We run a successful secondment programme through our charity partner Skillshare International, and since 2006 seven members of staff have been on short-term placements in Africa and Asia. Here's what some of our staff said about their experiences:
Jennifer’s story
Jennifer Lipp, who went to Kenya to provide marketing advice and training to a youth group in Nairobi, said of her experience:
“Ngei 1 DYG is a community-based organisation in Huruma, one of Nairobi's poorest slum areas. It was established in 1997 by a group of young people, in response to high rates of poverty and unemployment, and the resulting crime, drug abuse and teenage pregnancies.
"The purpose of my visit was to increase the group’s income by setting up marketing plans for their different initiatives and mentoring staff so that they could implement these plans and produce their own in the future.
”I could not have hoped to work with nicer people. Kenyans have a happy-go-lucky attitude and are very quick to laugh. I've never felt funnier.
“I have seen for myself where the money from the Foundation goes and it was heartening to see it reaching people who need it and use it so wisely.
“I slept with a smile on my face for weeks after returning from Kenya. It feels good to know that we have made a big difference.”
Mark’s story
Tribal associate Mark Renwick completed a short-term secondment in Botswana on behalf of the Tribal Foundation. He successfully developed a website for the Kagisano Woman's Shelter, a Skillshare International project based in the capital city of Gaborone. He said:
“It was a great trip. One which is gone in a flash but lasts a life time. The people I met in Botswana were great and I was well looked after.
“So a huge thank-you to the Tribal Foundation and Skillshare International for getting me there and taking care of me. I must also say that I heard a lot of positive things about the impact the Tribal Foundation's matched funding makes on other projects."