Leading like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela

by Martin Kalungu-Banda/

The world is in dire need of great leaders, ones who inspire people not through words but by serving them. The cutting edge in leadership discourse is the old fashioned idea of leadership through service. The whole human race, we could say, desperately needs these servant-leaders who really attend to others and are beacons of hope in our search for a world society where justice, fairness, care for the weaker members of our communities, and love flourish.

The call for leaders who genuinely serve their people is obvious in social and political communities. We can see it equally in the economic sphere, in business organisations or corporations. The high turnover of staff in many work places suggests that people are looking for what Lance Secretan, a Canadian guru on leadership, calls ‘soul space’[1] – an environment where they will not simply be cogs in the wheel of production but can live full and happy lives.

In my book, Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela[2], published in March 2006, I have attempted to present through stories the type of leadership that will take our world a higher ground.[3] What is so extraordinary about Mr Mandela’s style and practice of leadership is that it crosses the boundaries of culture, gender, race, religion and age. Madiba (as he is fondly referred to in his home country) has done so in a society that was once more polarized than any other – one the world expected to explode along racial and ethnic lines. That it did not was largely due to this extraordinary man and his unique leadership style. What is equally fascinating about Madiba is the fact that each person that has encountered, in one form or another, his leadership feels personally attended to and served.

Mr Mandela’s leadership transforms ordinary people, events and actions into the extraordinary. Great leadership consists in the capacity to inspire others to greatness. I use the term ‘inspire’ to mean the ability to bring out the best in the people one is entrusted to work and live with. Inspirational leadership[4], like the yeast that imperceptibly causes the dough to rise and ‘ripen’, permeates society and its institutions in such a way that everyone begins to see their own uniqueness and take up their role in society. Inspirational leadership makes all of us dig deep into the innermost parts of our being to find the very best that lies there and makes it available to others and ourselves. This, in my view, is what great leadership is all about.

The stories I have told in my book show that Mr Mandela inspires the political leader as he does the boxer and the medical doctor; the footballer as much as the pupil and the government bureaucrat; the social activist and the prisoner; a neighbour, a religious leader, a farmer; the artist, the intellectual, the worker in an oil company; the businessman, the street vendor, the widow, the orphan. Through these stories told by ordinary men and women who have been impacted by Madiba’s leadership, I am trying to invite others to reflect on, and perhaps attempt to practice, some of the key qualities of great leadership. The following are the ten key leadership lessons I have distilled from the Mandela stories.

Ten Ways to Lead like Madiba [5]

1. Cultivate a deep sense of awe for human beings:

Why? Leadership is about people, and every single person matters.

How can I learn to do this? Train yourself to treat everyone you come across with utmost respect and honour. Attend to each person as if they are the only ones that exist and matter at that moment.

2. Allow yourself to be inspired by the giftedness of other people:

Why? For you to be able to inspire other people, you must have sources of inspiration for yourself. Leaders who do not have clear sources of inspiration often fail to inspire others, their organisations and communities.

How can I learn to do this? Practice to recognise and acknowledge the giftedness of other people. Learn to appreciate the beauty of nature and human genius.

3. Grow your courage:

Why? Great Leaders have courage. Courage does not mean absence of fear.

How can I learn to do this? Learn to recognise your fears. This means facing the harsh or brutal realities of your situation and, nevertheless, choosing to follow what you think is the morally right course of action.

4. Lead by example. Where necessary, use words:

Why? Great leaders have always led by example. People get inspired by and trust those who lead by example. Those who speak very well sometimes impress people. However, those who live by what they believe in always inspire others.

How can I learn to do this? Do not ask of others what you are not ready to do yourself. At the end of each day, ask yourself how you are working to bridge the gap between your words and your actions. Aim to make the gap narrower each brand new day.

5. Create your own brand of leadership:

Why? As a leader, your name must symbolise and be associated with a set of values. This is what will make you most effective. All great leaders, while being inspired by others, did it their own way.

How can I learn to do this? On a daily basis, make an evaluation of how your values are aligned to your words and actions. Consistently try to gauge the kind of impact you have on other people. If it is positive, do what you can to grow and consolidate that. If negative, find ways to adapt or discard it. There is a leadership style and practice that can only be performed best by you. Do it your own way.

6. Practice humility:

Why? Great leaders practice humility. Humility is the ability to acknowledge one’s limitations and failings. Humility will attract people to you. Arrogance will not.

How can I learn to do this? When you make a mistake, do not shy away from admitting that you are wrong. Do not see the world through the lenses of your title in society. Simply see yourself as a human being.

