Daring to be different

IWRM 2012 celebrates the African Woman

THE Director for the Creative Centre for Communication and Development, Gertrude Pswarayi describes the just ended International Workshop on Resources Mobilisation (IWRM) held from 27 to 30 November 2012 at Speke Resort and Conference Centre in Uganda as her long awaited journey for personal growth and rediscovering herself. She says the IWRM provided her with a lucrative platform to learn, share knowledge and ideas on tried and tested fundraising practices that produce results.  

“Surat Sandhu, an international consultant based in India who was one of the speakers at the IWRM grabbed my attention when he talked about dreams. Immediately, I was glued to his presentation. I felt as if I was the only person he was addressing in a room with more than 30 people listening to his presentation aptly titled Dare to be Different: Jump out of the box and get innovative for fundraising success,” says Pswarayi.

Sandhu said a dream is not something that you see when you are sleeping. It is something that does not make you sleep.

“My heart began to beat like the African drum because of my dream of seeing marginalized groups strategically and creatively using communication to express their needs, to make their voices heard, to manage their own communication, and to participate fully in their own development to enable them to live fuller and more fulfilling lives,” says Pswarayi.

Pswarayi says her participation ignited a feeling she finds hard to describe. She says she networked, learned to raise funds for the sustainability of the Creative Centre for Communication and Development, interacted with funders and also got to rediscover herself and her passion.

“If there was going to be another IWRM next month I would not hesitate to register as a delegate and even bring along another person from my team to join me,” says Pswarayi.

Pswarayi says her attendance at the IWRM was made possible because the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) invested in her and her organisation under the Capacity Building programme.

“We will be developing our fundraising strategy which will see us mapping the best way to raise funds for the sustainability of the Creative Centre for Communication and Development,” says Pswarayi.