The Establishment Of Non-Profit Organisation In South Africa

Leadership and influence

Sir Winston Churchill once said, ‘the nation will find it very hard to look up to leaders who are keeping their ears to the ground’. Exactly 38 years after attaining independence, Zimbabwe find itself void of leaders. My ability to lead with conviction, nimble and determination sets me apart as one future leader who will guide the nation to its former glory. In 2014, Google Inc. made a call for students in the sub-Saharan region to celebrate the Google Africa Map Up Week by naming indigenous places on Google Maps. I knew this was an opportunity to apply my leadership skills, so I volunteered to be a Google Ambassador.

My first project was to organise a group of students who could map the University of Fort Hare and surrounding areas on Google Map Maker. I knew that having a buy-in to conduct this project was going to be a challenge given the diversity of languages spoken in South Africa and the budget that was needed to complete this project. I realised that in order to have a buy-in, I had to tape into various ideas that my team possessed. The team was composed of both students and community members who routinely used those unnamed paths. In order to overcome this hurdle, it was necessary that as a team composed of volunteers we conduct a situational analysis and environmental scanning to identify the likely resistance and opportunities in partaking this project.

During the brainstorming phase, we managed to come up with a strategic plan on how to execute this project. However, upon finishing the brainstorming we were told that people were on day-to-day basis in those paths, and thieves would hide in nearby bushes. My team devised a strategy of naming the dangerous paths on Google Map as form of awareness to students and communities that resided close to the university. Another challenge was that I had zero budget and everything rested on our teamwork and leadership potential. I presented the idea to the Student Developer at the university, and I was offered a free venue with access to computers and internet, as well as refreshments. Gender balance was key for this project to succeed. Women were the majority victims in most robberies along the identified paths. I delegated the task of the project to the team based on their abilities and competences.

This approach encouraged an environment of inclusiveness and shared responsibilities. We organised outreach programmes at nearby shopping centres and public schools, and we received tremendous support in our quest to map the surrounding areas. The event was the first of its kind at a local level, so it received tremendous support. Eventually, through shared responsibilities, the event was a huge success and it attracted over 400 attendees who helped put their localised roads and paths on Google Map. Upon the completion of this project, Google provided every mapper with a Distinguished Google Map Maker Certificate for his or her generous efforts in solving a community problem using technology.

Networking

My networking skills were tested in 2016 when I established a Non-Profit Organisation in South Africa while studying. I was able to seek local support and build partnership to fund and execute projects focusing on education and climate change. My organisation was invited to participate in the National Science Week, an annual event aiming to communicate awareness in science. We collaborated with BREARD Foundation, a local NPO in rural South Africa that provides support to primary school children. We taught over 2000 learners’ about renewable energy usage. Given the magnitude of the work at hand, I recruited a dedicated team of 6 volunteers from the community who helped out with the delivery of pamphlets, posters and distribution of food parcels. Some were involved in the presentations, which helped them develop their self-esteem and exposure.

Upon the completion of the National Science Week, it did not come as a surprise that I was honoured at a Community Event for this excellent job. This experience horned my networking skills, which I continuously apply in my professional and social networks. Likewise, in 2017, I was awarded a conference scholarship to present an article at the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) in Cape Town where over 1200 researchers representing more than 200 countries participated. This conference offered me opportunities to interact with development experts, leaders and to explore areas of future collaborations targeting the sub-Saharan region. Upon finishing my presentation I was requested by the Chief Director of Public Sector Reform in South Africa to forward my article on Poverty and Vulnerability for submission to the Minister of Public Service and Administration.

Post conference networking with esteemed government leaders has improved my networking skills tremendously. I aspire to be a Chevening scholar because I would like to engage with the Zimbabwean Chevening community and find ways of developing youth initiative, consider ring that youth unemployment in Zimbabwe is over 85 percent. In particular, I will focus on building capacity programs for youth in disfranchised communities such as in Southern Part of Zimbabwe. As a Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI) member, I would like to combine the knowledge I have gained this far and build connections in the Chevening community through events and projects. * Studying in the UKThe Zimbabwe Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2016-18 noted that income poverty has remained above 70 % since 1995. Meanwhile, the World Bank and IMF estimates put the figures of poverty above 80%, suggesting that poverty is now endemic in Zimbabwe.

