My name is Vladimir Soukup I came to SCEAD foundation from Czech Republic where I am studying international trade at University of Economics in Prague. Having a 3 years experience with leadership and management I was given a very important job description. My task was to help the founder clarify and set a clear mission for the organization so that the activities are focused and an increased impact is achieved in that particular area. Based on this mission the way to do it would be designed and concrete activities put in place.
To create this output was a very challenging goal we set. After many meetings that sometimes lasted to late at night we managed to make a progress. We were asking our selves WHY does the organization exist? What is its mission. I am more than happy that this is now clear. The mission of the organization is to: "STOP the child labour!" This may seam like an easy thing to decide but it is actually very important and not that easy at all. The mission defines not only the activities that the organization is going to do but also, and that is very important, activities that the organization is NOT going to do. SCEAD as every organization has limited resources be it financial or human and thus it has to prioritize which activities are the most important. So far SCEAD foundation was doing activities such as fighting agains HIV AIDS, Child labour, environmental problems, solving issues of orphans and others. All these activities are all very beneficial and striving to make the world a better place but at the same time the scope of activities is way to large to create a large scale impact in any of the areas.
That is why we are now so proud that with the mission set, the priorities of the foundation are going to be a way more focused. Always asking ourselves "how does this particular activity help to stop the child labour?" and not doing anything else than that. The key activities that are our focus now is to educate as many parents as possible and motivate them to send their kids to school. We'll do this especially in the villages where the issue is the most burning. The next focus area we are about to do is to support the children's parents with equipment for their kids so that all of them can afford to send their kids to school. But before we are able to provide financial support on a large scale we must put in place a powerful fundraising strategy. We'll create specific products for particular segments of companies and have a clear partners structure of the foundation.
I strongly believe that the three priorities that we set (education of parents, providing equipment and fundraising) are so power that they will take the foundation to another level. And thus even though my internship is about to end soon I am more than confident that Daniel as the leader of the foundation has all the tools to make the change happen!
Vladimir Soukup