Category: Blog

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]In this article originally written for Alliance magazine Theo Sowa speaks about the importance of multiple approaches to creating a better world whilst focusing on a solid foundation of creating an enabling environment for the realisation of the full range of human rights for all.

To read the article in full please click here[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Dans cet article, écrit à l’origine pour Alliance magazine Theo Sowa parle de l’importance des multiples approches pour créer un monde meilleur tout en se concentrant sur une base solide de créer un environnement propice à la réalisation de l’ensemble des droits de l’homme pour tous.

Pour lire l’article dans son intégralité, veuillez cliquer ici[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) congratulates Lt Col (Rtd) Gladys Okwaning, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nana Yaa Memorial Trust for Good Quality Reproductive Health Services, and a long term grantee partner of AWDF, on her recent appointment as the Sub – Regional Chairperson of the Faculty of Administration, Management and Education (FAME) of the West African College of Nursing (WACN) for 2013 to 2015.

AWDF is confident that your years of leadership in reproductive health, and your commitment to the rights of women and girls will be reflected in the dynamism you will bring to your new position.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Fonds Africain de développement de la Femme (AWDF) félicite le lieutenant-colonel (retraité) Gladys Okwaning, chef de la direction de la Nana Yaa Memorial Trust pour la bonne qualité des services de santé de la reproduction, et d’avoir été un bénéficiaire à long terme d’AWDF, pour sa récente nomination en tant que Sous – présidente régionale de la Faculté d’administration, de gestion et de l’éducation (FAME) du Collège ouest-africain des sciences infirmières (WACN) pour 2013 à 2015.

AWDF est confiant dans le fait que vos années de leadership en matière de santé reproductive, et votre engagement envers les droits des femmes et des filles seront reflétées dans le dynamisme que vous apporterez à votre nouveau poste.[/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]”Is it possible for Organizations to raise funds without Costs?”

This is one of the two questions I put to participants who attended AWDF’s recent Boot Camp on ‘Developing a Resource Mobilisation Strategy‘. This workshop was held to give our selected grantees hands on training in developing a resource mobilization strategy. As part of the programme, I facilitated a session on budgeting for resource mobilization. During my presentation, the first question I asked was

“The cost of fundraising has become the basis of assessing whether a non-profit is behaving responsibly or not. Do you think that this is a fair basis?”

There were very interesting responses from the participants. Some agreed that it was fair because non-profits should spend money on programmes and not on fundraising others agreed that it wasn’t fair because fundraising requires resources.

My conclusion on the discussion was that fundraising costs alone are not enough to assess an organization because it is dependent on so many other factors such as;

• Age or maturity of the organisation and its fundraising capacity
• Size of the organization and its budget both overall and fundraising
• Popularity and nature of the cause
• Methods used
• Sources of fundraising income
• Skills of the fundraising staff
• Strength and involvement of the organizations board and senior staff as well as other external partners
• Use of volunteers

I followed this question with a second, which was, “Can non-profits raise funds without costs?”. Everybody agreed that this was impossible but when I asked participants what it cost them to raise the funds they raised in the previous year, no one was able to give me a figure. There were several reasons that accounted for this but the common reason was that they actually don’t budget for fundraising and therefore they don’t report on their fundraising costs because this is not an expenses that they track. One participant actually said that if they were to budget for their fundraising costs they will have no money to do other things. I then asked, “Are staff not paid for the time they spend to fundraise?” Obviously they are but that cost is captured differently.

The import of these two questions was mainly to set the pace for the discussion on budgeting for resource mobilization. Developing a fundraising strategy needs to be done together with action plans and a budget for the resources required to achieve each of the strategic objectives. Every non-profit raises funds to implement its activities and yet when you review the accounts of most small to medium sized organizations there is usually no information on fundraising costs.

Part of the reason is because of the fact that non-profits know that spending on fundraising is deemed as non-productive and so those costs are hidden in other costs. There are several implications for not capturing fundraising costs. One of the key reasons it that organizations are unable to measure the cost effectiveness of their fundraising strategies which has implications on overall organizational effectiveness.

