(Taken from Nikki's Notes in the December's Dadamac Digest)
Although I haven’t personally visited Fantsuam Foundation or met John Dada face to face, I have - through our weekly online contact and emails - been in a unique and privileged position to see both the man and the organisation at work for the past two and a half years.
One of my biggest frustrations has been watching John spend his precious time chasing grants and funding applications when his energy could in my view be far better spent.
Invariably, even once he has succeeded in securing funds, he is forced to begin the process again after a relatively short period when the cash runs out. Furthermore, he and his team are usually in a worse situation at this point because their delivery of a successful programme to the local community has raised expectations - and the numbers seeking help have grown. In Britain, we call that being a victim of your own success!
Through the determination and efforts of one man and the outstanding team he has built around him, Fantsuam Foundation has in its relatively short lifetime achieved a proven track record of delivering integrated innovative programmes in a impoverished rural community in Nigeria. The latest update regarding these programmes can be read here.
John has taken huge strides doing his bit towards achieving the Millennium goals, but I cannot stress highly enough exactly how limited his resources are.
Glancing at the impressive list of successful programmes he is achieving at grass-roots level, you could be forgiven thinking that he had had immense and continuous financial support. Although it is true that national and International organisations have and are offering some support this tends not to be sufficient or sustainable. It is therefore a measure of the man that he has refused to give up and continues his work without the financial support and recognition from the international community which many would argue he deserves.
Had John waited for the funds to be in place before he helped his community I suspect that only a fraction of the current FF programmes would be up and running. For when John is faced with the desperate need of his community it is fair to say that he helps first and worries about sustainable funding later.
The Kakas programme supporting local grandmothers is a typical example of this, as is the feeding of Muslim street children, both largely funded from John’s own pocket.
I think that there is now a real case for the organisations and individuals who possess the funds and the intention of funding grass-roots projects to consider relaxing the ‘red tape’ that they impose on individuals such as John.
He should clearly not be in a position where he has to continually prove to the international community that FF is a good place to support financially. Its record of achievements (which grows on a monthly basis) provides clear evidence that the modest funds with which he is entrusted yield tremendous results. Obviously proper accounting records should continue to be provided, but I think there is a strong argument for individuals/organisations to support these trusted Individuals who have a proven track record with the necessary funds to expand and sustain their work. I for one would be happy to make a monthly donation (in my case I could only afford a modest one) safe in the knowledge that my money would be used wisely to benefit the local community and that, if I chose, I could specify that it be directed to a specific programme.
If people are serious about meeting the Millennium goals, one way of doing this would be to make it easier for grass-root activists who have proved their capabilities to get the funds they need to continue and expand their work. Perhaps it is time to explore new ways of funding the integrated programmes at FF. Buzzbnk and Kickstarter have been suggested as possible alternatives and this Thursday I attended the Buzzbnk launch. We hope to explore these. Any other suggestions welcomed!
Photo by Marcus Simmons and shows some of the children ( from the orphans and vulnerable children programme) enjoying the youghurt drink that John supplied for them.