How can a million-dollar ideas that helps Africa confront terrible crises be forgotten?"
By Elizaphan Ogechi, Executive Director, Nguzo Africa Community Foundation
Crises and other pressing human challenges are great teachers.
Get into humanitarian and development sector and try to solve some of Africa’s pressing challenges in governance, human rights, insecurity, education, health, food insecurity, youth unemployment, pandemics, climate change crises, among others. You get enrolled in the world’s greatest seminar of all times. You can’t avoid to think deep.
In Africa, we have seen it all: poverty, unemployment, famine, wars, floods, drought, coups, dictators, massacres, HIV&AIDS, Covid-19, Ebola … Lost? Now, you don’t need to cry. Let’s laugh.
Such experiences make you take risks, think, reflect, face your fears, handle your emotions, have uncomfortable conversations, became resilient, deal with difficult and good people. You now have to face trouble head-on. Often, crises leave indelible and invincible scars to people and communities. It is important to look back, reflect and connect with others.
That is why on 8th - 10th November 2022, Africa Philanthropy Network (APN) in collaboration with East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN), Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF) and CivSource organized the Africa Philanthropy Network Assembly.
The event which was held in Entebbe, Uganda brought together more than 350 participants comprising of leaders, philanthropists, development practitioners, social change makers, activists, academicians, professors, inspirators, funders and likeminded people. The objective of the assembly was to deliberate on pressing issues facing African communities and how responsive are the African philanthropy practices, cultures and policies. How can Africa Philanthropy drive change?
Participants used this space to celebrate ideas and share practical solutions of African philanthropy, and make recommendations with concrete actions to unlock philanthropy’s potential in driving social and systematic change.
While going through the assembly speeches, presentations, plenary and group discussions, I found a kindred sheet of lost secrets of Africa philanthropy that can be ignited to address humanitarian, development and pressing challenges of our time.
Here are the 7 Lost secrets of African Philanthropy
1. The first and last line of response to crises
When calamities, pandemics and disasters happen, it is the simple African boys, girls, youth, women and men who responds first. On 6th November 2022, when Tanzania Precision Air crashed into Lake Victoria, instead of landing at Bukoba Airport in Tanzania, it is the beach boys that acted first and saved more than 20 passengers. Their African spirit of giving and unity made it possible to pull the aircraft out of water.
While giving her remarks, Theo Sowa, a renowned women’s rights and social justice activist affirmed that when HIV hit Africa, it is our grandmothers, mothers, aunties in villages who responded first. They took care of orphans, sick and offered community education and many more. When Ebola, hit Liberia, it is the Africa women who first responded. They remain the unsung heroes of the Ebola responses. When Covid-19 hit, it little the known community organisations that gathered resources and offered quick responses to communities.
Staff from international nonprofits were evacuated from countries that were considered dangerous. Unfortunately, Covid-19 donor funding was later passed through the very institutions that runway when they were needed most.
“In 2022, some INGOs were still stuck with billions of Covid-19 funds. By 2020, only 0.07% of Covid19 funds had reached local communities,” said Jenny Hodgson of Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCFs).
2. Doing more with less
Africa philanthropy is about doing more with less. It is about doing great things using what we have in our communities. In Kenya, in the 1990s Harambee schools which were built through community philanthropy have enhanced access to quality-affordable secondary education to young Kenyans in remote villages. Many of these schools have now grown to be centres of academic excellence.
"When you bring your skill, another-one brings land, another community member brings sand, we do great things. Community assets building approaches are driving their thinking directly from the enduring African giving models." said a participant from Zambia.
3. An expression of humanity (Utu)
African giving can be described as warm-small relational giving. It is often built on natural trust of humanity as opposed to cold, contractual and power over giving. In Africa, giving builds connections, warmth and love. People give with their hearts – with love, dance, music and a beautiful sense of trust and cultural expressions. African philanthropy builds horizontal trusts and accelerates power-with-you relationships. In this case, the giver and receiver work as equal human partners, who are susceptible to such challenges.
“African philanthropy in whichever form it takes, must be helpful to humanity. It must move closer to attaining social change, accountability and autonomy,” said @BriggsBomba of Trust Africa.
4. Invisible and unmeasurable
Some of the participants asked this: How can we measure success in African philanthropy? The most interesting response of this was that it is hard to measure African philanthropy, because it is part of us and it is intertwined in our struggles. It get revived during the time of crisis. When there is peace and harmony, you may not see or measure our levels of philanthropy. The international measurements of Giving Index and monitoring logframes and matrixes are often inadequate in measuring Africa giving.
