#sawa world

[freethinkingactivisttypes]

VOTE NOW: Daphne Nederhorst is a Waislitz Award finalist for empowering youth in extreme poverty

Daphne started Sawa World to end poverty through empowerment and business for youth.

The organization I work for advocates eradicating poverty by empowering local leaders with easily replicable solutions from within. We're up for a $10,000 Global Citizen Award and any votes would be hugely appreciated!

[sawaworld-blog]

[isaacbuwembo-blog]

Write and Connect your Dots

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become." - Buddha

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." - Seneca

"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means.  What I want and what I fear." - Joan Didion

Over the past eight years I’ve periodically had the opportunity to write a few hundred words about who I am, what I’ve learned, and where I’m going.  I’ve often been told by elders to keep a journal and write down my thoughts. You would think that after hearing this from numerous wise men and women your pen would not cease writing. Luckily through such activities as applying for jobs, internships, academic programs and volunteer positions you’re forced to concisely tell your story in writing.  I highly recommend finding whatever works to enable you to reflect on your journey and connect your dots.

On January 27th 2011, after conversations earlier in the week with Ashoka Fellow and visionary Founder and CEO of Sawa World, Daphne Nederhorst, I woke up at 4am with a stream of consciousness and captured the following musings on paper:

My 4am Musings – 27th January 2011

So far my journey in life has led me to believe that all human beings have the ability to reach their full potential. However, there are many extrinsic factors that make this more challenging for some individuals, creating an uneven playing field. Now for whatever reason there are some individuals who are able to persevere in the most challenging of circumstances and reach their full potential. I have been lucky enough to have role model parents who I consider to fall into this category. But what I’ve also witnessed from experiences growing up in South Africa, visiting other African countries and places like the Philippines and India, and volunteering in Uganda for six months with NGOs, hospitals, and educational institutions, is that there are people in this world who aren’t as fortunate as I have been. Who aren’t given opportunities to learn, grow and develop…who aren’t given a chance to be carefree children…who aren’t encouraged to be curious…who aren’t mentored or taught…who aren’t given a fair chance at life…

As I got older and started to contemplate life and think about the world, I began asking questions.  Why does this seem to be the status quo? What have we done to address this? What was it about my father and his circumstances that got him to where he is today? And as part of the Diaspora what is it about the way I was raised that had me thinking about these things and wanting to tackle what seems to me as some of the most important and complex societal issues. 

  Growing up in a physician’s home I was surrounded by medicine and health care. So for whatever reason at 17 years old when it came time to decide on university I initially thought science and medicine. Luckily I inherited my father’s curiosity, which was really ignited during my first year at the University of British Columbia (UBC). I started to think about health care as not just the frontline care provider. From my local and international volunteer experiences I started to see the health care system and how there were other systems at play that affected an individuals health and health care delivery.  Although a noble profession, I began to abandon the idea of going to medical school part way through my undergrad.  I decided to complete my Bachelor of Science and took what I could – an opportunity to enhance my critical reasoning skills and analytical thinking, passion for inquiry and a chance to exercise my collaborative ability.

  After UBC I worked as a researcher in a laboratory, but this only lasted ten months. That ten months was also spent finding a way to get to Uganda and experience my parent’s birthplace for myself and learn about the context that they grew up in (I had been numerous times, but as a kid on a family vacation it’s not quite the same).  I managed to connect with four organizations that said they could use my skills and also did some fundraising before I left Canada.  I had an amazing six months and could not have anticipated the breadth and depth of personal growth and learning that transpired.  The diversity of the people and the environment…the joy…the sense of community…the skills, expertise and dedication of many…the aspiration and charisma of many…and the potential…

  Despite feeling like I made some positive contributions, I realized that despite the challenges and complexity, Ugandans were already doing great things.  As enriching as that experience was I left Uganda thinking that this confident, competent and curious twenty something year old boy had a lot to learn before he could think about going back and making significant contributions to Ugandan society.  Now, I’m not sure if that was a healthy notion, but I returned to Canada and looked for an opportunity at an organization that was addressing some challenges in the North American society.  Given my background, health care seemed a reasonable option. 

  So as of November 2007 I have been working full-time in what I generally tell people is health administration.  The organization, ImpactBC, has evolved over the years to what it is today: a stakeholder driven organization that supports health system redesign through quality improvement and integrating the patient voice.  My role has also evolved from administrative support and program development to include: analysis of project life cycles, introducing and implementing project management, leading cross-functional working groups on developing company values and a performance management system, development of knowledge management tools and processes, advising on strategy and planning for website and community development, development of measurement and evaluation tools, and leading a team in the process of defining services, determining value created and articulating indicators of success.

  While working full-time I spent 2008-2009 completing a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration at SFU.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to enhance my collaborative ability through leading teams in the analysis of case studies.  I hadn’t fully been able to articulate the connections but I thought that developing business acumen might be valuable to add to my toolkit.

  Shortly after beginning work in health care, I recognized that although critical to an individuals well being, culture, environment, human rights, education, governance and economic growth are also critical to an individual and society’s well being.  I had begun thinking and reading more about the notion of entrepreneurship as a vehicle for eradicating poverty.  I also started to think about my work experience in the complex Canadian health care system as a stepping-stone that has enable me to gain valuable skills in quality improvement, project management, organizational development and strategy as well as insights into team dynamics, working with multiple stakeholder, the value of measurement, and the challenges of changing people and systems.  

  Two years ago I remember completing an application for the Acumen Fund Fellowship and writing: “…in the future I hope to be in a position to impact and influence stakeholders working at the crossroads of private enterprise, local government, nongovernmental organizations and marginalized populations.” I didn’t really know what that looked like, but today that hope is still true. And yesterday I realized that it looks like Sawa World [sawa means equal in Swahili].