CivSource South Africa

The Rhythm of African Giving African giving has a rhythm of its own. It changes with the times, takes different forms across communities, and carries the echoes of generations before us. Participating in the #GhanaPhilanthropyWeek made me ponder this rhythm. African giving is familiar to many of us. We have grown up experiencing it in our families and communities. But familiarity does not necessarily mean we fully know or understand it. Indeed, many forms of African giving remain unnoticed and unrecognised. At the #4thWomenInPhilanthropy Conference, we explored some of these less visible dimensions of women’s giving, and how we might better recognise and amplify them. At a high-level consultation, we discussed Ghana’s efforts to develop a national philanthropy and social investment policy. My participation in Ghana was an opportunity to share experiences from Uganda, learn from others and explore ways of working together. And just as music invites us to listen, so does African giving. The more we listen to one another, the more we discover about the many ways Africans give, and the more possibilities we find for working together. #AfricanPhilanthropy #LocalGiving #GhanaPhilanthropyWeek @CivLegacy_F @wacsi @UnitedWay

You Don’t Flip a Switch “You need to start making your own money!” Nonprofit leaders hear this advice everywhere. Sometimes it even comes with an even starker warning: Diversify or die! It’s sound advice - yes. But there is something we don’t talk about enough: The journey from knowing what needs to change to actually making that change. Many nonprofit organizations have spent decades relying on donor funding. We’ve built our systems, developed our skills, hired our people and shaped our thinking around this model. Changing that doesn’t happen overnight. And resilience is about much more than money. It requires us to rethink and reshape our organizations. How we govern. How we use data. How we tell our stories. The policies we develop that support this transformation. How we prepare for leadership transitions. How we understand and mobilize the resources already available to us. It’s a whole organizational shift. At the recent NGO Risk, Compliance and Resilience Conference organized by Onyango and Company Advocates and @civicadvisory, I had the privilege of sharing @CivsourceAfrica’s own journey. Ours is far from a perfect story. Sometimes I feel like we’ve only taken two steps in nine years! We’ve had people ask us hard questions. We’ve had coaches and mentors challenge our assumptions. We’ve had to unlearn, experiment, make mistakes and try again. And we’re still learning. One thing I’ve come to appreciate is that changing an organization means changing the thinking of the people within it. And people don’t all change at the same pace. Leaders must bring their staff, boards and sometimes members along on this journey. That takes time, intentionality, patience and sometimes difficult conversations. I’m not making excuses for nonprofit leaders. I’m simply saying that building resilience is not like flipping a switch. It’s a process. It’s rarely linear. And because the nonprofit sector is not homogeneous, there is no single pathway that will work for everyone. I also reminded my fellow leaders at the conference that ours is a sector that knows change. We are constantly navigating changing circumstances, shifting priorities, new challenges and uncertain environments. We’ve learned to adapt, to adjust and to keep going. We are not starting from zero. We can draw on what we already know about managing change. The tools, the lessons, the experience of bringing people along, managing resistance and navigating uncertainty. All of these can serve us as we build more resilient organizations. So yes, let’s keep challenging nonprofit leaders to build resilience. Let’s also appreciate what it takes. The learning. The unlearning. The experimentation. The mistakes. The small steps that sometimes feel painfully slow. Knowing that we must change is one thing. Learning how to change is another. #OrganizationalResilience #ChangeManagement #NonProfitLeadership

