comm-UNITY!

Olivia Mugabe, Founder and CEO of The Sisterhood, started the initiative with a group of friends with the aim to be more intentional about giving amongst themselves and to their various communities.  We see through our conversation how mobilising giving doesn't have to be on a huge corporate scale, there is power in the commitment and dedication of even small groups of givers. And building trust with your community of givers goes a long way. 

Energetic and passionate about her role as a leader, Amongin Prisca Nangiro joins us in this episode as we delve into two of the communities she leads (the National Youth Council and the Youth Ministry at Miracle Center). Prisca moves in the awareness that she is blessed to be a blessing and it is insightful to hear the ways that she lobbies those around her to practice generosity amongst themselves and outside of their networks.

Bridget Kyalimpa, a social activist, philanthropist, and co-founder of the African Feminist Research Initiative for advocacy and development, takes us on a journey of discovery, learning about the art of giving and the benefits that come with it, as well as how leaders can lead with love and empathy while pursuing their goal of giving.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” — Winston S. Churchill

Bridget believes that the more we give of ourselves, the more we discover about ourselves. We've all experienced how wonderful it is to receive gifts. However, the delight of receiving is fleeting. When we share, our lives become richer, and there is enormous inner delight in helping others improve their lives. Giving from the heart brings us delight and feeds our spirits. It brings with it an inherent joy that is considerably more precious than what we give to others.

The act of true giving is something wonderful and amazing. With most things in this world, there is only a limited amount of what we can give away. Fortunately, generosity and compassion are not bound to these same material limitations.

“To find yourself, lose yourself in the service of others.” _ Mahatma Gandhi

Season 7 Podcast 

Topic: The role and Importance of leadership in community giving or philanthropy.

Welcome to season 7 (Seven) of the CivSource Africa comm-UNITY! Podcast. In this season, we will host conversations with different Leaders who have been part of the Mopane Leaders’ Experience Retreats, a program under the management of CivSource Africa. Mopane program is a leadership curriculum focused on wellness and wellbeing of leaders and their organizations.

Because we strongly believe that if a leader is not well, the organization or the place they serve cannot be well. The focus on leaders then becomes very critical because everything rises and falls on leadership.

Community leaders in particular, should be aware of the value of philanthropy and its role in promoting the common good. As stewards of community assets, leaders should also be familiar with actions they can take to nurture an environment that encourages philanthropic giving and the development of philanthropic resources.

For the next three months, we will host the alumni of this program to discuss the role and importance of leadership in community philanthropy or giving. The purpose will not only be to understand giving practices in communities, but to also highlight steps community leaders can take to encourage giving in their communities as we build philanthropic assets that can permit communities to help themselves.

I therefore invite you to join our conversations every Thursday on the CivSource Africa website, and CivSource Africa YouTube channel, or on anchor, as we discuss the role and importance of leadership in community giving.

You are all welcome.

We come to the close of Season 6 with an extraordinary young giver, Paul Onyayowun, Leader at Christian Youth Missionary Group. You'd think that after a full season we'd be used to the stories that we hear but Paul continues to surprise and inspire us as he tells us about the urban farming, photography, and videography programs that him and his team run for women and youth in Kinawataka.

You can hear in the tone of her voice as she describes why and where she gives, that to Lucia Nalugo Gloria, giving has never been complicated thing that she overthinks. It only took one more person in her life to propel her more seriously into this calling. And now, our guest this episode, is the founder of charity organisation Hope in Motion.

As CivSource Africa we are passionate about and preach the importance of community on a regular basis (It's the name of our podcast!). But what happens to those who are excluded from our communities because we gate-keep them? 

We sit down with Solomon Rukundo, lawyer and philanthropist, who has been giving to prisoners through the Prison Fellowship Uganda since 2006. We talk about the journey, the wins, the challenges, the lessons and everything in-between.

When asked what partners WAY (We Are Youth) organisation has, Frank Ssejjengo, team leader of the organisation, begins to describe the very people and youth in the communities where they are working to make a difference. This is African Philanthropy.

And in this episode we delve into the ways Frank is bridging gaps including mentorship, rehabilitation, health and education for various communities of youth across Uganda. The work that WAY is doing is powerful and essential.