I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good. Maya Angelou Oscar’s family agreed to send $25,000 to the youth club building […]
Author Archives: Project GROW
People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than by those found by others. Blaise Pascal Your youth club donors, funders and supporters are already convinced about why you are doing something. They have chosen your youth club as a solution to a problem they have recognised to exist: young women having few […]
When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are. Oprah Winfrey When donors give, there is always an expectation that your youth club leaders will demonstrate impact, and that you have spent their money well. Donors and funders are stakeholders we need to manage closely. In Toolkit One we followed Chidi’s […]
People in poverty typically feel deeply ashamed at being unable to fulfil their personal aspirations or to live up to societal expectations due to their lack of resources. Such shame not only hurts, adding to the negative experience of poverty, but undermines confidence and individual agency, can lead to depression and even suicide, and may […]
It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default. J. K. Rowling Chidi’s right-hand woman, her friend Margaret, approached her after the girls club had finished when the girls had left, and […]
In Toolkit 1 we looked at Stakeholders. These are the people who have an interest in what our youth clubs do. It’s important that we know, for ourselves, what the purpose of our youth project is, and how our activities are designed to create long and short-term benefits for young women and girls. But we […]
Chidi was a little lost. She knew she needed to measure things to prove the cookery club’s impact. But what could she measure? She had read a lot about data. It seemed to be a big fashion. But what statistics could she collect? And what would she need them for? She went to sleep worried. […]
You can’t improve what you can’t measure. Anon This guidance on measuring impact and developing monitoring and evaluation for African youth clubs has been written by African women leading youth projects in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. We want it to be a resource for other youth workers in Africa so that together we inspire […]
We run a study club for university students. Like so many African students, they live in horrible conditions for 4 years, scrabbling for access to books and seats in lecture theatres so that they can have a shot at a good job. So many have none of the connections they would need to actually get […]
Coaching is an opportunity for the youth workers – those volunteering or working in our youth projects and girls’ clubs – to be heard and supported. Coaching is a partnership Coaching should be thought-provoking and creative, inspiring youth workers to maximise their personal and professional potential. This should be led by the youth worker. This […]