NGOs Today

Q&A with Dr. Marwa Hafez Founder of “Ana Masraweya”

NGOs Today — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 09:31:03 +0000

Q&A with Dr. Marwa Hafez Founder of “Ana Masraweya”

Journalist: Janna Eldakhakhni

Editor: Mahmoud Mansi

Together with help from her childhood and college friends from Alexandria, Sharkeya, Cairo and Kafr el-Sheikh, they formed this personal initiative that has no religious or political support to help their communities. The initiative started in January 2016. For their first event, they celebrated with the orphans as they are aiming to bring attention year round to their cause. They also helped raise awareness about child kidnapping, breast cancer, and cleaning the cities of Egypt. Marwa hopes that her initiative will inspire more women who have time in their hands to follow their path.

Marwa Hafez: Founder of "Ana Masraweya NGO" Marwa decided to invest her time to help her community.

NGOs Today Magazine: You have launched a very active and interesting project; “Ana Masraweya” foundation, we are curious what is the story behind this successful initiative and what are its main objectives?

Marwa Hafez: Ana Masraweya started towards the end of 2015 when NGOs weren’t as acknowledged. I started Ana Masraweya because I had been volunteering and working with the general public ever since I was attending university. I started the NGO and was the sole founder at the start of 2016. Then, I started gathering 20 of my philanthropic friends to help. I have a deep understanding of the issues women face as I met multiple women who were dealing with problems and was inspired by how they moved past these hurdles. “A lady doesn’t feel for another’s dilemma unless she is dealing with the same thing so she tries finding solutions.” Ana Masraweya’s objectives include the following: a women’s committee that takes care of all the problems women face as well as celebrating Mothers Day and National Women’s Day, a committee specializing in raising awareness towards cancer in women, a campaign to raise awareness in Alexandria for people to donate their plasma and blood, a committee dedicated towards taking care of little girls from the ages of 10-16 and a committee dedicated towards donating and helping orphans get an education with the assistance of the Ministry of Education

NGOs Today Magazine: What strategic and managerial challenges did you face creating the foundation?

Marwa Hafez: When first beginning the NGO, I faced a lot of problems with the documentations, registering the NGO and the government issued background checks. Another issue I faced was when they were trying to differentiate the NGOs that actually wanted to do good deeds with the NGOs that were open for other reasons. Fortunately, after a year, “Ana Masraweya” was given the go-ahead!

NGOs Today Magazine: What are the most common problems and challenges facing the women whom you are working with, and how do you empower them?

Marwa Hafez: The most common drawback that women face is work place discrimination. Although Egyptian women do their jobs and have more experience, the men get all the promotions. Another challenge women face is divorce. The women they help are often physically and mentally abused as well as their ex-husbands leaving them with all the responsibilities and not helping her.

NGOs Today Magazine: What was the most impactful story you witnessed as part of your NGO?

Marwa Hafez: A story that stuck with me the most was about a woman who was divorced with a daughter who had a medical condition in her spinal cord. The mom would carry her daughter on her back on all the public transportations, get her jobs and take her to all her doctor appointments.

NGOs Today Magazine: Are you still in touch with the women you helped give a second chance to?

Marwa Hafez: Yes, we still keep in touch with the women we helped. We still check up on them and give them what they need. If they need anything they contact us and we help. We still keep in touch with women we’ve helped 7 years ago when the foundation first started.

NGOs Today Magazine: One of your goals is to make Alexandria a cleaner place, what are you doing to accomplish your mission?

Marwa Hafez: Another NGO we started was “Iskandariya Agmal” with the help of the Ministry of Tourism in Alexandria. Iskandariya Agmal also organized beach cleanups with the help of the parliament and created an environmental committee that specified in cleaning the streets of Alexandria.

NGOs Today Magazine: You are annually participating in Egypt’s World Youth Forum, can you tell us how this inspires you further in what you do? And in general how WYF is impacting the ecosystem in the region?

Marwa Hafez: I am so proud when I attend the World Youth Forum especially since the President takes his time to listen and educate the youth of the world. The first time I attended was in 2015. However, as time progressed in 2018 I was participating and organizing a workshop to raise awareness about children with special needs and the discrimination they face in society. In 2021, I organized another workshop dedicated towards people’s dreams and the goals they want to accomplish after the Covid-19 pandemic.

NGOs Today Magazine: What advice would you give to people who want to make an impact to the world yet don’t know where to start?

Marwa Hafez: To make an impact you have to have a passion for it as the thing that is done with love, that love is evident in the finished project and will be successful.

NGOs Today Magazine: We would love to thank you for the great achievements you are doing for society. Who can join or volunteer with “Ana Masraweya”, and how can they apply?

