A major highlight on MAMAS Alliance’s CSI agenda is the annual Share Conference which took place this week. The conference offers NGOs a learning and sharing platform through the Alliance network – a collective showing of support and sharing of ideas within the network of MAMAS that offer daily care to over 70 000 vulnerable children in South Africa.
MAMAS Alliance partners with a network of 36 MAMAS (NGOs) that offer a better future to children throughout South Africa through interventions targeted at supporting their education, nutrition, medical care, recreational services, and other social development services.
The NGOs are spread throughout the nine provinces, often in the most remote areas. Each of these organisations is an initiative of local people (MAMAS, and some PAPAS) and each one is different in size, structure, and approach to suit its own context. All the organisations share the same desire: to be able to intervene in the lives of children as early as possible and offer consistent support throughout their childhood life.
The sharing and learning opportunities offered to these NGOs through the Share Conference is an invaluable part of the Alliance’s CSI strategy – offering knowledge sharing through the Alliance network. For a full week 100 MAMAS share their challenges and innovative solutions in breaking the cycle of poverty and bettering lives.
“The sharing and learning opportunities offered to these NGOs through the Share Conference is an invaluable part of the Alliance’s CSI strategy – offering knowledge sharing through the Alliance network.”
All trainings and workshops were given by the MAMAS themselves. All the phases of a child life were addressed, starting with the importance of the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and ending with the importance of tertiary education and skills development to prepare the youth for the labour market.
The MAMAS Alliance CSI team trained the MAMAS on how to connect even better with business to improve the lives of the children. What’s really unique, is that the CSI team offers a free service to business to link to the network. The CSI managers facilitate the process on behalf of the funder and the NGO, ensuring that the funders objectives are achieved.
“What’s really unique, is that the CSI team offers a free service to business to link to the network.”
Yumna Toefy, director of MAMAS Alliance CSI said: “The CSI team found the conference invaluable as a tool to really understand the true dynamics of our NGOs. We were surprised by the creativity and vast amount of collective experience of the MAMAS – and how they can make a huge difference with relatively limited funding.”
Mama Nomzamo Maqungu from Duncan Village in the Eastern Cape says that the Alliance plays a crucial role in the development and emancipation of their programmes. “The change we create in the community is fueled by MAMAS Alliance – not only through the generous funding, but through the network of people that we are exposed to – that allows us to expand our knowledge, share approaches and give support.
“Furthermore, we are exposed to the expertise of different community workers and change agents at all levels of community development making our approaches very accurate, igniting passion and reminding us in the end that the changes we make that we think are small in our communities are actually much bigger than we realise, and they spread across the world – what a lovely network to be part of!” says Mama Nomzamo.
Mama Happiness Mabunda from Rearabilwe – a community-based organisation working with HIV/AIDS infected or affected orphaned and vulnerable children, agrees. “Being part of the MAMAS Alliance gives me an opportunity to learn, to share ideas and challenges of the different programmes that other organisations render through Share Conferences, zoom meetings, a WhatsApp group, and visiting other organisations. For example, during the 2021 Virtual Share Conference I visited RCP and learned about one of their income-generating projects – beading – on which our beneficiaries later received training, and they are currently making handbags and key holders as an income-generating project. I receive valuable support from other MAMAS and PAPAS on how we can improve our programme and to deal with challenges,” says Happiness.
Stronger together, the collective MAMA power of the 36 remarkable grassroots NGOs spread across the 75 MAMAS Alliance sites, is reinforcing a movement that is changing the future for South Africa’s vulnerable children through education, food, clothing, protection, medical care, sports, games, and a lot of love!
For more information about MAMAS Alliance, please contact the CSI team at info@mamasalliance.com, or +27 (0)11 453 0531.
