How Perseverance Hadebe is empowering special needs learners in Zimbabwe through education
Perseverance Hadebe is the dynamic headmistress of King George VI in Bulawayo. This school is a revolutionary school that for 60 years has continued to break new grounds by providing a sterling education for learners and children in Zimbabwe with disabilities from kindergarten to the fourth form. She is also a pastor at Apostolic Church Of Pentecost, which was founded 68 years ago as one of the first Pentecostal churches in Zimbabwe. In this interview, we learn more about her passion for education. Where did you get your passion for special education? During my training to become a teacher, I requested a post at Sir Humphrey Gibbs, a local special school. It was then that I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I find special needs learners very inspiring. It is so satisfying to see someone who at face value seems incapable of so many things and watch them grow from strength to strength and exceed all expectations. I have always been drawn to the downtrodden, the unwanted and the unloved. At church as a pastor, I find myself reaching out to the disadvantaged there as well. I want to help them improve their lives and become successful in their own right. What do you want people to understand about those who are different? I want people first and foremost to look at them and see them as complete. They must be respected, loved and appreciated. We must look at them as equals and not assume we know better than them how things ought to be done. I would like people to give them a listening ear, really hear what they have to say, truly you’ll be amazed! How do you keep the children of KGVI feeling empowered and confident in themselves? We encourage and believe in them. We give them the opportunity to do various activities like drama and public speaking. In addition, we put a strong emphasis on how they should present themselves and how they should be groomed. We even have slogans like- “Given an opportunity, what must we do?!” “We must take the shot!” Why does KGVI have an inclusive policy? We are an inclusive school. We have the physically challenged, deaf and non-disabled, with most of our non-disabled being vulnerable learners. Most of them have sad backgrounds and we feel they fit in extremely well here as the ethos of the school is one of respect and acceptance. For example, I taught a little boy in kindergarten once who went home after his first day of school and asked for a ‘pram’. He didn’t realize his fellow pupils were disabled and in wheelchairs, he just wanted to fit in and be like his friends! It would certainly be gratifying if the mainstream schools included children with special needs. However, it would need careful consideration and planning. Teachers and heads need to be well equipped to deal with the demands of special education. As children inherently lack prejudice, they can be taught to appreciate everyone from the beginning through inclusive education. What setbacks have you faced while running the school? We have limited resources. A number of parents are struggling to pay school fees (primary is $92 a term and secondary it’s $102.) The demands of a special school are diverse and the failure to pay school fees severely affects the smooth running of the school. From simple things like detergents to keep the toilets clean, to the specific education materials needed to support our learners, there is a lot that is needed! Do you feel the government is supportive enough of special education? To a great extent, the government is supportive. They pay teachers and a huge number of our auxiliary stuff for which we are grateful. I would suggest that they take some time to come here to give themselves the opportunity to be able to identify our other needs and to see how they can best continue to support us. As citizens, we can also do more to be supportive and inclusive. There are lots to be done to help the school and so we can’t rely on the government alone. Everything from sponsoring a student, to buying school uniforms or even donating food for the pupils will be appreciated. What do you want every child to leave KGVI believing about themselves? Our motto is never to give up! I want them to never give up on themselves; they must believe in themselves and know that they can do anything as long as they don’t give up. We make sure to equip them with various skills so they can earn a living. What is the biggest lesson you have learned from the children? I have learned that they are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God and that they are gifted in a manner which sometimes blows my mind. I remember once we had a brilliant student, she didn’t have her upper limbs so she used her foot for everything. One time I walked into a fashion and fabrics class and she was threading a needle with her foot! I really saluted her that day. I was very impressed! Ultimately what is your vision for KGVI? What do you want its legacy to be? I would like us to expand to include a tertiary college. This would not only be a crucial complement to what we already teach but would also provide necessary employment opportunities for many of our students. I would also like to partner with companies and organizations that can engage our students after they are done being educated here. Name an African woman (past/present) whom you admire. Why? My provincial education director, Mrs. Kiara. Starting out as a primary school teacher, I really respect how she rose through the ranks. She is my mentor and she has to lead us exceptionally in the province. I also love Maureen Shana, co-founder of World of Life Fellowship Church. I like her creativity and the way
How to avoid The Masquerade of Multitasking
