My community project – A Social Enterprise

I want to start by thanking you for joining me on this journey. It is my hope that you are already considering starting your own community project or will do so in the near future. I look forward to learning more about your progress.

One of the most important choices you will make when forming your new community project is the structure. In my situation, I had three choices: Either a CBO (Community Based Organisation), an NGO (Non – Governmental Organisation) or a Social Enterprise.

Let us look at the three structures more closely:

Community Based Organization: 

Community Based Organizations are administered in Kenya by the Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Culture and Social Services. The civic organizations ordinarily registered under this option consist of community groups operating in fairly limited administrative areas such as locations and divisions within the district. The majority of such organizations are self-help groups that are involved in commercial or developmental activities for the benefit of a community in a geographical area.

Non- Governmental Organization 

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a citizen-based association that operates independently of government, usually to deliver resources or serve some social or political purpose. NGOs are primarily concerned with development projects, or advocacy, which are primarily concerned with promoting a cause. All NGOs registered in Kenya are members of the National Council of NGOs which is a self- regulating and non- partisan body that provides leadership to the NGO sector. Members are required to have certain minimum standards and pay an annual membership fee.

Social Enterprise

A social enterprise is a revenue-generating businesses with a twist. Whether operated by a non-profit organization or by a for-profit company, a social enterprise has two goals: to achieve social, cultural, community economic and/or environmental outcomes; and, to earn revenue. On the surface, many social enterprises look, feel, and even operate like traditional businesses. But looking more deeply, one discovers the defining characteristics of the social enterprise: mission is at the centre of business, with income generation playing an important supporting role 

After evaluating the three options I opted for a social enterprise for the following reasons:

Social enterprises tend to operate with a purpose of creating value for the society and alsogenerate income. As a thumb rule, the solutions they offer are supposed to be innovative, unique, people and environment friendly; Cost effectiveness is also a huge consideration. All of these are challenges to the sustainability of social enterprises, but the ones that are able to scale these are the ones that are able to create a huge impact! They are the enterprises that are advantageous to the society, people and the environment.

My community project will provide digital literacy with the aim of increasing job related opportunities for both youth and women. The project should be self- sustaining with the ability to expand as the demand increases. It is envisaged that the project will make a huge impact in the medium term. Two things are crucial: impact and sustainability. 

Next week I will be talking about the sustainability of my Social Enterprise.

My community project – Getting Community Buy-In

My meeting with the local chief was very specifically to advocate for support. After many years of working with communities, I have come to appreciate the influence of the Chief. A community project will go nowhere if the local Chief doesn’t know anything about it and is not supporting it. We therefore need to get a Buy-in from the Chief and all other stakeholders.

Buy-in is the commitment of interested or affected parties to a plan. Ideally this commitment is demonstrated through action rather than passive acceptance. Buy-in can be difficult to recognise but it generally takes the form of a concrete pledge to support the project and to help it succeed. 

Community buy-in could mean that a community leader is willing to help get the word out about the program at local gathering places such as churches, barazas or recreation centers. At my community project I need buy-in from the polytechnic stakeholders, the manager, Board of Management, teachers, parents and students in addition to the larger community. Buy-in

• Builds trust

• Gets the word out

• Helps foster interest

• Ensures the sustainability of the project

I would like to share the five approaches I am using to gain the community buy-in for my project

1. Volunteer – I have volunteered my time and availed resources to support the youth polytechnic (where I am housing the community project) for now over six years. Volunteering in the community gets your name, face out there allowing people to see that you are genuine in your outreach effort

2. Ask for help -  I have without hesitation sought help from the local Member of County Assembly (MCA) , the local chief and sub chiefs and community leaders. Eloquently and enthusiastically describing my cause to the right audience and showing  them how they can help has brought positive results and many are usually more than willing to get involved and assist where they can

3. Share my story – I try to talk about my vision and my cause on many fronts –  this blog, social media accounts, word of mouth and they have been an extremely powerful vehicle. My plan is to continue broadcasting my cause and give it a reason to spread naturally. It is my belief that sharing my story will create emotional ties  that will help others become invested in my dream

4. Start somewhere – Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were the great projects of the world. It takes time, energy and dedication to generate enough revenue and community involvement to make a program a huge success. It can be discouraging, especially when progress is slow. I however have enough passion to keep this going and I am confident that it’s only a matter of time before people start noticing my mission and growth, thereafter, should happen naturally.

