This past weekend, the GROW team traveled to Kampala, Uganda
for the first annual GlobeMed East Africa Forum. Edwin (WOPLAH’s Executive
Director), Caleb (Ambassador of Hope), and Kenneth (WOPLAH intern) accompanied
us. The forum brought together 14 GlobeMed partner organizations from across
East Africa, as well as nearly 45 GROW interns currently working and living
with their partners. The weekend gave
the partners a chance to network and establish relationships in order to support
each other, and for GROW interns to share stories, advice, and encouragement.
Our
trip to Uganda on Thursday went smoothly, and we arrived in Kampala for dinner
with the GlobeMed network. On Friday morning, we heard about the power of
community from Charles Matovu and Steven Malinzi from Kitovu Mobile AIDS
Organization. The two talked about the need to strike a balance between
supporting a community while allowing the community to maintain its autonomy.
After
lunch, we saw a panel discussion that offered perspectives on partnership. Ash
Rogers, a panelist from The Segal Family Foundation, had a great analogy to
describe a successful partnership. She explained: If you are walking to Kampala, and get lost and do not know where you
are going, if I give you a motorbike,
you are not going to get there faster. You are just going to get lost faster.
The GROW team realized that we must share a common vision with WOPLAH in order
to have a successful partnership.
At
the end of the day, we received a second key take-away from Maya Cohen,
GlobeMed’s Executive Director. Reflecting on the day, Maya explained that the
early years of partnership are about building trust—the basis of which is kept
promises that prove that both sides of the partnership have each other’s best
interests at heart. When wondering why we are doing fundraising and hard work
all year, we will be able to remind ourselves that the work is for the
beneficiaries, but it is also for the sustainability of our partnership with
WOPLAH.
Finally,
this weekend was special for our GROW team in that it marks the beginning of
our internship at WOPLAH. For most of the GROW interns that we met this
weekend, their internships with their partner organizations were coming to an
end. We were able to talk to interns and get advice and insights that otherwise
would not have been available to us. We realized from conversations with other
GROW teams that it is key to understand the structure and organization of our
partner early on in the internship. This means asking more questions than our
partners probably ever want to answer.
Sorry
for the long post, hopefully this proves just how valuable the weekend at the
East Africa Forum was for the GROW team. Now we are back on the home-front in
Mumias, and we had a great day visiting a HIV/AIDS support group. More to come
from Rory tomorrow!
-Maggie
Partners, GROW Interns & National Office staff together in Kampala, Uganda.
Ken, Caleb & Edwin together with the GROW Team!
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