Fundraising is an investment and like any other investment the returns need to be monitored and this cannot happen without knowing the cost of fundraising. Additionally, if you invest less in fundraising you are not likely to get much out of it. You may be doing an excellent job but you need to tell your story to different audiences in a compelling and captivating way and all this requires resources. A lot of organizations remain small, invisible, and ineffective and eventually die because they have not made the right investments in resource mobilization.

So whether your strategic focus, is growth, involvement, visibility, efficiency or stability, you need resources to achieve that and you need to budget for those resources.

I am an accountant and cost benefit analysis is a key part of the work I do so I know for a fact that you need money to raise money. So how much is it costing you to fundraise and when was the last time you did an objective analysis of costs per dollar raised for each of your organization’s fundraising methods?[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]“Est-il possible pour les organisations d’amasser des fonds sans frais?”

Ceci est l’une des deux questions que j’ai posée aux participants qui ont assisté au récent Boot Camp d’AWDF sur ‘Développer une stratégie de mobilisation des ressources‘. Cet atelier a été organisé pour former la main de nos bénéficiaires sélectionnés pour la formation au développement d’une stratégie de mobilisation des ressources. Dans le cadre du programme, j’ai animé une session sur la budgétisation de la mobilisation des ressources. Lors de ma présentation, la première question que je posais était:

“Le coût de la collecte de fonds est devenu la base de l’évaluation pour une organisation à but non lucratif qui se comporte de manière responsable ou non. Pensez-vous que cela soit une base juste? ”

Il y avait des réponses très intéressantes des participants. Certains ont convenu que c’était juste parce que les organisation non génératrices de profits devraient dépenser de l’argent sur les programmes et non sur d’autres collectes de fonds et tout le monde a convenu qu’il n’était pas juste que la collecte de fonds exige des ressources.

Ma conclusion sur la discussion était que les coûts de collecte de fonds ne suffisent pas pour évaluer une organisation, car ils dépendent de beaucoup d’autres facteurs tels que;

• Age ou à l’échéance de l’organisation et sa capacité de collecte de fonds
• Taille de l’organisation et de son budget à la fois globale et collecte de fonds
• Popularité et la nature de la cause
• Méthodes utilisées
• Sources de revenus de collecte de fonds
• Compétences du personnel de collecte de fonds
• La force et la participation du conseil des organisations et des cadres supérieurs ainsi que d’autres partenaires extérieurs
• L’utilisation de bénévoles

Je suivais cette question avec un second argument qui était, “Impossible pour une organisation à but non lucratif de recueillir des fonds, sans coûts?”. Tout le monde a convenu que cela était impossible, mais quand j’ai demandé aux participants ce qu’il leur en a coûté pour lever les fonds qu’ils ont soulevés l’année précédente, personne n’a été en mesure de me donner un chiffre. Il y avait plusieurs raisons qui expliquent cela mais la raison commune est qu’ils ne font réellement pas de budget pour la collecte de fonds et, par conséquent, ils ne se rendent pas compte de leurs coûts de collecte de fonds parce que ce n’est pas une dépense qu’ils suivent. Un participant a effectivement dit que si ils devaient budgetiser leurs coûts pour la collecte de fonds, ils n’auraient pas d’argent pour faire d’autres choses. Je lui ai demandé, “Et le personnel il n’est pas payé pour le temps qu’il passe à collecter des fonds?” Evidemment, ils le sont, mais ce coût est capturé différemment.

L’importance de ces deux questions est principalement de fixer le rythme de la discussion sur le budget de mobilisation des ressources. De développer une stratégie de collecte de fonds qui doit être faite en collaboration avec des plans d’action et un budget pour les ressources nécessaires pour atteindre chacun des objectifs stratégiques. Chaque organisation à but non lucratif amasse des fonds pour mettre en œuvre ses activités et pourtant, quand vous passez en revue les comptes de la plupart des petites et moyennes organisations, il n’y a généralement aucune information sur les coûts de collecte de fonds.

Une partie de la raison de cela est liée au fait que les organisation à but non-lucratif savent que les dépenses de financement sont considérées comme non productives et de sorte que ces coûts sont cachés dans d’autres coûts. Il ya plusieurs implications pour ne pas capturer les coûts de collecte de fonds. Une des raisons principales que les organisations informatiques sont incapables de mesurer c’est l’efficacité des coûts de leurs stratégies de collecte de fonds qui a des implications sur l’efficacité globale de l’organisation.