[bctt tweet=”In today’s world, multitasking has become a necessary evil” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] The last time I wrote about our natural abilities to want to achieve more by doing more or taking more jobs, I had a number of people drop their comments. One particular one stood out. It read, “I can relate to this Sewa. I have so many of them around me, especially at work, and I thought how is it that a number of us do the work of a computer and expect to achieve more”. If there’s anything I know, it is that you can’t achieve more by doing more at the same time. Well, except you are prime in delegating duties accordingly. Before you misjudge me, you should know that I’m a fan of getting things done on time, however way I can. Multitasking has saved me many times whether it is about a task or an appointment. At least that’s about the most possible way to go around getting things done, especially if you live in a city like mine, where everything seems to be a competition. It just is not efficient. So, for my business people, this is something we brag about, “I’m multitasking”. It’s like a hard working to do. Cambridge Dictionary says this means “Multitasking is a person’s ability to do more than one thing at a time” but Merriam Webster captures my thought more by referring to it as “the concurrent performance of several jobs by a computer”. Without seeming too stiff-necked about this, I’ll explain a personal situation. Although it delivers, my computer slows down each time I put it to do multiple things at the same time. Which tells me, that, it’s ability to multitask does not validate its ability to deliver at an expected prompt time. This technically means also, that, even if you can take on so many things at the same time, you can be guaranteed that some other necessities are paying dearly for it. In today’s world, however, multitasking is almost a necessary evil, and if you’re like me, you’ll almost beat yourself each time you realize one thing is stalling the other. So, here are two things I recommend you do when there’s so much to do at a given time: Delegate Please don’t argue, just delegate. The major problem we have as humans are, we think nobody can do it like we can (especially detail-oriented people like me). We keep taking on more duties until we break down. How about you pick one person at a time. Take them through your way of getting things done. Let them have access to you through questions. This way, you can breathe when you need to. There’s a reason the word TEAM exists. Someone says it means ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’. Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post liked to do more work, but until her health was at stake, she didn’t realize her need to breathe or at least take a rest. I also watched some CEOs interviewed very recently. One of them was asked what part of his job makes him lose his sleep, his answer was none. The truth is, work has always existed and it would continue to exist with or without you. You gotta do it right – for yourself. Prioritize Even though some things need to be done at the same time, not everything needs your attention urgently. The difference between what’s urgent and what’s important is that one needs immediate attention while the other necessarily doesn’t. According to The Eisenhower Decision Matrix, there are better ways to have a progressive life than feeling sapped and strained all the time. Hence the theory of the 4 Quadrants of productivity. He says, People who spend most of their time working on Urgent but Not Important tasks often suffer from the “Mr. Nice Guy Syndrome,” and want to constantly please others at the expense of their own happiness. We all work at organizations and may be able to relate to this. The idea is to know what’s yours to do and do it right. Your ability to prioritize right would lead you to know what’s up for possible delegation and what truly needs your attention. My question is this, would you continue to allow the masquerade of multitasking hunt you? Will you continue to live through the façade of doing different things at the same time when it really is not efficient? Would you get out of the cloak of inefficient hard work to be more, by embracing efficient smart work? Here’s hoping you’ll make one of your best decisions in 2018 to make working more fulfilling. Ciao! If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.
Chidiogo Akunyili: Be Kind to Yourself for Not Being Superwoman
Chidiogo Akunyili is a woman of many trades. She is the Founder of She ROARs – Reimagining Our Africa Rising. This pan-African platform seeks to empower women across Africa to unleash their full potential. As a writer, storyteller and movement builder, Chidiogo is impacting the global narrative with her belief in the power of people affecting change. Having lived on 5 continents and being able to speak 7 languages, Chidiogo’s philosophy is founded on the African concept of Ubuntu and celebrating our shared humanity. Beyond her work, Chidiogo Akunyili has been awarded multiple awards. These include ‘100 most influential Young Africans’ by Africa Youth Awards and ‘100 most inspiring women in Nigeria’ by the Guardian. She is also a World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow. In this interview, we learn more about She ROARs and the impact it has been bringing. What led you to start She ROARS? After working with hundreds of women across Africa, I came to the realization that we needed more spaces to support women on their personal and professional journeys. Changing a community begins with enabling women to tap into their full strength and potential. Inspired by this, we started She ROARS. Through this platform, we support women by equipping them with tools to build bridges to fulfilling their potential. We do this by creating spaces for them to flourish, empower each and impact their communities. Can you tell us more about the impact She ROARS has had? To date, She ROARs has reached hundreds of women across Africa and the diaspora. Through events, we’ve created spaces where women have been challenged, empowered to realize their dreams and walk in their own truths. We see in all our gatherings the great value of stepping away from business as usual and truly connecting with a powerful circle of womanhood. Women have added that this platform gives them confidence and support from the group as a whole. We see the strength of space to connect with self and each other. Even if you take nothing else away, there is already a great power in knowing that you are not alone [bctt tweet=”@SheROARsAfrica challenges the notion that empowerment is big and strong. Sometimes it is soft and tender, and raises an awareness of oneself.