Last Thursday the awarenet team took part in a great workshop organised by our funder the HCI Foundation on how non profit organisations can collaborate to achieve sustainable social change.
Lab supervisor Thanduxolo Royi and project coordinator Kjetil Torp joined a multitude of representatives from other non profit organisations from all parts of the Eastern Cape who were gathered in Grahamstown for the day. Through the discussions is was clear that most non profit organisations have similar kind of challenges such as access to funding and optimisation of programs.
Nonceba Mtwana and Somila Mjekula from the Learning Trust, another funder of the awarenet program, did an interesting presentation on how non profit organisations in the same community can pool resources and cooperate towards common goals, ultimately leading to enhanced opportunities for members of the community.
From the far left: Thanduxolo Royi, Kjetil Torp, Jonas Schumacher in discussion with other workshop participants
Dr Ashley Westaway from Gadra Education shared his experiences in increasing the number of students from its matric school which enter university. He emphasised that the success of Gadra in doing this is largely due to it being a data driven organisation. He said that a non profit organisation can achieve better outcomes through vigorous analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, thereby getting better knowledge on how to adjust its projects and interventions.
Jonas Schumacher from Masifunde Learner Development gave an insider talk on how to grow sustainable and effective non profit organisations. His descriptions of the daily joys and frustrations as a manager of a non profit had the workshop participants laughing in recognition. In conclusion he said that non profit organisations should be confident and proud of the important work they are doing for sustainable social change.
Eastern Cape non profit organisations gathered in one hall