7. Learn to live with the Madiba Paradox:

Why? Life is a mixture of hope and hopelessness, joy and pain, success and failure, vision and disillusionment. You as a leader have the task of helping others to live successfully with these apparent contradictions.

How can I learn to do this? Learn to live the moment. Learn to live each day as if it was your last opportunity[6]. Learn to live with the paradox of confronting each situation without losing focus on the great opportunity that lies ahead. As a leader, train yourself to be a dealer in hope[7].

8. Surprise your opponents by believing in them:

Why? There will always be people who disagree with your leadership style and what you do. Recognising and believing in the good side of everyone around you will win you friends. When you recognise the giftedness of those who consider themselves your enemies, quite often you disarm them. You win them to your side, provided this is done with honesty and goodwill. Do it for others.

How can I learn to do this? You must make effort to identify and acknowledge, privately and publicly, what is praiseworthy in those who oppose you.

9. Celebrate life:

Why? Celebrating the achievements of the individuals and groups you are leading generates inspiration and invites people to achieve even more. Achievements are not usually an end in themselves. They are often a sign that we are moving closer to the kind of life we ought to live. Achievements symbolise our hope in the attainment of a better and happier future.

How can I learn to do this? Celebrate every positive step that an individual or a group of individuals you are leading makes. As a leader, you must create and participate in the practices and ceremonies that honour the life of the people you are privileged to serve.

10. Know when and how to make yourself replaceable:

Why? Great leaders know how to move themselves from centre stage. They know when it is time to go so that their legacy lives on.

How can I learn to do this? Prepare for the time when you will leave office. Allow other people to emerge as your potential successors. Learn to be happy when those you are leading show signs that they will be better leaders than yourself. They are part of the fruits of your labour.

Conclusion

One of the greatest lessons we can learn from athletes and artists is that what see them displaying on the pitch or stage, is more often than not, a product of many years of repeated practice. They invest more time practicing than performing. It is the same for the habits that make great leaders. They are a result of years of practicing the beliefs and actions of the leaders that inspire them. Acquiring the practices, mental and spiritual discipline that will enable us truly serve others comes from choosing, on a daily basis, to make small and yet incremental improvements in the way we relate with other people[8]. This is also known as Kaizen in Japanese culture; and it means “…constant revision, upgrading and improvement of the status quo – progressing little by little…”[9] If there is anything that distinguishes Mandela from other leaders, it is the fact that he makes special effort to live by what he believes in. My guess is that this is what all of us are called to become.

[2] Secretan, HK Lance, Reclaiming HigherGround: Creating Organisations that Inspire the Soul. Ontario: Secretan Centre, Inc., pg 129.

[2] Kalungu-Banda, Martin, Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela. Cape Town: Double Story, 2006.

[3] Ibid. pg 4.

[4] Secretan, HK Lance, Inspire: What Great Leaders Do. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pg 207.

[5] Robyn Cohen first teased out these Lessons from the book Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela in an article she published in the Mercedes Magazine (www.mercedes-benz.co.za/Introduction/magazinePC_page2.asp – 64k – Supplemental Result).

[6] Williamson, Marianne, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles. New York: Harper Perennial, 1992, pg 70.

[7] Morrell, Margot, et.al. Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer. London: Nicholas Brealey, 2003.

[8] Kouzes, M James. et.al., The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002, pg 205.

[9] Secretan, HK Lance, The Way of the Tiger: Gentle Wisdom for Turbulent Times. Ontario: The Thaler Corporation, Inc., 1993, pg 79.

Interview with Liberal Seburikoko

by Hamish Wilson/

What led you to become a part of Wasafiri?

Four reasons led me to joining Wasafiri: firstly, I had a passion and I found people with a kindred spirit who shared that same passion. The passion was about generating action to help people living in poverty get dignified lifestyles. This meant working with a wide range of organisations both from the north and the south.

Secondly, I needed a ‘home’. I had been a full time consultant for about a year when we set up Wasafiri. At the time my work was highly demanding and involved frequent travel. I felt so lonely and missed the office environment from my previous employment where I would interact with colleagues. Wasafiri provided that sense of home and belonging for me, although virtually.

Thirdly, I had a strong desire to set up a framework where talented people could access opportunities that they would otherwise not easily have access to. I had in mind staff appointed in country who worked for international organisations but were limited by the nature of their contract. During an assignment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with Ian Randall in 2009, I shared my dream with him. When we created Wasafiri, we agreed that one of its aspirations would be to try and provide a forum where such talented people who shared our passion would be nurtured thus enabling them to perform to the best of their abilities to make a greater impact in the world.

Finally, I joined Wasafiri to experiment with choosing what I wanted to do. Previously, I had not had much choice in life – from the country where I lived, to the courses I studied. Even at work, I would be assigned roles that I was not keen on but which were necessary for the organisations I worked for. Wasafiri provided a backing that enhanced my confidence to choose where and on what I wanted to invest my effort and energies while making a living. What a privilege to be able to decide what one wants to do – this is pretty rare in Africa!

Wasafiri is deeply committed to generating concerted action to overcome poverty and crises – can you share with us examples from your work that are in line with this?

The first example that pops to mind is when I was involved in international climate change negations. I worked with some of the best climate change scientists and policy analysts at Climate Analytics. Our work involved supporting the Least Developed Countries (LDC) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to have a voice in climate change negotiations. Climate change is arguably one of the most frightening world crises and the most damaging in terms of impact that the poorest countries have to come to terms with. Its saddest feature is that the poorest countries, which have contributed virtually nothing to the problem, are most vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change with inadequate means to cope.

My role with Climate Analytics involved trying to help negotiating teams from poorer countries get access to relevant scientific information and the policy analyses they needed in order to negotiate a fair climate change deal. During the negotiation sessions, you have on the one hand countries like USA, who would have a delegation of about 50 people including seasoned scientists and veteran negotiators who would be adequately resourced for the negotiations. On the other hand, you will have a couple of negotiators at most LDC countries who have a different day job back home and seldom manage to prepare for the negotiations back in their respective capitals. They struggle to even cover the multiple meetings happening almost simultaneously let alone engage meaningfully. They really don’t have a voice in what is happening. Our role was to do the groundwork, reviewing and analysing relevant scientific literature, real time number crunching and scanning policy developments that may have an impact on climate change. We would prepare talking points, briefings, make presentations of critical themes of their choice prior to, during and after the negotiation sessions. Over the 2 years or so working with Climate Analytics, I would say that we contributed to empowering them and consequently their voice has significantly increased – although significant challenges remain.

Tell us about the proudest moment in your career

This is a hard question as I tend to be satisfied with the work I do as I give it my best shot. I will probably share the most recent experience.  Back in March 2011, there was a steering committee meeting convened by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) where I am now working. We had prepared a 3-year work plan but the meeting needed to approve NISR’s annual work plan as well as the report for the previous quarter. The plan got approved unanimously without any challenge. This was the first time in NISR’s six years of existence that donors have not challenged its plan.

Many of the subsequent disbursements were conditional to getting that plan approved. That meant getting lots of information from other donors and getting it into a three-year plan. The plan was realistic, achievable and what brought joy to me was that many of the development partners seemed to be committed to getting more funding to fill the funding gap we had highlighted. You could see that they were generally keen to explore ways of getting additional monies – they trusted us and wanted to be part of the success story.

And when I joined NISR back in August 2010, the then Director General told me this – “Liberal, the one single thing I want you to achieve is make sure the plan is approved and adequately funded”. It gave me a deep sense of satisfaction to rise to the challenge and to succeed in meeting it in less than 6 months.

We have done many fantastic things at the NISR, which I will be blogging about in the future.

In the context of Wasafiri’s current expansion what are your highest hopes for Wasafiri?

As I said at the beginning, my hope is that Wasafiri becomes a home for talented people both in the global north and south who are passionate and committed to generating action to making lasting change against poverty in the world. We recently had a partners’ meeting and decided to focus on coaching, mentoring and supporting the new consultants we recently brought on board to make them fully ‘operational’ as Wasafiri consultants. So I am considering reducing my consultancy workload to devote more time to this.

There is something the 4 Wasafiri partners have which is quite unique – we have something that I don’t know how to describe. We are great adventurers, big risk takers, committed to international development with a free mind and spirit. I really hope the new consultants we have taken on board will catch the fire and the vision and excel at what they do.

My highest hopes are in the new Wasafiri consultants – getting them settled, networked and being discovered. Some of them are professionally experienced; others have got life experience (like my refugee life in the 1990s and how that has shaped my character). My hope is for them to find opportunities to do the best they can and be the best that they can possibly be.

 

What are your passions and interests outside of work?

