At Tools for Self Reliance we continually strive to find more effective ways of working. About two years ago we started taking a long, hard look at who we are, what we do and where we think we will be in a few years time. We began by asking a few questions of those who know us well.

© Dominic Jones

We invited the people we support and those who support us to share their views about the world we live in, the impact of Tools for Self Reliance’s work in Africa, how we could do things better, and how we can adapt in a fast-changing world. The result is the document Changing lives to build a better future which sets out our direction and collective vision for the next five years.

In a nutshell, we will:

• continue to do what we already do well – working with our partners to support small businesses in Africa
• learn from what has worked well in the past, and from what hasn’t
• strive to help more people in Africa and put in place the resources to make this happen
• be creative and innovative, e.g. though the use of new technology
• be open and transparent in everything we do.

Our vision

Our vision is a world free of poverty, where people can use their own skills and energies to meet their needs and aspirations.

Our mission

Our mission is to contribute to poverty reduction in Africa by working with our partner organisations and supporters in the UK to empower people to build viable and sustainable livelihoods through the delivery of technical, business and life skills training and through the provision of tools for their trades.

Our shared values

The following themes and values underpin everything we do:

• our humanity is bound up with each others – there is an African term for this, ubuntu
• we are all born equal and have a right to remain so
• we all have the right to be someone in life
• working in partnership involves respecting each other for our differences as well as our strengths
• reusing tools and skills help counter waste
• we care deeply about our work and the people we affect.

You can read the document in full by clicking on the following link. Alternatively if you require extra (hard) copies we can send these on request.

Changing lives to build a better future – our organisational strategy 2012-16