podcast

Generosity spreads like wildfire. What comes naturally to us is partnering with one another, working together, and displaying a great deal of compassion and generosity. Our genetic forefathers lived for hundreds of thousands of years because they learnt to collaborate and help one another. They prospered because they cared when someone was hurt and supported one another. We are here today because they discovered that being generous was the greatest way for a species to flourish.

In this episode, Edwin Nuwagaba Babimpa reminds us that a giving heart is one that is deeply rooted in community and faith. He highlights how Kabale rotary club members consistently bring to the table their distinct particular qualifications bestowed by God to serve the community, multiplying generosity.

Being present is a powerful expression of support for generosity and gratitude. In this episode, Winfred reminds us that being fully present becomes a gift to ourselves and others we touch in our life. According to an old Chinese wisdom saying, when we are genuinely present, we 'give life to life' when we give. We may be touched when we give of ourselves, time, and treasure to others, and in touching and being touched, we progress towards less reactive, more responsive, fresh, and intimate forms of being and generosity.

In this episode, Prossy Arima takes us on yet another journey of giving reaching the right people, making the impossible possible, and how Rotary Club Arua is changing lives via education, economic empowerment, and nutrition projects through local initiatives. Arima continues by emphasizing the need of trust in the success of collective generosity. It leads to increased trust in trusted persons or organizations, as well as a readiness to act on such trust. The ultimate goal of philanthropy is to catalyze action, trust is an important pre-condition.

As we begin Season 8 of our Comm-UNITY! podcast series, we'll be looking at yet another exceptional group of individuals; ‘Rotary People of Action’. They will help us in better understanding Rotary's generous giving culture and their varied community efforts. In Episode 1, we were honored to have Mr. Charles Odaga, The President of Rotary Club Kampala South, share with us how, every day, members of Rotary Club Kampala South are pouring their passion, integrity, and intelligence into completing projects that have a lasting impact, how they persevere, take action, and deliver real lasting solutions and change amongst those they serve. When Rotarians give its the collective that makes the difference!

Welcome to Season 8 of the CivSource Africa Comm-UNITY! podcast series. The past couple of years have seen us experience shared crises most notably through the COVID-19 pandemic reinforcing our awareness that we are all connected and that our actions have a profound impact on our neighbors, our community, our nation and our world.

In 2021 Open Spaces (a youth development organisation in Uganda), led by founder Wakuba Bunya, hosted a philanthropy symposium with the aim of amplifying stories of young people giving with the hopes of inspiring other young people.

Wakuba Bunya joins us in this episode and shares with us from experience that the idea that young people don't/can't give is a stereotype we need to break. In a country where the youth make up the majority of the population they need to be empowered and motivated to give, and this is part of the work that Open Spaces is doing.

In the same way that there are many ways to show generosity, we see through the eyes of our guest in this episode that there are also many different areas of our community that can benefit from philanthropy in different ways. Caroline Owashaba is the team leader and co-founder at Action for Youth Involvement Uganda and she shares with us various initiatives that she has mobilized and led teams in, relating to health, education, climate change, and women’s health.

Sophie Carol Wayne, an unapologetic queer feminist and human rights defender is our guest on this episode. As founder of Queer Women Leaders Uganda she shares with us some of the work she is doing within her community and the values she seeks to uphold as a leader advocating for generosity and unity across leadership structures.

Leadership is not just about the initiatives you start, but the grace that you extend to the teams that you lead and the communities you serve. It involves qualities of humility, empathy and kindness, especially when it comes to the sensitive work of giving back. Joanah Atukunda, Founder of Uplift Slum Africa And CEO at The League of Young Professionals Uganda reminds us of this as we discuss some of the initiatives that both organisations are engaged in.

Mutoni Winnie Jessica's (Team Leader - Archiving: Motor Vehicle Registration) are dipped in humour and wisdom. In this episode we are drawn to the importance of building community with the people we lead and do life with, as a means to encouraging and cultivating a culture of generosity. Communion with one another helps us understand each other's needs and perspectives, allowing us to care for and give to each other in intentional ways.

Olivia Mugabe, Founder and CEO of The Sisterhood, started the initiative with a group of friends with the aim to be more intentional about giving amongst themselves and to their various communities. We see through our conversation how mobilising giving doesn't have to be on a huge corporate scale, there is power in the commitment and dedication of even small groups of givers. And building trust with your community of givers goes a long way.

Energetic and passionate about her role as a leader, Amongin Prisca Nangiro joins us in this episode as we delve into two of the communities she leads (the National Youth Council and the Youth Ministry at Miracle Center). Prisca moves in the awareness that she is blessed to be a blessing and it is insightful to hear the ways that she lobbies those around her to practice generosity amongst themselves and outside of their networks.

Bridget Kyalimpa, a social activist, philanthropist, and co-founder of the African Feminist Research Initiative for advocacy and development, takes us on a journey of discovery, learning about the art of giving and the benefits that come with it, as well as how leaders can lead with love and empathy while pursuing their goal of giving.

Countless people aspire to be something they can't because of their circumstances. Leaders must work with those who are in need to eliminate any obstacles to their goals. Leaders act as steppingstones to the future ,and as beacons of hope for those who want to achieve their goals. If we all work together, we can achieve a brighter future. Giving benefits not only one person or a group, but it also creates links of solidarity, bringing us closer to achieving our collective destiny in a world that is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Giving to help someone in need does not have to be done on a certain day or week! All we require is 'HEART.' In today's fast-paced environment, when many of us are forced to live rushed, mechanical, and demanding lives, our empathy for others appears to be fading. Our increasingly self-centred lifestyles prevent us from recognizing people who require our assistance outside of our own, confining shells.

Welcome to season 7 (Seven) of the CivSource Africa comm-UNITY! Podcast. In this season, we will host conversations with different Leaders who have been part of the Mopane Leaders’ Experience Retreats, a program under the management of CivSource Africa. Mopane program is a leadership curriculum focused on wellness and wellbeing of leaders and their organizations.

We come to the close of Season 6 with an extraordinary young giver, Paul Onyayowun, Leader at Christian Youth Missionary Group. You'd think that after a full season we'd be used to the stories that we hear but Paul continues to surprise and inspire us as he tells us about the urban farming, photography, and videography programs that him and his team run for women and youth in Kinawataka.

You can hear in the tone of her voice as she describes why and where she gives, that to Lucia Nalugo Gloria, giving has never been a complicated thing that she overthinks. It only took one more person in her life to propel her more seriously into this calling. And now, our guest this episode, is the founder of the charity organisation Hope in Motion.

As CivSource Africa we are passionate about and preach the importance of community on a regular basis (It's the name of our podcast!). But what happens to those who are excluded from our communities because we gate-keep them?

We sit down with Solomon Rukundo, lawyer and philanthropist, who has been giving to prisoners through the Prison Fellowship Uganda since 2006. We talk about the journey, the wins, the challenges, the lessons and everything in-between.

When asked what partners WAY (We Are Youth) organisation has, Frank Ssejjengo, team leader of the organisation, begins to describe the very people and youth in the communities where they are working to make a difference. This is African Philanthropy.

And in this episode we delve into the ways Frank is bridging gaps including mentorship, rehabilitation, health and education for various communities of youth across Uganda. The work that WAY is doing is powerful and essential.