers effectively.

4. Local Expertise Matters

To expose the founders to opportunities on the ground, Martha from iMPACT direct spoke on local expertise and why it matters. She explained how iMPACT direct is leveraging experience from their own projects across Africa to change how locally-led NGOs approach fundraising and giving. With help from iMPACT direct, locally-led African NGOs can gain better access to funds and build trusted partnerships, providing them with opportunities to showcase their expertise and strengthen their organisations. According to Martha, locally-led NGOs are prime candidates for financial aid to create change in their communities as they are not only acutely aware of their challenges but also the solutions they need to implement and resolve these challenges.

The NGOs that iMPACT direct work with are usually the first to respond and last to leave when it comes to the implementation of these local solutions. Additionally, local NGOs are incredibly effective in their implementation and form part of the 70% responsible for all impact in development cooperation. Some of the ways in which iMPACT direct supports its beneficiaries are:

1) Providing unrestricted financial aid to fund the implementation of local solutions, and

2) Giving a platform to NGOs (both online and at events) where these local experts can showcase their projects and organisations more widely and to the right audiences.

Learn more about iMPACT direct’s goals for 2022, their past projects with local NGOs, what a partnership with them looks like, and how you can become one, too

Stories from iMAPCT direct beneficiaries

To our delight, iMPACT direct beneficiaries shared stories (below) of how iMPACT direct helped turn their visions into impact.

Dr Karambu (left), Director of International Peace Initiatives (IPI)– Food Forest, dreamed about building a green community – a dream that became a reality with resources from iMPACT direct. Stanley Kinyanjui (right), Programme Director at COSDEP Kenya, a small-scale ecological farm, shared the different farming ideas they use to change communities on the ground, making them sustainable and economically empowered.

The Guest of Honor Dr Linah Jebii makes a presentation on the Anti- FGM Campaign and how it began

We were honoured to have an influential changemaker in the eradication of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kenya as a keynote speaker at our event: Hon. Dr Linah Jebii Kilimo. Female genital mutilation involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons (WHO), and is a practice that has no health benefits for girls and women.

Hon. Dr Kilimo has worked tirelessly with NGOs across Kenya, campaigning for the eradication of FGM and promoting girl child education. It was a privilege to have her amongst the founders of CBOs and NGOs from the Lightup Impact community, working in gender and women empowerment in East Africa.

She is an excellent source of encouragement and motivation to keep community impact going. She shared how her desire to eradicate FGM began with a dream to be different and do things differently. A dream she confessed came with many challenges she chose to look past, instead focusing on her goal to see the end of this barbaric practice.

To create real change, she knew the best place to start was in parliament, where laws are made. She became active in the Marakwet East Constituency as a member of parliament from 2002 until 2012. As a passionate advocate against FGM, Hon. Dr Kilimo was incredibly influential in the creation of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011, which criminalises FGM. In December 2013, she was appointed by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta to chair the newly formed Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board, whose main mandate is to see a society free from FGM.

5. Winner of the open call makes his presentation on his "Double brand idea"

Before the Changemakers Event, Lightup Impact had an open call for community members on the organisational development of CBOs and NGOs, to present their innovative ideas for driving sustainable growth. Christopher Nyamburi, the founder of Lake Victoria Basin Talent Development and Adolescent Health (LVDAH), emerged the winner with his “double brand idea” – receiving a charitable donation towards the realisation of his project.

In his presentation, he clarified how the inability of organisations to kick-start their projects and programmes stems from inadequate resources and financial constraints, contributing to 60% of organisations failing and closing down. The “double brand idea” allows non-profits, CBOs, and local NGOs to raise money through their brands, in collaboration with companies and local businesses, selling merchandise with a strong connection to their organisations.

6. Three Lightup Impact Community members got an opportunity to share their impact stories.

7. Interactive session: Find your impact station

The founders were separated into groups according to the impact they are creating in the communities. They shared the challenges they are facing in the community and discussed different solutions which they presented. Below were the group topics according to their impact in the community:

Mental health
Sexual Gender-Based Violence
Economic Empowerment
Agriculture and Forestry
Reproductive and Sexual Health.

Whats next for Lightup Impact

The Lightup Impact team was happy to share at the event all that the organisation has accomplished since its founding one year ago, emphasising Lightup’s strategic pillars and plans for the future, including long-term ambitions and goals.

A recap of what was said:

Lightup Impact develops evidence-based solutions to integrate CBOs and NGOs into wider development policies and discussions in East Africa. Through our activities, we empower local leaders to become sustainable and independent drivers of the change they want to see in their communities. Our vision is based on three strategic pillars:

1. Networking

Through a virtual community of 91 member organisations in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria, we aim to integrate CBOs/NGOs in gender and health in East Africa. In this community, we share learnings and enhance collaboration over competition.

We are creating an ecosystem of change where partners from the development, business, and academic field can work together through our online and in-person networking events.

For more information, please visit our events page.

2. Leadership Skills

We aspire to develop a Leadership Skills and Organisation Strengthening training program for our member organisations, to give them the tools and traction they need to secure resources for sustainability.

3. Partnerships

We partner with selected member organisations for development cooperation to provide traction and support to organisations who are at the startup stage in our community.

We foster partnerships between the business sector and our member organisations through social intrapreneurship (Ambition 2022-2023).

We deliver interactive training to make every business leader a sustainability champion, to eventually create transformational leaders who are empathetic, team-oriented, and influential.

We create shared value for our business partners and the member organisations of Lightup Impact.

To join our network as a changemaker company, please visit our website.

That’s a wrap!

We are thrilled with the turnout and meaningful exchange that took place, and we appreciate everyone who participated virtually and in person, especially all the impactful organisations who attended and speakers who shared their experiences and knowledge (see list below). We are proud of the fact that our community members are at the centre of our decision-making – our joint discussions are critical in shaping our actions to better assist them in achieving their goals. Lightup Impact community members happily expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to interact with fellow founders from across East Africa (and even Nigeria).

The event ended on a high note as Lightup Impact was also celebrating its first anniversary! It has been 12 months of hard work, and this is just the beginning of our journey as Lightup Impact. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another fantastic year of creating change together!

Lightup Impact Members Testimonials from the event

“Working in isolations especially we as Africans actually draws us back, so collaboration will speed up our impact as make the work we do known, it is a huge take away that you have a community you can call “a community of founders” a community of changemakers like myself”

Tobi Adegbite

Entojutu

“I’m thankful to the Lightup team for providing the opportunity to meet good people, have a good time, and collect good memories.” – Francis Gakufu from (Mukuru Angaza Film Academy)

Francis Gifuku

Mukuru Angaza Film Academy

“It’s the first time I’ve attended an event with young founders. Usually, I find myself in a group of older founders”. He added that “the best part was that the speakers and everyone who shared their stories really understand the challenges and what it takes to be a founder.”

Collins Mureithi

CEFA-YCM

“I’m always grateful to God for every support that came into my life, impacting the lives of others and learning. There is no health without mental health.”