What is the Enfys Acumen doing in The Gambia?

Early in 2007, the Enfys Acumen made a social responsibility commitment to make available up to two days every month for pro bono organisational development and coaching support to charities that could not otherwise afford our professional fees. One of the charities that has asked us for this help is called Aid for Orphans and the Disabled (AFOD) and is from the Gambia in West Africa.

AFOD is registered with the Gambian government as a charitable company and started its work about three years ago. We have received endorsements from international aid agencies in the area that are familiar with the organisation, but do not have the resources to support AFOD themselves.

Over the last few months, we have been exchanging regular emails and have had a number of telephone calls, including a mini workshop by phone at our expense to clarify the support needs of the charity. Communications of this nature, although wonderful in so many ways, are hampered by the fact that the only email access my main contact has is at an internet café and due to a poor telephone network, calls tend to cut out every few minutes or so.

So we bit the bullet, discussed options with AFOD and our mastermind team and thought about what we could really do to help.

Read on to find out more.