Or should I tweak LeBron James’s infamous quote when he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat and say that I’m taking my talents to Resilient People, a company dedicated to empowering marginalized communities – especially refugees and host communities in low-income countries – with compassionate business discipline to create dignified and impactful work.
When the white smoke emerged from the two-week readiness training conclave that preceded Resilient People’s new cohort of apprentices, it spelled out my name as the apprentice project manager.
I’m excited about this new opportunity primarily because of two reasons: a) It’s a high-growth role in a startup setting, and b) there’s a mutual alignment of values and principles. It’s a high-growth role, given that the company is only three years old and has considerable potential.
This signifies a significant opportunity for me to make substantial contributions to its development and expansion, particularly as an overall project manager coordinating the execution and performance of operational tasks across various projects.
Thanks to the greatest teacher I have ever met, I take great pleasure in making meaningful contributions to improving humanity. Doing this gives me an unprecedented amount of joy and meaning in life.
There is no better way to accomplish this than by helping uplift the marginalized groups in our society. Resilient People’s commitment to empowering refugees and host communities from marginalized countries (and communities) is, therefore, an opportunity for me to walk on this path.
This is not my first time working in a marginalized group-focused organization. I previously worked at Global Innovation Valley, a refugee-led organization in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, as a digital manager. I have also worked at Tunapanda Institute and ROCK Kenya, Kibera-based non-profit organizations empowering youths through digital literacy and formal education scholarships, respectively.
50% of all apprentices in the current cohort of hires at Resilient People are refugees, the majority of them female. This shows the company’s practical application of radical inclusion, one of its core values.
Resilient People strives to bring forth those left in the trenches due to unfortunate circumstances so they can be seen by the world through their skills and talents.
Nawal, my colleague from the Turkana hub, while narrating her story to me, shared that Resilient People not only talks about radical inclusion, but actually walks it. She added that by walking this talk, Resilient People “strives to bring forth those left in the trenches due to unfortunate circumstances so they can be seen by the world [through their skills and talents].”
(The company has two offices in Kenya: Nairobi at a serene and beautiful co-working space called Diba Studios in Baba Dogo and Turkana at the iconic Startup Lions campus in Loropio.)
As a project manager, this is an opportunity to learn (and hopefully, later on, fill the role at full capacity) about project management while also fulfilling my aforementioned latter reason why this is an interesting opportunity.
Additionally, from the name of the company, I’m intentionally learning to ingrain resilience into my life while also reflecting on my previous displays of this vital virtue.
So far, listening to the stories from my colleagues has been both fulfilling and enriching, especially from refugees. The circumstances that led to them fleeing their countries, the challenges of life in the camps (as illustrated in this story from Chukulisa, one of my colleagues from the Turkana hub), and how grit and resilience have helped them overcome these challenges.
My interactions with colleagues have also piqued my curiosity and passion. In fact, my current read, The Rational Optimist (by Matt Ridley), is purely inspired by the conversations I have had with various people within the company, more so Musonera, whom I have found to be quite curious and optimistic about the world. He inspired my recent article on the Western influence.
I’m thankful to the Resilient People leadership team, especially Riccardo Adragna, for believing in me. When LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, he won two NBA titles and produced the infamous photobomb dunk meme.
Likewise, this is yet another opportunity to grow professionally, forge new networks, and contribute to humanity’s betterment. Just like LeBron and the Miami Heat, I’m looking forward to assisting Resilient People win “championships” and create classic, memorable moments.
