With plans to retire in 2024, it was of utmost importance to find a successor who would bring both an institutional fit and extensive NGO knowledge to the table. In many informal conversations the director had with the more senior staff, the “angst” of unpredictability and change for the sake of change was mentioned repeatedly.
With this in mind, it became clear that filling the position would not be easy. When informal job-hunting efforts at the board level and with the Executive Director yielded no tangible results, the position was advertised widely within the NGO network and community. After the first round of interviews mainly produced applications from government social workers without leadership or NGO experience, the position was advertised again. Luckily, the second time around, more senior applications were received, and in interviews with the board, the Outreach Foundation’s own Wiseman Ngobese was selected.
Towards the middle of the year, the work permit of our Zimbabwean-born finance manager was not renewed, prompting not only the executive director to stay on longer but to reshuffle the entire finance, admin, and HR department.
And whilst this unexpected development put a damper on our work, the Outreach Foundation continued to develop as planned.
The UN’s International Organisation for Migration – IOM – financially supported a skills development programme in Mpumalanga, whilst South African mining giant Anglo-American Corporation funded the purchase and refurbishment of 3 large shipping containers for Musina. The Musina municipality came on board and provided free space for the containers outside the Nancefield Multipurpose Centre, thus making the Musina office the very first in Outreach’s history to work from an office that the organisation owns.
With the offices in Hillbrow and Pretoria continuing their good work thanks to our hard-working and dedicated staff, we also secured new funding from Terre des Hommes Germany for a 2-year programme based on the earlier IOM pilot project.
Apart from our staff, our loyal donors, Bread for the World, the ELM, the Department of Social Development in Gauteng, and the Olthaver Trust also need to be mentioned. Without their support in a world of shrinking funding, we would not have been in a position to reach out to tens of thousands of beneficiaries and their families, providing a foundation for future growth and prosperity.
OUTREACH FOUNDATION – YOUR FUTURE FOUNDATION.