The Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA) in partnership with the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa, is pleased to announce this call for applications to the Innocent Chukwuma African NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (ICLTFP), formerly known as the African NGO Leadership Transition Fellowship Program (LTFP). The Fellowship is funded by the Ford Foundation.
The decision to rename the program after Innocent Chukwuma, who until his death in April this year, was the regional director of the Ford Foundation West Africa office, arose from the combination of the significant role he played in setting up AROCSA and establishing the LTFP; AROCSA’s consideration of the best way to honour his legacy; and from suggestions from some of the members of the last cohort of the LTFP which took place for the first time on African soil in Ghana from 1st March to 30th May, 2021.
At AROCSA’s last quarterly board meeting which took place in September 2021, a unanimous decision was made to rename the program after Innocent Chukwuma. The decision was subsequently communicated to his family through his wife; Mrs. Josephine Chukwuma, who was deeply appreciative of the consideration, and happy to give her blessings to AROCSA’s request. Her personal statement on the role Innocent Chukwuma played in the birthing of AROCSA and the establishment of its key programs is appended to the Call for Applications for the 2022 iteration of the ICLTFP. We pray that his soul continues to rest in perfect peace and that the Almighty continues to give his family the strength to bear his loss.
As part of efforts to further ground the program in the realities of the African experience, AROCSA is partnering with the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa to deliver the next couple of iterations of the program.