My Communities

Hi my name is Ijeoma Daniella Ojisilike from Nigeria,Africa. Am a graduate of Evangel University Akaeze and I studied Business Management. I joined an organisation called ETCIO (educating the citizens of international organisation)we promote and encourage values. I decided to go for this course to beable to encourage and teach people to stand up for their selves

Hello,
My name is Funmi Adeyemi. I recently started working for a nonprofit and was made the Team Lead for Impact Stories. I am passionate about telling stories because I believe it is a tool for turning the ordinary into extraordinary. I registered for this course so I could learn a lot more than I know.

After a lifetime of searching for a career path that was fulfilling and emotionally sustainable, I have landed as a development professional at a small social service nonprofit just outside of Chicago. Our mission is to provide housing solutions, support services and counseling for older adults, persons with disabilities and others in need, enabling them to live with dignity and independence. I am thankful every day that I get to serve my community in a meaningful way.

Hi, my name is Tanya and I am from Sri Lanka - a tiny, tear-drop shaped island to the south of India. I joined the World Food Programme last year and am now part of team with a vision for a world with zero hunger. I have a background in Marketing and Communications from the many years I worked in the Private Sector. My role at the UN (in Communications) is vastly different to what I'm used to which is why I signed up for this course. I want to learn the art of storytelling, not so I generate a sale, but so I create impact.

You echo my thoughts when you say you found a job that is emotionally sustainable. Working to help others gives purpose and meaning to our lives, helping us find peace of mind.

Hello! We hope you will enjoy this course. We are learning together in this course and we hope you can share your experience in learning this course. Thank you.

My name is Adeola and I am from Kwara State in Nigeria. I joined my organisation because of the passion I have to help the less privilege in my community. I want to start an NGO that will support and help the less privilege to access quality health care service.

Greetings from Sunny South Africa, After Serving as a missionary in Mozambique for 27 years we are now based in Johannesburg South Africa, Running a Ministry into correctional services (prisons) doing one on one with inmates as well as classroom , where we help them fins out why they landed up in this place, how to find freedom and what are the next steps.

Hello everyone,
my name is Grace and I am from Malawi. I have just recently joined a non-profit organization, that works in remote, high-poverty communities in order to implement high-impact projects that are identified by the local people of the community. These people have stories to share and I would like to be part of that process. This course will help me deliver my story and theirs as one story. I am looking forward to learning and working with different people. :)

Hello,
My name is Scott Bloom and I am a Curriculum Director in Ohio. I am in this course to help prepare my work with a local Philanthropic Agency. I am very excited to learn more about telling our story!

Today I browsed on my email inbox, sorted it to oldest unread messages, and found a Philanthropy U invitation. It intrigued me and after browsing the site, I decided to register. I am Cristela, 20 years old, badly needing to sort out my emails. It turns out to be good 'cause I discover new things like this one. I am working on an epistolary book on Wattpad. I also started a Telegram channel for tarot reading. I would love to gain story telling skills to earn more readers and subscribers.

I am Célestin and I live in Cameroon of which I am a citizen. I am very involved in the G90 which is the alumni's Association of my high school where I stayed from 1992 to 1999. Our ambition is to carry out at least one community interest project each year. I think this course will be very important for my future, firstly because I am a marketing specialist and also because I will increase my investment in associations.

Hello everyone,

My name is Tosin Adewuyi-Kotti, from Nigeria, West Africa. In 2019, I founded TosaadecWorld Foundation, an NGO that is working to achieve SDG 4, EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN. To effectively achieve this goal, I enrolled in this course to get resources and knowledge needed.

Thanks

Hello Everyone, my name is Boakai B. Koilor. I'm taking this course because I want to develop my storytelling skill.

Thanks

Am chinwendu stella, a licensed medical practitioner; another license in pursuit, entrepreneur and a storyteller, I love perfection, I always want to be the best! So I reminded my self that knowledge is power and then I picked my phone in search of the knowledge, I found myself here,, I want to be a professional storyteller for brands and every other sector in which my services will be needed.

Hi My name is Julianto Trywijaya. I am Indonesian and I'm 21 years old.
I'm a Binus University student. I'm here to learn and got my certificate as a condition from my university.