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What have you learned since starting this platform? The greatest lesson I’ve learned is that, if you have an idea that inspires you, just start! What it will grow into is unknown. However, you should trust your curiosity to lead you to greatness. She ROARs was born out of a Women Advancing Africa Conference where Graca Machel challenged us to empower each other as women. As women shared their deepest wounds, vulnerability, and courage, I felt all that could be when women were given a space to share together. Though this idea came from an intuition, it soon turned into a business with a name, logo, website, social media presence, launch and finally a team to push things. We then started leveraging women gatherings to offer She ROARs seminars, workshops, events, and partnerships. What challenges have you faced with She ROARS? The challenges are real. But the most important thing I’ve learned is to be kind to myself despite not being superwoman. Starting She ROARs alongside a full-time commitment to write a book meant working on two things that needed my full discipline and drive. Despite spending over 10 years in the corporate world doing strategic consulting, I doubted my potential to deliver without the habitual external deadline. This fear soon morphed into a constant ‘you are not doing enough’ voice in my head. This soon became stressful. So, I learned to let go and take some time off every now and then. And above all, I needed to remind myself that if I wanted to go the distance, I couldn’t do it all alone. I needed to trust others talents to help me. Finally, I would write down everything I needed to do monthly, weekly and daily. This helped me declutter my tasks and achievements. Can you tell us more about the book you are writing? My first book has been such a rewarding project! It started as a simple idea, the story of a mother, Dora Akunyili. My mother is described by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as “radical because she had integrity in a system that was unfamiliar with integrity…kind and vigorous, and when she spoke, she widened eyes as though to better convey the force of her conviction.” Her life is a story of strength arising from the ashes of struggles — the deeper her scars, the stauncher was her fight and spirit of justice and truth. I want the reader to take away the power of conviction and the courage needed to follow through. What were the fears you felt you had to overcome with the projects you are undertaking? The deep fear of failure. Three years ago in the mountains of Peru, on the back of an extended retreat, I was held by 9 sisters as I shook and cried at the recognition of a truth that was calling to me, to leap. Ixchel, a most treasured guide who was holding this sacred space of sisterhood shared these words, “You keep getting that same message… what are you afraid of giving up my sister? The fear will always come in, when you see it, walk through it, that you may be free, that you might know what it feels like to be free falling from a cliff.” Dance has truly helped me overcome my fear. Dance is a space where I can explore the connection between my mind, spirit, and body. To me, it means freedom to live the life I want and be in an active space of creation. Dance is a reminder to let life flow. What is your biggest regret and achievement? I do not believe in regrets but rather in lessons. My biggest lesson has been to let things go. You find that so much energy is spent sweating on little things.
Motherhood 101: Rejoining the Workforce with a Bang
A few days ago, I received a call from a close friend who was crying. She had applied for a position and was rejected after the third stage of the interview – just because she had kids. This wasn’t my first time hearing something like this as I had been in this situation after having my baby. Hearing this story inspired me to share a few nuggets of wisdom with my fellow Motherland Moguls and to discuss how mothers can re-enter the workforce. The Truth If you came across an ad with the JD of a mom, it would be impossible to fill. It’s endless! For those who have experienced and survived motherhood, you know that being a mom is one of the most trying times of a woman’s life – but it is also one of the greatest learning experiences ever! The invaluable skills and lessons learnt through motherhood aren’t recognized in the corporate world as they should be. From being excellent role models to excellent managers, team players, great multitaskers, economical, responsible, and dedicated. Honestly, companies won’t find great employees like mothers. Positive Traits Mothers Bring to Work If you’ve taken time off from work to raise your kids, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I write this to you because I’ve often had to repeat it to myself and other women. After staying at home, there is no reason as to why you shouldn’t rejoin the workforce with a great job. During your time spent caring for your children, you will have learnt many traits that you can apply to your work and interviews. Firstly, mothers are excellent multitaskers who are always doing everything at once. The fact that they can juggle many tasks at once suggests that they could be efficient employees who could handle many projects. Their scheduling and planning skills also mean that mothers could be great time managers. After dealing with fussy and stubborn kids, mother’s not only develop great patience, but they turn ugly situations into beautiful ones. This motherly nature makes them very approachable which is important as an employee. Also, their ability to deal with high pressure and still thrives ensures that if faced with challenges, mothers can effectively deal with a crisis. Addressing the Gap on your Resume One thing many mothers struggle with is talking about the gap on your resume. While you know why the gap is there, many employers will want to question you about it. The first thing you need to do is own up. You can do this through explaining how you’ve grown during this period. Secondly, you need to show that despite not working for a while, you are more than ready to get back to work. By proving that you have planned your move with things such as a childcare plan in place, you make employers feel more comfortable when hiring you. Another risk with not working for long is that hiring managers may worry your skills are outdated. To avoid this situation, you can try and take online training courses to update your professional/technical skills. This not only shows initiative, but it highlights your adaptability. Finally, it is important to know your value and find employers who welcome your stay-at-home experience. Personally, as stay-at-mom, slash writer and proofreader, I’ve learnt to embrace this part of my life. In turn, those around me have learnt to respect it to. If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.