5. Envied, fought and ignored
Colonial systems worked so hard to kill the African’s Ubuntu spirit. They understood that the best way to rule, was to kill African culture, including giving. Instead, they curated “negative narratives" about African culture, socialisation and giving. These messages were passed through religion, education, politics and economic systems.
Clearly, the colonial systems gloried selfish aggrandizement and primitive accumulation as opposed to the shared African Ubuntu. In the end, we have succeeded in creating cold, educated selfish capitalists who make billions and seldom think about people or communities next door. This guilt is now manifested in many businesses. Few have started social corporate response programs to connect with humanity.
The current aid system, hardly appreciate the value of African philanthropy in community responses. Instead, the external aid donors who portray themselves as alpha and omega experts with magnets solutions for Africa. They have built schools and water wells, which are often abandoned once the donor leaves.
We need to decolonize aid. There are viable alternatives that can help to shift the power to communities.
"The current model of development model system is broken! the place for community philanthropy is the true source of sustaining true growth in the local communities." said Jenny Hodgson, Global Fund for Community Foundations.
It is important to question how decolonization is perceived by the donor community.
"Localisation means giving accountability to communities. It is not about INGOs opening country offices and employing locals," said Suleiman Abdullahi of the NEAR Network.
6. "We never leave"
African philanthropy never leaves. It is omnipresent. Those were the teachings of Karima Kadaoui of Tamkeen Community Foundation for Human Development, Morocco.
When we deliver traditional development project, we often ask ourselves, “What is your exit or sustainability strategy?”
Using African philanthropy approaches, such questions are hardly asked. When you give you become part of the community. You become part of them in their struggles and prosperity.
"You never leave," when you give you become one with communities, said Karima.
7. Encourages intergenerational dialogues
African philanthropy is often intertwined with wisdom, teachings and connections. When you gather for giving, you not only build an avenue for giving but also a platform for community dialogues. Events such as weddings, rites and funerals were used to share intergeneration knowledge and wisdom.
The current online giving models are good at collecting resources. But they are poor spaces for intergenerational dialogues. Often, Whatapps groups meant for giving are tied to listing of those giving. Once the funds are raised, the online fundraising is fast closed. No discussions. No dialogues. Clearly, new giving platforms that espouses inter-generational dialogues should be explored.
"Let's learn from each other. I often ask and get assisted by young people when I have technology challenges. We encourage young people to learn from us. We bring young staff to board meetings to help them learn how decisions are made," Janet Mawiywo, Organisational Development and Leadership Coach.
Next steps
- Let’s reclaim the lost secrets of African Philanthropy by creating campaigns, awareness drives to help people and communities appreciate the power of this movement. This can be done through writings, speeches, poetry, art, dance, music and videos. Let’s Tiktok about this.
- At individual level, you should be the ambassador of the African philanthropy and the shift the power movement. At organization level, realign your organisations to embrace these lost teaching in your strategies and approaches. Collectively, we must network, learn from each and advance the power of African philanthropy in our communities and countries.
- Let’s use the systems such as religion, education, politics and business to ignite the Africa culture of giving and caring for each other. For instance, policies should be developed to revive community giving days. The education systems should also help to change the mindset of unhealth competition and encourage the spirit of unity, giving back to communities and shared giving. The Africa higher education institutions should take the lead in establishing African Philanthropy faculties to research, create and store lost knowledge of Africa philanthropy.
- Aid systems should be re-imagined to appreciate the power of Africa giving. The aid agencies should adopt, use power-with- models, and shun power-over development delivery models. Africa needs not aid, but good aid that appreciates our cultures, respects our weakness and hidden community assets. This calls for systems change at the global donor-side.
- Develop transformative platforms and channels that encourages intergenerational dialogues among the young people, middle aged and the elderly. This will ensure that cultural gems and jewels of giving and togetherness are passed over to new generations.
- Join movements such as #ShiftThePower movement to have a critical mass of champions and changes makers tracking progress of international commitments such as the 2016 Grand Bargains, The Manifesto for Change. Let's now bring new positive narratives and reimagine the current aid systems. Lets join the NEAR (Network for Empowered Aid Response).
- Join your regional philanthropy network. If you are from East Africa, become a member of EAPN. At Africa level let's all become active members of APN.
Conclusion
African Philanthropy puts communities at the centre of sustainable development. It is part of larger community movement that seeks to decolonize aid, re-imagine development and shift the power to communities.
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The Author, Elizaphan Ogechi, is the Executive Director, Nguzo Africa. He is ShiftThePower fellow with the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCFs).