The Seven Hills Foundation Goes Global | Partnerships planned in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya to help those in need
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James Muiruri of Seven Hills (far right) leads employees of the nonprofit and students from Clark University in a discussion of the new Global Outreach project.
Its very name may be synonymous with Worcester, but the Seven Hills Foundation is now taking its mission of supporting people with disabilities and other disadvantages far from Central Massachusetts.
Seven Hills Global Outreach Inc., founded this fall, is the organization’s first international effort. Foundation staff hope it will eventually extend its reach to support sister organizations providing social services all over the world. For now though, it’s starting modestly, with a 2009 budget of $25,000 to do work in three African countries.
Real Life Lessons
Seven Hills President and CEO David Jordan said the idea of the Global Outreach organization emerged from two sources.
As “social entrepreneur in residence” at Clark University in Worcester, Jordan studies and teaches social engagement, and in recent semesters many of his students have been asking him about getting involved in efforts in other parts of the world.
Meanwhile, at Seven Hills, he talked with an employee from Sierra Leone who personally sends money to help girls in the country attend high school, something that costs about $200.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute, so for $200 you can send a young girl to four years of secondary school?’” Jordan said. “He said ‘I do this regularly. If I don’t we’re losing a whole generation, particularly of young women, who are not typically afforded an education.’”
As he moved forward with the idea of working in other countries, Jordan called on the expertise of his own staff, 20 percent of whom he said are immigrants. He asked HR staffer James Muiruri which countries are most heavily represented, and discovered they were Sierra Leone, Ghana and Kenya.
From there, Jordan and his Clark students met with staff from the three countries, who offered ideas about what approaches might work, and even contacts at local organizations.
Muiruri, who is now helping to organize the new initiative as part of Seven Hills’ diversity committee, said one priority for the organization is taking direction from local groups rather than going into the countries with preexisting ideas.
To that end, a delegation from Seven Hills, along with students from Clark, will go to Ghana in March and visit New Horizons, a special education school that it is forming a partnership with. Muiruri said the visitors will discuss the school’s needs and take part in a forum that it is hosting on working with people with disabilities.
This summer, Jordan said, he will visit all three countries to make more connections with potential partner organizations. In Sierra Leone, he said, Seven Hills staff members hope to support a school for midwifery to help reduce the high rate of maternal mortality in the country. In Kenya, they are still working out what organization to partner with.
Muiruri said many of Seven Hills’ African staff members are particularly eager to work with organizations in their home countries that offer some of the same support for people with disabilities that Seven Hills does
“I think a lot of people are feeling this is something we really need to share with people back at home,” he said.
Jordan said Seven Hills plans to give $5,000 a year to an organization in each country. Beyond that, the group’s involvement will depend on what the local groups are looking for.
One thing Seven Hills has no intention of doing is setting up its own offices overseas. But Jordan said he does hope that growing relationships with the foreign organizations will allow the nonprofit’s professional staff to take “sabbaticals” in the other countries. Another benefit for the group is the possibility of recruiting new staff from Africa, he said.
Beyond all that, though, Jordan said part of the impetus for the new venture is that for a small fraction of its $150 million annual budget the group can help provide useful services in parts of the world where they are desperately needed.
“We just can no longer just talk about this,” he said. “We have to do something about this. We have to decide to act.” n
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