The Opsimath

Roots in Project magazine

Our charity - Roots - is featured in this month's edition of Project magazine as part of a focus on ethical thinking in project management.

The article is called "Projects in Uncontrolled Environments". Now there's a name that could catch on!

New Roots film on the way

Last night I saw the first rough version of a new promotional film that we are having produced for the charity Roots Sudan. It's looking very good - hopefully it will be available very soon.

Contentment in the midst of great need

This photograph was taken in a classroom in Southern Sudan and it brings with it a challenge to our western, consumerism-centred mindset.

In what is clearly number 10 in a series of  'rules', this one states that "I will be happy with what I have."

This is in the context of a community where there is actually very little to 'be had' and yet the evidence was that people were living in a way that was consistent with the statement, a way that was content with the very little that they had.

This second picture makes that point, for this is that same classroom from another angle. Notice the rich teaching resources, the interactive whiteboard, the designer desks, chairs and equipment...

Southern Sudan is a nation characterised by its great need. Much of western society is made up of nations characterised by their great greed. Almost identical phrases but a world apart.

Once we are past out current economic difficulties I wonder what the legacy will be? Will we still be such a greedy society, or will we have learned a little more about contentment with what we have?

Contentment is a powerful thing that for most of us is something that we do have to learn - but what a great lesson from that classroom thousands of miles away that could prove to be.

New season - new dreams

It comes around very quickly, but the new football season will soon be here, and this season sees Wolverhampton Wanderers back in the Premier League (their rightful place etc etc).

Just time to say thanks again to the Wolves for the football kit that they donated to our charity Roots, and worn here with pride recently in Sudan. After all, who wouldn't be pleased to get a Wolves kit...

Sitting comfortably...?

It's been a while since we had a post about the work of our Education and Training charity Roots. So over the coming weeks I will correct that with a few photographs from our recent visit to Sudan and some comments about what we encountered.

Starting with this classroom scene and a comment from one of the teachers who attended our Teacher-Training Workshop. When asked what were the factors that would lead to 'good teaching' he answered, "No more than 50 pupils in a class..."

Not an Act of Charity

Looking a little more at Barack Obama's inaugural speech last week, and some comments that he made about prosperity. For example:

"...a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good."

It reminded me of a quote that is sitting on my desk "Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right; the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom." (source unknown)

Barack Obama went on to say, "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Everyone would agree that the world has changed. Most would say it was a  change that no-one wanted - job losses, company closures, the near-collapse of the banking system. But what if it heralds the change that is needed in the world? What if the greed and prosperity that has dominated our recent history had to stop? What if we have to look at the world in a new light and see that we now really are a 'global village?

Let me leave you with these facts:

1. Lack of clean water kills more people every day than anything else in the world
2. The estimated cost to make clean water available to everyone is 10 billion dollars
3. Every single year Americans alone spend 450 billion dollars on Christmas

Mr Obama is right, the world has to change, and we have to change with it.

Happy Christmas Everyone

This is an example of how to convey a powerful, provocative message using images and strong graphic type without using any voice. It demonstrates the power of the visual; and it makes us think...

Great developments at Roots

It's an exciting time at Roots, the education and training charity that we have founded to help the people of Southern Sudan.

First, we have recently been granted Registered Charity status by the Charity Commission. It took months to get there, but it's good to have that recognition, and of course it means that we can claim gift aid on all personal donations from tax payers.

Second, the cause-related marketing campaign that pearcemayfield have launched is going extremely well. The campaign gives Roots £10 for every training course booked, and the statistics are looking really good for both Roots and pearcemayfield. See www.pearcemayfield.com for more details. If you are interested in more information on the power of cause-related marketing let me know.

Third, our first major fund-raising event takes place this Sunday (26th October). This is a charity auction, details of which are on our website www.rootssudan.org. Ticket sales are going well, we've been given some tremendous items to auction (including a plane flight, holidays in Bulgaria, Cornwall and the Cotswolds, sports memorabilia, meals, and this week a firkin of ale!). We've received some good local press coverage, made contact with a number of very supportive organisations, and I believe that we can raise a significant amount of funds to help us to make a difference to the people of the Sudan. If you'd like to join us, or see a full catalogue of the items in order to make a bid, please let me know.

Help us to help him

 pearcemayfield have launched a very exciting campaign this month, which makes me very proud to be part of the company.

Let me quote:

At pearcemayfield we aim to be a great company, and that includes taking our corporate social responsibility seriously, and for us this responsibility arises from our set of values.

For example, we recognise that we have a responsibility to express integrity in our relationships among ourselves, towards our clients and suppliers, and in our dealings with the wider community of which we are a part.

So acting responsibly has always been part of who we are, and it will continue to be the way we do business. After all, as the writer Michael Porter says,

“Companies do not function in isolation from the society around them.”

Our ‘Autumn 2008’ Campaign is one way in which we are demonstrating our belief in our social responsibility. For every place booked on one of our public 5-day training events during September, October and November we are donating £10 to the work of Roots, a charity working to make a difference in the lives of people in Southern Sudan.

The specific aim of Roots is to work with the business community and with children and young people in this country that is attempting to recover from 40 years of war. They are seeking to provide training and education to people as they look to rebuild the infrastructure of the country.

If you would like to know more see the company website www.pearcemayfield.com

And for more about Roots:                                                      www.rootssudan.org

Look after the pennies ...

... and the pounds will look after themselves. You probably know that old saying; but did you know that looking after pennies is not a 'cool' thing to do today?

Many teenagers consider 1p and 2p coins to be so uncool that if they receive any in change they immediately throw the coins on the ground!

Perhaps that helps to explain how teacher Kath Kelly managed to collect £117 in one year by picking up coins from off the ground. Kath is the person who recently lived for a year on just £1 a day. She did so well in adapting her lifestyle to suit her budget that she did not in fact need the £117 collected, but instead gave it to charity.

What an interesting contrast between two different views of the humble penny.