Investing in Youth Wellbeing, Investing in Africa’s Future: Carolyn KandusiInvesting in Youth Wellbeing, Investing in Africa’s Future: Carolyn Kandusi

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Carolyn Kandusi

Regional Program Officer, Segal Family Foundation
🌍 Arusha, Tanzania

In this interview, meet Carolyn Kandusi, Regional Program Officer at the Segal Family Foundation, as she discusses the importance of empowering African leaders, addressing wellness and mental health, and fostering trust-based philanthropy to drive social change in Africa. As a member of our Funders + Wellbeing Group, Carolyn took the stage at Hearth Summit Nairobi to discuss new approaches to philanthropy to better enable the wellbeing of grantee changemakers.

The Segal Family Foundation is a social impact funder and advisor backing local African leaders with huge potential to transform society and help progressive donors do the same. The foundation invests in early-stage, local leaders with big visions, and its grantmaking team is 100% African, working with local experts to identify visionaries with the potential for great social impact—including those at the beginning of their journey.

Watch the interview below.

EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER

Dive Into Stories From Around the World

Discover the Wellbeing Movement in PhilanthropyDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Philanthropy

Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in philanthropic and funding organziations.

Christina Purrer

Hil-Foundation

Vienna,
Austria

As a project manager at Hil-Foundation, Christina supports the cooperation partners and transfers know-how between the projects and into the local ecosystem. Having founded a social initiative herself in 2016, Christina is aware of the various challenges associated with social entrepreneurship, considering wellbeing as one of the biggest and most central. She is delighted to share her experiences and professional know-how with social entrepreneurs in Austria as a workshop facilitator and coach. Christina holds a B.A. in social and cultural anthropology and a double M.A. in Intercultural Management. She has lived and studied in Austria, Germany, France, Turkey and Tunisia.

What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

Feeling balanced, whole, healthy and connected. Feeling great trust into the course of events and the direction of my personal development path.

How would you define wellbeing in one word?

Wholeness

Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?

Movement to wake up in the morning, yoga & breathing exercises, guided meditation, journaling, walks in nature.

Why is it important that we prioritize individual, organizational and societal wellbeing?

I am convinced that we will not make a change in this world if we don’t start by changing our personal harmful patterns of thought, emotions and behaviors.

Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote, or educate on wellbeing and related themes?

“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl

Connect with Christina Purrer on social media :

Helena Geefay

Talent Development Officer

Hewlett Foundation

Menlo Park, CA,
United States

Helena is the Talent Development Officer at the Hewlett Foundation. She oversees professional development and growth opportunities for Hewlett employees, manages ERGs and other DEIJ initiatives, and supports organizational development, learning, and other HR projects. Areas of staff development include leadership, management, interpersonal skills, cultural competency, career development, coaching, feedback, and other professional development areas. Helena started her career as a mental health therapist and progressively moved into roles that focused more on developing people in the workplace. Prior to joining the foundation, she served as the head of human resources and operations for City Year San Jose, and supported leadership development programs at The Walt Disney Company. She enjoys engaging people in meaningful work and curating dynamic learning environments that support sustained growth. Helena lives with her family in the SF Bay Area. and holds a master’s degree in psychological counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and bachelor’s degrees with honors in psychology and English from the University of Southern California.

Connect with Helena Geefay on social media :

Madhavika Bajoria

AVPN

Singapore

Madhavika Bajoria joined AVPN in October 2021. Maddy brings significant experience in multi-sectoral partnerships, program management, and advocacy to advance knowledge and implementation in public health nutrition, gender equality and social protection. She previously served as the Global Policy & Engagement Manager and India Program Manager at Swiss-based think-tank Sight and Life. In this role, she led the creation of India’s first-ever platform, IMPAct4Nutrition, to engage the private sector in the government’s National Nutrition Mission. She was the architect of the platform’s growth to 200 companies actively investing in improving workplace nutrition for 10 million employees. IMPAct4Nutrition was awarded AVPN’s prestigious Constellations award in 2021. She also helped the Government of India gain multi-stakeholder buy-in for the implementation of large-scale staple food fortification, which is significantly reducing the burden of malnutrition in the country. Globally, she drove the introduction and scale-up of prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation in 10+ low & middle-income countries and successfully led efforts to change WHO’s policies in support of maternal nutrition. Driven by a commitment to translating science into practice and policy, Maddy has presented at various international and regional fora and co-authored several publications on large-scale policy change and public-private partnerships. She has also worked with J-PAL, CARE and the ILO on catalyzing partnerships and policy change in a variety of sectors. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Columbia University, a BA in International Relations & Economics from Bryn Mawr College and a General Course diploma in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

Connect with Madhavika Bajoria on social media :

Riyaz Gayasaddin

Camelback Ventures

Colorado,
United States

Born and raised in the Midwest, Riyaz cherishes his Asian-American identity and his journey to continuously better understand and live into that hyphen between Asian and American. His journey has taken him to his parent’s home country of India, classrooms in Baltimore, the chilly winters of Minnesota, and currently the snow-capped peaks of Colorado. He is passionate about developing individuals and teams, building culture, and shaking up the status quo by nurturing developing leaders who work through an equity lens to become the change agents of tomorrow. Outside of work, Riyaz is a foodie. He approaches food as he does life – seeking diversity, opportunities to connect with others, and a chance to have a good time over a shared meal. Riyaz was lucky enough to attend Macalester College and Johns Hopkins University and strives never to stop learning and growing.

Connect with Riyaz Gayasaddin on social media :

Camelback Ventures

Vanessa Stevens

Director of Innovation and Influencing

Global Fund for Children

Washington, D.C.,
United States

Vanessa Stevens is passionate about sparking collaborations that strengthen trust, learning, and equity in philanthropy, civil society, and communities. As the Director of Innovation and Influencing at Global Fund for Children (GFC), Vanessa enjoys creating influencing strategies and collaborative learning spaces with youth leaders, local partners, and sector peers. Prior to GFC, she designed capacity development initiatives with social entrepreneurs and NGOs with Impact Hub in Malaysia and CIVICUS in Argentina. Vanessa began her career with AmeriCorps VISTA at the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, growing into roles focused on resource development, program management, and advocacy for immigrant rights. In Alabama, Vanessa realized the power of wellbeing at work and for social change, especially in an organization working with survivors of violence and with community members facing multiple sources of oppression. She organized a committee of team members to find affordable ways to strengthen wellbeing, from celebrating work anniversaries to a yoga class. She later nurtured this passion through a fellowship with Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur where she learned about The Wellbeing Project.

Vanessa is excited to continue to foster spaces for wellbeing with GFC’s team and community of global partners. Vanessa received her bachelor’s degree in International Studies and her master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. She enjoys life most when she can be in nature, feel like a kid on her bike, explore somewhere new (whether near or far from home), cook a delicious meal while listening to a podcast, and do special things that show her love for friends and family.

Connect with Vanessa Stevens on social media :

Global Fund for Children