La collecte de fonds est un investissement et comme tout autre investissement les retours doivent être surveillés et cela ne peut pas arriver sans connaître le coût de la collecte de fonds. En outre, si vous investissez moins dans la collecte de fonds vous n’êtes pas susceptible d’obtenir beaucoup de cette dernière. Vous pouvez faire un excellent travail, mais vous avez besoin de raconter votre histoire à différents publics d’une manière convaincante et captivante et tout cela exige des ressources. Un grand nombre d’organisations restent petites, invisibles, et inefficaces et finissent par mourir parce qu’elles n’ont pas fait les bons investissements dans la mobilisation des ressources.

Donc, si votre orientation stratégique, est la croissance, la participation, la visibilité, l’efficacité ou la stabilité, vous avez besoin de ressources pour réaliser cela et vous avez besoin de budget pour ces ressources.

Je suis une analyse comptable et l’aspect coût-bénéfice est un élément clé du travail que je fais donc je sais pour sur que vous avez besoin d’argent pour amasser des fonds. Alors, combien est-ce que cela vous coûte pour recueillir des fonds et à quand remonte la dernière fois que vous avez fait une analyse objective des coûts en dollars qui ont été collectés pour chacune des méthodes de collecte de fonds de votre organisation?[/tp]

By: Gertrude Bibi Annoh-Quarshie

Finance Manager

AWDF

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]In this video, Bose Ironsi, Executive Director of Women’s Rights and Health Project in Nigeria talks about how attending the African Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI) changed her life. AWLI is run by Akina Mama wa Afrika, an AWDF grantee based in Uganda. Since its inception, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has been a proud supporter of AWLI’s development of feminist African women leaders.

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Dans cette vidéo, Bose Ironsi, directrice exécutive des droits de la femme et des projets de santé au Nigeria parle de comment assister à l’Institut africain de leadership des femmes (ILFA) a changé sa vie. AWLI est géré par Akina Mama wa Afrika, un partenaire d’AWDF basé en Ouganda. Depuis sa création, le Fonds Africain de développement de la femme (AWDF) a été un fier partisan d’AWLI pour le développement des féministes et des femmes leaders africaines.

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]AWDF as part of its investment into its long term sustainability is pleased to announces the availability of premises to rent. Details are as follows:

A five bedroom house located at Plot no. 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra, Ghana (near Galaxy international school), It has a swimming pool and a standby generator.

Rent is negotiable.

All interested persons should contact Grace Amenyogbeli, Human Resource Manager, via telephone +233-302-521257; or via e-mail: grace@africlub.net/awdf[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]AWDF dans le cadre de son investissement dans sa viabilité à long terme est heureuse d’annonce la disponibilité de locaux à louer. Les détails sont comme suit:

Une maison de cinq chambres situé au Plot no. 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra, Ghana (près de Galaxy international school), il a une piscine et un générateur de secours.

Le loyer est négociable.

Toutes les personnes intéressées doivent communiquer avec Grace Amenyogbeli, directeur des ressources humaines, par téléphone +233-302-521257; ou par e-mail: grace@africlub.net/awdf [/tp]

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Podcast with Thokozile Makhanya, Board Member of Biowatch a public interest organization that publicises, monitors and researches issues of genetic modification, and promotes biological diversity and sustainable livelihoods. In this podcast Thoko speaks about the importance of resisting the use of genetically modified organisms, the importance of farmers rights and food sovereignty. Please click link below to listen to the podcast.

Podcast featuring Thokozile Makhanya, Biowatch, South Africa[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Un podcast avec Thokozile Makhanya, membre du conseil de Biowatch une organisation d’intérêt public qui publicise, surveille et analyse les enjeux de la modification génétique, et favorise la diversité biologique et les moyens de subsistance durables. Dans ce podcast Thoko parle de l’importance de résister à l’utilisation d’organismes génétiquement modifiés, l’importance des droits des agriculteurs et la souveraineté alimentaire. Veuillez cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous pour écouter le podcast.

