Reviving Corps Senegal
Mareme Ndour believes in duty; her duty to manage and lead her colleagues and organisation more effectively as Deputy Director of Corps Africa-Senegal. In 2017 she discovered a means to fulfilling her duty. She identified WACSI’s Civil Society Leadership Institute (CSLI) programme as the ideal platform to make this happen. “WACSI’s CSLI was a must for me. I realised that it will take a while for them to reach my rhythm so I need to be empathetic in order to support them to be more productive,” she lamented. “Reflecting deeply on the situation, I realised I needed to better myself as a leader to make a greater impact. I knew for sure that the CSLI platform could empower me to do just that.”
After returning to her organisation after the two-week leadership programme, Mareme realised the tremendous impact the training was making in her organisation. “The CSLI incredibly reinforced my leadership skills particularly regarding my style of leadership and relationship with my colleagues. It impacted my ability and willingness to empower others, to achieve together, the organisation’s goals,” she attested.
Applying for the programme with the aim of taking her leadership skills to the next level, Mareme could feel the tangible impact of the various sessions of the leadership programme. She now has a clearer understanding of what leadership means and has the skills she needs to excel in this position. “The sessions helped me understand that in my role as a leader, I needed to empower others. I was introduced to the notion that leadership is not just having power but empowering others with it,” Mareme confessed. “I have implemented this in my organisation. I now give my colleagues the space to take up initiatives and grow in their roles in the organisation,” Mareme shared proudly.
The beauty of the programme is the impact it makes not only in the professional and individual development of the participants but the community they find themselves. “I can confidently confirm that my participation in the CSLI has given me a stronger disposition and mindset to collaborate with people of different cultural and professional backgrounds,” she professed.
“Through the coaching and support I gave to my team, the latter succeeded in transforming several lives in my community by implementing projects on food security, education, environmental issues.
*The CSLI programme is designed to groom the next generation of leaders in civil society. It equips participating fellows with the skills and tools they need to create sustainability in their fields and places of work and amplify the effectiveness of their actions. It also designed to bring the present and future young leaders in civil society together to share ideas, build each other up, to construct a vibrant, resilient and effective civil society in West Africa. The programme is run in two phases, the training phase and mentorship/coaching phase. These together, provide the fellows with strong theoretical principles and experiential guidance to put these into practice.
