GEDE and VOICE GHANA

Today, Gede played host to a representative of VOICE GHANA (www.voiceghana.org) in the person of Mr Charles Nyanta. The two organizations are exploring the potential to share possible and workable community-based mental health interventions   that would be feasible for the West African sub-regions (Nigeria and Ghana). In attendance were staff from National Agency for the Control of AIDS(NACA),Network of People Living With HIV-AIDS in Nigeria(NEPWHAN) and the Organization for Positive Productivity( OPP).Voice Ghana, currently operating under theBasic Needsfranchise is adopting a community-based models focused on self-help support groups led by people with disabilities themselves.

At the end of the first day, participants are beginning to see where this might lead to in terms of cross-country comparison studies of the model, and as a tool for advocacy into a national buy-in for people with disability.

Watch this space for more information on GEDE-VOICE GHANA initiative

Interview with the FOUNDER- Jennifer Douglas Abubakar PhD

We sat down with Jennifer Douglas Abubakar, the founder of Gede Foundation and wife of Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, for an extended interview on her philanthropic work with Gede Foundation.

What’s philanthropy to you? How would you define it?

Philanthropy is helping the less privileged through a worthy cause by devoting time, resources or advocate for a good cause that would benefit the society. In general, contributing to a greater good for the benefit of human kind.

Why did you set up the Gede Foundation?

Gede Foundation began in 2002 as one of the pioneer non-governmental organizations to cater to under-served and highly stigmatized populations. Part of our fundamental objective when we started was to provide a one-stop shop for high quality treatment and care in HIV/AIDS, training, advocacy and research.

In addition to serving those infected with HIV, I would like to add that one of Gede’s accomplishments is seeing that over 5,000 orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria got back into schools, while others learnt marketable skills as a foundation to productive lives. Without Gede and our vision for orphans in the beginning, the likes of World Bank, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, USAID (SIDHAS), UNICEM and Addax Petroleum Foundation wouldn’t have been confident to invest huge amount into OVC programmes using Gede as grants recipient.

Today, Gede’s drive to be constantly at the cutting edge of under-served and highly stigmatized health burdens, has recently seen the Foundation embrace and address growing concerns over mental health and its general impact not only with people living with HIV/AIDS, but the general population at large.

What difference would you say the foundation has made? What have its biggest accomplishments been, in your opinion?

We often hear people say that Gede Foundation was a trailblazer in the area of HIV Treatment and Care delivery in the country for the past decade. To some extent I think we have set high quality standards to which clients always refer to, in terms of access to confidential and personalized HIV management. For me, this is something worth celebrating.

Gede’s Managing Director, John Minto has expressed that Gede exists to be a ‘game changing’ agency within under-served and stigmatized health burdens and all of our work is geared to achieving practical and positive change for those we serve at the community level. Over the decade during which the Foundation has been working in Nigeria, it has played a significant leadership role in putting two major stigmatized health burdens on the map.

In running Abuja’s first one-stop HIV-AIDS clinic, Gede revolutionized the approach to care and support by taking an holistic view of the needs of those suffering from HIV-AIDS, offering clients access to testing, counseling, medical and pharmacy services at a single site delivered through high quality and client-centered expertise. No other agency in 2003 approached care and support in this way and, now, it is the norm.

Gede is now playing the major leadership role in bringing to light the debilitating impact of depression and alcohol abuse on people living with HIV-AIDS. With an estimated 40% of all people living with HIV-AIDS also suffering from these little discussed yet widely experienced conditions, Gede is pioneering work which will show their prevalence and impact, stimulate and support mental health support groups at the community level and secure long term resource commitments from government to provide appropriate care and support.

Gede is proud of the fact that due to its leadership and advocacy work, government agencies and development organizations are starting to place mental health squarely within their HIV-AIDS care and support regimes. Prior to Gede’s intervention, these conditions were practically invisible, yet remained crippling in their impact.

We are also known for our research work. Research has the aim of developing the Foundation’s role as a ‘learning’ organization and provides the material through which Gede amplifies the voice of those suffering from the impact of under-served and stigmatized health burdens.

Ten years from now what would you like the foundation to have accomplished?

The list of under-served and stigmatized health burdens is lengthy – depression, alcohol abuse, obesity, teenage suicide, sexually transmitted infections and even domestic violence – the list goes on. However, they all suffer from the same problems – a lack of information about their prevalence and impact; no community based care and support networks; little government recognition of their importance, and consequently few resources allocated for stigma reduction, treatment and care; equally limited recognition by development donors and agencies that a problem even exists.