I am going to be unconventional here. I am a deeply committed Christian and, strictly speaking, there is nothing like ‘work’ and ‘outside work’ for me because I work for a higher purpose. Whether it is at work or outside the work context, I am still guided by that higher purpose. So when I am not working (in the formal sense), I still pursue opportunities that either enrich my own life or other people’s. These may include a holiday, a spiritual retreat, counselling friends, socialising with people, editing someone’s CV, coaching someone for an interview, supporting a poor person if they cannot make ends meet, spending time with my wife and kids etc. This also includes challenging the status quo where I feel it is inhibiting life within my capacity of course. One aspect that inhibits life is social injustice; I am very sensitive to it. This could be in the streets, in my small community, at work, it doesn’t matter where it is, if I feel something about it, I’ll do something about it.

For example, I was riding past the Office of the President in Kigali after work. I saw a matatu (mini bus) knocking into a private car, just pushing it, the matutu then pushed past it, scratching the small car. I drove after the matatu to intercept it and hold its driver accountable. Luckily, the matatu driver had pulled into the bus stop. I pulled my car in front of the matatu. I said to the driver “You have to tell me why you just did that” The driver asked who I was, I said “You don’t need to know”. I just told them that I was a witness. The driver of the private car had come over, I said to the matatu driver that the minimum he had to do was to say ‘sorry’ to the other driver. I managed to bring them to come to a consensus, and the car driver was happy that a stranger helped. Life flowed again… it sounds weird but I felt good as I was driving home again.

I had no mandate to intervene. I am not a policeman yet it is those kinds of moments, like this small example, or the pain people (mostly the disadvantaged) may endure in being turned away from a service that they are entitled to; these are the kinds of moments that create action within me and a strong desire to do something arises.

My life’s passion is getting life flowing unhindered. This is the continuous theme out of my fixed schedule. Engaging at heart level – that is what I do, wherever I am in the world.

Ian and Liberal at the UNECA Conference Centre, Addis Ababa

Interviewer: Katie Chalcraft

Helmand 26: Our eyes and ears

by Hamish Wilson/

I sit with my young Afghan interpreter by the swollen Helmand river watching fish leap out of the fast moving current.

“My family thinks I work in Herat. Only my brother knows that I am here…” he tells me, as the icy water swirls past. “In this job it is safer if our friends, our relatives don’t know what we do.”

We continue talking as the sun slowly sets, and it becomes apparent to me that his concealment is common for many of the hundreds of young Afghan men hired to work across the province as translators and interpreters for those of us who don’t speak the local Pashtu.

“I cant trust anyone in this area.” he continues. “They prefer their own people. If I go out alone, then my place will be with the Taliban next week. They say we are the eyes and the ears of ISAF.”

And he is right. Without these brave youngsters, we are blind. They see all and hear all that is passed between we foreigners and the Afghans, be they government officials, local farmers or Talib sympathisers. And they are more than interpreters – they become our guides to the complex customs and ancient traditions that define every interaction. Without them we would be helpless.

Yet they are invisible. Present in every encounter, conduits for our conversations, yet otherwise silent observers to our dealings over every imaginable issue – poppy trafficking, military operations, local disputes… Our understanding of reality is shaped by these men.

His life story is etched by the milestones of war. Born at the time of the Soviet withdrawal, his family fled to Pakistan as the Taliban rose to power. They, like so many others, returned only after Coalition forces toppled the regime in 2001. He seized the opportunity to begin a degree in medicine, but the realities of a war-ruin economy forced him to defer and instead seek work. Feeding his family was a higher priority.

With a good grasp of English learned in Pakistan, he was offered work by the British military, and promptly dispatched to the increasingly volatile province of Helmand. “I wasn’t happy to come here, but my family needed the money, so I decided to try my luck.”

And in a place such as Sangin, interpreters play a dangerous game of chance. He first arrived in early 2009, just as the ‘fighting season’ was starting in earnest. Four months later, one of his colleagues was struck by an IED. Since then three more interpreters, working on the front lines with the US Marines, have been killed. But such deaths are rarely reported in the media.

I learned from him that they are well rewarded for taking such risks, lured by salaries far higher than local officials, and the dream of qualifying for a visa in the West. Many seize the opportunity, serving their time and whisking their families off to a life unreachable by most in Afghanistan. Sadly, it means that this war is draining the precious pool of educated young men who would otherwise be helping to rebuild a shattered country. Our small team alone comprises a pilot, a nurse, a business owner and an aspirant doctor, their chosen professions laid to one side as they serve as our intermediaries.

