beyond Projects: creating capacity through community collaborations
“To go quickly, go alone. To go far, go together.” - African proverb
On October 25, we were honored to hear and learn from two incredible
community leaders and Pangea grantees: Seri Thongmak, executive director
of Pattanarak in Thailand, and Raphael Okumu, director of TEARS Kenya.
These two inspirational leaders shared stories about community change at
the grassroots. Seri talked about the many ways from savings programs to
HIV education to food production that his organization is improving the
health and well being of displaced, disadvantaged people living along
the Thai-Myanmar border. And Raphael shared how creative arts are
empowering young people and engaging the entire community to find
solutions to such challenges as gender inequities and slowing the spread
of HIV. Their stories showed how a small grant of just $5,000 goes a
long way to catalyze positive community change.
What
is at the foundation of community change? Partnership. Movements
are built and communities thrive when collaboration with like-minded
partners are initiated and nurtured—new options and avenues are created
that would not exist if you were working alone. At Pangea, we partner
with community development groups in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin
America, and invest in their solutions to some of the world's most
intractable problems. They, in turn, partner with other
organizations and with government agencies to support change in their
communities.
As Raphael shared at the event, “This journey for change is not easy. We’re going to make mistakes, fall down, but let’s do it together.” At Pangea, we know that everyone’s fight for social justice and economic stability for their families and their communities is our fight too.