By Meghann Gunderman, TFFT’s Founder and Executive Director
Hello! It feels good to be back in the United States after a whirlwind six weeks working with our team in Tanzania. My time on the ground both recharges and drains me. It recharges me because within seconds of being with the kids I am reminded why we do what we do. Nonprofit work is no walk in the park. There are many bumps in the road. But, man, being with the kids reminds me what it’s all about.
With Bryson at Matonyok Parents Trust, a TFFT partner orphanage
Me and the girls..and yes Amineli
Happy and Rachel in the library during free reading time
Nkoaranga Orphanage
It’s draining, too, though because my time is limited, my to-do list is extensive, and life moves at a different pace in Tanzania. After six weeks, the go-go-go schedule and the time I get to spend with the kids leave me feeling accomplished, inspired…and quite exhausted.
As you know, one of the focuses of this trip was to meet with a team of strategic planning consultants. Strategic planning is really a fancy name for buckling down and closely analyzing where we are, where we want to be, and what steps are necessary to get us there.
The process was comprehensive, eye-opening, and very worthwhile. It started with compiling data months before I even arrived in Tanzania, then we had two weeks of intensive sessions with the consultants and all of our stakeholders (everyone involved with TFFT… our team, scholarship students, teachers, administrators, partners, leaders of local NGOs, etc), virtual meetings the TFFT’s Board of Directors, and follow-up meetings with the team. Even now we are still working on devising our strategy for implementation.
The following pictures give a little glimpse into what this looked like:
Fratern addresses the group
Workshop with the stakeholders
Group activity
Over the next few days I will post about specific parts from the process that I found particularly interesting. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts and opinions in the comments!