By now the dusk has arrived, bringing with it gusts chilled by the waters at our feet. My young and loyal interpreter shares his hopes of someday returning to Kabul to complete his medical degree. It will be a hard road from here and I am reminded how easy it is to overlook the sacrifice made by those who are our eyes and ears.

The right political moment ~ reflections from WEF Africa.

by Ian Randall/

I recently returned from the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Africa meeting in Cape Town. I attended to support a high-level meeting focussed on scaling-up public-private initiatives that will help smallholders become more commercially successful. The meeting was attended by Presidents and Ministers from governments across Africa; heads of international agencies such USAID, IFAD and the African Development Bank; business leaders from mullti-nationals such as Pepsico, Yara, Kraft and Swiss Re; and, unlikely as it may seem, me! How did I find myself the smallest fish in a pond full of very big ones? This happened through the convergence of some long-term personal and strategic goals.

A few years ago, I was asked by the UK’s Department for International Development to consider how the private sector could be engaged in support of agricultural development. I ended up recommending to DFID that they supported country-level facilitation of public-private partnerships to integrate smallholders in to commercially viable markets. However as part of a stretched team, and with an impending change of government, there was no political impetus and, regardless how welcome my suggestions were, they led to no consequential action.

However, developing my report for DFID gave me the excuse to knock on the door at WEF and establish some relationships. I maintained these, and in the meantime established myself in a key role coordinating the engagement of Development Partners for CAADP – a pan-African movement to boost agricultural production and thereby address poverty and hunger. This year CAADP agreed that it was a top priority to leverage the technical, financial and human resources of the private sector. At the same time, I was aware that, driven by their multinational membership, WEF had pioneered a couple of promising public-private partnerships in Tanzania and Mozambique, and was looking to scale-up their efforts. WEF’s limiting factor was finding countries where there was strong political leadership in place that would want to work on such initiatives. Earlier this year I was able to connect the effort by WEF and the effort by CAADP by introducing key people to each other.

The event at WEF Africa was the result of bringing together the public-sector-led CAADP efforts, and the private-sector-led WEF efforts. This was the right political moment and the result is remarkable. Top-level political commitment was secured from across sectors for a scaling up of initiatives across Africa. In the next year we expect to see new partnerships launched in 6 countries. The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania provides a practical example of one of these. In this key farming region, businesses are establishing new hubs through which to work with small-scale farmers, providing inputs such as fertiliser or seeds, establishing storage facilities, processing commodities, and finding markets for products. The government is investing in infrastructure such as roads, rail and irrigation. Development Partners are providing catalytic finance and capacity development. By acting together everyone is establishing the confidence required to establish functioning markets. These initiatives translate a great deal of talk by policy-makers in to action. The involvement of the private sector will only last if they see results, and as such this creates a tangible sense of hustle and focus that is often absent from development processes.

I played an enabling role at the WEF event in Cape Town –  writing briefing notes for participants, helping facilitate a roundtable discussion with the Rwandan Minister of Agriculture, writing a follow-up report and participating in the working group that will take the outcomes forward. The achievement I am really proud of was to maintain a long-term strategic focus on the value of public-private partnership for agricultural development, building relationships in that space, and then, when the political moment was finally right, I was able to make some key connections so that others with much greater power and influence could multiply their impact by working together.

Helmand 25: The long road to transition

by Hamish Wilson/

2014 will soon be with us.

Over the next two years, international forces are expected to draw down, offering ‘strategic overwatch’ as Afghan government and security forces take the reins. Some argue that it is not soon enough, others that a few short years offers too little time to build the institutions that will be expected to endure beyond 2014.

Either way, the deadline has noticeably stiffened the resolve of coalition and Afghan partners to zero in on what it will take to ‘transition’ this battle-scarred province without a return to the not-so-distant days of Taliban rule and tribal conflict.

Other factors are also playing their part in concentrating attention on the ‘end-state’; the promised US military drawdown will begin to take effect sometime this year, and President Karzai’s administration is under increasing pressure to demonstrate its ability to take the lead.

Such capricious dynamics have sparked a low-key yet ambitious undertaking to define a roadmap for transition, to chart a course to 2014 and beyond.

In principle, it sounds straightforward; figure out what Helmand should look like in 2014 or thereabouts, work backwards, and a plan should emerge.

The reality is that its creation has been a dazzlingly complex undertaking…

Over the past five months, planning teams have been zealously gathering views from across the province and beyond. In the districts, local officials and police chiefs, alongside civilian advisers and military commanders have been pondering their priorities over endless cups of tea. In the provincial seat of Lashkar Gah, line ministry representatives have discussed and debated with PRT civilians, who in turn have spent painstaking hours alongside their NATO counterparts. Countless drafts have been exchanged between Helmand, Kabul, London and Washington.