Podcast avec Thokozile Makhanya, Biowatch, Afrique du Sud[/tp]

(Thoko was interviewed by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Communications Specialist, AWDF)

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]On the 7th of March 2013, AWDF in partnership with Alliance Francaise, Accra, and with the kind sponsorship of Printex held a ‘Meet the Writers’ discussion with Mamle Kabu, 2009 Caine Prize Nominee and 2011 Burt Award Winner for Ghana; Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe, Memoirist and Winner of the Marcelle Althaus Reid Award, Boakyewaa Glover, author of Circles, and Mama C, Black Panther Activist, Performance Artist and poet.

This forum was an opportunity for the public to meet writers up close and personal, learn more about the intricacies of writing and the publishing industry. Pictures of the event may be viewed by clicking here . To listen to a podcast of the event please click the links below.[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le 7 Mars 2013, AWDF en partenariat avec Alliance Française Accra, et avec le parrainage de Printex, a eu une discussion ‘Rencontrez les auteures ‘avec Mamle Kabu, Nominé Prix Caine 2009 et Burt Award Winner en 2011 pour le Ghana; Kuukua Dzigbordi Yomekpe, mémorialiste et lauréat du Prix Marcelle Althaus Reid, Boakyewaa Glover, auteur de Circles, et Mama C, militante Black Panther, Performeuse et poète.

Ce forum a été l’occasion pour le public de rencontrer des écrivains de près et le personnel, en savoir plus sur les subtilités de l’écriture et de l’industrie de l’édition. Les photos de l’événement peuvent être consultées en cliquant ici. Pour écouter un podcast de l’événement veuillez cliquer sur les liens ci-dessous.[/tp]

Meet the Writers panel 1

Meet the Writers panel 2

Meet the Writers panel 3

Meet the Writers panel 4

Meet the Writers panel 5

Meet the Writers panel 6

Meet the Writers panel 7

Meet the Writers panel 8

Meet the Writers panel 9

Meet the Writers panel 10

Meet the Writers panel 11

Meet the Writers panel 12

Meet the Writers panel 13

[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]I am excited that Yari Yari Ntoaso, an international conference focusing on African women writers is coming to Ghana from the 16th-19th May. Our very own Ama Ata Aidoo is one of the founding members of this initiative and the conference will bring together numerous inspirational women writers of African descent. Women like Angela Davis and Carole Boyce Davis who helped shape my thinking around the intersection of race and gender. Nnedi Okorafor, whose book is currently in the pile of ‘books to read’ on my bedside table. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf who started the Cassava Republic Press, and who I had the privilege of interviewing for ‘Women Leading Africa‘.

I am honoured that I have been invited to speak on a panel about ‘Writing Sexuality’. The entire Yari Yari programme is FREE and the general public are invited to attend, participate and learn from all the resource people who will be there.

Click links below for the full programme and press release

YYN DRAFT Schedule YYN GHANAPress Release[/tp]

[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Je suis heureuse que Yari Yari Ntoaso, une conférence internationale axée sur les femmes écrivains africaines se tienne au Ghana du 16 au 19 mai. Notre chère Ama Ata Aidoo est l’un des membres fondateurs de cette initiative et la conférence rassemblera de nombreuses femmes écrivains inspirantes d’origine africaine. Des femmes comme Angela Davis et Carole Boyce Davis, qui ont contribué à façonner ma pensée autour de l’intersection de la race et du sexe. Nnedi Okorafor, dont le livre est actuellement dans la pile des «livres à lire» sur ma table de chevet. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, qui a commencé la Cassava Republic Press, et que j’ai eu le privilège d’interviewer pour ‘Women Leading Africa‘.

Je suis honorée d’avoir été invitée à prendre la parole lors d’une discussion sur “Ecrire la Sexualité”. L’ensemble du programme Yari Yari est libre et le grand public est invité à y assister, à participer et apprendre de toutes les personnes ressources qui seront là.

