We Are Africa Special
Issue 8 - July 2016 1
Welcome to Aspire News Contents: Welcome to the July issue of Aspire News! This month we’re focusing on our We Are Africa campaign. We introduced our winner last month, this month you can hear more from Emma and learn more about her winning project. We also hear from Alison, her mentor.
The quality of the projects submitted for consideration was outstanding. We’ve featured some of the shortlisted projects so you can have a look at some of the amazing work Aspire Foundation members are doing.
P3 - Meet our ‘We Are Africa’ winner! P8 - What are the M.A.D. Africa Projects? P10 - On the Move with a CEO P11 - How to Get Your Voice Heard
Our new Aspire M.A.D. Leadership Programs start soon and we’re looking for volunteers. If you think you could help us make these events our best yet, please contact our Executive Director at Jane@theaspirefoundation.org
P12 - One Girl Who Changed The World P13 - Mentoring Goes HighTech
Our Chicago event is open to Aspire Foundation mentors to attend as guests. There are limited spaces so turn to Pages 13 and 14 to learn more.
P14 - M.A.D. Leadership Events P16 – Aspire Leaders and
I hope you enjoy this issue, please let me know what you think at editor@theaspirefoundation.org
Daughters P18 - 5 Top Tips for Mentoring
Emma
Virtually
Aspire Newsletter Editor
P19 - One Billion Starts With One
This month we say goodbye to Liesl Ritts, our Aspire Foundation Co-ordinator. Liesl worked with us for four years and was fundamental in setting up our systems and being the port of call for our mentors and mentees. She will be missed and her hard work is acknowledged and remembered! We wish her the very best and know that she will do great things in her acting and singing career. She is still contactable by LinkedIn should you wish to stay in touch. We have new members joining the team. Make sure you check out next month’s issue where we will be introducing you to the team!
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We Are Africa Winner! Emma Scullion and her project Awamu work with women in Kampala, Uganda to help them run projects which support their own communities.
Congratulations on winning the ‘We Are Africa’ award! How are you feeling? Thank you so much. I’m so thrilled – and the best part was sharing the news with the amazing women and children we work with in Kampala. It’s already had a massive impact on their confidence (and mine) and aspirations for the future because we’re going to be able to help so many more children with the award.
She is the sole provider for twelve children – nine grandchildren, one niece and her (now) adopted daughter Jaliya. They all lived in a room no bigger than 2×3 meters. Volunteers like Regina are the driving force behind transforming the lives of children like Jaliya in the slums of Bwaise on the outskirts of Kampala (the capital city of Uganda). From the very first time we met I was completely bowled over. She, along with network of other women who have all been similarly affected by HIV, gives all her time and energy to help the most vulnerable in her community. They walk the streets of the slums seeking out children and adults in need of their support. They encourage adults to confront their fears, navigate the medical system and offer care and protection to those who are too weak to look after themselves or their families.
Awamu works with determined women in Kampala to change the lives of vulnerable children – can you tell us more about how you got started? I went to Uganda for my work with ActionAid (a large overseas development organisation, where I worked for many years) and I met the most amazing people – people whose lives had been torn apart by HIV but still share what little they have and give all their energy to help those around them. I met people like Regina who have a determination to make things better for their family and their community. Regina is a widower and a grandmother. Six of her own children have died of AIDs related illnesses.
Their support means the difference between life and death for the most vulnerable in their community.
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“We all have the power to do something to help”
HIV is rife in our community. An estimated 40% of the households are involved in sex work. Ensuring children get the education that is vital to their future is not as straightforward as helping with school fees, that’s why the gardens are so vital. The simple fact is hungry children can't learn.
I can’t explain what happened when I met them, I just knew that I had the power to do something to help - we all have the power to do something to help – but I had no idea what it was going to be.
Sadly, many of the families we work with live on less than 50p a day, so most of the children are lucky if they get one meal a day. Typically that meal will be a bowl of maize porridge, which contains very little nutritional value. Lack of food means most of the children we work with go to school hungry, so first and foremost this project will help to break down the barriers that stand in the way of our children getting an education. In addition, many of the children we work with were born with HIV and are on Anti-Retro-Viral medication, which they must take 2-3 times a day. The medication MUST be taken with food or it makes them REALLY sick, causing a lot of pain and potentially long-term damage.
