As you all know capacity building is a core component of our work, as we believe the best way to reach the most children with disabilities in Africa, and to have the greatest long-term impact, is by strengthening local organisations so they are able to best deliver the required interventions; and work with them to empower children and young people with disabilities to fight for their rights.
We believe that by investing in our partner organisations at a grassroots level, we are providing effective and sustainable protection for children with disabilities.
Each quarter we track and identify key areas for development with each of our partners and this last quarter our CEO Karl and Chair of board Paul spent some dedicated time with UWEZO Youth Empowerment in Rwanda.
Within their (self-funded) trip to Kigali, Karl and Paul spent a full week working closely with UWEZO to achieve some specific goals. This included completing a full partner governance review and 1:1 mentoring for the UWEZO Director in restructuring the Board; including refreshing members, identifying skill needs and gaps and redrafting a governance manual that more clearly defines the separation of roles between the executive and Board of Trustees. They also had the initial discussions which will begin work with the UWEZO Director and Board of Trustees to plan and begin to draft a new strategic plan for 2021-2025.
In the same quarter UWEZO Director Bahati Satir Omar travelled to London and we were fortunate enough to have him speak at our annual gala dinner on the 4th December. Not only did this act as a rare opportunity for our UK donors to hear directly from one our partner staff who deliver directly,  but it also provided Bahati with key exposure to one of our most successful fundraising models, which he will now seek to soon replicate in Rwanda. It was a spectacular evening, of which Bahati’s speech was a highlight, and we’re extremely grateful to him and the sponsors of the event that we were able to make it happen.
