Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008

Observations from the Founding Director

Never in its short history of democracy has South Africa been so in need of encouragement, inspiration and leadership as in these days of staggering news headlines and spiralling social and economic issues. Our national psyche is being bombarded with disheartening images at every turn, images and news bytes that seek to doggedly outshadow the nonetheless consistently present‘good news stories’ of our country.

A previous Educo Africa course graduate recently made contact via our website and wrote:

I was fortunate to have participated in one of your Youth at Risk outdoor experiences in the Grootwinterhoek Mountains. I am from Manenberg. I have since realised my dream of becoming an admitted attorney, and so it is. The work you do heals hearts, restores lives and gives hope.

Educo Africa’s 2006 Annual Report declared that the organization was standing on the brink of a new era, one that is smarter, crisper, more economically sound, but continuously imbued with the soul and humanity that is the hallmark of Educo. It also said that 2007 would be a year of streamlining, consolidating and strengthening the organization towards securing longer term sustainability.

This 2007 Annual Report will, I trust, convey some of our delight in a very tangible, robust and encouraging year’s harvest.

Report for the Year 2007-2008

Programmes

The systematic tackling of key strategic leverage elements towards longer term sustainability began in 2006 and continued as planned throughout 2007. It had been agreed by the Board and staff that Educo would not increase significantly in organizational size but would focus on increasing its impact and scale through developing key strategic partnerships and building capacity at a second tier level for targeted multiplier effect.

The three core Project areas had been streamlined as follows:

• Child & Youth Development Project
• Sisonke HIV/AIDS Eco Therapy Project
• Leadership Development Project with each delivering programmes that serve as
• Direct Service Interventions (in the interests of Healing and Empowerment) and
• Capacity Building and/or Skills Development Interventions (for Training & Development).

In the main, these programmes target the development of youth, and social or community services that cater to the needs of at risk young people.

The Child & Youth Development Project aims to build capacity in the child and youth development sector in order to increase the capability of the sector to offer developmental, experiential, outdoor-based learning programmes for at-risk children and youth. The Project teaches and demonstrates how to use experiential learning activities with young people in residential homes, places of safety, in the care of community-based organizations or in juvenile justice diversion programmes. In 2007 in addition to direct delivery to young people at risk, outdoor-oriented residential courses and single or multi-day skills training workshops were run for participants from client-agency (capacity building) partnerships in the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu/Natal. The immediate second-tier impact is estimated at 6000 beneficiaries.

The Sisonke HIV/AIDS Eco Therapy Project works with people, young or older, who are living with or directly affected by HIV in the poorer communities of South Africa, and individuals and organizations who provide care and support to people living with or dying from AIDS. It combines a unique eco-based, educational and therapeutic programme approach to tackle the massive psychological-social impacts of the pandemic. In an effort to broaden the reach and sustainable impact of the programmes, in 2007 the Sisonke Project explored different approaches to partnership and capacity building, in addition to providing eco-therapy interventions directly to participants. In 2007, wilderness-based residential courses and single or multi-day skills training workshops were delivered for participants from client-agency partnerships in the Western Cape, with immediate second-tier impact estimated at 7500 beneficiaries

The Leadership Development Project aims to develop people in their potential as transformational leaders, with special focus on youth and young adults, using outdoor- and wilderness-based experiential learning programmes that highlight integrity and resilience in both Intra-Personal and Inter-Personal leadership. As such in 2007 the Project delivered residential courses and single or multi-day skills training workshops to approximately 500 participants both national and international.

Strategic Implementation Towards Longer Term Sustainability

Organizational Restructuring

After a thorough process of strategizing and leadership succession planning, at the end of 2007 Educo Africa’s Board of Trustees appointed Trevor Johnston (previously Programme Director) as Chief Executive Officer, and Marian Goodman (Executive Director since 1996) as newly defined Founding Director and liaison to the Board. Trevor is very closely assisted in leading the organization by Wiebke Nedel (General Manager) and Mthunzi Funo (Programme Manager) who, along with Marian, has been present since the birth of Educo Africa in 1994. Various management and other functions are enthusiastically and capably held by an excellent mix of old-timers and newcomers.Both the Board and all the staff are confident that Educo’s leadership will continue to fulfil its mandate with great competence, ushering Educo Africa successfully into the future.

Resource Mobilization

In 2006 the Board and Management had agreed to devote more personnel capacity to development, resource mobilization and the generation of financial reserves. A 3-year Funding and Sustainability Strategy was devised and set in motion by the Development team in 2007, focusing on four key pillars:

1. Financial Sustainability
2. Branding of the Educo Africa product
3. Establishing critical capacity and skills inside the organization
4. Strategic interface between Development and Programmes

The success of the first year of implementation is evident in the increasingly stable base of Educo Africa’s budget as well as the number of longer term partnerships at both client and donor level, which includes, amongst others, various Provincial Government departments.

Educo Africa’s look has also changed, with a fresh new logo and updated website, and a clearer branded image as exemplified in its new marketing portfolio.

Organizational health, learning and operational efficacy

We have continued to give careful attention to preserving and vitalizing the spirit of the organization and the culture of learning that is the heart of its healthy function. Equal scrutiny has been directed towards work and operational efficacy to ensure cost efficiency and work flow at every level of operation.

An underlying impulse of this year has been a desire to further increase Educo Africa’s professionalism in all spheres, from its internal operation and standards to its external relationships and programme delivery. This aligns well with the desire that has fuelled the organization since its inception – the relentless aspiration to excellence and integrity, to embody quality, service, compassion, and a modelling of core values and ethical principles. Educo continues to challenge itself as much as it challenges its beneficiaries to ‘walk your talk’ and, in the words of Gandhi, ‘to be the change you wish to see in the world’.

In the face of the crises of our times, the Spirit of Educo burns strong and clear as ever! I am proud to be associated with this organization that so touches the lives of people all over the world and inspires them in turn carry the torch and light up the lives of those around them.

Marian Goodman
Founding Director