We stand now giddily on the brink of completion – edging closer to a final document that will comprise a visionary ‘capping document’ underpinned by thematic plans, which in turn inform district plans… Its 67 single-spaced pages and sheaf of annexes belying the labours of its creation.

It may be easy to understate the significance of this innocuous document, but its effects should quickly become visible; the shift from company commanders spending military funds to build a bridge or repair a canal to Afghan community groups and line ministries using on-budget funds to determine development priorities for their own people. It’s frought with risk, but vital if Afghans are to assume leadership.

But so far, only half the battle has been fought.

There are innumerable cases of superbly drafted plans laying dormant on the shelves of corporate suites and government departments the world over, quietly gathering dust despite the fanfare associated with their unveiling. The Helmand Plan 2011-2014 is no different. As Major Kim Noedskov, one of the authors of the plan, bluntly puts it,  “The plan is not important. Its understanding and implementation is.”

And he is right. For such an elaborate design to take effect – that is, to change the way of doing business here in Helmand, the vision and roadmap it describes must find themselves woven into the daily ‘battle rhythms’ of tens of thousands of NATO troops, their Afghan partners and into the very fabric of the myriad institutional layers that comprise this vastly complex campaign.

It strikes me that three factors will determine whether or not this plan will have some hope of shaping the daily actions of those on the ground; the trinity of civilian stabilisation teams, military commanders and Afghan officials;

Crucially, it will take leadership; the extent to which this plan continues to be genuinely and visibly endorsed at the highest levels of civilian and military command. Second, it must be embraced by those with the money, Afghan and international alike, who must be compelled to spend their dollars in accordance with this plan – and no other. Finally, people must be held to account for delivering on the goals and milestones of the plan. This will especially contentious, when systems of managing performance and directing effort vary wildly across the institutional spectrum.

To be fair, it is early days. The plan has barely been unfurled, and high marks must be given for a determined effort thus far. It will take some time yet before its intricacies begin to trickle down to the grunts on the front line. It should also be pointed out however, that outcome of these efforts is far from certain and the final votes wont be counted for a few more years yet.

Why Wasafiri?

by Ian Randall/

Wasafiri is Swahili for travellers. Why did we choose this it for our name? During our inception as an organisation, several separate threads of thinking converged, leading us to Wasafiri as a name we were all happy to call ourselves.

There is no path

“Traveller, there is no path, paths are made by walking”. This is a line by poet Antonia Machado. I first saw it quoted by Paulo Freire in one of his many books about how to empower people as agents of social change. For me, it captures the struggle and hope involved in human progress, and the work involved in overcoming poverty.

If everyone knew how to tackle chronic poverty and related crises, then everywhere people would be living comfortable, contented lives. Instead we find that the causes of poverty are deeply woven into our social, political and economic fabric. There are no easy or obvious solutions. Nonetheless, everyday people struggle to create paths out of poverty. As small progress is achieved then, slowly, people are capable of reconstructing their reality through new understanding and patterns of behaviour.

Wasafiri was established as a home for people seeking to accelerate this process of change.  We help individuals and organisations come together in critical reflection and then act in concert to recreate their world. We are both guides and fellow travellers on this journey.

The journeymen

Guilds dominated economic activity in the Middle Ages. They were loose but powerful professional associations through which best practices were learned, and clients were assured of quality service. An aspirant craftsman would start life as an apprentice working under an established master. Once they had proved themselves they would graduate to the role of “journeyman” and take ownership of their own tools. These freelancers would rove the great projects of Europe, working under different masters and constantly learning and exchanging new knowledge.

These journeymen are the professional ancestors of independent consultants. Wasafiri aspires to create a 21st century guild that networks together such consultants in to a community of practice that, as before, transcends institutional boundaries, promotes learning and gives our clients an assurance of quality.

A global community

Development work is, in part, about establishing effective and capable institutions in poorer countries. Despite this, development consultancy firms are dominated by professionals from the global North. Wasafiri was founded by a Zambian, a Rwandan, an Australian and a Brit in the belief that we would learn more and be more effective if our organisation mirrored the world we aspired to create. We want to maintain a balance between consultants from the global North and South, establish an inclusive culture and create an organisational structure that allows everyone to contribute and benefit.