Regina and Jaliya
As the kids live in an urban area there is very little space available for growing food, no good topsoil and a lot of contamination from open drains. We have already piloted a small scale gardening project. We built 60 raised bed vegetable gardens with mums like Grace and it's having a huge impact on their health, education and income.
I set myself the challenge of finding as many ways to help Regina and women like her have a greater impact in their community. Together we want to reach out to even more children.
The award was for your community food garden project, how will the ‘We Are Africa’ support help?
We're so pleased at the impact the gardens have had that we want to be able to build more with other families in need and create extra gardens that we can use to feed orphaned children in our community.
The fund is going to ensure over 600 children like Jaliya don’t have to go to school hungry by helping us build two community food/ vegetable gardens.
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But it doesn’t stop there, the community gardens will be run as social enterprise with the children themselves. Because we believe that by involving children in a viable business we can help develop their skills for learning, life and work and enrich their sense of social justice.
Mentoring helps you make decisions and form ideas faster. It can lead to you surprising yourself by working in new ways.
Have you done anything differently since you started the mentoring program? Yes, I’ve become more confident about sharing my ideas and networking - I’ve learnt a lot from all the awesome women that I have met through the Aspire events. There are so many people doing amazing things and so many people out there who have skills that could help to change the lives of others.
You are part of the Aspire Foundation mentoring program, do you think that experience helped with the ‘We Are Africa’ application? Yes, most definitely, not least because my mentor Alison was the one that sent me the information about applying for the award!
Its good not to be M.A.D. and alone in the world!
It’s been great, not just the sharing of expertise and experience – but just having someone to bounce ideas and thoughts off. As a founder of a project like this, you have to be a jack of all trades and work on things you never worked on before.
Would you like to mentor someone? Yes, of course. I used to think I had nothing to share that others would want, but mentoring someone makes you realise how much experience you have to share.
At first I thought it was important that the potential mentor had skills directly relating to my project but I found that’s not the case at all – people have all kinds of experience that are helpful.
If you had one piece of advice to someone considering signing up to the Aspire Foundation mentoring program, what would it be?
Why did you originally sign up to the program?
Do it today, don’t hesitate! I think with all the horror in the world its easy to feel overwhelmed and like you have no power to change anything, but you do – we all do. The first part of making a change is changing yourself. Take all that sorrow, anger or sense of injustice and turn it into a positive action. Everyone has skills and experience that can make a massive difference to another person or organisation, sometimes its hard to see or feel it but a mentor or mentoring could be the first step to making that change in the world.
It can be hard to maintain momentum and to keep the faith when you work alone and miles away from your project and team in another country - you need to share with other people, you need that external support.
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Alison Booth is Emma’s mentor. She leads change projects for a number of different companies, is a member of the advisory board for an Indian technology company and is an Executive and Project coach. I am sure Awamu will go from strength to strength especially with the support from the “We are Africa’ fund.
Q: How long have you been an Aspire Foundation Mentor? I have been an Aspire mentor for just over 2 years. I decided to become a mentor after a friend and valued coaching colleague recommended the Aspire Foundation to me.
Q: You attended the award event, how did you find it? Coming from a corporate background it is fascinating to meet people from such a variety of backgrounds all in one place. There was great and very positive energy in the room. The most exciting part of course was the Awamu video coming up on the screen and Emma being announced as winner.
Q: Has the mentoring program made a difference to you personally?
I have found mentoring people from different backgrounds to myself very rewarding. I have learnt lots myself about the not for profit sector, developed my own coaching skills and most of Q: If you could provide one piece of advice to all, have been able to make a difference and someone considering signing up to the see my mentees flourish. program as a mentor, what would that be?
It is refreshing to have the chance to make a real difference in the world rather than focus on bottom line results. The Aspire Foundation gives you the opportunity to do this.
Q: Your mentee, Emma Scullion, has recently been granted the ‘We Are Africa’ fund for her Awamu project. You must feel very proud? Extremely proud! It has been absolutely delightful working with Emma who has a huge appetite to progress and make Awamu successful to support young girls in Uganda. She has lapped up any advice and stuck at it to make a real difference to young girls and their families in Africa.