Hello everyone! My name is Shito and I am from Haiti.
I am here because I just got my S&M certificate on this platform. After getting it, I wanted to be done with this platform 😒😒😒 and find other sites to learn other things, however something crossed my mind👌, was to search this site to see if I could find any other interesting things, I just clicked on course, after a few seconds I read a title that said <Storytelling for Impact"💫💫💫 I thought "Eureka! Say no more!"😁😁😁", I found what I was looking for. To say well the term Storytelling has a great importance for me since I'm a Data Analyst and on top of that I like to tell stories, let's say I'm a writer.😊😊😊.
Ben, I am glad to be back here to learn new things.😎😎😎
" Shito3" ⛩ 🌪

Hello,
My name is Abimbola Iyiola. I am 30years. I joined this community because I have failed a couple of times, failed and quit so much I started to doubt my ability to succeed. I wonder if I can actually start something and end it successfully without quitting.
So glad I did it with the course branding 101, now am hooked, I want to do it over and over again I want to make success and winning an habit.
Joined this particular course because I want to be able to tell my story proudly and adequately.

Hello,
I am Ify from Nigeria, Africa. My experience as a Librarian has exposed me to the reading needs of children in public primary schools in my country. This motivated to start an initiative with the mission to make reading activities and materials accessible under privileged children in public schools, especially in rural communities. My search for the best tools that will portray my intentions clearly to my audience led me to Philanthropy University. Storytelling, I believe will be a strong and interesting tool to work in order to accomplish my goals. Hence, my reason for studying this course.

I am Simon Mungai i work with Goblis foundation I was motivated to join the organization because it focuses on empowering the vulnerable un employed youths and climate change something that am passionate about. i want to master the art of story telling and with the know how i can impact the society that i train each an every day

Hi there, nice to meet you! My name is Rinaldo Lesmana. I'm currently studying Tourism major at BINUS University, Indonesia. As a future tourism worker, I do think communication skill is something crucial to have in this industry. Communication skill could elevate the value of a tourist destination in an unimaginable way. Communication is allowing us to create stories, memories, as well as experiences to the attraction images. Therefore, to become someone impactful, i need to enrich and nourish myself with more experiences to spread the beauty of local tourism especially through words. I really hope that through this course, I’ll have a chance to be more creative and put more attention to the meaning of the story.

Hi there my name is Samir, first of all I'm from west Africa Burkina Faso. I'm so glad to be in this course learning new skills and thanks to @philanthropyU for the brilliant work they do. I'm studying civil engineering and I a intend to also learn about Storytelling thank you so much see you in the course

Hello!

My name is Pablo, I was born in the USA but I was raised in Spain. I am volunteering for an NGO in Accra, Ghana. Fafalifoundation.org. I want to improve my storytelling skills so that I can write a compelling story that will help us fundraise for our organization.

Hello all. Thank you so much for affording me this opportunity to introduce myself. Myself name is Venancio Tavarwisa from Zimbabwe. If feel very grateful to be part of this learning journey. I am the Program Manager for ZINERELA+ an Interfaith network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS. I was moved to join my organization mainly because I grew up very affected by HIV and most times found myself a receiver of stigma and at times being discriminated. Telling my story and other people's stories have been an uphill task for me since I am not the best story teller of my time. My social impact mission is pivoted on reducing stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV as well as other people who are downgraded in my community and I have grown to become the voice of the voiceless. I want to be the best storyteller for my organization as well as my community so that I share my story with others globally. I also want to attract as many funders for my organization as possible. Storytelling will elevate me to climb up that ladder. I am so loving and simple. Thank you.

I am Abdusalam from Nigeria, 49 years old Nursery and primary school teacher.
Being a teacher of children in a low income environment, I observed that many children are left to roam about the street after the school hours and at the mercy of rotten citizens while their parents struggling to survive on menial job are yet to return home.
I therefore wish to create a modern daily post classroom activities in form of fun and game for children to occupy them while their parent are not around and as well give them life orientation to choose a better career and become a good citizen

Hi, I am Obioma and am excited to be here with you all.

Great to have you here

Good to have you here

Hi, my name is Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo. I just recently joined the impact investing community, before that i was and still am an ardent gender advocate. so i spend a lot of my time trying to tell stories, mostly not very effectively. I was really excited to come across this course and even more so to find that it is free!!

I look forward to embarking on this journey with you all.

Hi Obioma, good to have you here

Great to have you here

I'm Achraf, an 18-year-old ambitious person with big dreams. Storytelling was one of the major things I heard of since the day I started learning about business and leadership. It's everywhere; in Business, Journalism, film-making, and even in digital content such as YouTube and other platforms. Storytelling is more than useful it helps you build trust with customers and real long-term connections with stakeholders as well as your partners.

Hi everyone! I´m Nydia and I got into this course to learn how to create meaningful stories for APAC, a mexican nonprofit who attends low-income dissabled people.
It is the first time I work in a non-profit, but has already changed my way of seeing life and others.
My goals are learning storytelling techniques and connect with peers in teh humanitarian sector.
Happy to be here!

That´s an amazing goal. I think storytelling can also help your students to recrite their own narratives.

The work that Fafali is doing is amazing. Congratulations!

My name is Joshua Omasere,m from Nigeria and I work as a project engineer in a construction company.
I have a degree in mechanical engineering and I joined my company because they do engineering works like tank construction and pipe line installations,practicing Engineering and using knowledge and experience gained from class room has always been my dream,I find fulfilment working to solve problems and design solutions in the oil and gas/ construction industry.
Presently m working on bridging the gap between the skilled and unskilled like running free training and paying for some young persons who cannot afford to get a professional training and certification to secure a job within the industry.
I intend to use the skills I ll get from this course to write proposals and work on my personal project and capture persons that have interest in engineering and outside engineering,I also intend to start a masters programme in mechanical engineering and this course would help me write and communicate better in field of study and place of work

Hi everyone,My name Is Mary Muthama from Afarmers Media.I am here to learn how to engage my audience and tap into their emotions by my storytelling.

Hi! I am Jan, a data professional from the Philippines. Making use of my number-crunching and research skillsets to the corporate sector for a decade, I am now implementing these two for a greater cause, specifically for tuberculosis and HIV management. Yes, numbers speak volumes; however, making sense of what happened and what could be done through a compelling story makes collaboration stronger. Thus, I will certainly learn and apply the learning from this course to my current task.

Hello My name is Pamela. I am from the middle East. I am not part of any organization, I am currently unemployed. However, I have a thirst for knowledge and while searching for online courses, I accidently came across your website. I am very much excited and curious to find out about storytelling.

Hello!
My name is ,Muyodi colline. I am a facilitator with Action in Africa in Uganda Wakiso district. Because I facilitate students and teachers in different creative activities creative writing being one of them, I decided to look out for an interesting course on line and that is how I was able to land on this course. I am interested in story telling because I believe that behind every story good or bad there is an a life that is being transformed. It is that therefore that makes me want to learn more about story telling for impact.

At the end of this course., I want to be able to write and tell stories that bring about a positive change to humanity as well as to society.

I look forward to learning more and having social fun for the good.
Thank you.

Hello!
My name is ,Muyodi colline. I am a facilitator with Action in Africa in Uganda Wakiso district. Because I facilitate students and teachers in different creative activities creative writing being one of them, I decided to look out for an interesting course on line and that is how I was able to land on this course. I am interested in story telling because I believe that behind every story good or bad there is an a life that is being transformed. It is that therefore that makes me want to learn more about story telling for impact.

At the end of this course., I want to be able to write and tell stories that bring about a positive change to humanity as well as to society.

I look forward to learning more and having social fun for the good.
Thank you.

Hi, my name is Olaide. I just left the teenage and I've been thinking of something better to do for myself. I'm in my third year at the university studying Public Administration. I make hair and sell jewelry but, I want to do more. Fortunately, I started my internship at a Nongovernmental organization, PWAN; The Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative known as Partners West Africa Nigeria enhances citizens' participation and improves security governance in Nigeria and West Africa. I told the Communication Assistant about my interest in writing. She told me now is the time to learn because I have free access to the internet every time I'm at the office and I could read and learn when I'm less busy. She told me about Philanthropy University and I was wowed when I heard it was free to learn! I just want to help myself so I can help others, I don't want to lose this opportunity. I can learn, develop and write for the organization and not just myself. I want the six months of my internship to be blissful and full of experiences. I can also make good money from writing which will help further my studies. I'm happy to be in this community.

Hi! My name is Caitlin Mayhut, born and raised in Northern California, and I am grateful enough to graduate from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. I've always like telling and hearing stories as my mom is from Hawaii. In Hawaii, when you talk to friends and family, it is called "talk story." This really made an impact on me in that I love hearing other people's stories, experiences, and insights. I was lucky enough to have my degree in Integrated Marketing Communication with a Nonprofit Management minor. Currently, I am working for a community foundation in Northern California. I am so excited for this opportunity as I get to share the passion, mission, and vision of this great organization through storytelling. When I'm not "talking story" to friends and family, you can catch me playing the ukulele, hiking in Northern California, and traveling to Europe. Please join my team on this website : American Storytellers: Americans who want to improve their storytelling abilities. It was nice to virtually meet you, share a little part of my story, and be involved with Philanthropy University's Storytelling course. Mahalo! (thank you in Hawaiian)

A story i found really powerful was educational. it made me feel happy

Hi All, my name is Rasha from Iraq and I am glad to be part of this team. I really hope to be a good storyteller in a way that I can catch the attention of my audience without boring them. I need to improve this skills in my work.

Hello, my name is Deo and I'm from Uganda.
After graduating from university and completing a development studies degree, I began working for a non-profit organization and studying cinematography and photography. As a result, I recognized I needed to take additional courses to improve my performance in my profession, which is how I arrived here.
I'm hoping that this course will be quite beneficial to me.

Hi, everyone! I am Sathya Reka Godwin, founder and director of Winrose International Campus which is a community based vocational training center located in the rural part of Sri Lanka. I started Winrose to guide youths who are not able to pursue their higher studies or choose an appropriate career and live with the flow of life. We serve the youths in the tea plantation community which shows a snail speed development. The reason is believed - lack of education. We are working towards to have a lasting impact in this community because I too a victim of this education system.

Hello everyone,
My name is Kristine and I've being long fascinated by the uniqueness and enormous potential of human mind and workings of life. with the help of all of you hope to equip myself with skills that will allow me to convey right messages in the most effective way.

Best of luck to all of you on your personal journeys!

Hello, my name is Sandra from Nigeria, great work you're doing.

Hello, my name is Sandra from Nigeria, Working with a non-profit organization here in Nigeria that focus on an inclusive quality education in the society. The story about Malala Yousafzai would be my biggest motivating factor in line with Education and Gender equality.
Looking forward to improving my story telling methods after taking this course.

As a young ambitious woman, I am glad to be here in this virtual space. I went through my bachelors to find the hidden answers to family problems. This only lead me to want to learn more about family dynamics and how to lessen people's suffering. Now I am in graduate school for social work.

In the the community, I am a driving force for change. I have attended black lives matter protests since I was a young girl. I co hosted one in a very white city after an unarmed naked black teen was murdered by police. The work does not stop, but I will work as hard as I have to!

In the professional world, I am in a new and historic job. The focus combines mental health professionals with the police officers to ensure the best response is given to those in need. I take the world of academics and community voices with me everyday when I clock in.

I hope to use this course to help me feel more confident and grounded with my work. I often feel less than and anxious when talking about what I do. However, I am very qualified and passionate. This will give me the boost I need in my career!

I look forward to seeing your story and ideas on gender equality efforts. It is an important topic that starts when we are born. It impacts every aspect of our daily lives and often goes unnoticed until it impacts safety and opportunities. I am glad you are here.

Hi, my name is Leonard Lezama. I'm from Nicaragua.
As part of an Organization that works to improve the Education of the children in my town, I was looking on learning about how to become a storyteller in order to create impacting stories of children that can bring more support to this cause. My mission to break the cicle of generational poverty in my country and my goal accomplishing this course is to become a good storyteller to share the great impact that my Organization does in Nicaragua.

Hai I'm Manoj.Started my journey as a medical representative way back in 1992.My passion to work in thefield made me number one in the company which inturn lead to my promotion as manager.During the period I got opportunity to attend many training programs and I was one of the guy who utilised the opportunity to refine myself.Lot of stories and experiences shared by the trainers attracted and changed my outlook of the manager's job.By 2007 left the profession and joined insurance sector .This was the time the sector was booming. Very soon global recession affected our industry and I was forced to leave the industry.Once again came back to the golden industry pharma sales.Now working as training manager.
Once I was browsing youtube and fortunate to see Mr.Ameen haque's presentation on importance of story telling. I understood story is the best way to communicate your message. I would like to learn more about this and this can help me in supporting many people's outlook.

Hi I'm Jose Alejandro Restrepo,
I have been working in a avocado plantation project, but due to social conflicts the project is on hold. What I´m trying to accomplish is give the project a social component and create a impact proyect to benefit the communities.
If anyone wants to give ideas, you are more than welcome.

Regards.

My name is Tomi, from Nigeria.
I recent join an organization as a Gender base violence officer, and this prompt my willingness to undergo this course, to better my knowledge about story telling.
I believe this will really help me in my field and organization to greater impact.

storytelling has always been a big part of my culture and a way of passing down traditions and life lessons. I have also seen that i connect most to brands that have really strong stories around their products (NIKE) for example

Hi, I am Dornu Bariyaa Betty from Nigeria. Driven by the passion of learning new things and to better harness my content writing skills, I found myself on this amazing Course.
Currently, I volunteer with Greater Love Outreach Worldwide: an NGO committed to reaching out to rural dwellers, indigent people, prisoners, the less privileged etc in the society with basic amenities of life. Being part of the team as a Social Media manager, I look forward to learning the way i could inspire more people to join and partner with what we do. Also, I wish to inspire, motivate and command change with the stories as an art and as a Career.
looking forward to interacting with like_minds while learning from our amazing instructors. Thank you

My name is Akugre Salome Atiinma. I am a student of the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Central Region. I read bachelor of Education in Arts, French and English. Alongside schooling, I decided to join World Inspiring Network a Ghanaian registered non-profit organization that supports rural children to have access to quality education. I joined Philanthropy University because I want people all over the world to support our organization through the stories we tell. I llok forward to learning new things and most especially, improving the stories we put across.

Hello. My name is Kathy and I was previously a social worker/case manager in the US. I am now retired due to disability.
I became interested in storytelling & this course when I met my friend who lives in Uganda. Tho we are 7500 miles apart & have never met, listening to each other's stories about our real lives we now embrace each other as family. Knowing her makes me see life in a whole different way.
What I learn from this course can greatly enhance the impact my role as "Petunia" a clown at children's hospital. I believe this course will help people be more open to receiving me and what I have to say rather than seeing and hearing me through my disability first.

My name is Babirye Barbra Nalukwago from Uganda. Eastern part of Africa. Actually, I first enrolled in for the course of "Developing an operating budget" in which I asked my mom to help me out with some questions and when she checked out the university, she checked out the available courses including the story telling course. She first told me how I was a good story teller and that if I had this course I would actually add more on my skills. My mum motivated me to join the story telling course. I am a teacher by profession so story telling course will help to acquire more skills while teaching my students mostly History subject which is my major. I would like that by the end of this course I can get my Listener's attention when I am telling a story.

Hii mum.
I love the introduction.

Hi change makers, my name is Elizabeth Njuguna from Nairobi, Kenya. I work in a youth empowerment organization. I am passionate about child protection, youth & women empowerment, and community resource management.

When I was travelling 3 months ago, I met 2 girls and 1 boy who were in so much pain. They had visible marks on their bodies and the marks looked painful.
Therefore, I asked them a few questions and I realized that these children were going through verbal, physical and domestic violence. I took these children to the child protection office and narrated their experiences. The officers summoned their parents and they were warned about exposing their children to such kinds of experiences.
Out of this experience, I felt that more needed to be done to help youths and children. Hence, I started enrolling in various courses including the story telling for impact to better equip myself to deal with such community issues. I intend to start a nonprofit organization and give back my knowledge and skills to the most deserving people in my community.

I am Keshawardani Balasundaram from srilanka. I am 25 years old.i belong on my family. I like to develop all the students to learn more commitment with educated society, for that i have joined at Winrose International Campus .in this course helps to build trust with others so it'll help for everyone to create their best stories to proof themselves. I hope i can give good motivation to others to get good future. And also I am looking forward to develop my self with confident . I love this wonderful course .it'll help me to think my own way.

I am rackshana Jeganathan from Sri Lanka. I am 24 years old and I have completed HND in hospitality industry. Currently I'm working at winrose International champus as a lecturer. I wanna learn story telling for impact because I want to increase more skills for my studies.

I am Janoshini Muththukumar. From Srilanka. I am 21 years old. I do my bachelor of Business management degree form uwa wellasa university. Now I work at winrose international campus. I am assistant management and course coordinator in the winrose international campus.

Hello! My name is Vandana Masih. I am an educator, and I also work for some NGOs.
I look forward to getting a better insight and working to the best of my ability.

It was the winter of 2018. I was interviewing a woman in her late 70s. We sat outside her pale blue van that crouched like a turtle in Arizona's Ehrenberg Sandbowl; four miles away from the nearest highway on a dusty yellow plateau gutted with ravines and littered with burned tin cans. She was widowed. And despite being disabled, had sold all her belongings, and was living in the van–her and her old black dog. They had taken up the life of an American nomad.

These rubber trampers, as they call themselves, are a tribal bunch. Mostly they are are white middle-aged refugees from the American lifestyle, loneliness, and often poverty. They are also resilient. Innovative. The women, especially all have that quintessential western word, what we call grit.

I was doing participant fieldwork for my anthropology thesis. And this afternoon the sky stretched like an enormous blue umbrella all around us. The horizon was dotted with similar turtles, mostly white and dun-colored, the center of little camps. The wind had died down and the afternoon was growing warm as we talked. She was telling me about her life and what brought her to such a drastic decision. Full-time van living may sound romantic, but in reality, it is difficult and dirty and there is always a sense of living on the edge if you have little.

Her blue eyes sparkling in a cherubic face she told me how she had always cared for other people. Her siblings. Her first husband. Her kids. Her parents when they grew old. Her second husband. The chickens, the goats, the cows... This was the first time she said, as far back as she could remember that she only had herself to take of. It was liberating!

I'd been in the camp for awhile and I thought back to what I knew of her. She was always organizing potlucks. And checking in on everyone each day. She made sure, as the end of the month drew near and social security checks had run out, that no one was going hungry. I pointed this out to her. To me it seemed like she was still taking care of people.

For a long moment she said nothing, and then tears began to slip down her cheeks. In that moment she told me she realized that taking care of others wasn't something she needed to escape from. Out in the desert, away from the obligations of family, she felt like it was a calling. What she was meant to do. As we continued to talk over the next hour, I found her reframing her life up until then. Not as something wasted, or one to regret–but as purposeful.

I will never forget that interview. I realized then that the power of courageous storytelling wasn't only in transforming the listener, but also the teller. Since then I find myself holding on to that moment and thinking that stories can change the world. They can heal, and maybe, they are the only way to move us through the dark times we are living in to something better. A world that is kinder and more equitable.

So that has become my passion! I've recently finished my masters and I am now helping nonprofits be more effective storytellers. So they can be better at driving the social changes that are needed. Because of that interview, I also firmly believe in ethical storytelling so that the stories can be told by those that own them and that is fundamental to what I try to impart.

I'm looking forward to this course and hearing everyone else's stories...!

Hi Vandana - I see you posted just a few days ago, so it sounds like we'll be going through this course together. As an educator you must have so much to offer. It's one thing to know something, but to be able to teach others is truly an amazing gift. Hope to see you "inside" - Dawn

Hi Elizabeth - what a sad story, but what an inspiration for you to be able help others communicate their experiences by becoming a better storyteller for them. To advocate for them. I admire your drive and if I don't see you in any of the discussions as I've started later in this course, I wish you the best of luck on starting your nonprofit, making a difference in your community. - Dawn

Hi Dawn,you're an excellent story teller. You've made that woman's story so real one can't help but imagine how you two were seated and having the conversation. you've given a perfect description of the moment, the environment, the emotions...i mean everything. All the best in your future endeavors.
Kind regards,
Elizabeth.

Thanks Dawn for your encouragement and kind words.
Kind regards,
Elizabeth.

Hi everyone! My name is Sakshi and I am from India. I am a software engineer turned social development manager.
India is a home to millions of young adults facing challenges of unemployment. I work to build capacity of such adults coming from economically weaker section of the society to improve their employment skills and provide them employment opportunities to help their families out of poverty cycle. In my short journey of 5 years in the social development field I have worked on clean energy, nutritional security and women empowerment. I am taking this course to bring stories from ground in front of people and encourage them to do their bit in adding positive changes into the lives of people.

Hello everyone, my name is Sylvie Kambou. I am originally from Burkina Faso; I am currently working for an INGO whose goal is to improve the lives of women and girls in crisis situations. I am a MEAL technical specialist and I work a lot with data. We use this information to improve programming and try to have some impact in the countries we support. We have noticed that data is very useful for tracking program performance or adapting programs to achieve better results, but we have learned that storytelling can have a bigger impact. We hold dialogue sessions with the population and we have seen an improvement in the effectiveness of our programs. I hope to learn more from this course and apply it to my work.
Thanks

Hi, I'm Krista 👋🏾 I work as a Research and Communications Assistant for a charity that works in higher Education across sub-Saharan Africa. I'm looking forward to learning new tools and best practices on how to share compelling stories about the wonderful work we do :)

I am Eric Kuira Gacheru, A Kenyan by birth, working in an organisation that we reach out to the marginalized communities in Garissa Kenya. Am motivated to be here since story telling will enable me communicate scientific ideas/knowledge in a simple way .

Good day everyone. I am Patience from Nigeria. I am a content writer and I wish to learn how to use storytelling to build impactful content.

I am not a prophet of doom, but with over 10 million vulnerable Almajiri children in my region, educationally and, abused, exploited, and socioeconomically excluded, I see these children developing into adulthood with nothing but an idle mind and an untamed survival instinct. And as they say, an idle mind is a devil's workshop. So my motivation has always been to change the narrative of my community by ensuring the educational and socio-economic inclusion of Almajiri and other vulnerable children.

Hi! My name is Mary and I'm excited to be here. I'm taking this course to support a mid-career reset. I've always a had a passion for communications, expression and public service, but I've always been pretty shy and so I've worked in admin to support others doing this work. I've got so much experience and enthusiasm that now after years cultivating my own communications skills and comfort level, I'm ready to start doing and leading the work in a more prominent way.

Hi all, my name is Vi. I am a M&E specialist. I always use data for communication. Now I would like to learn how to tell story in another way to make an impact.

The few minutes I had to spend in praying for these old folks were just unbearable. Many of them had their excretal right by their side for days, and, on top of that, they were also served their meals right in these rooms. In some cases, there had been spillages and I could not stand the nose-piercing stench that would greet me first upon entering. Yet these elderly persons in their 70s and above had to endure these insufferable and dehumanizing living conditions until death.

My experience with elderly people of this same age group in Scotland, where I spent some 40 days vacation in the year 2012, was the exact opposite. I could sit at wee cups of tea with these home-bound elderly persons in long chats; breathing in some fresh air and feasting my eyes on some beautiful water bodies or gardens from the top of the courts they lived in. Casting my eyes back to the conditions of my own people, therefore, I said to myself: "this can be done for my people too; there must be a change in what they suffer." I resolved right there and then that the elderly people of my country can also be given some dignifying living conditions befitting their age. This was how the idea of Blessed Age Foundation came about; starting in the year 2018. It has been all about making their old age a blessed experience like oldies in the Western World and not a cursed one like the existing situation in my country Ghana. So far, four years of existence, I am happy to say that the dream is taking shape and significant impacts are being made. There still remains a long way to go though.

I am Rev. Founder Collins Anomaa Kodie Yeboah, a 38 year old Catholic Priest from Ghana but now doing ministry in the United States. I am happy to have had this opportunity to gain the knowledge and skill needed to tell the story of Blessed Age Foundation to the whole world in a compelling manner. Thank you.

My name is Ndungu Nyoro, a son of the world. I have lived enough days to love every of my good and bad days. My life is just the life of every one of us. A life of working hard and hoping for good tidings. But my life is not the reason for this note. No. It is not as exciting, inspiring or challenging. I will tell you about a different person. A story of a lady who became my friend.

A lady visited our office about five years ago. She was accompanied by a young man about fourteen or fifteen years old. She made me understand that the teen was not her son and neither were they related. Years back she had seen the child loitering around her home after he was rejected by his parents and grandparents. She rescued the boy off the cold nights in the streets and housed him. She later registered him at primary school where managed to complete primary education.

By visiting our office, the two sought assistance to enable the young man join secondary school. We were touched by the compassionate heart of the elderly lady who saw the potential of the boy to liberate himself from shackles of poverty and pain of rejection to an empowered future. We saw a young man determined to rewrite his personal story on the journey of life.

The story of the young man and his guardian was just one among thousands of Kenyans across the country. Poverty denied them a chance to continue with education. Poverty robbed them of their dignity. Affecto Foundation has chosen restoration of hope for such people. We secure education opportunities for academically gifted students from economically challenged backgrounds. We gift them with opportunities of a better future.

Welcome to Affecto and transform lives.

I’m Yewande Ademiluyi, a video creator and a drone pilot who is transitioning to brand/corporate storytelling.

I’m based in Nigeria.

I got to know about this course through my internet surfing and I’m so excited to be here because from my search of storytelling, I’m interested in the corporate and the brand part because stories matter.

Stories evoke emotions and learning with like minded people is something I look forward to.

Hii Ankita here; I'm 16 years old. I recently started to work for this company, and one important skill I must develop to succeed is storytelling. Storytelling is a lovely ability that everyone, regardless of career or age, should learn. I want to use my videography skills to make an impact on my community and society while also sharing inspiring stories with everyone. I want to learn how to deliver compelling and effective stories since they would benefit me everywhere—in school, at home, and in my organization, among many others.

Hi! My name is Mohammad Khalid Khalid, you can call me Khalid, from the most war torn country, Afghanistan. I work for an international organization to assist and enable conflict affected people for restoring their livelihood on dignified way. My role is to have assessment from livelihood situation of people and conduct monitoring and evaluation exercises from implemented programs. I always produce reports of my assignments for sharing results with various stakeholders. Therefore, I am here to learn how to best tell the stories behind the data visualized in graphs, charts, tables etc.

Hi, my name is Laura from Brazil. I´m working on an NGO that is shifting it´s strategy towards an advocacy organization. Story telling is an strategic ingredient for advocacy to be successful. I have great expectations on this course to support my learning to perform my job better and lead my organization to reach its goals.

Hi, my name is Laura from Brazil. I´m working on an NGO that is shifting it´s strategy towards an advocacy organization. Story telling is an strategic ingredient for advocacy to be successful. I have great expectations on this course to support my learning to perform my job better and lead my organization to reach its goals.

A story I fouund really powerful was the one told by a young men that was lost when he was a boy. He had poor grades and was always creating a mess in the classroom. He had no perspective or dream in his life until he met a teacher who beleived in his potential and worked hard to engage him into learning. While told by the end that she had such a strong impact in him that he decided to be a teacher himself to try to have an important impact in other children´s lives.
I got really emotional when I heard him. I work with public education and stories like that makes me feel motivated to keep working hard towards a better education quality in my country,

Hi, my name is Janice and ever since I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing, I have found myself working in Development Communications. I've been involved in numerous development assistance projects here in the Philippines, working on economic development, education, environmental protection, and peacebuilding. Recently, I reconnected with a friend who works as the lead speechwriter for a top government official who needed another person on her team/ I figured I love a new challenge, so I joined. Now, I'm new to political speechwriting so I'm trying to see how I can improve by revisiting good old storytelling techniques. Hopefully, I refresh my creative writing skills and learn a trick or two from the exercises or from my fellow learners here.

There is no greater way to get involved in a cause than being on the ground, working with a community, learning their stories and working to empower them.
Hi, my name is Melissa Onguti, from Nairobi Kenya. I recently joined a nonprofit organization that works to empower women and girls through quality formal and vocational education. The women I've worked with in the communities so far have greatly inspired me, because they have turned horrible situations in their lives into success stories and gone on to spread the positive impact by teaching others what they learned and even creating employment opportunities.
I'm very excited to be taking this course and I'm hoping to be able to write inspiring stories about the work we do.

Hi, my name is Muvi from Indonesia. I'm 39 years old. I'm a mother of a boy, and interested in writing the stories. I worked with marginalized communities and strengthen them. I'm interested in sexual reproductive health and rights, HIV, gender equality, social inclusion, and child protection. Can't wait to learn together!

Hello. My name is Lethicia Escobar. I'm Brazilian and I'm 26 years old. I work for Ericsson Inc in the United States, I was transferred here, I've been working with Ericsson since 2018 which I started in Brazil. I have always dreamed about having an international experience, and I'm so grateful to be having this now. One of the skills I miss today in my career is the Storytelling, so I want to work on this to achieve more and more challenges.

Hi, my name is Mark from Zambia, I am glad to be here. the journey started several years ago

Hey everyone, my name is Melisa and I live in Sydney, Australia. I work for a Church organisation that shares the gospel to people with intellectual disabilities in Australia. We help ensure the Bible can be clearly taught and in a way that the members can understand. I would like to learn to write more emotive stories that drive action and expand the reach of my organisation.

Hi everyone, my name is Melisa and I live in Sydney, Australia. I work for an organisation that help share the gospel to people with intellectual disabilities. We provide churches with training and resources so they can clearly teach the Bible in a way their members can understand. I would like to learn from this course how to write more emotive stories that drive action, so we can expand the reach and impact of the organisation.

Hi everyone, my name is Melisa and I live in Sydney, Australia. I work for an organisation that help share the gospel to people with intellectual disabilities. We provide churches with training and resources so they can clearly teach the Bible in a way their members can understand. I would like to learn from this course how to write more emotive stories that drive action, so we can expand the reach and impact of the organisation.

Greetings from Canada! My name is Annie. I love reading stories - especially mystery stories.

After working as an international development professional for 23 years and travelling to more than 40 countries I recently took early retirement and started to be an independent consultant.

During my career I trained myself to gather data and write good reports filled with facts, achievements and results.

Even though I like writing stories about my travel and personal experiences, I am not familiar or comfortable with story telling for reporting impact.

So, I joined this course to learn how to identify a good story to report social impact and tell it in a way that it will capture the attention of the intended audience.

I am a career writer interested in sharpening my skills. I currently work for a university so my 9-5 work focuses on capturing stories about alumni that strengthen their relationship with the university as mentors to students and potentially, as donors. Our alumni do amazing things -- I truly believe one of our graduates will be the first human to walk on Mars. I want to be confident that I can tell her story with great passion and precision when she does.

@asriantya said in Module 1 Discussion: The Power of Stories:

good story. it was part of marketing or not??

Might exist some other products that used storytelling for this porpuse for sure!

I found this story a little curious, because right at the beginning, I already knew that after reading it I would be more emotional, and I would put a higher price on the mouse. And that's exactly what happened hahaha

Hi 🙂. My name is Gamuchirai Gono, from Zimbabwe. I’m working with a non-profit organization whose vision is to create opportunities and unleash the potential of children living in rural communities. The reason that brought me to this specific course is the desire to tell impactful stories of children in poor-resourced communities who often miss out on basic needs such education, access to quality and affordable health services and competitive economic life skills to enable them to thrive. I’m hoping that this course will enable me to highlight the lived realities of people living in rural communities and hopefully challenge readers and policy makers to allocate resources and improve service delivery in rural communities. Looking forward to learning a lot from this course and connecting with people.