With the leadership deficit in Africa,Gift Siagumpa has refused to sit on the sidelines and complain. He started the Master-Mind Leadership Foundation to help raise the next generation of Zambian leaders. In this interview with Project Inspire Africa, Gift shares the joy and struggles in his journey.
Can we meet you?
My name is Gift Siagumpa, aged 34, Zambian and I enjoy writing, networking in the quest to learn more from others and providing solutions to societal problems.
Tell us briefly your childhood experience.
As a child , I was privileged to be provided with the basics of life including a good education from one of the best schools in my time. I was also privileged to have parents who were involved in my life. My father was very intentional about parenting. He used to schedule coaching sessions with me and lived out what he taught. He is my biggest inspiration.
What’s your educational background?
I began my education journey at Maamba Private School, that is, from Pre-school through grades 1 to grade 9 and proceeded to Kalomo Secondary School where I completed my senior secondary school education. I am proud to mention that I went to the same High School where the Current Republican President of my country Zambia, His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema attended to.
I was further admitted to Evelyn Hone University College Of Applied Arts and Commerce in 2010 where I pursued an Educational program; High School English Language and Literature and Library Information Science Management (LIS).
Currently I pursuing Legal Studies at The University Of Lusaka (UNILUS) and envisioning innovative projects that provide sustainable impact.
What are your contributions towards making your country a better place?
I am the Executive Director of Master-Mind Leadership Foundation (MMLF;NGO),a registered local and international organization which thrives on two major principles of action namely Leadership Education and Community Development Projects.
We are a Youth-led group of dedicated peers who share and support each other through the challenges of leadership. We provides mutually beneficial source of inspiration, information, and collaboration for all of our members and beneficiaries.
Through the two principles mentioned above, we complement government efforts by addressing problems that affect the following sectors: Education, Health, Climate Change, Youths and Arts , Agriculture and Social Vices. In addition, we train youths and students on workable leadership skills, career guidance and self development courses.
What steps did you take to bring your vision to fruition?
I began with extensive engagement with like minded youths and stakeholders from private and public institutions. It’s not been an easy road but all the same, I am grateful that I took a step. Together with my team,we invest a lot of time brainstorming on programs and more effective ways to implement them.
What have been your achievements?
We have been running a number of campaigns through print media especially the Zambia Daily Mail Newspaper where we reach over 15 million Zambians per year. Our major content revolves around creating awareness about social vices awareness ,leadership and personal development.
The Organization has received writing awards and other awards in line with COVID-19 campaigns and Leadership Workshops.
It was recently recognized as one of the impactful organizations by the World Literacy Foundation in Australia, Travel Fir Change Adventures (TFCA) in South Africa, United People Global in Bangladesh and New York ( Hurricane Island), Youth Opportunities Desk and many other institutions.
We have also reached over 10,000 youths directly.
What motivated you to do what you are doing?
Leadership has always been my theme of motivation since childhood. The very fact that nothing begins without Leadership, nothing changes without Leadership, nothing develops without Leadership, nothing happens without Leadership, nothing improves without Leadership, nothing is progressive without Leadership and alternately nothing succeeds without Leadership is what drives to make this contribution to national development.
What has been your major challenge since you began your nonprofit?
Our basic challenges include; getting a genuine team and financial aid. A genuine team is hard to come by because in most cases, people especially some youths would like to join the wagon when there is money involved and so it took some time for the executive team and I to formulate what we have created so far.
With regard to Financial Aid, it’s something we have been looking forward to receiving since the inception of the organization. We have carried out most of our out-reach programs entirely onour personal budget ( membership contributions) and it’s been a rough journey yet very rewarding.
How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas?
We raise funds from among ourselves.
Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of your campaign that has impacted on you?
Any time we step out to giving a helping hand to others,I am thrilled that our little acts of kindness is lighting up the faces of others. Seeing people get encouraged to pursue their dreams after coming in contact with our programs keeps me wanting to do more.
What are your prospects in the next 5 or 10 years?
We have a clear plan of what our organization should look like in the years to come. We are working towards building orphanages in vulnerable communities and to expand our reach so that more young people can benefit from the solutions we create. We also seek to develop effective partnerships with not only governments but also local and international organizations whose project drive an agenda like ours.
If you had an opportunity to speak to presidents in Africa, what would be your message.
With the demonstration effect from ECOWAS/WAEMU, the international community could shift to a “contract with African neighborhoods” involving leading and lagging countries as well as tdonors to provide the right incentives to ensure developmental regional cooperation initiatives. For instance, the governments of East, Central, South, and West African neighborhoods could commit to:
1. Establishing “African Economic Areas” that would tie the economic interests of leading and lagging countries in each regional neighborhood tightly together.
2. Allowing and maintaining the free movement of labor, capital, goods, and services within these areas.
3. Maintaining and protecting access routes between land-locked countries and outlets for trade, and providing the political space to support investment in regional infrastructure.
In exchange for these actions, bilateral and multilateral development partners could commit to:
1. A big increase in aid for improved social services and other life-sustaining infrastructure aimed at raising living standards and creation of portable human capital in lagging countries.
2. Increased financial support for growth-sustaining infrastructure—ports, transport links, information and communication technology—in the leading countries where economic takeoff is most likely, as well as infrastructure to link the markets of large leading countries with labor, capital, goods, and ideas in smaller neighbors.
3. Preferential access to the markets of high-income countries for sub-Saharan Africa’s exports, without strict rules of origin or eligibility criteria that impede rapid growth of trade in intermediate inputs with other developing economies.
Thank you for sharing your story with us.
It is my pleasure!
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We appreciate your time Project Inspire Africa...we look forward to more engagement with your team!!!
ReplyDeleteWe can, We will and We must
ReplyDeleteAfrica we move by changing youth mind to be the productive ones to the society
This is wonderful
ReplyDeleteWonderful story and a motivation to we young people
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