Marwa Hafez: For anyone that wants to volunteer in “Ana Masraweya”, there is an application on their Facebook page. Nevertheless, there are two conditions before you get initiated: she has to know two or more of the founders, and the person goes with the group once or twice so that they can all get introduced. When all of that is complete, she joins one of the main groups.

NGOs Today Magazine: Thank You !

The post Q&A with Dr. Marwa Hafez Founder of “Ana Masraweya” appeared first on NGOs Today.

People Leadership and Organizational Development in Non-Profit Organizations

NGOs Today — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 12:51:09 +0000

People Leadership and Organizational Development in Non-Profit Organizations

By: Mahmoud Mansi

– Founder & Chairperson on NGOs Today

Leadership, development, innovation, agility, and change management are all trigger words in the worlds of business, politics, economy and personal development. Today in organizations management has completely transformed and is still taking new forms, which eventually impacts the employee, the organization, and therefore the society. Are all organizations transforming and developing on the same pace? Is it the same importance to apply this development in profit organizations that produce services and goods that we all love to consume as applying it in non-governmental and non-profit organizations?

organizations that show concern towards community development are focusing on limited initiatives.

By: Mahmoud Mansi

– Founder & Chairperson on NGOs Today

organizations that show concern towards community development are focusing on limited initiatives.

Corporate and profit organizations directly impact the economy of every country through providing new jobs, giving salaries and healthcare insurances, manufacturing products or offering services, and creating local and global demand and supply. On the other hand, non-profit and non-governmental organizations impact the economy in a different way through offering services and awareness campaigns that are relevant to the environment, heritage, healthcare, poverty, mental wellness, and humane initiatives like gender equality and animal rights for instance. These may impact the economy in an indirect way but their impact can be stronger than the for-profit organizations, below is a table of comparison that highlights the impact of profit and non-profit organizations on the economy:

Profit Organizations / Corporate

Focus on higher productivity and providing better lifestyle to people through their products and services
Work on the “wants” & creating new “needs”
Encourages people to become financially independent
Tangible impact

Non-Profit Organizations & NGOs

Focus on spreading awareness towards essential and vital causes and values that might “prevent” expected and unexpected crisis
Cover basic yet vital “needs” and “rights”
Encourages people to volunteer and give to the community and stand for what they believe in
Intangible impact

Profit Organizations / Corporate

Focus on higher productivity and providing better lifestyle to people through their products and services
Work on the “wants” & creating new “needs”
Encourages people to become financially independent
Tangible impact

Non-Profit Organizations & NGOs

Focus on spreading awareness towards essential and vital causes and values that might “prevent” expected and unexpected crisis
Cover basic yet vital “needs” and “rights”
Encourages people to volunteer and give to the community and stand for what they believe in
Intangible impact

In order to have a sustainable economy, the focus should be on both; the corporate and the non-profit organizations in terms of people and organizational development. There is a clear gap between the management system in multi-nationals and other profit organizations on one hand and the not for profit organizations on the other hand in terms of training employees, management consulting services, education, and the management system. Furthermore, below is a detailed comparison between the management systems in profit and non-profit organizations:

Tasks & Responsibilities

Training

Human Resources

Workforce

Budgeting & Revenues

Budgeting Expenditure

Salary System

Furthermore another study which was based on surveying students aging between 17 and 22 reveals the common perception of youth about working in both types of organizations:

Profit Organizations / Corporate

Non-Profit Organizations & NGOs

Profit Organizations / Corporate

Non-Profit Organizations & NGOs

Work Motto

You work for “yourself”

You work for the “community”

Experience & Personal Development

Corporate training, induction and years of experience

Assigned projects, communication and connections

Career Path & Recognition

The more employees work the more they make money and get promoted in the future

People gain good experience but in return they don’t get sufficient monetary compensation but they get a verbal and moral one

Management Style

Less concerned about employees’ wellbeing, and more focused on productivity and profit

Care about giving a valuable experience to people

The gap between the corporate and non-profit world is due to several reasons, mainly it is concerned with the lack of:

Awareness in the NGO world towards investing in people and organizational development
Budget and funding which is mainly spent on project resources
Mastering consulting tools to create development initiatives that can directly impact the business results and measuring the return on investment (ROI)
Research papers and best practices that address management in NGOs and non-profits
Academic and professional courses and certifications that are tailored on non-profit organization workplace

The change will emerge from industry leaders who want to make a difference and take chances to transform the mindset and management system in NGOs & NPOs, same as the change in the corporate world emerged from “managers” and “employees” who decided to do things differently, then it evolved to success stories, case studies, and eventually a trend that impacted the concerned industry.

