Sustainability, gender equality and engagement issues are becoming more common for companies to engage with. Demonstrating action that goes beyond words is therefore important if you want to be a modern and attractive employer. For Clara Consulting, this has been a matter of course since its inception. They have taken an interest in aid in developing countries where they can actually make a difference.
“Many small streams, together form one big river”. An old adage that is a reality for many aid and charity organisations. And that’s exactly what Clara Consulting was thinking when, as a start-up and relatively small company, they decided three years ago to collaborate and donate to the educational charity Help to Help, which operates in East Africa.
– We all agreed early on that we wanted to support an organisation with a clear idea of how to bring about concrete change in developing countries and provide help for self-help, rather than passive aid, says Henrik Linné, Managing Partner at Clara Consulting.
Founded in 2010, Help to Help is an organisation that works to give young people the opportunity to study at university in East Africa. In addition to studies, Help to Help bridges the gap between studies and the world of work by providing training in IT and self-management, among other things, which creates networking opportunities between students and companies.
– Help to Help funds education for high-potential young people in Tanzania and Uganda, where admission rates to higher education are low. So far, we have provided scholarships to 535 students, with 240 graduating, and by the end of the year, another 49. It’s great to see these young adults learning and developing and then entering the workforce,” says Clara Luthman, CEO of Help to Help.
Clara Luthman, CEO at Help to Help.
Long-term investment
The collaboration between Clara Consulting and Help to Help began when Henrik Linné saw a film about the organisation’s work in East Africa through another funder of Help to Help and was impressed by their way of working.
– We then received an educational and fascinating presentation from Help to Help’s CEO and immediately felt that this was a concept we liked and wanted to support. Help to Help funds, among other things, training courses in both IT and finance where we ourselves operate and for which our hearts beat a little bit extra. We work in a knowledge-intensive industry and understand how important education is, says Henrik Linné and continues:
– At the same time, we wanted a long-term and more personal partnership. By sponsoring Help to Help, the money goes directly to two students whose tuition fees we pay throughout their education.
Clara Luthman explains that their long-term partnership with Clara Consulting means a lot to the organisation and that it creates both security and freedom. With support over a longer period, they can plan and at the same time dare to venture and try new things.
– It’s a security for us and for the students in particular,” she says.
Glory Mphuru, who works as a teacher of Swahili and geography at Canossa High School in Tanzania
Gives ripples on the water
Follow-up on the students’ education is ongoing, and Henrik Linné believes that it gives the company a lot to get an update on how things are going. Earlier this year, two students that Clara Consulting has sponsored since the beginning – Jacob Kagesyeko and Linda Lazaro – graduated and are now in the workforce.
– They both have degrees in IT, which is particularly exciting. We appreciate the follow-up we get from Help to Help, where we get to know how the students are doing and what they are doing. It brings our company together around a common project and strengthens cohesion. Being able to contribute feels really important – not only does it make a difference where it is needed, but it’s also a win-win for more parties,” says Henrik Linné.
Help to Help is based on the concept that if you help one person, you can make a difference to many more. When students graduate and enter the workforce, they contribute knowledge to the rest of society.
– In addition, we see that 85 percent of our graduates help to support their families. But we are most proud that 59% make education possible for their siblings. That’s proof that investing in education has a ripple effect,” says Clara Luthman.
About Help to Help:
Help to Help’s acclaimed crowdfunding concept was launched in early 2014 as part of the organisation’s ambition to make it easier to contribute, as well as making it a more intimate and personal experience. To date, Help to Help has enabled the education of 535 students in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, 289 of whom will have graduated by the end of the year.