Q: Do you have any advice for our mentees on how to get the most out of their mentoring? Find someone that is really interested in you and what you are trying to do, not necessarily experienced in what you do. The experience of the mentor and support in applying it to your situation is what counts. And as with all these things, the more you put into it, the more you get out. On both sides! 6
Click on the picture to see Emma’s video
After reviewing all of the applications, we believe the project ‘most likely to succeed’ and has the most need is Emma Scullion and Awamu’s project “EPIC Food Garden in Uganda”. It is tangible and we can watch it grow - literally! Jane Donaldson, Aspire Executive Director
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We Are Africa We received over 400 entries for the We Are Africa competition. First off, thank you to all of you M.A.D. women and men who are doing so much to make a difference. We sadly can’t feature all the entries, here are the successful short-listers. which illustrate the difference Aspire Foundation members are making. Click on the logos to find out more.
Women in Tech Africa is the largest women in tech group in Africa, with membership in 30 countries. They run entrepreneurship training to improve the lives of women and girls in their communities.
Based in Malawi, Joshua has developed the Digital Outernet Library combining technology and interactive education activities that empowers young people.
A Partner in Education responds to local needs, delivering appropriate cost-effective and sustainable solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Rwanda.
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Currently working with 280,000 tea, coffee and cocoa smallholder farmers, CafÊ Direct Producer’s Foundation helps them to share their wealth of knowledge and experience.
Inspire Worldwide specialises in linking schools with overseas charity partners, providing the opportunity to support and take part in hands-on, sustainable charity development projects.
The Fly Sister Fly Foundation works with volunteers to engage communities, promote literacy and support education through mentoring programs, encouraging girls to embrace education.
Student Driven Solutions Student Driven Solutions is on a mission to provide financial literacy and business skills education to female secondary school students, and to those who have left school early.
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On the Move with Adam Warby and Dr Sam Collins...
Available on YouTube now - Dr Sam Collins and Adam Warby are ‘On the Move’!
In this video, Adam Warby, CEO of Avanade and Sam’s mentor, interviews Sam. Learn about the Aspire Foundation model and its “audacious goal” to positively impact one billion women by 2020 and how the ripple effect and technology can support this.
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Book Review Last month we reviewed Dr Sam Collins’ Radio Heaven and many of you reached out to tell us how inspiring you found it. This month Aspire Foundation member Krista Powell Edwards tells us about one of her favourite books... Why do I recommend this book? Many women can find it hard to get their voice heard. This can be due to expectations that men should have more air time, or the belief that women have less right to speak. Whatever the reason, unless a women can get herself heard, she will be limiting the impact and influence she makes.
As someone who has researched credible communicators, I have become aware of how the voice impacts on any message being transmitted, how it influences our perception of the speaker and of what they are saying,
As the author says "your voice is a tool of extraordinary potential benefit to you and others around you’ The book is split into five parts: Part One gives information about voice and how it works. Part Two focuses on what to do to speak effectively - the basics of how to produce the voice well, information on breathing, relaxation, voice resonance and articulation. Part three focuses on how to deal with voice issues, such as people not listening to you, or you not being able to influence others as you’d like. Part Four explores why some speakers influence powerfully while others do not. Park Five brings the swathes together - focusing on how the voice can express who one is, discovering one’s true voice and from this how to influence others powerfully.
The book is easy to read, an excellent mix of theory and practice, with lots of examples, anecdotes, and stories. It offers opportunities to develop the voice over time, focusing on specific areas, for example enunciation, as well as strategies to impact more generally. This is a book that anyone who wants to improve their communication will find useful, with lots of ideas and tips that can be used immediately. You can buy Voice of Influence here 11
Malala Day -12th July “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”
The 12th July is Malala Day, named in honour of Malala Yousafzai. The day was established in 2013 when, on her 16th birthday, Malala spoke at the United Nations to call for worldwide access to education. Malala is an activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. Malala rose to prominence in 2009 (when she was just 11) when she started a blog for the BBC detailing life in Pakistan under Taliban occupation. In 2012, she was shot in an assassination attempt by the Taliban. She continues to campaign for global access to education, asking that governments invest in “books not bullets” On Malala Day 2015 (her 18th birthday) she opened a school for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. The school is funded by the Malala Fund and offers education and training to girl’s aged 14 - 18 years old.
