The Mission:
The Mission
What We Do
Dusty Feet is an organization bringing change by “Social Entrepreneurship.” Social entrepreneurship can be defined as: using entrepreneurial ideology to help alleviate societal ills. When we examine problems developing nations are facing, most issues can be associated with economic insufficiencies.
In “Forces for Good,” Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant describe social entrepreneurs as “highly adaptive, innovative leaders who see new ways to solve old problems and who find points of leverage to create large-scale systematic change.” We feel it is our responsibility to use local entrepreneurs to inspire change in the areas Dusty Feet is working. It would be much easier to create a feeding program, which takes a constant flow of cash to keep the operation working. Instead we have chosen to take the path less traveled. Partnered with local individuals we will build a micro economy, not dependant on donor dollars year after year. Our mission is to make small business work as a catalyst for social change. Our model will not be completed in a years time. The process we are developing is estimated function effectively within seven to ten years. Crutchfield and McLeod go on to write; “The new philanthropy is all about leveraging financial resources by investing in the most entrepreneurial agents of change – those that have figured out how to scale their impact exponentially.” Scaling our impact exponentially begins by creating a working model, not a system to mask a problem. We are dedicated to invest our time to create a revolutionary model, which will change the world.
The epicenter or our model, physically and figuratively, is the community center. The process, however, does not begin with the community center. The process begins with small groups. Our Field Coordinators begin by encouraging members of a community to join a small group. The small group begins by discuss positive and negative issues within the community. After the issues are defined, the Field Coordinators begin mapping exercises, where members within the group discuss available resources. The group then develops a plan to tackle negative community issues, as well as, a subsequent plan to increase the positive community issues. Working together to make changes, the group uses the discussed resources and their newly founded relationships to impact their community.
Once the small groups are developed, our team has a greater understanding of the relationships operating within the area. Understanding the relationships within an area allows our team to create a model, which most closely represents the community. Most importantly, the community has already built relationships aimed at making changes. Everyone is in place to build a center.
The community center acts as the central gathering point for community events. The center will also provide food, health care, job training, and spiritual guidance for the local community. Outside the center, will reside the small businesses built by members of the community. Individuals involved with the small groups will employ the businesses. Each business is designed to provide a service and to make a profit. After the staff is paid all profits are used to fund the community center, alleviating the need for perpetual donorship. All the services, salaries, and activities within the community center are funded by the profit of the businesses. Essentially, the people supported by the community center are creating a micro economy, which will support new people. The change is happening from within the community, by the community.
Inside the walls of the community center, a HIV/AIDS testing center will be established. East African countries facilitate a HIV/AIDS program called, “Volunteer, Counseling, and Training,” otherwise known as, VCT. The VCT program is given to organizations, such as Dusty Feet, capable of supporting the program. Dusty Feet has determined to work with other organizations to ascertain a large network and multiple resources within the community center.
Nourishment will be provided for children surrounding the community center. Micro-enterprise training teaches cheap and effective cooking ideas. In order to train effectively, the program will use real food, which will produce viable sustenance. The food used in the micro-enterprise training will be used for the feeding program. The projected goal of the nourishment program is to provide at least one meal per day for one hundred children.
The community center will provide life skills training for individuals living near the center. Life skills courses are as follows: personal hygiene, English language education, micro-enterprise training, and positive living education. The life skills’ training is aimed toward those who are unable to receive a formal education.
The businesses located outside the community center will vary depending on location and need. To be completely self-sustaining an organization must not rely of donor funding. The only way not to rely on donor funding is to create capital. For example, Dusty Feet has researched implementing a bakery in Nairobi, Kenya. Research shows that a bakery can produce profit with a constant cash flow. The profit will be used to subsidize the cost of all community center operations. Individuals who have completed micro-enterprise classes will be eligible for employment. Aside from employment and subsidization for the community center, another benefit of the bakery will be the availability of bread at an affordable price for slum inhabitants. The bread sold at the bakery will be marketed toward individuals living in, or near the slums. The bread will be sold at a fraction of the cost of breads sold in most bakeries in Nairobi. The purpose is to help families eat, who might have not eaten had the bread not been available at a low price.
The completed circle - The model began with relationship building and the model ends with relationship building. Dusty Feet strategically partners with local churches. The church, to date, is the only example of a fully functioning sustainable model. We will use local pastors to act as leaders within the operation of the community center. The pastors will help guide the community and will stay connected with families living near the center. Our mission and our work are both based on true love; love only found through a relationship with God. The local church will be the starting point for many people who come to the center.