Good leaders don’t just happen, they come with proper training and mentorship. Shafi Saidi 48 from Kandulu Village, Traditional Authority Jalasi in Mangochi district is a testament of our capacity building sessions in leadership.
Good leaders don’t just happen, they come with proper training and mentorship. Shafi Saidi 48 from Kandulu Village, Traditional Authority Jalasi in Mangochi district is a testament of our capacity building sessions in leadership.
He finished his primary education but did not have a chance to get selected to secondary school. He heads a family of 6 (2 boys and 4 girls) 4 of whom (2 boys and 2 girls) are still in school.
Saidi survives as a subsistence farmer and holds several responsibilities on voluntary basis in his home village. First, he is a Vice Village Development Committee Chairperson and also a committee member at Mchengawede Community Based Child Care Centre (CBCC) and has been holding these positions for about 8 years.
Asked what motivates him to work for this long as a volunteer, Saidi explained;
‘……. I like working for my people because I like making things right for other people and this is the way I was brought up and I don’t feel anything stopping me from doing this. I have a family that I manage, I also work to earn a living and I also help others as a volunteer in this village. I just manage my time to do all the necessary activities every day….
Saidi is one of the best volunteers NACC has had. He kills it’s in all his positions. He believes that development is the changing of one’s wellbeing and he translates this belief into actions through mobilizing his community to take part in public life that include carrying out development activities in the area.
He also acknowledges support he gets from NACC such as capacity building trainings in leadership, resource mobilization and governance which help him to get skills which he uses his daily undertakings.
“NACC has been very instrumental in my capacities as Vice VDC Chair and CBCC committee member. NACC has been building my capacity and I have always been utilizing skills got from the trainings and mentorship and coaching sessions they have been providing,” He said.
Throughout his community leadership in various development activities, Saidi is quick to mention what sets NACC apart.
. NACC has been so unique in a number of aspects in terms of the way they work with us. For example; NACC does not start a project before involving communities. This means that communities get involved from the initial stage of the project through implementation and evaluation while other organizations do not do that.
Saidi emphasised the importance of capacity building and advised NACC and likeminded organisations to continue providing capacity building sessions to the communities it works with to close various capacity gaps.