Wisdom Lab Update — Jan 2023

Prior to starting activities in a given community, Global Grassroots staff collaborate with venture teams to identify 40-45 households to participate in a two-part Community Impact Survey (CIS). The survey contains standard questions designed by Global Grassroots as well as a set of “venture specific” questions designed by teams themselves, based on their unique context and mission.

Today is the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. It marks the beginning of this horrific 100-day period from April to July of 1994 during which nearly 1 million Rwandans, mostly Tutsi, were killed. This is also the beginning of Rwanda’s national mourning period that will last until July 4th. READ MORE HERE

Annie Protzmann started her 2,190 mile journey on the Appalachian Trail nearly a month ago, devoting this trek towards raising awareness and funds for the girls and women we work with in East Africa. She has already walked an incredible 275 MILES and counting! We’re cheering her on along the way and sharing our gratitude for her passion for water access, women’s rights and gender equity. READ MORE

The communities we work alongside in Rwanda often have to walk hours each day to access small amounts of typically contaminated water. This leads to less time for income generation, children losing the opportunity to attend school, an increase in incidence of sexual assault, and exploitation of vulnerable populations who can’t make these daily hikes.

Global Grassroots works with these incredible local women change agents to address this issue, integrating our theory of Conscious Social Change with life-changing, sustainable access to clean water sources. It’s exactly this impactful, community-led approach that has brought Annie Protzmann into the Global Grassroots community.

We’ve been on a mission over the last two years to ensure that we are living our values of being a truly African-led organization. The final step of this goal was to ensure that our Board of Directors is led by women leaders from across the African continent.

This year marks Global Grassroots’ 15th Anniversary of working with inspirational change agents throughout East Africa. We celebrate the deep impact that our Conscious Social Change model has had over these many years while also sharing our gratitude for the journey we have taken together with amazing staff, partners, supporters, friends and allies.

We are excited to announce that our team is evolving as we continue to grow deeper roots, living our values of becoming an Africa-led and community-driven organization.

We’re excited to share our Mid-Year Update with you all! Please click here to read about our impactful year so far. We have met 2021 with mindfulness and resolve, recognizing the power of growth and connection in transformation as we shift to an Africa-led Global Grassroots.

As we ease into a new season and continue our transition towards becoming Africa-led, we’re excited to share some changes taking place at Global Grassroots. First, we’d like to say a warm goodbye to two outgoing US-based team members.