GTL's First East African Coordinators Conference

We were thrilled when Sister Salome Nambi, our Ugandan Scholarship Coordinator, offered to host the first GTL Coordinators Conference in Kampala, Uganda. Other coordinators were Florence Nyamu from Kenya and Zainab Tekway Sige from Tanzania, and our four visiting Board members, Donna Lazorik, Jeanne Lynch, Judith Nielsen, and Mary Schwartz, attended.

The conference goals were fourfold: to strengthen the working relationships between the GTL Board of Directors and scholarship coordinators by discussing strategies that will ensure the organization’s long-term growth and success; to share key information on GTL’s historical and current situation; to stimulate discussion on what is and is not working, and to define joint priorities for ongoing work; and to discuss lessons learned and celebrate our successes.

One important recommendation that evolved from our discussions which has been integrated into the final draft of our strategic plan, currently nearing completion, is the establishment of an annual survey of GTL graduates to track their post-graduate education, work, and life activities, and to support the development of online chat rooms and encourage alumnae gatherings.

In our final discussion we reviewed and synthesized lessons learned. Primary among these was the value of face-to-face communication. It was evident the Coordinators could address and resolve many issues quickly in this conference forum because of their in-depth understanding of the social and cultural needs of the students and their experience with the East African education system.