Michelle Ndiaye: Driving the Peace and Security Agenda in Africa
Michelle Ndiaye is the Director of the Africa Peace and Security Programme (a joint programme with the African Union Commission) at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) in Ethiopia. Ms. Ndiaye started her career in 1995 as a program officer at the African Institute for Democracy (IAD), a UNDP project based in Dakar, Senegal that promotes democracy and governance in Africa and particularly in 15 West African Countries. She is also the Head of the Tana Forum Secretariat, an annual high-level gathering of African decision makers in peace and security in Africa. She has worked on a variety of projects with local and international organizations in the fields of peace and security, democratic and local governance, post-conflict and community recovery, sustainable development and environmental issues, transitional justice, communication for development and research. Before joining IPSS, she was the Managing Director of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) in South Africa. Prior to joining MINDS, between 1999 and 2011, she consecutively headed several African and international organizations as Executive Director of Greenpeace Africa, CEO of the African Institute for Corporate Citizenship (AICC), Founder and Manager of Africa Projects for Akena Research and Consulting. [bctt tweet=”Having implemented projects in 48 countries in Africa made me wonder what a waste it is that Africans do not know Africa – @MichelleNdiaye1″ username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] You play a leading role in peace and security, a field normally perceived to be a preserve for men. What is your take on this? The area of peace and security has for a long time, been considered as an area where only men have a say. However, in recent times this perception is changing because of the initiative and role played by women. Whether at a community level (grassroots level) or international level, women are voicing their concerns. There is evidence that shows that women play an important role as drivers of change in achieving sustainable peace and development. For instance, women have been involved in peace negotiations in many African countries as well as led development efforts at the grassroots level. The Ebola epidemic of 2014-2016 is one example. I believe now is the right time for women empowerment and the right time to prove ourselves. Every woman should be able to reach the forefront in any field. What would you have been if you had not pursued this career path? Perhaps a diplomat. However, my work today involves socio-economic, human rights, socio-political and developmental aspects of society so I have no regrets. Who influenced you the most in your professional life? Aside from my family, my largest influence was my first supervisor at the African Institute for Democracy (IAD) in Senegal. Professor Babacar Sine, a brilliant Senegalese intellectual, taught me that leadership can only have an impact when it is a leadership of service. What would you say is Africa’s greatest strength? Our resilience and our capacity to absorb shocks. We face so many societal and developmental challenges in our nation-building processes that we have developed the ability to find solutions even in situations where we are threatened. Have you encountered any challenges in your role as a peace and security professional? Penetrating and making an impact in a male-dominated field has various challenges, from changing people’s perceptions to taking decisions and standing by them. You have to focus on demonstrating strong leadership and rigor in whatever you do. What would you tell a young person seeking a meaningful and successful career? Have a vision, believe in it and share it with others. I also believe in ethics and professionalism at all levels of my work. What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement to date? I have worked on a variety of continental programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa with both local and international organizations in the fields of peace and security, democratic and local governance, post-conflict and community recovery, sustainable development and environmental issues, transitional justice, communication for development and research. But I must say, having implemented projects in 48 countries in Africa made me wonder what a waste it is that Africans do not know Africa! Have you ever received a painful rejection in your career? How did you handle it? I face painful rejections all the time. It’s part of how you build yourself into a strong leader. I handle it by having clear objectives, relying on my team, and being driven by professionalism and ethics at all times. Do you have any regrets? Looking back, what would you have done differently? I have no regrets when it comes to my professional career. I believe I embraced the right career path and I also feel that I have achieved most of my objectives in my field of work. As a lesson to any young person starting a career, I would say be focused, be professional, be rigorous and allow yourself to dream big. What have you learned in your career about women in leadership? Any advice for women who aspire to leadership positions? As a woman in a leadership position, you are expected to deliver 10 times as much as a man and be able to sustain it. No failure is allowed. You have to be resilient and strong. Women are increasingly facing burn out trying to juggle career and home lives. What can they do to prevent burning out? Have clear boundaries between your home and work life. It’s impossible to do both. Deal with one expectation at a time. As we live in a digital world, what is the one website that you must visit daily? IPSS and Tana Forum websites. I also visit the African Union website almost daily. Do you have a must-visit destination list? Too many! Ile du Saloum, Senegal; Lake Malawi shores, Malawi; Gorée Island, Senegal; Drakensberg and Paris (North West), South Africa; and Bahir Dar and Hawassa, Ethiopia. Which book is currently on your reading list? Winnie Mandela, A life!