Cliquez ci-dessous pour le liens programme complet et communiqué de presse

YYN DRAFT Schedule YYN GHANAPress Release[/tp]

Last Saturday, Professor Ama Ata Aidoo celebrated her birthday. This occasion reminded me of how overjoyed I was when I first met her . The year was 2008, I had recently started working for the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), and one day Ama Ata Aidoo (as she is popularly called) dropped by the office. I was beyond excited. I mean, Ama Ata Aidoo is the rockstar of African women writers. I had read ‘Anowa’ in secondary school, acted the role of the slave girl in ‘Dilemma of a Ghost’ whilst in college, and my first degree dissertation had been on ‘The concept of home in the novels of Ama Ata Aidoo and Buchi Emecheta’. Ama Ata Aidoo’s influence on my life went beyond my education. When my friend Alberta Stevens and I started ‘Southern Narrative’, a global dimensions education project in London, we named our first project ‘The Anowa Project’ to pay homage to the inspiring African women we had trained to run workshops in schools in South London dealing with the very challenging issues of identity, race and diversity. So after all these years of reading Ama Ata Aidoo’s novels you can imagine that I was in groupie heaven when I meet her at my place of work.

The best thing about meeting Ama Ata Aidoo has been that she is as inspiring in real life as she is in her books. I recall interviewing the Professor at Mbaasem (Mbaasem translates from Akan as Women’s Affairs), the foundation she established to promote African women writers and we chatted for 2 hours. She was full of insights about African women writers, social development and shared insights on the challenges of combining writing with social change work. This interview was featured in ‘Women Leading Africa: Conversations with Inspirational African Women‘.

I asked a number of friends and colleagues to share their thoughts about the good Professor.

Amina Doherty, coordinator of FRIDA, painter and HE(ART)IST said:

“I love Ama Ata Aidoo! Not simply because she reminded me when I needed to hear it that I too, could be a girl who could, but because she was responsible for introducing me to “love'” in African literature. She took this idea of ‘the revolutionary power of love’ out of critical theory and feminist academia and put it into short stories and tales that I could relate to. In the introduction to the collection: ‘African Love Stories‘ she says: “If we insist, as some of us do, that love is about the human condition, then there is hardly any aspect of women’s loves which [love] stories do not touch…the human heart is all out there in these stories: beleaguered and bleeding, or bold and occassionaly triumphant.” Aidoo’s words and her effort to highlight love as a central aspect of our lives reminds me of how important it is to document African love stories as a means of better understanding who we are, and how we live – as Africans, as people. She highlights the fact that the stories we often hear and read about Africa are the ones deemed to be ‘more important’ because they are of social and political significance, but that all of those ‘very important things’ must be based in love. Our Space is indeed ‘Love‘. “

Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom, Grants Manager of AWDF had this to share:

“I read Ama Ata Aidoo’s ‘Dilemma of a Ghost’ in round about 1981 but the lessons from the story has stayed with me all these years. I still remember
the determination, independence, hopefulness, and assertiveness of Eulalie. I remember the ghost who did not know whether to go to Elmina or to go to
Cape coast a situation that most of us very often get into and are not too good at making the right choices. I remember Ama Ata Aidoo’s dexterity in
“brofulising” English words. My favourite proverb from that book which has stayed with me all these years is “The corn that will burn shall burn whether roasted or boiled” and my thoughts have always been that if God does give me the care or custody of a corn that is destined to burn, I strongly believe that I have the power to turn its fortunes around and force it to realign its destiny for the betterment of society. It is possible to do that.

I also like the short stories “The Girl Who Can and Other Stories” which I read in 2010 I think. I like the assertiveness and independence of most of the women characters, I like the fact that most of them were “no nonsense” characters and I like the general liberal atmosphere most of the women find themselves in those stories.

All in all I will read Ama Ata Aidoo any day. I think she is a marvelous writer, very witty and is able to bring our culture to bear in her writings
to such an extent that even people who are not familiar with the culture are able to appreciate it.

I think I will go back and read all these books again so I can savour them all over again. I still have all those books from my days in school.

Auntie Ama you have adequately paid your dues”

Minna Salami, the award winning writer and blogger behind Ms Afropolian had this to say:

“There’s an interview in Meridians where Aidoo speaks about something I seldom see addressed, namely creating spaces (clubs, she calls it) for women who ‘just want to sit, have a drink, nibble at something and talk about nothing to other women’, a club where we can ‘refuse to be nothing or to be everything’.
Among the many contributions of hers that make my world that bit more enriched, those particular words remind me of how independent and gracious her mind is.”

What are your memories of Ama Ata Aidoo? What does her writing mean to you? Share your thoughts and indeed your well wishes for her via the comments box below

By: Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Communications Specialist, AWDF