Kenyan Fellows Meet Up!
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What happens when you gather five YouthActionNet Fellows in Kenya in a room together for the first time? I recently had the chance to find out in a meeting with Fredrick Ouko (2009), George Gachara (2011), Maria Omare (2014), and Wiclif Otieno (2014).
George offered to host us in the new home of his organization, the NEST, an arts collective. Immediately, we began reminiscing about the times we had run into each other at airports, on panels, and at international conferences. But we were always busy, leaving little time to make deep, meaningful connections.
This meet-up was different.
We quickly moved from niceties to sharing the day-to-day challenges we face as social entrepreneurs. We discussed the solutions that we’d tried, successfully and unsuccessfully. We gave each other knowledge and rich insights relevant to the Kenyan context in which we run our organizations. As I listened to the older fellows, George and Fred, whose organization promotes the equality, inclusion, and empowerment of youth with disabilities, I gleaned tips on how to navigate our legal system and the local funding landscape. I heard about discretionary grants and institutional funding resources that were completely new to me.
“Money catapults what you’re doing, but it is not the main thing,” advised a wise Maria Omare, founder of The Action Foundation, which helps children with physical and mental disabilities live healthy and dignified lives.
The discussion then turned to the complexities of venture growth. I never thought I’d be part of a group of people who were experiencing the same thing I was going through, in which one part of your venture is experiencing growth, while the other is still in the start-up phase. This is what happens when your non-profit launches a new for-profit venture to make it sustainable.
A burden was lifted as I learned from the other social entrepreneurs how they spend their time and energy between multiple facets of their business.
We talked about ways to strengthen the ties among us—from inviting interesting speakers to address local fellow meet-ups to collaborating more closely with the local IYF secretariat. “The true benefit of IYF lies in the connections and relationships that we develop,” said Fred. “Meeting with other fellows and influencers in the IYF network creates real value for us.”
Everyone left with an abundance of positive energy, and with a renewed sense of support from the community. This first session was so productive that we are already planning a second meet up in October this year.
2014 Laureate Global Fellow Peggy Mativo is Founder of PACE, which works to create equitable learning opportunities for students in rural and slum areas of Kenya. Watch this video to hear Peggy explain how the PACE model works.
