Ubuntu: The Spirit of Philanthropy

Posted May 28, 2019

by Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Co-Chair, Maverick Collective, Co-Founder & CEO, Motsepe Foundation @MotsepeFoundtn

There is a word in the Nguni language called “Ubuntu,” which means, “I am because we are.” It is a spiritual concept that brings meaning to the burning sense of belonging each person feels and compels us to connect to our inner personal power for the benefit of others.

The Motsepe Foundation was established with this spirit, which we aim to instill amongst stakeholders locally, regionally and internationally.

Poverty, discrimination and inequality erode this innate sense of togetherness. They may disparage the sense of belonging women and girls have in society, limiting their agency to improve their welfare and that of their communities.

Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe speaks after a panel discussion ahead of Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 at Sandton Convention Center on November 30, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100)

A 2018 report by the World Bank Group found that an estimated $160 trillion of wealth is lost globally in lifetime earnings due to gender gaps. In sub-Saharan Africa, this figure is $2.5 trillion. In response to this financial inequality, the Motsepe Foundation advocates for gender-responsive budgeting initiatives which ensure that national budgets align to the needs of whole populations.

The Motsepe Foundation measures its impact through the strengthening of social cohesion and the liberation of women and girls. These both contribute to the creation of a truly prosperous society. With a focus on youth, the Foundation unlocks girls’ potential to achieve social, economic and political agency. Our programs ensure that there are more women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), social entrepreneurship and sports; we also work hard to make their voices heard in social and economic discourse.

The Motsepe Foundation has committed to the Giving Pledge, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through local and global partnerships with the Department of Education of South Africa, Harvard Kennedy School, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the Milken Institute, Maverick Collective and others, we aim to find creative solutions for societal change.

This change happens when the needs of women and girls are addressed. Their needs are not unique, only overlooked. Each year, the Motsepe Foundation hosts a Summit to unite the voices of women and girls. Their diversity ignites valuable discussions around new challenges and solutions which we collectively commit to supporting, financially and otherwise. To invest in women and girls is to invest in their access to choice and to uplift their individual power.

In every community, and for each individual whose lives were touched by the Foundation, we see a circular motion of Ubuntu inspiring the empowerment of thousands of other people.

To be a humanitarian is to consider our individual power through the lens of humanness, and aim for the achievement of oneness. Through philanthropy, as in Ubuntu, we reimagine the world as a place of peace, compassion, respect and justice. But to birth this new world requires systemic transformation that facilitates women into spaces where they are misrepresented, and rallies for the adoption of a bold vision where no one is left behind.

Hear more from Dr. Moloi-Motsepe at the Women Deliver 2019 concurrent session, “The Power of Money: Investing in Girls & Women” on Tuesday, June 4 at 3:00pm at the VCC West Plenary Hall.

This article appears in PSI’s Impact magazine, released in tandem with Women Deliver 2019, as part of an ongoing conversation about putting #PowerInHerHands.

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Digitalizing contraceptive counseling to reach rural women and girls in Ethiopia

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In rural Ethiopia, women and girls often face significant barriers in accessing healthcare facilities, which can be located hours away. Moreover, there is a prevailing stigma surrounding the use of contraception, with concerns about potential infertility or the perception of promiscuity. To address these challenges, the Smart Start initiative has emerged, linking financial well-being with family planning through clear and relatable messaging that addresses the immediate needs of young couples—planning for the lives and families they envision. Smart Start takes a community-based approach, utilizing a network of dedicated Navigators who engage with women in their localities. These Navigators provide counseling and refer interested clients to Health Extension Workers or healthcare providers within Marie Stopes International-operated clinics for comprehensive contraceptive counseling and services.

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Building community health worker capacity to deliver malaria care

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For example, in Mali, access to formal health services remains challenging, with four in ten people living several miles from the nearest health center, all without reliable transportation or access. In 2009, the Ministry of Health adopted a community health strategy to reach this population. The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) Impact Malaria project, funded by USAID and led by PSI, supports the Ministry with CHW training and supervision to localize health services.

In 2022, 328 thousand malaria cases were recorded by CHWs); 6.5 thousand severe malaria cases were referred to health centers, according to the national health information system.

During that time, the PMI Impact Malaria project (IM) designed and supported two rounds of supportive supervision of 123 CHWs in their workplaces in the IM-supported regions of Kayes and Koulikoro. This included developing and digitizing a standardized supervision checklist; and developing a methodology for selecting which CHWs to visit. Once a long list of CHW sites had been determined as accessible to supervisors for a day trip (including security reasons), the supervisors telephoned the CHWs to check when they would be available to receive a visit [as being a CHW is not a full-time job, and certain times of the year they are busy with agricultural work (planting, harvesting) or supporting health campaigns like mosquito net distribution].

Supervisors directly observed how CHWs performed malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and administered artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). They recorded CHW performance using the digitized checklist, interviewed community members, reviewed records, and provided on-the-spot coaching. They also interviewed the CHWs and tried to resolve challenges they expressed, including with resupply of commodities or equipment immediately or soon afterwards.

Beyond the observed interactions with patients, supervisors heard from community members that they were pleased that CHWs were able to provide essential malaria services in the community. And the data shows the impact.

In IM-supported areas of Mali, 36% of CHWs in the first round were competent in performing the RDT, which rose to 53% in the second. 24% of CHWs in the first round compared to 38% in the second were competent in the treatment of fever cases and pre-referral counseling. Between both rounds, availability of ACT increased from 80 percent to 90 percent.

Supportive supervision with interviews and observations at sites improved the basic competencies of CHWs between the first and second rounds, and additional rounds will help to understand the longer-term programmatic benefits.

Taking a market-based approach to scale sanitation in Ethiopia

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By the end of 2022, there were 6,600 unique users on the Kassai platform and 31,000 course enrollments. PSI Angola’s partnership with UNITEL, the largest telecommunication provider in Angola, allows for free internet access to learn on the Kassai for all public health providers in Angola. Building on its success for malaria training, Kassai now also provides courses in family planning, COVID-19, and maternal and child health. This reduces training silos and provides cross-cutting benefits beyond a single disease.

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Ubuntu: The Spirit of Philanthropy

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The Consumer as CEO

Digitalizing contraceptive counseling to reach rural women and girls in Ethiopia

Building community health worker capacity to deliver malaria care

Taking a market-based approach to scale sanitation in Ethiopia

Promoting self-managed care like Self-testing and Self-Sampling

Using peer coaches to counter HIV stigma in South Africa

simplifying consumers’ journey to care in Vietnam

Engaging the private sector for disease surveillance in Myanmar

Training health workers in Angola

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