Solutions to empowering management efficiency, agility and effectiveness in non-profit organizations:

Having more publishing platforms, media outlets, seminars and conferences that are purely concerned with managing non-profit projects and organizations
Working with educational and training experts in order to create professional and accredited courses and workshops that are tailored for NGO leaders, employees and volunteers
Working with management consultants in order to develop and tailor systems and initiatives that are related to human capital management, quality control, risk management, product innovation, organizational structure, people management, teambuilding, and agility
Assigning specific funding opportunities that are solely focused on people and organizational development
Setting clear organizational excellence standards by the government for NGOs & NPOs in terms of quality management, work efficiency, innovation, and employee satisfaction
Documenting successful management case-studies and best practices that occurred in NGOs and NPOs to be published and shared with professional from the same field
Organizing competitions and awards for NGOs & NPOs that are related to leading people, developing the organization and innovation in management

The post People Leadership and Organizational Development in Non-Profit Organizations appeared first on NGOs Today.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy in the Maritime Industry

NGOs Today — Sat, 16 Jul 2022 09:36:38 +0000

Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy in the Maritime Industry

By: Mahmoud Mansi

– Founder & Chairperson on NGOs Today

– Judge at the GULF Sustainability Awards, Author & Consultant

– President of OSHAssociation UK for Egypt’s Chapter

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Philanthropy have been recently a main pillar for driving organizations towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs), however on one hand not as much organizations are concerned with sustainable development goal number 14; Life below Water, and on the other hand maritime organizations that show concern towards community development are focusing on limited initiatives. A recent research conducted by NGOs Today on the Maritime Sector’s role in the Middle East towards SDG 14, shows that around 40% of Maritime students have not heard about SDGs in general and SDG 14 in specific. On the other hand, 46.5% of the Maritime workforce are unaware of SDG 14 objectives and their responsibilities towards it.

Ten CSR and Philanthropy Initiatives and Tips for the Maritime Industry:

1- Protect the Ocean from Home: In January 2016, the World Economic Forum published a report[1] which stated that if we continue to pollute the environment at the current rate, “by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans, by weight”. According to an article published in Dopper[2], “The plastic soup is a constant threat to marine life.” And most people “don’t necessarily see how they themselves can help solve this problem.” Therefore, creating awareness projects and campaigns targeting the public in order to educate people to apply smarter waste management approaches in their homes which will directly impact ocean pollution and climate change.

2- SDGs Training for Coastal Activities: This program is to increase sustainability awareness to all individuals and underground economy and workforce who engage in costal jobs and activities. An example to this sector is fishermen working on the shore and on fishing vessels.

3- Partnering with Charity Organizations for Medicine & Food Transfer: Through the shipping channels food a dedicated space on each vessel can be available for the transportation of any food and medicine to regions and countries in need while partnering with concerned charity organizations. The crew of the ship and the mariners can also dedicate part of their time through this process in dedicating the donations to the community.

4- Partnering with NGOs: When it comes to community work, ESG and sustainability it is always smarter to build partnerships with the experts in those field, which are the NGOs, and co-create projects together. Several contemporary researches, business models and reports resulting from the collaboration between NGOs and corporate.

5- Creating Innovation Awards for Youth Engagement: Corporate has three choices to acquire talent; buy, build and borrow. Corporate leaders reached a conclusion that youth and students are able to think out of the box and create new innovative solutions for the industry. These ideas can be generated through internships and workshops, yet a new best practice is initiating sustainability awards for youth to suggest innovative projects that serve the industry.

6- Working on Ocean Sanitation Projects: Each maritime organization can dedicate part of its CSR activities, human resources and budget in fighting pollution and sanitizing local coasts in alignment with the government.

7- Diversity and Inclusion: Developing policies, initiatives and awareness campaigns inside to promote including different cultures, mindsets and talents in the workplace. The maritime industry is naturally a multi-cultural workplace yet more initiatives about communicating with different cultures, working with a gender balance mindset, and co-working with people with special needs.

8- Health and Safety Programs for Mariners: Physical health and safety has been a priority in the maritime industry, nowadays mental health became a vital trend in organizations. Therefore, maritime organizations are encouraged to develop mental wellness programs for their workforce to prevent and solve depression issues related to mariners spending long distances in the sea. An article published in SAFETY4SEA Magazine in September 2020[1] stated that “Over 25% of seafarers suffer from severe depression and almost 6% of deaths at sea is attributed to suicide,” and one of the reasons that causes the depression is due to “lack of Wi-Fi access on board” which makes seafarers feel isolated from friends, family and loved ones”.

9- Engage the Community: In each of the previously suggested initiatives, the organization can engage the community through launching volunteerism applications for the public to be involved.

10- Applying in Sustainability Awards: There are various international and regional business and sustainability awards that encourage organizations to submit their best practices and initiatives in human resources, learning, innovation, technology, CSR and sustainability. Maritime organizations are encouraged to apply in such awards, get recognized and learn from other organizations.

Our home is not limited to the land, but our home extends to the sea, we need to collaborate and worked further to make sure the public is aware of that.

*Article was previously published in The Arab Mariner Newsletter, Issue 8, 2022

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