A few years ago, Brand South Africa ran an ad campaign about South Africa with the slogan “Alive with Possibility.” “Alive with Possibility” meant that my country still had a long way to go but we were making our way there; we were not hopeless and without potential.
When I think about community development, I often think back to that slogan. It serves as a reminder that the communities and people I come across in my work will always be “alive with possibility.” It encourages me to not only focus on what is lacking in communities but to also focus on what communities have within them. One isn’t more important than the other.
Cultivate captured my attention because it is rooted in the belief that change can and does come from within. We support local leaders who already have great vision and want to help improve the lives of the people in their communities. We are coming alongside them to help them gather the resources that they need to run successful community development programs. Their communities are already alive with potential. That potential was there before Cultivate even came into existence.
Our partners are people who love their communities and know them better than we do. They are in a better position than we are to serve those communities. We are in a position to support them by providing them with the training, resources and support necessary for sustainable community development.
I joined Cultivate because I believe in its values and its approach to community development. I strongly believe in communities being built from within and I am proud to be part of an organization that believes this as well.
-Busi Ledibane Hands, Former Board Member
