My journey as an Atlantic Fellow

DORAH MAREMA

Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity

I got to know about the global Atlantic community through my longtime friend, comrade and sister, Constance Mogale, in 2019, when the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity program was calling for potential candidates to apply for the fellowship program. At that time, I was the director of a small nonprofit organization, GenderCC Southern Africa-Women for Climate Justice, based in Johannesburg. I took my chances and applied for the fellowship because its objectives resonated with me. I am passionate about issues of equity and justice.

As a Fellow who has completed my program, I then had an amazing opportunity to participate in the global community, with a wide range of multidisciplinary, multinational and intergenerational events and gatherings. I have attended a countless number of them. However, there is one particular program, the Atlantic Fellows Peer Group Mentoring Program, that was a life-changer for me. Its main purpose was to drive personal and professional growth; to maximize impact and provide an extra layer of support to people who are leading in challenging and complex environments.

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Dorah Marema, Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, led a project to grow community food gardens in Johannesburg . Credit: Sydelle Willow Smith .

“I found solace and support in the Atlantic Fellows Peer Group Mentoring Program. On it, there were various Atlantic Fellows from different equity fellowship programs, and the counsel and support sustained me.”

We formed small groups and had dedicated time for in-depth reflection on leadership practice. I received group coaching support which helped me to transition, so I began to explore the possibility of a move from GenderCCSA, which I had founded and led for over 10 years. I developed a desire for self-development and I enrolled in a master’s degree program in environmental sciences at the beginning of 2021. I was also offered an opportunity to join the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) as head of the Municipal Sustainability Portfolio.

I had never worked in any other sector for over two decades and the transition process was very painful. However, I found solace and support in the Atlantic Fellows Peer Group Mentoring Program. On it, there were various Atlantic Fellows from different equity fellowship programs, and the counsel and support sustained me in my first three months at SALGA. This support saw me stay, and I grew to love my new role. Even though the program came to an end, my group decided to proceed further and we still meet once a month to this day.

I began to understand the broader purpose and essence of the global Atlantic Fellows’ community as I interacted with Atlantic Fellows from the other programs and participated in various opportunities. Then in 2020, I received an Atlantic Fellows Solidarity Grant at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was already involved in a civil society initiative to mobilize resources and support for communities that were impacted badly by the national lockdowns. We were providing the communities with food relief and protective equipment against the virus, but the grant meant I could scale up the food relief efforts in my two communities, in Johannesburg West Rand and Kaditshwene village, Limpopo, where I grew up.

I was awarded a grant of nearly £4,000 that allowed me to implement a project to support 200 households in the periurban West Rand district municipality of Gauteng, South Africa, by providing them with nutritious food supplies. The aim was to map where small domestic farmers and producers were located in a given area and procure their produce, and obtain nonperishable food and protective equipment to distribute to the local vulnerable communities. This grant was administered through Dynamis Foundation, a nonprofit organization that I had set up and registered, in April 2020, during a lockdown.

“I believe that the entire network of Fellows and program staff has established ... systems for me to plug in and be part of a group of amazing people working to build inclusive communities around the world.”

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Dorah’s Solidarity Grant project gave nutritious food supplies to 200 households in the peri-urban West Rand district municipality of Gauteng, South Africa . Credit for both images: Sydelle Willow Smith . This grant was so impactful on many fronts: the local champions, the small-scale producers and the broader communities we served. We mobilized the local champions to identify households that needed urgent support and the small-scale producers in their areas who were producing seedlings, fresh vegetables and food stuffs that could be purchased, packed and delivered to the various households. This was such an exciting initiative, which the Institute documented so we could share our learning and experiences with the broader community.

Another opportunity came in January 2021, after the Atlantic Institute made a call for Senior Fellows to apply to become volunteer members of the Global Atlantic Senior Fellow Advisory Forum (GASFAF). I was selected and was also privileged to be asked to take up a volunteer position as a deputy chairperson of GASFAF. This has been an amazing opportunity to work alongside Senior Fellows across all the Atlantic fellowship programs and many different nations to promote and support the global community’s objectives of accelerating the eradication of inequities for fairer, healthier and more inclusive societies. At GASFAF, we also aim to increase and widen Senior Fellows’ awareness of and engagement with the global Atlantic Fellows community.

I believe that the entire network of Fellows and program staff has established the necessary groundwork and systems for me to plug in and be part of a group of amazing people working to build inclusive communities around the world.