Amplifying community impact through virtual collaboration

Since the Fellowship’s inception in 2014, Fellowship Alumni have been collaborating to make a change and amplify impact in their communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.  Through the Fellowship’s Leveraging Innovations in New Communities (LINC) Grants, Alumni have the opportunity to travel to each other’s countries or collaborate virtually on joint projects or learning opportunities.

Learn more about how several groups of Alumni have collaborated virtually to make a difference in dozens of communities across the continent.

Equipping Ugandan and Zimbabwean youth with skills in art and illustration

I was so inspired to see the level of dedication and commitment and competition demonstrated by the participants. To have a producer of the biggest animation studio in Africa ask to see the work was a testament of how collaboration can elevate the interest and investment in the digital creative industry.

Rita Anyango, 2019 Fellowship Alumna, Uganda

Through this virtual collaboration, 2019 Alumni Jabulani Sibanda of Zimbabwe and Rita Anyango of Uganda conducted a series of art and illustration workshops for Ugandan and Zimbabwean youth. They also provided information on professions and job pathways that utilize these skills, such as animation and game development.

Through these online workshops, youth were grouped into pairs of one Ugandan and one Zimbabwean for peer-to-peer skill-sharing sessions. The collaboration concluded with a challenge where the pairs submitted a portfolio of illustrations that demonstrated how agricultural practices contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases, and subsequently, climate change.

Nurturing sustainable peace through youth ambassadors in Cameroon

2016 Alumni Dopgima Stella Guelleu of Cameroon and Mutaru Mumuni of Ghana collaborated to organize a two-day peacebuilding workshop. Over 30 youth from conflict areas of the South West region of Cameroon were trained to serve as effective peace ambassadors to help nurture sustainable peace in their communities.

While Stella attended and organized the session in-person, Mutaru co-facilitated the training sessions remotely. He also provided two days of virtual consultation sessions with the workshop participants to provide peacebuilding recommendations. In addition to training the youth as peacebuilding ambassadors, the project also employed education and sensitization through radio, television, and flyers.

Preventing cervical cancer in Nigeria

[I] had an opportunity to learn more about the Nigerian health system and the challenges they face [and to] share lessons from Kenya on synergizing innovations for cervical cancer elimination.”

Barrack Ogwell, 2017 Fellowship Alumnus, Kenya

2017 Alumni Barrack Ogwell of Kenya and Ifeoma Blessing Umeh of Nigeria equipped 20 Nigerian healthcare workers with skills to prevent and control cervical cancer, including screening methods, health communication, and grant writing.

With Ifeoma leading the in-person training and Barrack joining remotely, the two trained participants in methods to screen for cervical cancer utilizing thermo-ablation and the Visual Inspection With Acetic Acid (VIA) Test. By the end of the training, participants gained an understanding of cervical cancer, were equipped with skills in community mobilization for cancer screening and HPV vaccination, and developed skills in grant writing for health-related programs.

Building resiliency among women entrepreneurs in Zambia

I thought it was impossible to virtually implement a program that targets people in underserved communities, but we got the largest response we have ever received to date! It is so heart warming to have so many people interested in impacting their communities.

Inota Cheta, 2018 Fellowship Alumna, Zambia

Zambian Alumnae Inota Cheta (2018) and Bwalya Witika Maketo (2017) organized a virtual workshop for 100 women entrepreneurs on best practices for COVID-19 business resilience. The skills focused on themes of SWOT analysis and value proposition, marketing with COVID-19 restrictions, action and emergency planning, and rethinking product and consumer identification.

Participants prepared an action plan to share what they learned with their community and expect to impact at least 2,000 total people in the next 6 to 12 months. In addition to providing manuals for these trainings, Inota and Bwalya will provide ongoing support as participants facilitate community trainings.

Accelerating education in Uganda with e-learning

Through a virtual workshop, 2019 Alumni Emmanuel Angoda and Zaharah Namanda of Uganda equipped 40 school leaders with practical skills for implementing eLearning and improving student outcomes in the COVID era. The workshop activities helped participants improve their confidence in exchanging knowledge online, by exposing them to user-friendly tools and resources.

As part of the collaboration, Emmanuel and Zaharah developed an e-learning platform for Lira Town College, which will remain in use for the rest of the year by the 2,300 students and 98 teachers at the college.

Written by Abbie Wade.