“The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born”
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Mentoring goes high-tech... Aspire is launching an exciting new partnership with the new mentoring app, rungway!
Founded by Julie Chakraverty, rungway uses technology to open up new avenues to advice and support for professionals balancing modern life and managing a career. The app lets us give quick, personal support to each other on work and life issues. From managing your business, to those fears that might be holding you back from reaching your potential - someone on rungway can help.
As Aspire Foundation members, you can join rungway to:
Help others around the world - Make a Difference (M.A.D.) through sharing advice.
Help yourself by getting fresh, quick output from new people.
Reach inspiring women all around the world!
You can use the app to post questions publicly or anonymously, All conversations are 1-to-1.
Download the app at rungway.com then email groups@rungway.com with your name, organization and contact email so you can be added to the Aspire group.
If you have any problems downloading it in your region - rungway will sort it out! Email them at groups@rungway.com and tell them what’s happening - your feedback is so central to what makes the app so special.
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Chicago, USA: 13th – 15th September, 2016. See the new speaker line up and register HERE. London, UK: 22nd – 23rd November, 2016. See the new speaker line up and register HERE. Johannesburg, South Africa: 27th - 28th February, 2017. Find out more and register HERE.
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Aspire M.A.D. Leadership Programs Join Dr Sam Collins, CEO of Aspire and named as 'One of the Top 200 Women to Impact Business and Industry’ by Her Majesty, The Queen, and women from around the world to be ‘M.A.D.’ and make a difference to your life, work and world. Join us, and you will...
Develop the qualities of great leadership.
Gain new leadership and career tool kits.
Be inspired by global speakers.
Create a new vision for your success.
Grow a like minded external network.
Leave with a tangible action plan.
Aspire Foundation Mentees can apply for a scholarship to the events here.
Are you an Aspire Foundation mentor? Our Chicago event is open for you to attend as a guest, but places are going fast! Click here to sign up or to find out more information.
Calling all volunteers!
Do you want to get involved and support any of the upcoming leadership events? If so, please contact Jane via Jane@theaspirefoundation.org
Volunteers need to have attended a previous leadership event and be available for both days of the event. Full training will be provided.
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Aspire M.A.D. Leaders and Daughters Have you heard about our Leaders and Daughters Program?
“I have two daughters and from when they were born, it was clear that the most important thing was going to be given them just buckets of self-confidence and just say that you can do whatever you want. You are strong, you’re beautiful, you’re amazing, you’re intelligent. You are in charge. You can decide and if you want to be excellent at everything, then go, do it, but be aware that it’s going to take an enormous amount of energy. It’s about giving young children or girls the awareness that they do have choices, that they have power over what they do and just really believing in themselves and self-confidence, but I think it can only be given by parents who are confident themselves. Thank you Aspire for empowering me and my daughters.” Aspire Event Attendee The Aspire Foundation offers a Work Experience Program and a Young Women Program. The Work Experience Program is for young adults aged 12 - 17. Participants will attend our M.A.D. Leadership Program as a Volunteer, attending with a parent or guardian and shadowing an Aspire staff member or a key Aspire Volunteer. The Young Women Program is open to women aged 18 - 25. Women on this program will attend our M.A.D. Leadership conferences as an Attendee, attending with a parent / guardian or solo, where they will have special opportunities to meet and be part of a group of other young Aspire women. Both programs offer a meaningful opportunity for young people to learn about Making A Difference in the world and to grow their confidence, self image and networking skills. Our focus is on empowering young women, but any boys or young men who want to attend are, of course, welcome.
To find out more, click here
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Top Tips for Mentoring Virtually If you couldn’t join us for our Community Event, fear not - you can access the recording of the webinar here
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“One billion starts with one� Join the movement, join The Aspire M.A.D. Mentoring program today! Sign up to be a
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Next month, learn all about our #justonemore campaign
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