Ukarimu: Memory and Curiosity The night before the Ukarimu Centre launch, I was unsettled. The launch was a big deal for us, but I couldn’t quite figure out what I wanted to say in my remarks. My mind kept going back to my maternal grandmother, Justina Turahi. She’s been gone for quite a while now, but I think she came to mind because she embodies one of my earliest experiences of generosity. When I was a toddler, my parents were working far away from home, and my grandparents took me in. My grandmother fed me, bathed me, cared for me when I was unwell. I slept in her bed. I’m pretty sure she had to wake up in the middle of the night to take me to the bathroom. She did all this for me. The morning of October 8th, I woke up early, still unsure what I would say. And again, my mind went back to my grandmother. Then I knew. I wanted to say her name. To honour her generosity. To honour her memory. In many ways, my grandmother embodies part of what Ukarimu Center is about. As we research, teach, document and innovate in African philanthropy, we must also remember. Remember the people whose generosity shaped our lives, our families and our communities. Remember the acts of giving that appear so ordinary, we may never even have thought to call them philanthropy. Ukarimu is also about curiosity. Our giving is so deeply woven into our lives that it’s easy to take it for granted. It’s always been there. And yet, there is so much we don’t know. Why do we give? How do we give? To whom? What cultural, social and political forces shape our giving? What else is possible? What remains untapped? What could we unlock? These are the questions that will fuel our curiosity and underpin our research, teaching and innovation. Memory and curiosity. Remembering what has been. Being curious about what is, and what could be. Both are deeply embedded in Ukarimu. And that’s part of what we’re bringing to the world. #UkarimuCenter #AfricanPhilanthropy #MemoryAndCuriosity @CivsourceAfrica @CivLegacy_F @Makerere @EAPhilanthropy

I See You Today is our 9th birthday! 🎉 As @CivsourceAfrica turns 9, I wanted to mark the moment in a way that was simple, meaningful and memorable. So, I wrote letters to nine leaders. These nine years of CivSource have also been nine years of leadership for me. Nine years of wins and mistakes. Of learning and unlearning. Of understanding leadership differently. And one thing I know now: leaders need to be seen too. We see what they build. We see what they achieve. We see the milestones. But do we see them? The doubts. The difficult decisions. The sacrifices. What it takes to keep showing up. So I wanted to tell these leaders what I see: I see your courage. I see what you are building. I see the people you are lifting. I see your sacrifice. I see you. Some have helped build CivSource. Some are building organizations and communities I admire. Some have unknowingly taught me how to keep going. It reminded me that part of leadership is noticing other leaders while they are still in the middle of the work. Leadership asks a lot from people. A little encouragement along the way costs us almost nothing. But it may arrive on the very day someone needs it most. #Leadership #CivSourceAt9 #ISeeYou

Make Room “I started music when I was three years old,” Daniel tells me as we start our walk. His family had an old keyboard that didn’t quite work, but that didn’t stop him from pretending he could play. His parents noticed his curiosity and decided to expose him to music. Daniel later picked up the guitar and is now proficient at it. He also writes songs and raps. But he likes many other things too: art, basketball and maths. Music may be his first love, but he is curious enough to explore other worlds. And today’s walk felt a little like an exploration. We went to the Art School at Kyambogo University and wandered around, marvelling at the different pieces we found there. There was one piece in particular that I wanted Daniel to see: a guitar I had discovered a few months ago when I walked with @MartinSenkubuge. I found myself thinking about that. Something that caught my eye on one walk became the very thing I wanted to show another walk guest, someone I didn’t even know at the time. Life has interesting ways of coming full circle. It reminded me not to take moments or encounters for granted. Something we encounter today may be preparing us for something still to come. I loved that Daniel brought his bass guitar along. He played two songs for me and then tried to teach me a chord or two. I was hopeless! 😂 But he was a patient and kind teacher. While we walked, I asked him what he would say to other people his age who are wondering what gift they have. “Keep exploring. Don’t settle. Don’t be tempted to get into a comfort zone.” That sounds like advice we could all use, young and old. Listen to the wisdom of Daniel. Daniel wants to take his music as far as he can. He sees himself using it to influence others positively. What an honour it was to walk with him and talk about music, art, dreams and the things that excite and intrigue us. There is so much road ahead. So much still to discover. So much room to explore who we are and who we might become. May Daniel’s gift open doors for him and, as the Bible says, make room for him before great people. Keep playing, Daniel. ❤️ #WalkTalkConnect #MakingRoom #YoungDreams #MusicAndPossibility

