Maji Safi Wins Fellowship

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On June 5th, the Maji Safi Group participated in World Learning’s first Social Innovation Summit. The Maji Safi Group was part of a cohort of 9 finalists for the Advancing Leadership Fellowship.
Finalists
Throughout the day this group presented project pitches to a panel of judges and an audience of over 100. Watch the video below to view Max Perel-Slater give his pitch about using the fellowship to create a new Community Resource Center  for the Maji Safi Group in Shirati, Tanzania.
The day was also a great opportunity for networking, and MSG made many valuable connections with non-profit professionals, fellow social innovators, and funders.
At the end of the night MSG was awarded one of the 5 fellowship positions, which includes a $10,000 seed grant to start the Community Resource Center and leadership and social innovation training.

Insights into Sustainable Community Development

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MSG Maji Safi Group (MSG) was started as a means to spread hygiene and sanitation education in a sustainable way. The founders of MSG came together with different backgrounds, experiences, and educational interests with a common vision to start something truly organic that would be owned by the Shirati community.

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Currently we are excited to report that MSG actively promotes disease prevention by focusing on sustainable education where locals are trained to teach others about the importance of hygiene and sanitation. MSG education is spread throughout the community through home visits, workshops, and extra-curricular activities that give community members of all ages the opportunity to express themselves in a hands-on learning environment. This education is taught and facilitated by Community Water Workers (CWWs) who are local Shirati women trained and employed to spread hygiene education. The ownership of the project is thereby transferred to the community, which intentionally differs from the disastrous top-down approach too commonly employed by service organizations.

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We are starting this blog to give you a rare look into the makings of a truly community based organization. It takes a whole community to start a project like MSG and the MSG community is vast and eager to share their experiences and stories with you. Stories will come from our Community Water Workers, volunteers, directors, families that are being positively affected by MSG, children participating in MSG programs, donors, and board members. It is our hope that through these insights you too will become a special member of the MSG family. We are looking forward to continuing this exciting journey with you.

Judith + Grandaughter