People suffering from stigmatized health burdens therefore feel a sense of stigmatization, isolation, despondency and loneliness – which often make their conditions worse. Ten years from now, I want tens of thousands of such people and their carers to have worked with Gede to find their voice and to convincingly advocate for changes which bring their under-served and stigmatized health burdens out of the shadows in ways which make real and practical changes to the care and support they receive at the community level.

I would like to quote Gede’s Director of Administration, Jeremy Bogolosa, that Gede Foundation is an advocate for the “underdogs” of social/health issues. We encourage the marginalized population directly affected by mental health disorders (or other stigmatized and under-served health burdens that we will identify in the future) to show that they care and influence the rest of the world to listen and find that reason why they should care. For it is only when people care that they act responsibly.

What advice would you give to Nigerians looking to set up a philanthropic organization?

• You must strive to do it unconditionally and without prejudices, and keep in mind that it is not an arena to raise money for yourself, it is the business of ‘non-profit’.
• Don’t see it as a personal promotional tool, but instead something for a good cause and betterment of the community.
• Be clear on your goals & objectives
• Set the agenda; do not allow others do it for you
• Get the funding in place
• Promote transparency and accountability

Who are your role models in philanthropy – in Nigeria and abroad?

1. Angelina Jolie is quite an inspiration, in addition to Bill and Melinda Gates.
2. In Nigeria, my husband, Atiku Abubakar on his part, is a true unheralded philanthropist. He supports so many causes quietly and has done much that is not publicized
3. All those silent workers who work diligently to better the lives of their community even donating from their own pocket to those less fortunate. I can name the staff of Gede, Dr. Cynthia Ticao and John Minto who leave their families in United States and United kingdom to serve in Nigeria for 6 to 8 months in the year, Godwin Etim and Jeremy Boglosa who are personally sponsoring orphans in school, and many of the other unsung heroes whom we work with on a daily basis who have answered the call to serve, they are my role models. They give us the strength through their exemplary devotion to the less fortunate to continue our work even in the face of daunting challenges.

What would you say are the biggest challenges facing non-profit organizations and initiatives in Nigeria?

• Little or no funding for good programs
• Funding going mostly to bigger organizations
• Unrealistic expectations on the part of funders and donors
• Lack of concrete planning and goal-setting
• Lack of coordination
• Lack of institutional transparency and accountability
• Absence of a proper regulatory framework
• The misconception that philanthropy is only for affluent individuals
• Absence of a strong tradition of structured philanthropy

How can private philanthropic organizations support one another in Nigeria?

• We should act as role models for others by promoting transparency
• We should form umbrella and watchdog organizations to hold one another to account
• We should learn to develop linkages with other organizations when applying for funding and in program implementation and campaigns
• We should seek to involve civil society and grassroots organizations in programming.

If you had to focus on another field of philanthropy outside of what Gede is currently involved with (mental health), what would it be?

There are so many other causes I’d like to be involved in, especially because I am internationalist in outlook, and would like to bring several causes onto the world stage, just like Angelina Jolie is spotlighting important issues across the globe. But if I had to choose just one cause outside of mental health, it’d be to promote the importance of education in the development of the individual.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AS A CRIME

The problem of overcoming organizational barriers to learning comes up as a regular theme in discussions with those who hold responsibilities for organizational learning or knowledge management in an organization.  Based on readings, documented discussions and experience, one of the major and first problems they encounter in the process of mainstreaming learning in an organization is that “learning is almost considered a crime or an added burden rather than a behavior or way of doing things that we’re trying to encourage.”

So, if organizational learning were a crime, how would we investigate it and prevent it from happening?  Criminologists always consider 3 factors in solving a crime: (i) Motive; (ii) Means; and (iii) Opportunity (MMO).  Motive is the reason for committing the crime, means are the tools or methods used to commit the crime, and opportunity is the occasion that presents itself to allow the crime to take place.  All these three factors must be established for someone to become a suspect in a crime investigation. 

If an organization wants to prevent its team members from committing the crime of learning, all it has to do is prevent one of the 3 factors from happening.  If the organization is serious about learning prevention, it would arrange to withhold two or, better still, all three of the factors. 

Now, if an organization wants to mainstream learning in the organization, it has to make sure that all the 3 factors are present --- (i) Motive or the willingness to learn; (ii) Means or the abilities and tools used for learning; and (iii) Opportunity or the circumstances and space that make it possible to leverage the means for learning. 

And of course, the organization must have willing perpetrators to commit the crime. 