Home and History Today I celebrate 575 walks since I started #WalkTalkConnect three years ago. And what more fitting way to mark this milestone than by walking with Mubarak, a service provider turned friend. Today was made even more special because Mubarak took me through Kawempe, where he grew up, through the roads and alleyways of his childhood. He showed me where he went to school, where he played, and the places where, as a rather stubborn little boy, he sometimes found himself being chased after one transgression or another. We stopped to greet neighbours who still live there, as he pointed out what has changed and what has stayed the same. But today was also about history. In school, we learned about Kampala almost as though it were one monolithic city. Walking through the part of Kawempe where Mubarak grew up reminded me just how many histories live within this city. I learned that Kawempe Mbogo traces its name to Prince Nuhu Mbogo, brother of Kabaka Muteesa I and a pioneering leader of Uganda’s Muslim community. His legacy remains woven into the identity of Kawempe and its strong Muslim heritage. What a beautiful blend of home and history. It felt like a twin blessing: I got to know a little more about Mubarak, and a little more about my city. And that is one of the things I love most about #WalkTalkConnect. After 575 walks, there is still another person to know, another place to discover, another story to hear, another piece of history to uncover. I live and I learn. What a perfect combination! 😊 #WalkTalkConnect #HomeAndHistory #575Walks @CivsourceAfrica @CivLegacy_F

The Questions We Ask One of the things I treasure most about walking with my colleagues is discovering just how much there is to learn about one another. Today, it was Richard’s turn. To ease us into conversation, I asked what I thought was one of the simplest questions imaginable. “When were you born?” “I actually don’t know,” he replied. His answer stopped me in my tracks. It reminded me that what seems ordinary to one person is not ordinary to everyone. So much of how we identify people begins with a date of birth, yet even that assumes a certain kind of privilege and circumstance. Richard went on to share that he was orphaned at a young age and raised by relatives. School ended in Primary Four. “But,” he said, “I was raised by the hoe. I know how to dig.” For years, he earned a living by offering his labour in other people’s gardens. As we continued walking, something else happened. The conversation began revealing not only our differences, but also our similarities. When I asked him about his favourite food, he smiled and said, “Rice and beans.” “Me too!” I laughed. I discovered that Richard sings in the choir at his church. So did I growing up. We had found another thing we shared. It struck me how easy it is to think we know the people we work with simply because we share an office. We don’t. We only begin to know one another when we become curious enough to ask simple questions and patient enough to listen to the answers. Richard has been part of @CivsourceAfrica for about six years, helping care for our office and managing our kitchen. But anyone who knows him also knows that he quietly takes care of people. Every lunchtime he reminds us to eat. If someone is too busy to leave their desk, he makes sure a meal is kept aside for them. And if you don’t eat it, you will probably have to explain yourself. Caring for people is simply who Richard is. Today I had the privilege of walking with someone who spends his days looking after the rest of us. Richard, thank you. We see your care. We appreciate your faithfulness. And we are better because you are part of our team. #WalkTalkConnect #LeadershipThatListens #EveryPersonMatters

Leading With Respect I was brought up to respect people, and it is a value I hold in the highest regard. So I was immediately intrigued when I received a book centered on the very subject of respect, from my dear friend @Twejaka. I found myself curious about how @marcysyms navigated respect, and what it truly meant to lead with it. In “Leading With Respect”, she reflects on her journey as CEO of a family-owned business, learning the ropes, applying herself fully, and never taking anything for granted. She shares insights into the successes and challenges she navigated, and the pivots the business had to make along the way. She also writes about leading as a woman, and how she used her position to support and propel other women into leadership. But what stayed with me most was her articulation of respect. She didn’t just speak about it, she lived it. First as a personal value shaped by her upbringing, and then as a value intentionally embedded across the business in how they dealt with and related to customers, service providers, colleagues, and staff. Respect was a value that held steady in both good times and difficult ones. Respect was true North Star. I love the powerful reminder that in treating people with respect, no detail is too small. That is how respect is made visible. #Leadership #LeadingWithRespect #Reflections

This book!!! 🙆🏾‍♀️🙆🏾‍♀️🙆🏾‍♀️ Yamawe! Painful. Potent. Page turner! I highly recommend it.

