The Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard hosted a conversation with Ida Puliwa, a social entrepreneur and community organizer from Malawi and a “Spiritual Exemplar,” profiled as part of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s global project on engaged spirituality. They will discuss women’s leadership and Ida’s innovative model for transforming communities.
Ida founded the Othakarhaka (“Passing on the Kindness”) Charity Foundation in 2012 to transform poor struggling villages into self-reliant, sustainable communities. The Foundations’ 6,400 volunteers support programs in girls and women’s empowerment, health, education, sustainable agriculture and agroforestry, and social welfare for the elderly, orphans and underprivileged.
Two Los Angeles-area faith leaders joined the discussion and reflected on how Ida’s story can translate into faith-based organizing in US cities: The Rev. Nikia Robert, Ph.D., of the Abolitionist Sanctuary, and Rev. Stephen “Cue” Jn-Marie of The Row Church. Watch to hear the remarkable story of how she took one act of kindness and turned it into many similar acts.
