When Reggie Brown, PMP and his family relocated to Cape Town, South Africa 12 years ago, his recognition of the severe poverty that plagues his community prompted Reggie to launch PM4Africa, a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the mission of using project
management to ensure meaningful employment for local residents. Reggie explains, "Making an impact in education and economic development requires not just passion, but also the skills to complete projects that will support these endeavors."
Many of Cape Town's young people fail to graduate secondary school prepared to enter the workforce, an unfortunate reality that significantly contributes to the staggering unemployment rate. To mitigate this challenge, PM4Africa delivers workshops to help students make a better transition from school to work.
"We used PMIEF's PM Skills for LifeSM framework to
look at a specific project and map it to things happening in their
daily lives, like being part of an athletic team, so they can understand it's about taking these skills and applying them to improve the outcomes in their lives," Reggie explains.
Having students practically apply lessons learned to everyday situations helps them realize how project management can positively impact their futures and help break the cycle of poverty.
"When people start to generate quality outcomes in their lives, they begin to feel much better about themselves; it increases their self-esteem," Reggie adds.
In an effort to expand PM4Africa programs, the organization is holding discussions with local primary schools about incorporating project management into their curricula and has plans to translate the PM Skills for Life resource into Xhosa and Afrikaans, two native South African languages. As Reggie points out, "PM4Africa believes the PMIEF resource can help people each and every day of their lives, especially those who are desperate, poor, and uneducated."
To learn more about PM4Africa, please visit their website and the PM4Africa Facebook page. To download your own copy of PM Skills for Life materials at no cost for non-commercial use, please click on the image of the resource above.