5. Follow through – Many people are already supporting my cause by donating valuable time and so it’s essential to keep going whatever the circumstances. Not holding up to my end of the bargain, would immediately question my legitimacy and people would wonder what’s happening. Transparency and accountability is key.

In conclusion, I can say that there are several other approaches that you may use to achieve community Buy-In and the above are some that have worked for me. I wish you all the best as you cultivate the community Buy-In for your project.

My Community Project – Digital Literacy

My community project is digital literacy for youth and women.

For two years, 2013-2015, I had the privilege of working with ICT Authority - Pasha, a government supported project with the aim of taking ICT to the rural community. Although my work was to identify strategic business opportunities and streamline business operations for Pasha Centers to generate a higher revenue, I learnt a lot about the impact of ICT.  Computers have provided an entirely new medium for literacy (reading and writing). Digital literacy has led to great increases in information that can be conveniently and quickly accessed and facilitates the collaboration and sharing of knowledge. When people are connected to the internet for example,

1.      Lives change – economic and education opportunities are discovered,

2.      Self-confidence rises,

3.      Connections are made.

The computer has become a part of global business and the education culture, to this end digital literacy has a direct effect on a country’s economy.

My selection of my community project was therefore biased. After working in 27 counties and interacting with youth and women who have benefited from digital literacy, I wanted what I saw elsewhere for my community. I wanted to see lives changing, increased self-confidence and many connections made.

I visualize many youth working online and supporting themselves and their families. I visualize women connecting to check for government procurement opportunities, I visualize many community connections motivated by digital literacy.

My community project is housed at Gachika Youth Polytechnic. The Polytechnic is in Nyeri County, Gachika Ward. This is along the Marua - Nanyuki road. Youth attending the Polytechnic are trained in Electrical engineering, Motor vehicle technology, Hairdressing and Beauty. The polytechnic students will benefit from the digital literacy project as we will offer computer classes to them as well.

Where your community project is housed is important. Since the services or goods you offer are for the community, they must be comfortable with the location you pick. It should be easily accessible and should have basic facilities like washrooms. Where such facilities don’t exist, they should form part of your agenda as you roll out your community project.

The success of my community project, as is the case for most community projects, is dependent on the community Buy-In. If the community doesn’t understand what I’m doing and why, I am not likely to go far.

Next week I will be talking about the importance of community Buy-In for your community project. I will give you examples of what has worked, keep following..

Serving My Community

Last week we read that:

The commitment to community doesn’t arise out of nowhere.  It comes from and is guided by values, principles, and assumptions that spring from our backgrounds and cultures, from our experiences, and from our conscious decisions about what is right. These values, principles, and assumptions shape our vision of the world as it should be, and motivate us to try to make it so.

Muhammad Yunus started the Grameen Bank by simply trying to solve the problem of the poor people in his community in Bangladesh. He lent tiny amounts of money to the poorest of the poor - those to whom no ordinary bank would lend. Most of his customers - as they still are - were illiterate women, wanting to set up the smallest imaginable village enterprises. It was his conviction that this new system of 'micro-credit', lending even such small sums, would give such people the spark of initiative needed to pull themselves out of poverty. Today, Yunus's system of micro-credit is practised around the world in some 60 countries, including the US, Canada, France and Kenya. His Grameen Bank is acknowledged by world leaders and by the World Bank to be a fundamental weapon in the fight against poverty.

The story of Yunus is inspiring because of its humble beginning, he was focused on solving a specific problem, started with the 17 dollars that he had with him and today the rest of the world is using his solution to change the whole banking system.
We may not have a grand solution like Yunus but yet again we just never know until we start! The key lessons here are:

• understand the needs of the community closely 
• take time to work out the best solution that 
• the community will embrace and own.

When I took a walk around my community, talking to people in the different age groups, I learnt a lot about the youth, the women and the children. I must however confess that even as I took the walk, one thing was important to me; I wanted to solve a community problem closely related to the young people and also one that would give them more opportunities in finding lasting solutions. Many youth in my community have no jobs. They need employment, they need additional skills including life skills and they need mentorship.

Looking at all the community needs can be overwhelming and even discouraging. The more you look around the more you notice. At some point I wondered what I was getting myself into and how I would move this forward.  That small voice actually asked me to quit as I wasn’t the local politician and I wasn’t looking at getting voted in for women’s rep!

I am however happy to report that I haven’t quit and instead I opted to press on and start small. My experience has been both rewarding and painful and I look forward to sharing some of these experiences with you next week.. keep following!