Jeremy Boglosa/PD:ODSS/September 2, 2015

References:

• INTRAC Reading materials on OD (2015)

• Canada’s Primer on Learning Organization (2007)

• Images taken from the web

Managing Stress in the Workplace Programme

Gede Foundation’s innovative and ground breaking work in the field of Mental Health is moving beyond awareness and sensitization to efforts focused on managing stress in the workplace.  At today’s session of the Foundation's popular 'Managing Stress in the Workplace Programme' at the Federal Inland Revenue Services Office, Gede's Clinical Psychologist explained that stress is individually experienced and can be addressed as such. As is typical for a highly stigmatised health burden, participants were not readily forthcoming in itemizing specific stressors. This could be due to the fact that stressors maybe present in the immediate environment hence reluctance to mention it to avoid untold consequences, especially with work colleagues present in the same room! It could also be that the stressors are relating to personal issues which individuals would not like to discuss openly. Gede Foundation gave assurance however that whatever the cause of the stress, professionals are available to help manage them and help people live a more productive life.

In the final analysis, however, participants all agreed that managing stress in the workplace is an essential part of productivity and a 'happy workforce'. Watch this space if interested in more news from our Stress Management platform or call Mr Godwin Etim on 07030070934 to book a session for your own organisation

Gede’s Managing Stress in the Workplace Programme with FCT Health Services Scheme

Senior and middle class employees of the FCT Health Services Scheme hosted Gede in their office to deliver its Managing Stress in the Workplace Programme. Participants were able to understand different stressors and identified warning signs as it relates to both their personal and workplace situations.

It was obvious that interventions such as this are needed across different employees and organisations for the sole aim of enhancing productivity. Mr Samuel Jinadu, Clinical Psychologist with Behavioural Medicine Unit of Karu Hospital facilitated the sessions and highlighted the significance of stress as it relates to workplace productivity. This dialogue has begun with expectations from both employees and employers to look into systems that would rather promote positive Mental Health in various institutions through a long-term engagement with Gede.

Check this space for more on Gede’s Managing Stress   in Workplace Programme which is designed to address several keys in developing institutional wellbeing.If you require a session, contact Godwin Etim through godwin@gedefoundation.org.

VISIT TO GEDE OF DR ROSIE MAYSTON OF KING’S COLLEGE LONDON

As regular Gede blog readers will know, last week the Foundation hosted the visit to Nigeria of King’s College London Senior Researcher, Dr Rosie Mayston. In addition to meeting partners and agencies such as CBM, the Karu Behavioural Medicine Unit, IHVN, NACA, as well as Gede Data Collectors and Facility based staff at Asokoro, Garki and Gwagwalada Hospitals, Dr Mayston spent time with Gede team members discussing ways in which the Foundation and King’s College could work together closely in future. In particular, there is a pressing need to undertake high quality research into the impact of depression and substance abuse on people living with HIV-AIDS, while the practical implication of research needs to be reflected in working with agencies such as NACA and NEPWHAN to ensure that mental health screening, treatment and referral skills and integrated into HIV-AIDS care and support regimes.

Such an initiative would help to lessen the impact of mental health conditions on both HIV-AIDS (such as treatment uptake and adherence) and general health outcomes (such as getting enough sleep and following a good diet).

Gede would like to take this opportunity to formally thank all partners and agencies who interacted with Dr Mayston last week and encourages readers of the Foundation’s blogs to keep up-to-date with our latest work by visiting Gede’s website regularly.

BREAKING STEREOTYPES ASSOCIATED WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE FUNCTIONS

In a routine phone call with my mother back home, she informed me that my niece has landed her first job.  Excited about this development, I called my niece to congratulate her and I started asking about the new job then she cut me off (in an embarrassed voice) saying, “It’s not really a big deal because it’s just an administrative assistant position in a small company where I’m expected to do the “lowly tasks” of filing, typing, running errands, answering phone calls, arranging transportation, ensuring that cleaning is done, and even serving coffee or snacks in short, “dakilang alila” (great servant) who is at the receiving end of all blames when things don’t turn out well.” 

 Alas, my niece’s perspective of her new job is rooted in the old-school (but still very much existing) stereotype of an administrative role.  I often hear workers in the area of administration, support services, logistics, transportation, security, and the likes refer to their job roles with some level of embarrassment and insecurity.  Rarely I’ve heard a driver introduced himself as one and would say he’s proud to be one.  Instead, they often say “I am ONLY a driver” and some of us also refer to them as “ONLY a driver/cleaner/secretary/etc.”  A lot of factors have contributed to these stereotypes --- from job requirements, to levels of education, pay structure, skills and the way society has labeled and treated this cadre of the workforce.   

