Feature photo: Nuru Ethiopia Education Staff and Link Community Development Staff together with officials from Kindo Koisha Woreda Education offices in Wolaiyta Zone. As the Education Program Manager for Nuru International, I had the privilege to help design and build the Nuru Ethiopia Education Program. During the time we were building out our local staff …
As we, the local staff of Nuru Kenya, prepared for the departure of our expatriate team earlier this month, we worked hard to answer the many questions that go along with the uncertainty of exit. Over the last year, we have been working to develop elaborate strategic plans and roadmaps that will bring our vision …
Nuru Ethiopia’s Cooperative and Agriculture Programs joined forces to host the first ever Cooperative Leader Summit in Arba Minch. Forty-five cooperative leaders from nine cooperatives gathered for the three-day summit. Topics for the summit included cooperative management, processes, market linkages, bookkeeping and financial record keeping. The summit concluded with an experience-sharing visit to the Ocholo …
Feature photo: The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, where Presidential Leadership Scholars Program Session 5 was held. [Source: Texas A&M University] The focus of Session 5 for the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) Program was coalition building. To take a closer look at how to build lasting alliances across diverse stakeholder groups, we studied the …
The sun was setting as I stood by the grave marker of the final resting place of my friend, brother, and Nuru Kenya co-founder, Philip Mohochi. When I was here a year ago at his passing, I had been overwhelmed – even numbed by the throngs of people coming to pay their respects – all …
Mashirika, the Kiswahili word for NGOs, isn’t new to the young or old in many African countries. When I look back on the history of NGOs here in my hometown of Migori County, Kenya, many organizations came and left. Specifically between 1991-1994, I remember seeing 4×4’s cruising around as a lot of healthcare and education …
The Leadership Program team is currently helping to facilitate the Program Planning Process (PPP) for both the Healthcare and Education teams to design their programs. This is the first time that Nuru has lead an integrated PPP for two programs at the same time and we are learning some valuable lessons for our holistic and …
Feature photo (left to right): Team Leader Alex Martin, Nuru Kenya Country Director Pauline Wambeti and Nuru International CEO Jake Harriman at Nuru Day on June 5, 2015, celebrating the milestone of expat exit. “I’d rather drink a warm beer while being self-deprecating than a cold beer while being self-serious.” – Alexander Martin Last night, I …
Akilah.net, the career advice website for the Akilah Institute for Women in East Africa, named Nuru International in 2015 list of The 6 Most Inspiring Companies to Work For in East Africa. Bennadette Mugita—who oversees the Agriculture, Financial Inclusion, Healthcare and Education Programs as Nuru Kenya’s Impact Program Manager—shares about her experience: Q: What do you find …
Feature photo: Members of the Nuru Kenya Monitoring and Evaluation team review early results from an Agriculture Program survey. In my two years as Team Leader at Nuru Kenya, the most critical lesson I’ve learned is the importance of making data-driven decisions. Nuru International Agriculture Program Strategic Advisor Matt Lineal puts it best: “Data first, judgment …
The 2015 planting season activities are in full swing for both Nuru Ethiopia and Nuru Kenya!
Featured above: 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholars at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. Photo credit: Grant Miller We finished up yet another session of the 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholars Program. I have to say that these sessions are getting richer and richer the better I get to know the faculty and other scholars. As …
In 2013, Alice Eminza Mubusi was facing financial ruin. Barely making more than her average daily financial requirements and having lost her son to an unexpected family crisis, Alice and her family were forced to live hand-to-mouth with her meager farming income. However, armed with a burning desire to make life better for her family, …
Feature photo: After receiving training from Brian (right), Nyangi (left) trains Andrew (center) on how to plot out the boundaries of a Nuru Kenya farmer’s land on Google Maps using a wrist-mounted GPS navigator. Maps record the current world. They depict what is known, capturing a freeze frame of life in mid-beat. The course of …
These days, I enjoy working side-by-side with Nuru Kenya Country Director Pauline Wambeti, leading a staff team 250 strong. Since 2008, we’ve enabled over 78,000 people in Kuria West (Migori County) to take their very first steps on the road out of extreme poverty; and what a difference our work has made. However, I remember the …