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Kenya Community Development Foundation – www.kcdf.or.ke

Global Give Back Circle – www.globalgivebackcircle.org

October 2011

Nairobi-Kenya

The National Council for Law Reporting (NCLR) has partnered with the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF), a community development organization that supports communities to attain sustained development, to provide financial and mentorship support to socio-economically disadvantaged young persons of school-going age.

The partnership involves voluntary monthly payroll-deducted donations from the salaries and emoluments of participating Board Members and Staff of the NCLR and one-to-one mentorship support to beneficiaries, through the facilitation of the KCDF.

The partnership is part of the Global Give Back Circle, a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment designed to transition disadvantaged girls from poverty to prosperity.  The global program, founded by Linda Lockhart and for which KCDF is the local implementing agency, seeks to ‘harness the talents of women globally to transition disadvantaged girls out of the circle of poverty and into a circle of social participation, contribution, fulfillment and independence’. The movement does this through “the institutionalization of a sustainable Give Back Ethos that links the giving of ‘one-to-one mentorship’ and ‘financial help’ from one generation to the next, through each receiver’s personal commitment to Giving Back”.

While receiving the first monthly installment paid from the payroll-deducted contributions of Dr. W.M. Mutunga who is the Chief Justice of Kenya and the Chairman of the NCLR’s Board and Mr. Michael M. Murungi, the Editor/CEO of the NCLR, Ms. Janet Mawiyoo, KCDF’s Chief Executive Officer thanked the NCLR for facilitating the support of its Board, Management and Staff towards the Global Give Back Circle.

More About the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF)

Founded in 1997 and registered in Kenya as a public foundation, Kenya Community Development Foundation is a Kenyan development organisation that supports communities to drive their own development priorities, by linking them to resources and information.

The foundation promotes sustainable development approaches by among other things, encouraging local resource mobilization, and helping communities to utilize resources that they have, rather than sore.

KCDF’s theory of change is anchored on the premise that rapid and enduring change is possible when communities are able to initiate their own solutions to development challenges affecting them and harness and grow resources.

KCDF encourages local ownership and leadership of development initiatives while partnering with organized community groups to strengthen their capacity and ensure they have appropriate governance structures that are accountable to beneficiaries and its stakeholders.

KCDF works to encourage the growth and promotion of organized giving in Kenya. The goal is to move communities and the wider Kenyan public from the mindset of depending on external resources and to begin to fund their own development. Creating structures which facilitate such giving is essential for continuity and consistency. Concurrent to promoting local philanthropy, KCDF is also working with government and like-minded organisations in the area of philanthropy to establish an appropriate policy and legal framework for local philanthropy.

About the Global Give Back Circle

The Global Give Back Circle, a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment, is the integration of Mentoring, Private Sector Investment and Local Community Support in a circle of empowerment that guides a girl from a disadvantaged background to complete her educational journey, gain employable skills and become an agent of change herself. It is a holistic approach to global citizenship which is designed around a five-phase transformation process; 1) High School, 2) Gap Period, 3) College/University, 4) Societal Launching & 5) Giving Back.

The key elements of the program drive long-term sustainability as they embed a give back ethos among the beneficiaries, whereby transitioning from beneficiary to benefactor and learning how to give back as one has been given to, is the overreaching principal of the program. The structure and implementation methodology of the Global Give Back Circle lends itself to private sector inclusion in that it answers a real commercial need…the need for empowered and benevolent employees and leaders. The program provides girls from disadvantaged backgrounds the skills, savvy, and support to escape the cycle of poverty and empower the next generation as well.

In return, the girls:

1)   Implement ‘Give Back Commitments’ in their local communities

2)   Agree to mentor the next generation of girls, and

3) Commit to ‘give back’ treasure too – once they realize financial independence.

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