Having been an insider in this line of work (at different capacities), I firmly believe that these stereotypes should not be too common in this modern world and age.  True that each organization has structures, job titles, roles and procedures to follow but for stereotypes (both internal and external) to persist at this age is a challenge that Senior Managers have to address and addressing it is a complicated process but not impossible.  Personally, I think it all goes back to organizational culture. 

It’s a shame that my niece feels that way about her job but I cannot blame her.  Maybe it’s a recruitment mistake; maybe she’s not the right person for the job or maybe --- just maybe, her company and the community also contribute to this.  

I am also holding an administrative function; I started somewhere at the lowest end of the ladder; and at some point I have noticed and experienced some degree of discrimination related to the nature of my profession. But I am one lucky cookie to belong to an organization whose culture puts its human resource front and center of its affairs.  My admin/finance team at Gede Foundation may always be at the background of every major activity but our senior officers and the rest of the staff never looked down on us and on what we do.  We know our place in the organization and the value of our work to the over-all goal of the organization.  And we never felt that we are left behind in the area of capacity development.  My team does not feel left out nor ignored in our daily operations; our expertise is respected and we are allowed to learn new skills and relearn old ones.  We are not pigeon-holed to be stagnant in our jobs and remain the same person day in and day out.  This is how we do things here but we will never stop learning to be better at what we do. 

 I am Jeremy Boglosa, I represent a team of administrative and finance support services staff also known as drivers, cleaners, receptionists, secretaries, administrative assistants, logistics officer, cashier, assistants and the likes.  We deal with the nitty-gritty details of things --- from procurement, to repairs and maintenance, to catering, to typing and filing, to answering phone call, the list goes on and on.  Yes, we make mistakes but we learn from them.  We are always at the background but we are the proudest when the show turns out excellent.  We are proud of our team because our organization never makes us feel otherwise.   

I look forward to the time when majority of administrative/support service professionals (in whatever level) really take pride in what they do and realize how important they are in an organization. 

Borrowing a leaf from Goa, India

On Wednesday 19th August, Dr Rosie Mayston Senior Researcher at the Centre for Global Mental Health King’s College London was hosted by Gede Foundation’s Mental Health Dialogue Programme. She was present at the dialogue session to share her experience in Integrating Mental Health and HIV care and support in Goa, India. The audience was captivated by her presentation because as civil society organizations, a number of participants are in one way or the other involved in HIV/AIDS treatment, care and advocacy as well as mental health and other stigmatized health burdens.  It was a learning experience for everyone and even the speaker when it came to asking for suggestions on possible interventions for the future in Nigeria specifically.

Those mentioned included, advocacy, empowerment of healthcare workers with mental health knowledge, integration of care, and the centrality of the role of government.Rosie’s visit as a guest of Gede is to strengthen partnership initiative between the two organisations to further investigate the links between HIV and mental health 

For  more interesting sessions of the Mental Health Dialogue, please watch this space

Sharing with You: PROJECT SEMICOLON

We would like to share this organisation with you whose focus is very relevant to Gede Foundation’s current programme theme --- mental health.  We identify ourselves with organisations like the Project Semicolon because of shared interests despite the different approaches we take in addressing the issues surrounding one’s mental health status.  Knowing more about these organisations brings us to a deeper understanding of the depth, breadth and scope of the challenges that we address.  Knowing them also makes as stronger as we unite our passion, voices, strength and resources in bringing out these issues into the fore.  

Let’s start sharing resources for the purpose of learning and assistance.  If your organisation shares the same interest with Gede Foundation in the area of Mental Health, and if you would like to be featured in our blog, please send us an email to godwin@gedefoundation.org

Photo Credit: Project Semicolon (www.projectsemicolon.com) - with approval

'NEW BLOOD' IN GEDE

 We, at Gede Foundation, call the new members of our team “new blood”.  And it is with great pleasure that I introduce our new Program and M&E Manager through this platform – Mr. Kizito Ebhohimen. 

 Kizito joined Gede Foundation on August 3, 2015 and as a “new blood” to the Foundation, much is expected of him in area of program management and M&E.  He is also expected to bring in new ideas, fresh flow of energy and different perspectives.  However, Gede Foundation’s HR culture is not a one-way ticket; it is a give-and-take relationship that goes through a peculiar process rooted in the Foundation’s culture. 

 Please be on the lookout for Kizito’s contribution to our blogs as he will be sharing with you his experience at Gede Foundation.

 Jeremy Boglosa

PD: OD/SS