Side hustle 2.0: Tips for starting a side hustle in South Africa
With the way the economy is (well in South Africa), it is getting tougher to make ends meet. So, much like my last article, some turn to a second income in the form of a side hustle or business, while others, run their side businesses out of passion and enjoyment and not necessarily for the income. For those who do not have businesses up and running yet, it may seem like a daunting task to get started but it honestly isn’t – it just needs one to put on their admin hat and take it one step at a time. In this article, I will discuss how to kick-start your business in the South African context. 1. Register your company In South Africa we use the CIPC, which reserves a company name for you as well register your company, doing both only costs you R175. To register on the CIPC all you need is the amount, your ID number and your company’s name. Once you create a customer account, you then move over to the TRANSACTION tab and click on “REGISTER A COMPANY”. From then on, it’s a walk in the park. 2. Get a logo Others may not design a logo right away and I suppose that it is dependent on what you do, for example, if I am looking for a contractor to remodel my bathroom, I don’t really care for his logo. On the other hand, businesses like clothing brand ’s will require a logo especially when it is needed for labels and packaging. I believe a simple design is always best for logos, it can stay with you for a long time, without having to rebrand. 3. Create Social Media Pages This is easy to do and often helps get your brand out there. Social media is also helpful when you don’t yet have a website, they act as your point of contact when you cannot engage with potential customers face to face. The key rules for social media as I’ve learned are: Create engaging content, make your followers tag a friend, comment, rate or vote on something. Keep things short and simple on twitter and this is a great platform to engage/chat with followers. Instagram is visual, use beautiful and great quality images (also on all your other social media accounts). Facebook allows for more text and longer pieces. ALWAYS direct all social media posts to your website (if you have one) eg: “for more info, follow the link to read more about the other products that we sell” 4. Advertise When you’re getting started, social media and your friends and family will be your advertising. If your budget for paid advertising is low, you could offer your products/service to influential people at a discounted rate. For example, if you want to start a branding company, find a company who you feel could really benefit from your services and offer your services at a lower rate. Another example, as a chef you could start selling your signature dishes at a food market or offer dinner dates for couples. A makeup artist could offer to do school play’s cast to showcase your work. There is a world of ideas and opportunities to advertise and sell your products and services! 5. Create templates for your quotes, invoices etc I cringe when people send their quotes as a text or in a poorly constructed Word document. Some businesses allow you to have a standard price list, so if your prices never change, invest in a well-designed page, that has your logo, all your contact details, social media pages, price list, payment details, lead times and everything people normally ask for. Never mind being neat, it saves you time from having to type out your price list every time. Never make your customers work for your details or to make their purchase/appointment, you have to make it as easy as possible! Chances are, they’re ready to make a purchase, don’t slow down the momentum by having them ask for payment options. The greatest part of invoicing (especially when your customer base grows exponentially) is that the invoice numbers help you keep track of who has paid and who hasn’t, while a quote will explain what they will be paying for and what is and is not included. 6. Keep track of your product or service offering. Returning customers are the best, if they aren’t happy – try to rectify it. The simplest way is a post-purchase survey, where they are not in front of you and have the freedom to critique you honestly. If it can be done anonymously, even better, but the option of leaving their names is useful, especially for those issues that you would like to address afterward. A few questions could be sent out to clients or you could use ratings, I believe Facebook offers this, which also works to your advantage if the ratings are good. Never delete poor ratings, they bring an element of “realness” to the page. Although kick-starting a side hustle may seem like a full-time job, it isn’t at all! If you plan and get used to the flow of things, it becomes clockwork, but if you ever feel overwhelmed or confused, have any ideas you’d like to discuss, questions, or would like advice, please click on my bio and reach out to me. If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.
