Karimu believes the villagers they work with understand their problems—and can recognize effective solutions—more accurately than any outsiders can.

Karimu has evolved what we believe to be an effective approach to development work. From the beginning it has been grounded in mutual respect, friendship, and trust. We recognize that trust takes time and thus we expect to work within a community for an extended period. Our integrated approach requires developing common understanding based on listening and relationship development, patient investment across the range of key challenges, and local sustainability.

Community-Led Decision Making
Ideas for new projects are jointly defined and prioritized by Karimu and the local leadership. Karimu works with the community to put together a five-year strategic plan that spans projects across the spectrum of needs which is jointly reviewed and revised annually. We seek consensus from a wide circle of leaders and clarify and share those plans with the whole community to ensure the villagers’ support for the projects and their view of Karimu as a trusted partner.

Community-Oriented Projects

Karimu does not give directly to individuals. Karimu’s mission is to uplift the community by supporting projects that will benefit the community as a whole. We try to leverage and strengthen existing structures in the community whenever possible. 

Local Investment
Local communities and/or the government contribute five to ten per cent of the total cost of construction projects through labor, material, or financial contribution. For example, the villagers may clear the land, dig the foundation, and provide stone or bricks. For a school project, they will provide meals for the students, provide funds for maintenance, ensure the school facilities and bathrooms are cleaned daily, and provide menstrual pads for girls for free. For a water project they may clear land, dig trenches for the distribution pipes, and drag the pipes up the rugged terrain. Every adult in the village does his or her part regardless of position or status: the village executive, teachers, medical staff, farmers, etc. Studies show that personal investment increases how projects are valued.

Maintenance Commitment and Sustainability

Karimu requires that all construction projects have a committed maintenance plan at the outset to begin construction. Maintenance may be provided by the community, the government, or a combination thereof. Karimu works with the local community to define and implement an effective plan for inspecting, funding, and repairing buildings. Long term non-construction projects, such as savings group training or green bean farming, must also develop sustainability plans. In this way Karimu assures that projects are locally sustainable without long-term dependency on Karimu. 

Partnership and Transparency 

Complex problems require an active and integrated approach that directly involves the poor in dialogue and participation. However, proper prioritization and impact assessment also require deep understanding of the situation at hand and measurement of results. Karimu partners with communities and governments to gain a deep understanding of the local challenges through dialogue, surveys, and regular in-person visits. Karimu volunteers study and respect cultural differences to be more effective working with the local staff and population. Karimu volunteers and staff try to develop strong working partnerships with government officials, heads of clinics and schools, village leaders, and the community at large. Karimu also works with local government, schools, clinics, partners, and other groups to assess the progress and impact of the projects and support sustainability objectives. We often introduce or augment data collection and analysis processes and share aggregated data publicly via our online dashboards (Schools, Health, Water) to keep both our constituents and donors informed.

Efficient operations to maximize donor investment
Karimu is run by volunteers world-wide — teachers, business people, professionals, and others — spanning 16 countries. All are motivated by the chance to help rural communities overcome poverty. Karimu hires only a handful of employees living and working in the local community who are needed to drive our projects. Because Karimu secures commitments for local ownership and ongoing maintenance up front, there is no need to establish permanent maintenance staff. Together, this means that Karimu has a very low overhead so that over 99% of donor funds go directly to the projects.

The talk “Towards Effective Development Work” by Marianne Kent-Stoll and Nelson Mattos given in Zurich on July 6th, 2017 as part of the Google Tech Talks series details Karimu’s Approach.