I’m a great believer in serendipity. When chance offers an opportunity, I try to grab it with both hands.
Serendipity saved the day for our strategic planning meeting! The Thursday night before our Saturday strategy meeting, I had book club. I almost didn’t go. I was busy worrying and planning for the Saturday strategy meeting. It was important that it go well. FunDza was now five years old. There were new staff members and new board members too. We needed to have real reflection on where we had come from and where we were wanting to go as an organisation.
I was nervous. I didn’t feel up to the task of leading it as I know I don’t have that light and skillful touch that is so important in getting people to open up and really talk. Plus, I knew that I was too involved in the organisation. More than anyone, I needed to be a participant, not the person facilitating…
But the busyness of report-writing, proposal-making, audit-preparing and a daunting to-do list had meant that it was the eleventh hour and we were facilitator-less. I felt I had no choice but play that role as best I could.
However, chance intervened. At book club I confided in my friend Gill (Faris) about my fears and worries. And, she – a seasoned facilitator, trainer and education consultant – said ‘I’ll do it!’
So, she did. And, it was the very best plan…
FunDza’s staff and some of the board members met on the Saturday for lunch and introductions. Then Gill led us through a variety of exercises that allowed us to reflect on what we had done, who we were, what we were wanting to achieve in a creative and safe space.
More than just planning and strategising, we had the time and opportunity to bond and talk on a deep level about the problems that we faced, about our hopes and dreams for ourselves and our work in the organisation, about our beneficiaries and how we were currently able (or not) to respond to their needs, about South Africa at the moment and what shifts were required to help develop the generations of educated, empowered and engaged young people and future leaders that our country so desperately needs. It gave us the opportunity to interrogate what that shift actually looks like to someone growing up in a township or a rural village who suddenly comes into contact with FunDza books and stories. And, to think about, and what next?
It wasn’t just a talk-shop – we came up with some practical actions that we could start to work on immediately. And, we have been.
Out of the conversations arose four main themes that we wanted to and could address straight-away.
- Our content: We know that our stories hit the right mark with many of our readers, but there is still a need for simpler, bridging texts and for stories that can also bridge the language divide and which reflect our multi-lingual society. We’re planning to commission a new set of print-based books which is able to do this. And, we’re in the process of putting more content in other South African languages onto FunDza’s mobi network.
- Communication with our readers: We use social media relatively effectively but there are new channels and ways we’d like to communicate with readers to do this better. We’re starting an Instagram account with the intention of talking to our readers about our organisation and its aims in a more visual and engaging way.
- Access to content: We know that readers enjoy our stories but that data costs are high. We’re prioritising development so we can provide downloadable versions of our stories online… so readers can download and read at no cost.
- Our people: We know that to grow we need to build on the people that we have and the skills that they bring to the organisation. We’re prioritising staff training and cross-skilling of staff members. Most of the people who run workshops or work directly with beneficiaries will be attending a facilitation skills development course later this month. And, we’re working on ways to broaden and deepen the skills base of staff in other ways too.
In addition, we’re trying to balance ‘doing’ with ‘thinking’. We’ve been incredibly busy for the past five years and that has given us little time to reflect and think. We’re looking at ways to introduce deep thinking into our weekly meetings and to always bring our actions back to our core aim of building a just equitable society in which all have access to a world of knowledge and imagination through the power of literacy.
At the end of the day, we broke into groups and created pantoum poems from the individual reflections we’d written up during the course of the day. It was fun and a perfect end to the day for a literacy organisation. The poems are lovely and provide a taste of our thinking. We’ve put them on our mobi site, so click through on the links to read each one.
Relentless tiring love by Xolisa Guzula, Rozzie Haden and Rethabile Mashale
A Collective by Nandi Tshabane, Dorothy Dyer, Zimkhitha Mlanzeli
Stimulationby Mignon Hardie, Steve Vosloo, Sonja Kruse
Always by Dumisa Mbuwa, Phoebe Sibomana, Andrew Weeks, Ndibulele Sotondoshe
The feedback from staff and board members bears testament to the value of the day:
“Thank for a strategy workshop that not only can be used for work purpose but also can be implemented in our own personal lives. Since I like to plan, it had a great impact in making not so distant future plans for Popularising Reading allowing me to explore the real meaning of the project as a whole.” (Nandipha Tshabane)
“I thought Gill had a light but deft touch, which is what skilful facilitation needs (in my book). Everyone seemed very at ease. I found the exercises for unlocking creative/unconscious processes particularly interesting.” (Andrew Weeks)
“I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday, meeting the team, getting to know more closely what you’ve been working at for the last five years, and thinking about the next five. It’s been an impressive journey so far, and gauging by the energy and commitment from team FunDza, that will only continue into the future!” (Steve Vosloo)
“I loved it. Absolutely love it. It wasn’t as threatening as I thought it would be (strategy meetings always are, especially if you arrive late). Gill was amazing and in control of the space; that made me feel comfortable to speak my thoughts.” (Zimkhitha Mlanzeli)
“It was so accessible to everybody, everybody, both new to FunDza and old. And it allowed all the participants to communicate freely. It got us to pull out a few items that can be easily implemented now, and therefore it seemed more concrete than idealistic.” (Xolisa Guzula)
“The workshop on Saturday was beautifully organised by Gill. I felt that she was able to capture the spirit of the day as well as guide people to think more critically and feel motivated enough to share their views.” (Phoebe Sibomana)
“I was so impressed at how much we covered, and reflected in such a short space of time. The gentle focus too on us as individuals with our own stories also made it a bonding space for us, which I think is of huge benefit to a busy organisation where we are so often rushing past each other.” (Dorothy Dyer)
So, if you are planning a strategy session or in need of a facilitator, Gill Faris comes with high recommendations. Find out more about her work here.