Francine Irakoze: Explore your talents, master them, and find a way to shine on the continent
Francine Irakoze was born in Burundi and grew up in many countries including Japan, Germany, and Belgium. Francine held various positions including Team Leader, Program Coordination/Liaison, and Interim Program Manager at Mckesson Canada before starting her global health career. In 2015, she was selected to join the 2015 – 2016 Global Health Corps Fellowship cohort as an Operations Officer in Rwanda She was later promoted to Operations Manager/Program Specialist. Francine now works in Toronto for Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR) as a Program Coordinator/Proposal Writer. In this article, she talks about returning to Africa, her work with CPAR, the projects she worked on as a GHC fellow and her humanitarian work across Africa. What does a typical day look like for you and what projects are you currently focusing on with CPAR? CPAR is a sustainable development NGO in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Tanzania. My daily tasks include providing operational and programmatic support to the headquarters and the field offices in Africa. My workload ranges from closely monitoring programmatic activities reviewing narrative and financial reports, working on multi-annual funding applications to recruiting Emergency Canadian Physicians for our Medical Placement Program among other tasks. I sometimes travel to meet field teams. Last month I visited Malawi to conduct research on the country’s Sexual Reproductive Health landscape and secure partnerships with local organizations. Overall, the varieties of my tasks make it hard to predict my day, but my one constant regardless of country or time zone – is my light cup of coffee every morning. You once interviewed civil war health workers in Burundi, what did you learn from the experience? In 2015, Burundi faced a social-political crisis that sparked deadly protests and violence between state forces and suspected opposition. In the same year, I moved from Toronto to Kigali, Rwanda as a GHC fellow with Health Builders. I would wake up every morning worried about my family and friends living in Burundi. It was very hard for me to grasp how different life in Kigali was compared to my hometown of Bujumbura. Writing became my coping mechanism. “Letter to Burundi”, wasn’t meant to be published but the positive comments I gained reminded me of the incredible power of using one’s story and voice to raise awareness. With “White Coats, Dark Times.” I felt compelled to share this story of the conflict evolving in Bujumbura. More importantly, I wrote this article to honor my friends who were fighting, as physicians to save lives. Around the world, conflicts stretch everything thin: a person’s sense of safety and security, emotional stability, and resources. On the other hand, conflicts also create heroes whose courage and resilience become inspirational. “White Coats, Dark Times” turned out to be, for me, a bridge between these two conflict-generated realities. Why do you think many other young Africans decide not to return home? As I grew older, I started having a strong desire to return to the continent to contribute to change from there. [bctt tweet=”I would encourage Africans in the diaspora to continue exploring their true identity locally and globally – Francine Irakoze” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Everyone needs to develop various skill sets, explore their talents, master them, and then find a way to shine on the continent – not just in the international development sector but in finance, fashion, technology, the arts, and more. My hope is that one main factor will drive our common homecoming journey, to play our part (however small) and to lift our continent up with hard work and positive contributions so it can thrive both politically and economically. Why prompted you to return to Africa? When I went back to Burundi as a teenager I was exposed to the harsh reality of life in an impoverished environment. Sadly, I saw family members struggling to afford prescriptions drugs and others dying of preventable disease. After a few years, I gained more perspective on the dangerous combination of poverty, infectious disease, and inaccessibility to primary health care. This was such a systemic problem in my country that, I felt compelled to get involved in the field of global health. What advice would you share with other young leaders interested in the global health sector? Global health is hard work because it’s about fighting for health as a human right and any fight against injustice is not easy. My advice would be for young leaders to be vigilant and always analyze power dynamics at play. As you prepare to enter the fight for health equity, equip yourself with the knowledge of where disparities stem from in the first place. Stay engaged. We need more people to join this sector to drive concrete change to eliminate health disparities. We should use the fullness of our diverse personalities, professional experiences, backgrounds, and talents, to fight health inequality. I call this D against D: diversity against disparity. We should not tolerate such big gaps in the way people receive medical care or are able to access health insurance, and/or even live or die based on their financial status. What’s your leadership mantra? “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position.” —Brian Tracy, motivational speaker Working in such a challenging sector, how do you stay inspired and hopeful? I stay connected to other changemakers. I read and stay in tune with other organizations, global health professionals, GHC friends, present and past co-workers. Their vision, drive, approach, and impact are a source of motivation for me. When I was in Malawi, I attended the Segal Family Foundation (SFF), Social Impact Incubator (SII) event. During a small group exercise, I had the opportunity to sit with young leaders tackling issues ranging from improving cervical cancer services to advocating for climate change prevention in Malawi. Listening to them explaining their source of motivations, and describing their organizations’ respective approach to solve local challenges was very informative. It’s during moments like these, when my passion for transformative change aligns with others, that my sense of purpose
Smangele Nicolette Ngwenya: I am Enough
