Between the 5th and 10th of November, Rede Comuá was present in Entebbe, Uganda, to participate in the meeting of partner organizations of the Global Fund for Community Foundations, as well as the African Philanthropy Network conference
By Jonathas Azevedo
After three planes, two connections and more than 20 hours of travel, I arrived in Entebbe, Uganda, with the mission of representing Rede Comuá in two activities: the meeting of partners from ,Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF), the only organization focused exclusively on growing community philanthropy globally as a central pillar of people-led development, and at the ,African Philanthropy Network (formerly known as the African Grantmakers' Network), the first after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, whose theme this year was “Driving Change”, in free translation (Driving Change, in English). Both are also partner organizations in the ,Donate to Transform Program.

In Uganda, the Donate to Transform Program is called Philanthropy for Development.
In the photo Jonathas Azevedo, Project Advisor at Rede Comuá.
I arrived in the middle of the night without yet having the size of our great host: Lake Victoria, one of the Great African Lakes and where, according to legends, spirits of ancestors live. It thus became even more symbolic to participate in two activities that, in some way, celebrated and honored ways of doing philanthropy that take us back to ancestral practices of community engagement and development – all of this on the margins of the Nnalubaale, as the lake is called in Luganda, one of the languages spoken in Uganda.
Throughout the week I was in Entebbe, I had the unique opportunity to meet organizations and leaders, from the most diverse corners of the African continent, committed to philanthropy led by communities and which recognizes in the most diverse territories where a series of assets operate, resources and knowledge that are mobilized in favor of true social transformation and community development – a basic premise of community philanthropy.

Global Fund for Community Foundations Partner Meeting
For members of Rede Comuá, community philanthropy is inseparable from philanthropy for social justice, that is, committed to guaranteeing and accessing rights, especially for political minorities. In Entebbe, I was able to interact with representatives of other organizations committed to the same mission, adapting it to the needs and realities of each context. We share many of the challenges, from the reduction of civic space to contexts of threats to activists and civil society movements. But, at the same time, we are guided by similar sets of principles and values that, based on local practices, experiences and knowledge, are re-discussing the logics of power that constitute the bases of the philanthropic system and international development.

“African Philanthropy: the act of giving is an act of power”
In this sense, I returned from Uganda even more certain that collaboration between organizations, leaders, movements and activists from the Global South is essential to observe the changes we want in the philanthropic ecosystem – whether in Brazil or in other parts of the world. By mobilizing, for example, joint advocacy initiatives aimed at donors and decision-makers, we put into practice principles of movements such as #ShiftThePower (in Brazil, we translate it to #PoderParaAsComunidades and continue building the philanthropy that we actually want.
I would therefore like to end this text by presenting some organizations that I had the pleasure of meeting throughout this unique experience in Uganda. Just as it was for me, I hope they are a source of inspiration for you, the reader, in the fight for philanthropy that is truly transformative.
,East African Philanthropy Network (EAPN) – Bringing together more than 60 organizations from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, the network's mission is to promote philanthropy and the culture of giving in East Africa.
,Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) – The first foundation dedicated to development led by and for communities in East Africa, KCDF works for community development attentive to social justice through a range of strategies, including resource mobilization and advocacy.
,NEAR (Network for Empowered Aid Response) – Composed of local and civil society organizations from the Global South, the network aims to promote a fairer and more equitable system of humanitarian aid and international development. They also have a humanitarian disaster response fund.
,Resources Oriented Development Initiatives (RODI) – Working with communities and people leaving the prison system, RODI operates throughout Kenya with initiatives aimed, in particular, at access to justice, social inclusion and capacity building.
,STAR Ghana Foundation – The foundation, based in Accra, Ghana, aims to strengthen Ghanaian civil society in favor of values such as democracy and inclusion. Also partners in the Doar Para Transformar (Giving for Change, in English) program, you can check out ,on this blog (in Portuguese) their work with women accused of witchcraft in the north of the African country.
,Twerwaneho Listeners' Club (TLC) – Born from a local radio program, the organization brings together human rights activists, working for their protection and safety in Uganda.
,UHAI EASHRI (UHAI – The East Africa Sexual Health and Rights Initiative) – First activist, feminist and participatory fund by and for sexual and gender minorities and sex workers. It operates in 7 African countries.
Jonathan Azevedo He is a project advisor at Rede Comuá.