THE ACCIDENTAL, NOW DEDICATED VOLUNTEER
- GSGC
- Mar 29, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 29
New Jersey resident Bruce Klein had planned to do more charitable work after retirement. He didn’t plan to do it 7,500 miles from home.
Bruce and his wife, Ellen Walsh, had just completed Global Sojourns’ award-winning Safari, Culture and Philanthropy trip in Southern Africa last June when owner Priscilla Plummer asked him what he had done for a living. He said he was an electrical engineer, and had worked as a project manager for companies that design and build heavy industrial facilities.
“Really?!,” Priscilla said, the wheels in her mind picking up speed.
She explained that Global Sojourns Giving Circle needed a project manager to head its effort to build a meeting place and “safe space” for members and alumnae of girls clubs it sponsors in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Livingstone, Zambia. Then she asked if he would be interested in lending a hand.
“I was surprised,” Bruce said recently. “After all, this was my first trip to Africa, and I’d just learned about the Giving Circle.”
But after cogitating on it, Bruce said, “I thought yes, I can help with that. I was open to doing something, and it sounded like I had a skill that would help. And GSGC was doing such good work.”
Bruce had been hooked by a visit to Girls Time, a GSGC-sponsored club that meets at Lulu Academy in Victoria Falls. Auntie Procedure Mhlanga, who heads the club, had invited his small travel group to the school, where every week 30 girls meet in a classroom.
“They are all smart and bright and cheerful and hopeful and have as much potential as any group of young people,” Bruce said. “I kept thinking what a horrible waste it would be if these young women don’t get their shot. They deserve a chance like anyone else.”
Bruce strongly supports GSGC’s core mission to empower girls. “Studies show that where women are full participants in a society, the society is healthier by any measure,” he said. “Intellectually, I have a lot of respect for GSGC’s approach.”
Bruce set about learning everything he could about GSGC, the safe space idea, what the space could look like, where it could be built, and how it could serve the girls and GSGC community. When a building in a prime location was about to become available to rent, Bruce knew it was time to get on a plane. During his one-week visit in January, Bruce got a crash course on working in Southern Africa. To learn more, read the letter he sent to another volunteer who has been raising money for the meeting space.
“American rules and regulations go on for hundreds of pages; Zim rules and regs do not. It kind of makes it easier,” he said. “But getting things done in Zimbabwe is absolutely more difficult. The country lacks a stable financial system and decent infrastructure. Water and power are not reliable. Simple things can be time-consuming. Snags are everywhere.”
As example, during his visit, the country’s economic crisis – higher gas and bread prices – prompted protests. In response, the seven-month-old government of Emerson Mnangagwa shut down the internet, restoring it only intermittently. Social media sites Skype and WhatsApp, the two primary means of communication for the average Zimbabwean, were blocked for his entire stay.
Throughout his visit, Bruce also got a better understanding of GSGC by connecting with members of our Africa-based community in Victoria Falls and Livingstone. He connected deeply with Smokey Dube, GSGC’s program director, and several girls club aunties and boys club mentors.
“In so many ways, the American yardstick doesn’t work here; that’s one of the things that makes it hard to understand Africa,” Bruce explained. “It’s also why the GSGC model of working with local leaders to advance cultural shifts is so important. By providing guidance and support, and building strong relationships, GSGC enables sustainable change to come from within.”
Bruce says he will remain involved with GSGC. To extend his impact, he’s also learning about fundraising and helping our organization develop a GSGC 2.0 Strategic Plan. “GSGC is a good organization with which to spend time,” he said. “We happened to stumble into one another, and I’m glad we did.”