Born in the east of Johannesburg in Ekurhuleni, Smangele Nicolette Ngwenya is a self-motivated, systematic and confident woman. Having grown up in her grandmother’s green shack, she sums up her background as colorful and supportive. This background inspired her to start the WomenYouAreEnough organization. Through her organization, Smangele hopes to empower and inspire women. What was the motivation behind your organization? I’ve always wanted to be involved in meaningful & fruitful things. My prayer has always been, God helps me to give more than I can receive. Being raised by a giving grandmother made it natural to me. When the organization started, I only wanted to help take a disadvantaged girl child to school. Then suddenly, I also wanted to collect sanitary towels so that no girl child could miss class because of something that occurs involuntarily. The organization has since become a movement with a hashtag #WomanYouAreEnough which reminds all women that it’s okay to be imperfect, that it’s okay to help other women without taking the glory once they reach to the top. WomanYouAreEnough means that when Queens(Women) gather, wonderful things happen. What does confidence mean to you? Personally, confidence means complimenting another woman’s beauty & understating that their beauty is not in the absence of mine. It means recognizing the strength of another woman & knowing but also knowing that I too am enough. So confidence is about being happy in my own skin and also appreciating the strength of those around me. Has your confidence ever been compromised? Women have often compromised my confidence every now and then. I have had a very strong personality which has often mistaken for being a miss know it all. I was teased for my body weight and facial features. However, despite all these negative comments, I have never felt any less confident. In fact, I have been fortunate enough to attract confident women who see each other as Queens and not threats. What is your mantra? My daily mantra is reminding myself that I am enough. Even on my worst day, I wake up and dress up knowing that without any reasonable doubt, I am enough. I don’t have to force what’s meant for me as it will find me. Are women empowered today? I have to say that women empowerment is definitely on the rise. Especially with the use of social media, we are seeing more women in the corporate world holding higher positions. Different organizations and movements are making sure that women empowerment is on the rise. WomanYouAreEnough is one of those. We have different empowerment programs such as the matric dance campaign where we dress up disadvantaged girls for their big day. We also host seminars and share personal struggles to continue encouraging women. Therefore, females are inspired by everything we’ve done. Where do you draw your inspiration? My late grandmother Salamina Mafoka Molakeng Mimi truly inspires me. Though life has dealt with her, she has remained hopeful. My mother NoNhlanhla Ngwenya who from the age 18 has worked double shifts at various restaurants so that we can have a normal childhood also inspires me. Finally, every other female who decided to go for it even though their background didn’t allow them also greatly inspires me. Does overconfidence cause more problems than under-confidence? There’s nothing like being overconfident according to me. So, I’d say there are more problems caused by being under confident. Society still tries to tame females. They tell us we are too old, too confident or too much. At the end of the day, these things make us doubt ourselves & we end up in a certain box hating each other as females. If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.
How to Create a Slaying Social Media Strategy
Social media has become the next big thing. One can’t deny the relevance of social media marketing in driving website traffic, creating brand awareness and generating leads. Statistics show around 90 percent of adults aged 18-29 are on social media. Most people mention social media as their preferred source of communication with businesses. After reading this, you may consider creating a social media strategy and want to start straight away. However, there are a few things to consider before creating a social media strategy. These pointers ensure you don’t mess up your campaign. Define Goals and Objectives The first thing you want to do before coming up with a social media strategy is to have a clearly defined set of goals. You need to ask yourself, ‘what do you want to achieve out of your efforts?’. Social media marketing isn’t about flipping a switch and calling it a day. So to start, it is important to set SMART goals. These are goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Your goals will not only determine how much effort you put but also what type of resources you will need to invest in to get certain results. Some social media goals you can consider include: Increase brand awareness Higher quality of sales Improve ROI (return on investment) Create a loyal fan base Target Audience Where are your customers likely to be found? Approximately 70 percent of adults use Facebook but that doesn’t mean your customers are actively engaging with your brand there. When you target your audience, you get to understand things like who buys your products, their age groups, and income level. It’s important you understand demographics such as age, location, job title, and income level. What are their pain points? Their challenges and needs? All these are necessary as they inform the type of content to use. But more so, you also need to determine what social media channel will be most effective towards achieving your goals. You can learn more about this through researching essential demographic data for each social media platform. This will help you determine what tactics to employ. Track, Measure and Improve Remember those goals you set out to achieve? You will need to find a way of measuring your work to ensure that you are meeting your goals. Metrics are important in social media marketing as they help you understand how your business is doing out in the public. To select metrics, you ask yourself, ‘what social media metrics are associated with my overall goals?’ Vanity metrics such as likes and followers will not be enough to tell the full story of how well your brand is doing on social media. There are 4 main ways you can measure metrics – reach, engagement, clicks and hashtag performance. Finally, it is important to often and always check up on how your social media strategy is doing. Change is constant. Platforms such as Facebook change their algorithms all the time. Therefore, there is a need for you to continuously track and measure your online activities to see which areas need improvement. Investigate your competitors This is an important step to an effective social media strategy. It’s important you investigate your competitors to see what they’re doing. In doing this, you learn from their failures and successes. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to copy exactly what they’re doing. No! Researching your competitors lets you know what’s working for them so you can adjust and incorporate it into yours. Before creating content, it’s good you investigate what others are doing. You often find new ways to look at the content by analyzing what’s making your competitors successful. Create engaging content No one maintains interest in content that is not engaging. Therefore, it is very important to always try and create content that is engaging, but that it also aligned with your brand’s identity. So you need to ask questions such as what type of content should be posted? What about time and frequency? In doing all these things, you will be able to have a successful social media strategy.
