Here, Helen tells her story so far in her own words:
“I was born in Kenya and describe it as, ‘the place where my feet want to walk’. A couple of years ago, on our regular family holiday in Kenya, I was reflecting on my work for MISPA, as part of a team delivering the Inspiring Leaders Seminar Programme in the North West of England. It has been, and continues to be, very successful, with participants experience positive change within themselves and the organisations which they represent. I wondered whether or not there was a need for such a capacity building programme, focusing on leadership and management in Kenya. The more I thought about it, the more I believed that there was a need and that there could be a fantastic opportunity to share and exchange knowledge between two different countries, learning from one another, making a positive difference to the world that we live in.
On my return from Kenya I began to focus on the idea of developing Inspiring Leaders in Kenya. I knew that I would have to be able to demonstrate a need for such a programme and this is what I worked on initially. I devised a questionnaire/needs analysis which I sent to people I knew in Kenya. They forwarded it to friends and colleagues. The response was excellent and demonstrated a need for Inspiring Leaders. I was off! Driven by my passion for the project I began to make contact with local, grass roots organisations – I wanted it to be developed with groups working “on the ground” rather than larger organisations. I truly believe that this is crucial to successful partnership working. I networked from a distance, and when I was 40, I decided not to have a party but to celebrate by a trip to Kenya to further the project. This went well and interested people met together developing a set of values to which we intended to work. This has proved really useful.
The intention behind Inspiring Leaders Kenya is to devise something in partnership with organisations which is relevant and useful to NGO’s, associations and community groups in Kenya. This summer I was back in Kenya working closely with a university and an NGO to fine tune the detail of Inspiring Leaders in Kenya. It was also an opportunity to network and to identify other partners who wished to work alongside the team.
The trip proved fruitful – the partners, all working voluntarily gave their time, skills and knowledge. We decided upon the delivery style and content of the seminar programme and also identified a venue. We meet again this Christmas to finalise details. The first Inspiring Leaders in Kenya will be delivered in June 2010 and we are passionate about making it a success. Our next task is to obtain funding which will sustain its development. It is a wonderful project and I know that someone will recognise this and fund it.
The team has produced further, more detailed information (a leaflet, business plan, costings and a photo diary of our trip this summer). I hope you enjoy reading about it – it has been a wonderful and inspiring journey which has so much more to offer …..”
Helen Connor, Dec. 2009