Africa Roundtable at the Washington International School on 24 May, 2012

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 16 May, 2012 - 05:58

Dacha at Washington International School

The Africa Roundtable is coming to Washington, DC! 

I am returning to DC for a brief visit the week of 21-24 May, to represent Kabissa at an NGO Fair at the World Bank on 23 May.

While in DC, where Kabissa was based from 2001-2007, I am organizing an Africa Roundtable lunchtime event as a mini fundraiser for Kabissa and to bring together friends and members interested in Africa for networking and to learn from three wonderful organizations in the local community that are doing innovative and useful work in Africa. 

There is only room for up to 30 people in person and 10 remotely via skype, so register soon to secure your spot! 

Venue, Logistics and Speakers

To secure your spot at the roundtable, please register online as soon as possible by clicking here. You can choose to pay the $10 participation fee online with a credit card or pay later at the venue. Current Kabissa volunteers participate for free! Once you register, you will get an email with more logistics details. 

The Washington International School has graciously agreed to host the event at their Cleveland Park campus on 24 May from 11:15am to 1pm and is providing lunch for participants. We have a tight program so ask that participants arrive promptly at 11:15 to get their lunch and sit down to start the program promptly at 11:30am. Thanks! 

More organizations than we could possibly accommodate stepped forward to be featured at the event but unfortunately we only have time for three presentations. Here are the organizations that will be featured:   

Further organizations are of course more than welcome to come and introduce themselves and participate in discussions. There will also be plenty of time for networking when the formal program ends at 1pm. 

Jennifer Lentfer will be live blogging/tweeting the event on the how-matters.org blog. If you wish to tweet the event, please use the #africaroundtable hashtag and let us know at roundtable@kabissa.org - thanks! 

10 participants can participate remotely via Skype, and the event will be recorded to be shared later on the Kabissa website. 

Africa Roundtable Background and Concept

The Africa Roundtable is an initiative of Kabissa to bring together people with a mutual interest in Africa for lightning introductions and to learn from featured speakers. Events combine face to face gatherings in a comfortable, roundtable format with remote participation possible via the Internet. We are experimenting with recording talks by featured speakers to share online afterwards. 

I have hosted three roundtable networking events since February on Bainbridge Island near Seattle - so far they have been both fun and enlightening with featured talks about NGOs working in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. 

This is the first roundtable event not hosted on Bainbridge Island and is an experiment (in more than ideal conditions!) to see whether it is desirable to take the concept to other geographic locations. 

You can learn more about past roundtables, subscribe to the Africa Roundtable mailing list and see a typical program at http://www.africaroundtable.org. Contact roundtable@kabissa.org with feedback or suggestions. Thanks!

About the Featured Speakers 

Barbara Lee Shaw, an MBA with 14 years of experience in nonprofit financial management, is the founder and president of the Maasai Girls Education Fund. MGEF works in partnership with the Maasai community in Kenya to raise the status of women and end poverty by educating girls, women, and the Maasai community. 

Jane Meyers is a professional librarian and the founder and president of the Lubuto Library Project, an award-winning organization that is unique in showing the role that public libraries can play in national development and in helping nations achieve their policy objectives and Millenium Development Goals.

Barbara Alison Rose is the founder and executive director of Aid for Africa, a unique alliance of U.S.-based charities and their African partners dedicated to helping children, families, and communities throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Its grassroots programs focus on health, education, economic development, arts & culture, conservation, and wildlife protection in Africa.

Program

  • Skype participants come online and join the roundtable (starting at 11:15)
  • Get lunch, sign in and settle in (11:15 - 11:45)
  • Lightning round of introductions (11:45 - 11:50)
  • Introductory comments by WIS staff (11:50-11:55)
  • Welcome and introduction to roundtable by Tobias Eigen (11:55 - 12:00)
  • Featured speaker 1 - Barbara Rose, Aid for Africa (12:00 -12:20)
  • Featured speaker 2 - Barbara Lee Shaw, Maasai Girls Education Fund (12:20 - 12:40)
  • Featured speaker 3 - Jane Meyers, Lubuto (12:40 - 13:00)
  • Closing comments by Tobias Eigen (13:00 - 13:05)
  • Free networking and chatting (13:05 - 13:30)  

Participants List 

The final participants list will be published here after the event. In the meantime you can access it at www.kabissa.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=17

Maasai Girls Education Fund

Submitted by Patricia Bayley on 8 February, 2012 - 19:29
Maasai Girls Education Fund

Case studies profile Kabissa members that inspire our volunteers and the entire Kabissa community. They are meant to provide Kabissa’s members with key learnings and spark ideas and discussion.

In this case study, we tell the story of the Maasai Girls Education Fund, highlighting its impact on the girls of the Maasai community in Kenya who otherwise would not have had a chance to go to school and create bright futures for themselves. 

The Worth of Five Cows

Submitted by Ruya Norton on 12 October, 2011 - 19:57

It's Blog Action Day 2011 and we're all here for the main course, that is, the discourse on food. It may come as no surprise that nutrition, poverty, and international development are all intricately linked, and many poignant words will be written on this very topic today. You'll probably read about gender and food distribution: when sustenance is scarce, girls are the last to receive their share. What may shock you is that beyond the unfair rations women are alotted in countries like Nepal and Malawi, the life of a girl is a measured commodity.

Maasai Girls Education Fund December 2010 Update

Submitted by Barbara Lee Shaw on 20 December, 2010 - 17:13

MGEF is celebrating its tenth year, and we have much to celebrate. During this past decade we have watched many shy, soft-spoken girls become confident, poised young women who are now university students, or college and university graduates working, living independently, and helping their families live a better life.

Only Through Education: New Video from Maasai Girls Education Fund

Submitted by Barbara Lee Shaw on 13 February, 2010 - 11:09

The Maasai Girls Education Fund is working to empower Maasai women in Kenya through education, and we are succeeding. A new video--Only Through Education--captures why our work is important and how we are making a difference, not only to the women we educate, but to their families and communities as well.

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