Wakanda is closer than you think: Amrote Abdella spotlights the real African innovative tech stories
[bctt tweet=”The real Vibranium of Africa is its people and its potential – @amroteab” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Amrote Abdella spearheads Microsoft’s investments in Africa across 54 countries, working closely with her team to enable and accelerate digital transformation opportunities. She was recently named one of Africa’s Top 100 Young Business Leaders, ranking 12th out of 100 leaders who are playing a major role in the continent’s economic development. Before becoming Regional Director, Amrote was 4Afrika’s Director for VC & Startups, where she worked with start-ups supporting the innovation ecosystem in Africa. Amrote writes about some of 4Afrika’s real-world heroes and amazing tech start-ups in Africa. Since the release of Black Panther, the world has been captivated. The action-packed and fun fantasy movie has been embraced for its representation of black people generally, and Africans specifically. Another key element of the film’s cult-like status is the appeal of the fictional and futuristic African country, Wakanda – full of tech innovations and ultra-modern urban development. But how removed is the world of Wakanda from our own? As a continent, Africa has many advantages that are driving us closer to that aspirational vision: economic growth in many states that is outpacing much of the world, and a youthful population with an entrepreneurial bent. And unlike Wakanda, we aren’t afraid to share our innovations. Microsoft 4Afrika has been playing their part in Africa’s digital transformation. We have been supporting businesses, government projects, startups and young workers through empowering changes in internet access, service delivery enabled by tech and economic development. Launched in 2013, 4Afrika’s approach has seen them partner with projects of high impact that are driving Africa’s technological awakening. The following are some of 4Afrika’s real-world heroes. Music to our ears Damola Taiwo, Dolapo Taiwo, and Tola Ogunsola are three entrepreneurs who have come through the 4Afrika community and are transforming streaming music in Nigeria through their MyMusic digital music platform (MyMusic.com.ng). MyMusic not only gives users access to home-grown music favorites but has a chatbot that helps users discover new songs and download the ones they love. This bot – built on Skype – was showcased at the Microsoft NexTech Africa conference, and is one of the new technologies that has helped MyMusic grow to 700 000 active monthly users. Their success is largely rooted in local knowledge – understanding the peculiarities of the cash-driven market. Given this, their smart use of airtime-as-payment lets users buy songs with a single click. It’s a viable business which creates a powerful ripple effect that supports and monetizes African musicians. Pay it forward Another growing Nigerian start-up supported by 4Afrika is SpacePointe. Sayu Abend and Osato Osayande started this omnichannel platform with the explicit purpose of supporting business owners. They do this by offering an innovative mobile point-of-service application designed for the Nigerian market. This helps thousands of online and offline businesses transact, and streamline their sales, marketing, and payment processing. Theirs is a superhero narrative of financial inclusion and economic growth in action. Creative culture When it comes to creativity and storytelling, Hollywood certainly doesn’t have the market fully covered. Nigerians and other Africans are creating new characters, challenges, and scenarios every day that are engaging local target audiences. 4Afrika grantee Gamsole, for example, has created 50 new mobile games for the Android and iOS platforms in the past two years. Gamsole games have had over 10 million downloads. Most recently, in partnership with Diamond Bank, they created Dreamville on Azure, a digital financial platform that lets youth plan their future, save, chat and develop their financial literacy – all while playing games. Skills for good Our real-life tech heroes are also using their top skills for good. They are also partnering with other heroes of the non-profit sector to contribute to meaningful change in Africa. The MySkills4Afrika project has supported four Nigeria non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their cloud journey. This has, in turn, helped them automate many administrative processes so they can spend more time on their transformative work. These include Junior Chambers International, United for Education Foundation, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, and Technology for Sustainable Development. In partnering with the essential NGO space, we are amplifying the trans-formative effects for thousands of more people. In the cloud, on the ground Because of Africa’s documented historical infrastructure woes, we have become a continent famous for “leapfrogging” traditional infrastructure. Cloud makes sense everywhere. But this is more so in Africa, as it provides the means to scale up without costly infrastructure development. It overcomes the issues inherent in legacy technology and software. It also reduces the significant barrier that a difficult and broadly distributed supply chain can become. Through strategic use of cloud services, young African entrepreneurs are enjoying the same options as their established global counterparts. The next wave The real Vibranium of Africa is its people and its potential. The next superheroes of trade, purpose-drive entrepreneurship, and technology are waking up today in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Yaoundé, and Cairo. They are already discovering their abilities and nurturing their dreams. Let’s celebrate them and tell their stories. Just as much as we relish a different African narrative on the silver screen. This article was written by Amrote Abdella, Regional Director, Microsoft 4Afrika. If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.