Summary
When Swedish school teacher Hilde Back sponsored a young, rural Kenyan student, she thought nothing of it. She certainly never expected to hear from him, but years later she does. Now a Harvard graduate and a Human Rights Lawyer for the United Nations, Chris Mburu decides to find the stranger that changed his life. Inspired by her generosity, he starts a scholarship programme of his own and names it for his former benefactor.
“A Small Act Jamii” was coined from the Emmy award documentary that focused on the story of Ms. Hilde Back and Chris Mburu. This documentary opened many doors for Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF), and they were able to receive funding that helped them to support children from less privileged backgrounds into secondary education.
HBEF, having participated in the local fundraising training course offered by Change the Game Academy, their perspective on foreign donor dependence and sustainability has shifted. They learned tangible skills in coming up with various ways to raise funds locally to support the education fund and the needy children as well. This is how 'A Small Act Jamii' was born.
Tips and lessons learned
Lessons:
1. Huge potential in local fundraising especially among the direct beneficiaries.
2. Importance of all staff owning up the activity.
3. Importance of clear allocation of duties.
4. Importance of follow-up after event to ensure successful outcome.
Challenges:
1. Some guests not turning up even after confirmation.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
The beautiful story behind this project is a strong fundraising instrument in itself. When the story was turned into a documentary, Hilde Back Education Fund successfully used it to raise funds from different sources, mainly foreign. By participating in the Local Fundraising course, offered by Change the Game Academy, HBEF realised the importance of a solid local base, as a prerequisite for reliable financial and other forms of support. Through 'A small act Jamii' initiative HBEF hopes to lay that foundation. A strong point is the involvement of past and current beneficiaries and their parents/guardians.
Details
Short description of the organisation the funds were raised for
The Hilde Back Education Fund ia a Kenyan charity which promotes access to secondary school education by offering scholarships to bright, needy children in Kenya.
It all started back in the 1970’s when Ms. Hilde Back, a school teacher from Sweden, through an act of kindness, supported the education of a poor Kenyan boy, Chris Mburu, who was growing up in a small village in Githunguri. Years later, inspired by her generosity, Chris decided to give back to the community by providing bright and needy Kenyan children from his village with scholarship education opportunities. Chris is currently the Head of the Anti-Discrimination section of the UN Human Rights Agency in Geneva, Switzerland.
Hilde Back Education Fund was officially chartered in 2001. They initially started by supporting children from the Githunguri area where Chris came from, but there was a growing need to support other needy children from other communities. Once a student has successfully completed the application process, they are either given a full scholarship or a partial sponsorship, to the government secondary school that they have been admitted to, depending on availability of funds.
Short description of the project or programme the funds were raised for
Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF) seeks to undertake local fundraising in support of 9 bright needy children in January 2019. In addition HBEF seeks to recruit 3 mentors for the leadership and psychological support programme. Of the 9 students, 1 will be supported by HBEF board, 1 by HBEF staff, 2 by HBEF community and 5 through corporate sponsorship. The mentors will be drawn from interested individuals from HBEF neighbourhood. The education sponsorship is for 4 years.
Objectives
1. Sponsorship for 2 bright needy children starting January 2019, funded by the community.
2. Additional sponsorships in the following years.
Targeted donors
1. Parents/guardians of current beneficiaries.
2. Former beneficiaries
3. Parents/guardians of former beneficiaries.
4. Well-wishers, friends and partners.
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (KES |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
133,231 |
1,164 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
68,104 |
595 |
| Net amount raised |
65,127 |
569 |
Accounting details
Refreshments – 15,230
Transport – 3,300
Venue & Seats – 5,152
Communication - 500
Photography/video - 9,000
Printing/stationery - 34,922
Result comments
1. Sponsorship for 2 students beginning January 2019.
2. Avenue for direct beneficiaries of the programme to support the programme hence forth.
Description of preparatory work
1. Staff consultative meeting to generate an ideal action to support local sponsorship and agreement on 'a small act Jamii' launch.
2. Presentation and approval from board members.
3. Identification of ideal date for the launch.
4. Planning meeting for activities prior to the launch and after the launch.
5. Preparation of proposed guest list and communication.
6. Design of 'a small act Jamii' logo.
7. Preparation of social media messages.
8. Identification of service providers for
i. Venue
ii. Refreshments
iii. Video and photography
iv. Seats
v. Printing of a 'a small act Jamii' logo.
Description of implementation
1. Held 2 staff consultation meetings, listed various ideas and picked the best.
2. Undertook a Skype conversation with board chairman and shared ideas.
3. Settled on 3rd October, the 96th birthday of Ms. Hilde Back, the benefactor the organisation has been named after.
4. During the meeting, all responsibilities were written down and roles shared out with specific instructions.
5. Communication was made to all proposed guests.
6. A volunteer designed various logo samples and with the help of the board chairman, selection was done.
7. Messages were shared on Facebook, Instagram and website concerning the launch.
8. Service providers were contacted and negotiations done.
Follow up: Donor appreciation and acknowledgement
Thank you messages through SMS were sent to all who were present.
Plans to repeat the action
'A small act Jamii'initiative is an ongoing activity as the sponsorships it funds are for a 4 year period. The plan is to increase the sponsorships every year.