The lack of strategies and policies to deal with this issue probably points to a weakness within policies drafted to tackle poverty in Zimbabwe. Therefore, these challenges faced by my country has influenced my desire to study development at a postgraduate level in order to strengthen and supplement my background in economics and development, so that I can be better equipped to provide solutions to my community. Given the aforementioned, I have selected the three programmes that are aligned to my career and will give me the knowledge, expertise and practical experience as a researcher; the particular courses are; Msc in Development Studies (London School of Economics) - the course will equip me with skills to understand policy and practice of development. This is an important component in overcoming poverty and creating sustainable societies. I took courses on ‘Policy, Projects, and Programs for Development’ at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

The idea was to understand development from a broad spectrum, especially in the European Union were large populations have moved out of poverty. Therefore, gaining more knowledge in this field would steer my career positively. MSc in African Development (London School of Economics)-the course focuses on regionalism ad localism in politics and economics, and forces that shape Africa’s insertion into the global economy. Zimbabwe has been in a path of regional integration with recent signing of the African Continental Free Trade agreement in Kigali, Rwanda. In order for Zimbabwe to make a meaningful contribution and benefit in such agreements, there is a need of expertise in the areas of integration. Furthermore, I did a course about European Integration in order to get deeper insights on how the European Union bloc operates in terms of policy development and implementation. This course would help me contribute in the regionalism and integration discourse as a researcher or an academia.

MSc Inequalities and Social Science (London School of Economics) - this comprehensive course offers a range of interdisciplinary approaches to social scientific analysis of inequality. One challenge faced by Zimbabwe in addressing inequalities is a lack of customised inequality indicators. Thus, this course will equip me with the relevant knowledge in developing various methods of measuring inequality in a Zimbabwean context. Furthermore, it also focuses on the role of political institutions in combating inequalities. The largest economic growth in world is expected to be from six nations in Africa by 2030, Zimbabwe does not feature in any of the projected countries due to weak policies and political uncertainty. Studying in the UK would afford me an opportunity to collaborate with various top quality researchers and rigorous teachings, which would be of much benefit to my career and personal development. * Career PlanEight months after I graduate, I hope to be employed at a research institution or institution of high learning were I can further my career in a concrete establishment. While employed, I would like to secure research funding and specifically focus on vulnerability in rural areas in Zimbabwe for 1-3 years.

Vulnerability analysis provides information on how individuals and households can be affected by shocks both exogenous and endogenous, and how they deal with them. Previous approaches to vulnerability in Zimbabwe have contributed little top policy formulation, and the contribution has been minimum. Having already started my career as a researcher, I aim to provide policymakers with information and tools that will enable them to be better stewards of their economies and eradicate poverty. My goal is to help in the creation of sustainable livelihoods and provide solutions to economic problems. In the short term, I envisage holding a position in leading research intuition or think tank such the International Food Policy Research Institute or Africa Economic Research Consortium or UN Research Institute of Social Development, in charge of implementing and researching ground-breaking solutions in agriculture or economic development. I desire to be hands on in projects that focus on climate change, food security, vulnerability and poverty.

Priority areas where the UK government has outreach programmes or grants. Given my exposure in various local government projects, I will be capable of utilising my networking skills and the Chevening Alumni to come up with suggestions on how DFID-Zimbabwe projects and grants focused on vulnerability can be strengthened to have maximum impact. There are various NGOs working with the DFID, which I can collaborate with in addressing a number of challenges faced by Zimbabwean in the previous stated priority areas. Already I have published over three journal articles on food security and climate change effects on agriculture. My research interests align with two major UK government plans in Zimbabwe of targeting human development and economic development. Research for development outputs on poverty on DFID has declined considerable since 2014, with the vast majority focusing on health. This is a major problem.

In addition, the UK injected over 21.5 million pounds in the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund for vulnerable communities through the United Nations. Given that the focus of the grant is on rural areas resilience in face of climate change, I hope to contribute my expertise in this project. I was an Africa region awardee of the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work on Climate Change. The award is presented to outstanding youth who are leading initiatives ranging from poverty alleviation to peace building. Therefore, I intend to continue contributing in the climate change discourse at a national and regional level.

In conclusion, my 3-5 year plans include continued investment in any personal development initiatives and current research efforts corresponding to my publication plans. I plan to seek new opportunities for multi-disciplinary research, collaboration with various agents both national and international. I also seek to contribute to the development discourse in Africa by working closely with any agencies fostering development. My contribution will be broad, and it will include being a consultant to a number of African governments on matters dealing with development and social inequalities. According to the IMF estimations, Africa economies are set to grow by over 4 percent per annum compared to the rest of the world. I seek to be part of the cohort who will make this growth feasible.