Liberal Seburikoko, Wasafiri founder, started sharing Swahili words as possible names. Swahili draws from African, Arabic, Asian and European languages. It offered fertile ground for our search for an evocative name that would capture the spirit of our aspired global community.

Travellers

Those of us who make up Wasafiri have spent a great deal of lives travelling – either as adventurers, refugees, diaspora or professionals. We tend to be happiest and at our most purposeful when facing compelling problems without any clear or guaranteed solution. We enjoy heading in to the unknown, both metaphorically and literally.

While on assignment in Nairobi, I managed to escape for one day to climb Mount Longonot, an extinct volcano that thrusts up from the Great Rift Valley. The park rangers were adamant that a lone Mzungu would not be safe from wild buffalo, so my kind driver, Paul, offered to join me in circumnavigating the crater. As we sat sharing a can of baked beans on the summit and scanning the vast landscape around us, Paul and I discussed possible Swahili words for the new company. As soon as he suggested Wasafiri I was convinced we had our name.

Helmand 24: A fragile gift

by Hamish Wilson/

The time has come to pass on the mantle of stabilisation in Musa Qal’eh. Angus and myself are making way for a new team, bringing fresh eyes and new energy to the campaign.

Reflecting on the past nine months is akin to peering into a bizarre kaleidoscope – an ever-changing fusion of colours and experiences which reveal new insights with each twist. The image that dominates my mind however is one of transformation; for in our short time we’ve witnessed nothing less than the birth of government in Musa Qal’eh.

District Governor Naimatullah’s arrival in June followed a nerve-wracking void in district leadership – the fear of uncertainty permeated any hope for the future during those precarious times. Now, and perhaps for the first time in a generation, the people of this district have a legitimate and compassionate administrator.

And we’ve since watched a trickle became a flood of local Afghans to his office – many braving the journey for the first time – to seek guidance and counsel. These days it’s not uncommon for dozens of people to be patiently awaiting an audience.

Encouraged by these wisps of change, we tempted a prospective District Prosecutor to visit. Four months later, he’s still with us – and for the first time people are taking their disputes to the government rather than to the Taliban.

And two painstaking years since work first begun, we’ve finished building the police headquarters – the finest construction in the district, symbolic of the evolution of the district police into an increasingly professional and trustworthy force. We also watched the first stone being laid for what will soon become the new District Government complex, complete with a shura hall for over two hundred people. Its unveiling will be a fitting monument for the government of a district that knew of only Taliban and warlords just a few years ago.

Then, on a sunny autumn day, we sat amongst four hundred elders who defied retribution to elect a District Community Council to represent the interests of common people across the district. We capitalised on the momentum to help the new government tentatively enforce the first ever district Counter Narcotics Plan, a remarkable achievement in a district famed for its role at the heart of Helmand’s poppy trade.

Progress in governance has also been matched by reconstruction. Roads have been improved, and a mobile phone network installed. The District Centre finally has running water and electricity every day. Two schools have been refurbished and hundreds more children now go to school. Hundreds of young men have been employed through urban regeneration schemes and agricultural goods distributed to thousands of farmers to support their livelihoods. In the past six months I’ve watched three hundred more businesses open in the bazaar, and seen the weekly livestock market grow to over 3,000 people from all corners of the district.

But what of the impact of these efforts?

To those of us in the thick of things, it’s clear that the decisive ‘political settlement’ so long sought between the government and its people is cautiously emerging from the chaos of a war-ravaged past.

Such a settlement is more than hyperbole. Ive seen it; more locals are risking their lives to share information about the location of roadside bombs. More young men are willing to work with the Government to defend their villages against the Taliban. Farmers have started to eradicate poppy from their fields. A growing number of fighters have laid down their arms in search of a life beyond the insurgency. Remarkably, we are even seeing women warily step beyond the confines of their compounds to take their own issues to the District Governor.

The gift of such progress is both precious and fragile. It must be nurtured over these coming months lest we risk the district sliding into the mire from which it has torturously risen. But it is a tribute to the resilience of the people of Musa Qal’eh that we have come this far. I remain hopeful.

And in passing on this mantle, I wish all the very best to Henry, Clive and Julius.

Helmand 23: What price ‘Acceptable Corruption’?

by Hamish Wilson/

It costs an awful lot to repair the damage of war.

Schools must be built, roads constructed, power and water supplies installed, police stations furnished, telephone networks established and irrigation canals cleared (I could go on..).

