Africa Bridge

What is Future Search?

Africa Bridge commits to five-year partnerships with local communities. The process begins with community engagement, during which village leaders and influential local government officials pledge to work in partnership with Africa Bridge. Engagement continues with in-depth meetings with villagers.

First Africa Bridge meets with the children only, during a three-day, in-depth guided session called Future Search. In this safe, supportive environment, children have the opportunity to share their experiences, hopes and dreams. They speak from the heart, and have intuitive understanding of their own and their families’ needs and aspirations.

It’s through children that Africa Bridge is able to glean authentic needs. Interviews and needs assessments are conducted and the youth testimonies are recorded:

“I would like to talk about education and employment for youths in our ward. We would like to get some support in terms of school fees, uniforms, books and other supplies. We need some transport assistance for those who get selected to join secondary school in far places because they cannot afford to pay the fare. We also need to have high school in our ward. We need more classrooms and teachers.”

Future Search participant, Masoko Ward

What is a Village Master Plan?

Following Future Search, adult stakeholders come together in another three-day meeting to make village development plans, driven by the children’s ideas and agendas. Core components generally include an intensive two- to three-year period of assisting villages in caring for children, investing seed-capital for agricultural enterprise, and providing intensive training in a range of capacity-building skills.

In the last stage of Africa Bridge’s support cycle, lasting about two years, Africa Bridge reinforces the villages in their growing strength and independence. After five years, we exit in order to bring resources to other needy communities nearby. At that point, the institutions created and programs implemented are strong enough to be sustainable.

What’s unique about Africa Bridge’s approach?

• We engage with the community early, to ensure that community needs drive action and to ensure community ownership of and participation in the project. This grounds solutions in the context of the community.
• We concentrate on villages. Our method takes coordinated, integrated action throughout a village during an intensive project period. Learning happens quickly and synergy is harnessed, so that the sum of the total is greater than the parts.
• Typically, women have little or no input into village decision-making. We create conditions for women to take leadership roles. Twice the human talent and energy is now put to work for village development.
• We make heavy investments in critical knowledge – we teach planning and problem-solving skills, business and banking skills, agricultural know-how, and health and nutrition knowledge. Most importantly, getting all children to attend primary school is a long-term investment in the knowledge needed for critical economic growth.
• Our close, productive partnerships with local governments leverage invaluable expertise and understanding of local conditions. This sets the stage for permanent local management of new civic institutions and activities.
• Our limited timeframe ensures that Africa Bridge acts as catalyst for change, not a permanent conduit for money. Our focus is sustainable development, not aid that breeds dependency.
• We seek to make families self-sufficient. They want a hand up, not a hand-out. Self-sufficient families become the foundation for healthy, self-sufficient local economies.

CORE PROGRAM #2

What is a small business cooperative (co-op)?

In addition to establishing Most Vulnerable Children Committees, Africa Bridge provides a pathway to economic independence for caretakers of vulnerable children. This is done by establishing crop and livestock co-ops, providing start-up loans to co-op members, and offering intensive training.

Repayments of co-op loans from villagers go back into the co-ops, so they can expand their memberships to other impoverished families caring for vulnerable children. In addition to becoming the key to economic security for families, these co-ops are expected to divert some of their profits to provide a long-term source of support for the MVC Committees. In these ways, the MVC Committees and co-ops are interdependent and reinforcing.

How does Africa Bridge inspire entrepreneurs and investors?

In addition to the core MVC Committees and cooperative businesses, Africa Bridge facilitates the creation of small village micro-lending groups. These associations provide a needed source for short-term credit in villages that have no banks, with terms set by the association. Villagers use these new opportunities to borrow for emergencies, to help pay for children’s schooling, and to start new small businesses. These borrowing opportunities also help build banking and business know-how.

Establishing standards for equal membership of women on committees and in co-ops is a priority for Africa Bridge. Through participation in these institutions, many women have gone from no voice in village affairs to becoming leaders in their community.

Who is Granny Witness?
Granny Witness and her grown daughter care for nine most vulnerable children in the village of Idweli, the first community in southwest Tanzania to receive support from Africa Bridge.

In 2005, Granny Witness joined a pig co-op.

By 2010, Granny Witness built a new concrete house with a tin roof, built a small pub and two retail shops, and helped get all of her kids into public or private school

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