Philanthropod

Content Warning// trauma, violence, gender-based violencePlease be advised that listener discretion is advised as some parts of this conversation are distressingIn 1995, Benson Wereje's village in the Democratic Republic of Congo was attacked by rebels. He was separated from his parents and he endured unimaginable bloodshed before reaching a refugee camp in Uganda. More than five million of Benson's friends and countrymen have been killed in his home area. Dedicated to empowering youth and imbued with a deep admiration for the transformative impact that education can provide his country, Benson co-founded and became Executive Director of CIYOTA in 2005. Today, CIYOTA educates thousands of children and youths in refugee camps, focuses on community building and strives to unite tribes in the DRC to bring enduring and sustainable peace. Join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in an eye-opening and honest discussion with Benson about experiencing and overcoming trauma, how a commitment to equality, forgiveness and education was instilled in him by his father, and how he continues to be inspired by his wife - a modern ‘heroine’. Benson leaves you with a powerful message as to why he believes it is his mission to train young people in responsible leadership and create a unified vision for their country.For his work, Benson has been awarded the Desmond Tutu fellowship with African Leadership Institute at Oxford University in 2013, an Echoing Green fellowship in New York, the ASHOKA fellowship in 2015 and was a Tony Elumelu Foundation awardee in 2019.To learn more about CIYOTA follow the link: https://www.coburwas.org/ 

Anna Robertson first travelled to Ghana as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development. With a natural interest for entrepreneurship, innovation and accessible finance for the financially excluded and underserved, Anna quickly learnt that 80% of populations in developing contexts earn a precarious and often dangerous living in the informal sector, and the most vulnerable in this group are women. Inspired by the transformative impact of economically empowered women, Anna founded Yevu in 2012. Yevu is a for-profit social enterprise, manufacturing and selling its clothes online to a global customer base, whilst economically empowering women in Ghana’s informal sector through fair and sustainable employment opportunities.  Anna has also worked as the Head of Innovation Labs at Affinity Africa, which delivered a patentable prototype for Ghana's first digital retail bank, and as a Policy Advisor Deputy Lord Mayor at the City of Sydney. Join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in discussion with Anna who reflects on privilege, power and the role that she can play in connecting the bespoke and beautiful Ghanian textile industry to overseas markets. Anna highlights the importance of always centering the Ghanaian women who work with Yevu at the core of the business, collective and transparent decision-making, shared learning, and mutual goal-setting. Anna also speaks to the changing social enterprise landscape she has witnessed since Yevu’s inception.

Roy Head is an innovator and leader in the field when it comes to leveraging communications and mass media for good. Roy started his career as a documentary film director for the BBC, before joining UNPeacekeeping. There, he set up the UN's first radio station (in Cambodia) and its largest TV operation (during the Bosnian war). Roy founded the Health Division of the BBC World Service Trust in 1997, bringing together the BBC and the World Health Organisation. In 2005, Roy founded Development Media International (DMI) which aims to create evidence-based behaviour change campaigns to improve health and save lives. With a focus on delivering campaigns at scale to maximise impact and cost-effectiveness, DMI uses storytelling to motivate change and use scientific methods to test the impact of their interventions.Join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in conversation with Roy to learn how mass media, when employed strategically - with local knowledge and engaging storytelling practice - can be used as a key tool to strengthen public health outcomes and reach millions of people at one time. This episode also comes recommended for those interested in complex monitoring and evaluation and campaign design. Roy discusses the inherent issues in measuring huge public health prevention campaigns through mass media - which strive to measure complex, long-term or intangible outcomes: including changing ‘social norms’ or shifting attitudes towards health practices. To learn more about Development Media International follow the link: https://www.developmentmedia.net