Such efforts require a ready supply of both skills and materials. Sadly, Musa Qal’eh is short on both, which means that the cost of reconstruction is high, far higher than I had initially expected. Supplies must be trucked in from as far as Pakistan, across mountain passes and treacherous desert roads. Skilled masons, bricklayers and electricians must be found in neighbouring provinces, and paid bonuses to work here. Add to this the high cost of protecting convoys and replacing vehicles that expire en-route and you can begin to understand how the costs mount up.

Despite the challenges, the amount of money being invested in Musa Qale’h has soared in recent months. This is a good thing. Firstly, the Afghan government is becoming an increasingly effective development partner and secondly, security is improving which means that suppliers are more willing to bid for contracts (for example four months ago there were five official contractors. Now we have over thirty.)

But this is not a cloudless horizon; the risk of corruption is ever present and will inevitably feed from the boom of reconstruction. Here in Musa Qal’eh such risks come in many guises – overpricing, skimping on materials, charging for non-existant labour, and sadly even kickbacks for officials.

In the face of such widespread abuse, it is all too easy to dismiss such practices as ‘acceptable corruption’, or simply ‘the cost of doing business’. Such thinking is corrosive, especially if it ultimately means that medical supplies are stolen, classrooms are not built, and public faith in the government – so pivotal in this campaign – is undermined.

The nascent Afghan administration here is acutely aware that such a toxic seed cannot be allowed to take root, and last month launched a weekly meeting to candidly examine lessons and regain the initiative. From it emerged a range of important measures;

–       Establishing a Joint Project Coordination Office to oversee all reconstruction efforts

–       Launching a public Anti-Corruption campaign

–       Blacklisting corrupt contractors

–       Deploying project monitoring teams

–       Tightening up contracting procedures

–       Taking steps to prosecute corrupt officials

This will take time and courage. But it is working already – we’ve exposed a number of flawed projects, cancelled contracts and sent more than one contractor packing. The word is spreading that there is no such thing as acceptable corruption and more importantly, we may just be able to embed a new way of doing business here in this imperfect place.

Helmand 22: Living with the ‘Devil Dogs’

by Hamish Wilson/

“I grew up dreaming of becoming a Navy Seal. Then I met some Marines.” Says Major Justin Ansel, the Battalion Executive Officer. “17 years later and Ive never looked back.”

As second in command of the First Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment, he has the daunting task of managing well over a thousand Marines across two districts engaged in ‘full-spectrum counter-insurgency operations’. When you first meet Ansel, he embodies the image of a Marine – broad shouldered, a strong handshake, and with an air of no-nonsense competence.

Working with the US Marines has intrigued me from the first moment. Their reputation is hewn from iconic battles in exotic places – Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Khe Sanh… but just how does this legendary history translate into reality here in Musa Qal’eh?

There is no doubt that US Marines are a breed apart (I was politely informed very early on that Marines are not ‘soldiers’ – which refers to US Army). I was struck by the obvious distinctions; the ‘high and tights’ (fiercely cropped haircuts), their impressive appetite for physical training, the dog tags sewn into their boots, the famed Eagle, Globe and Anchor symbol adorning their fatigues, their guttural greetings of ‘Oorah’ (reportedly derived from the sound of a submarine diving alarm).

They are a force designed for expeditionary warfighting – taking the battle to a foreign enemy wherever they may be. And this approach pervades life in Musa Qal’eh; essentially Marines carry all they need with them, forgoing creature comforts to make do with what they have. (‘Living austere’ is the jargon.) Such a mindset also means a constant state of combat readiness. Out here, that means every Marine carries a weapon no matter what they’re doing, and that includes eating, sleeping and showering.

I was also struck by Ansel’s passion for the Corps. It is the spirit that seems to bind all Marines. “We are fanatical about our history – its who we are.” he tells me.

And he is right. It was their courage in the famed (and terribly bloody) battle of Belleau Wood in World War One which sealed their reputation. A letter later taken from the body of a German solider read “I don’t know who we are fighting, but they are like Hounds from Hell.”

Now the Devil Dogs, as they have come to be known, number over 220,000 troops, which is more the entire British Armed Forces. They have become the world’s largest mobile military, supporting three fully equipped ready-reaction task forces around the globe at any one time.

Ansel, who is nearing the end of his seventh tour, seemed to capture the mood of the Marines in Musa Qal’eh. “We’ll do whatever it takes to get this done.” referring to the campaign in Musa Qal’eh and Now Zad, and to the lives that have been lost on both sides. “And Im proud of the sacrifice we’re making here – it honours all those who have gone before us.” His words also resonate with the Corps’ own battle cry;

Semper Fidelis. Always Faithful.