In November, the Julian Grace Foundation Board of Directors went to Honduras for a week to visit the projects we support. From a farming social enterprise to a school for household workers, we saw countless examples of people working together to improve their community and empower others to create change. In addition to meeting the leaders of these projects, we engaged in social service by helping paint and assemble furniture for a home in Nuevo Paraiso, an orphanage of Sociedad Amigos de los Niños located in a rural area of Honduras. We also played games and did arts and crafts with the children living there.
We also had the opportunity to welcome visitors from the Akko Center for Arts and Technology (ACAT) in Israel and Association of Peasants of Fondwa in Haiti. Having the chance to connect with leaders from all around the world this past month has reminded me of just how interconnected we all are. In all three of these countries we have heard from leaders about the challenges of working with governmental bureaucracy and the importance of cultivating strong public-private partnerships to improve communities.
One of my favorite quotes from one of our visitors, Father Joseph Philippe from Haiti is: “We don’t wait for the government. We don’t wait for NGOs, we see something that needs to be done, we gather together, we organize ourselves, and we do it.” This is what the social sector should be – community members doing what needs to be done for their own community.
I recently attended the Central American Donors Forum conference in El Salvador this past October and one presentation particularly stuck in my mind. An analysis of giving to Latin America in 2014 and 2015 showed that the majority of philanthropic support (62%) went to international organizations with their headquarters located outside of the region.
At the Julian Grace Foundation we talk a lot about how people in communities have the knowledge and expertise about what is needed. I’m proud that we are supporting leaders who know their communities and have ideas about what is needed based on their own lived experiences, both internationally and locally.
The same belief in those individuals who know their communities informs our work. As we conclude 2018, I want to thank all of our grantee partner organizations, locally and abroad, who support communities leading from within in a myriad ways. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season and a joyous new year.