She Stops “When I was young, because I went to school and could read and write, my mother would take me along to her women’s groups. I would teach them about nutrition and basic literacy. It was my joy when a woman told me she could now read her daughter’s letters.” Right there in that simple exchange between a young girl and a grown woman, purpose found Dr. @hildatadria She was ready to pursue a diploma in social work at Nsamizi Training Institute for Social Development. She wanted to work with women. That was clear. But then the late Miss Warren of Gayaza High School invited her for tea and asked a gentle, disruptive question: Why not university? When Hilda explained her plans, Miss Warren told her that social work could also be pursued at university. She urged her to apply. Hilda did. And the rest is history. Dr. Tadria went on to become the first female PhD holder in Sociology in her context. At Makerere University, she helped establish the institution’s first counseling office long before student wellness became institutionalized. Before that, girls with struggles would quietly speak with trusted female teachers, seeking advice in informal corners. She later left academia and became a leading voice in gender mainstreaming, working across institutions and systems. In every sphere of work she encountered patriarchy. The subtle dismissals. The overt resistance. The persistent assumptions that women were less than. But she also encountered mentors and people who recognized her leadership before she fully owned it herself. No wonder mentorship of women and girls is so central to her life. She mentors because she was mentored. She pioneers because others opened doors. She will stop for a girl because someone stopped for her. Her founding spirit has shaped institutions across the continent. She founded @acfode She was among the founders of @awdf01 and @MEMPROWUganda Institution or no institution, Hilda will always stop for a girl. Because she remembers the many people who stopped for her. Season 2 of Footprints carries her voice, her wisdom, her fire. You will love her story. #FootprintsPodcast #WomenWhoPioneer #MentorshipMatters @CivLegacy_F

I woke up this morning with one word on my heart: NEW. Maybe because it’s a new day, new month, and God’s mercies are new every morning. My heart felt full of joy and gladness. Think about it. Picture something new: The excitement. The anticipation. The big goofy smile on your face when you receive something new. It is: N — Never seen before. Brand new. Never seen before. That’s the precious gift we are given every day. Imagine that. What will you do with this never-seen-before day, week, month? E — Empty. An empty page. An open space. Yours to fill. Every minute, every moment, you get to infuse it with what you choose. How will you use this empty page that a new day, a new week, a new month offers you? May you choose wisely. W — Wisdom. Using something new calls for wisdom. Wisdom to know right from wrong. Wisdom to use what is new well. Wisdom to choose life. Wisdom to recognize the weight and the treasure of what is new. Wisdom to maximize this moment that will echo into a lifetime. May you receive this new day, new week, new month as the gift it is, and use it well. Blessings. 🙏🏾 #NewBeginnings #MondayMeditation #Gratitude

Closing The Year in Gratitude There is a sacred ritual I look forward to every last day of the year. I empty my gratitude jar(s) and marvel at every moment, every blessing, every gift that is represented by each of the notes. Each note whispers, “Remember… you were held. You were seen. You were carried.” I pause to celebrate. I pause to give thanks. I pause to marvel at the quiet ways grace showed up for me. And then, with deep reverence, I tuck these notes away, not forgotten, but archived as sacred evidence that goodness visited me this year. Tomorrow, on the 1st of January, I begin again. An empty jar. A ready heart. Another year to notice, honour, and record gratitude, one small note at a time. Will you join me on this gratitude journey? All you need is a jar, a few slips of paper, and a faithful dose of consistency. Gratitude, after all, is not about having everything. It is about seeing everything you have more clearly. Here’s to a year of remembering, recording, and rejoicing. #GratitudeJourney #YearOfGrace #RememberingBlessings