“The Hunger Project offers an opportunity of a lifetime to learn from inspiring individuals from all facets of life with one thing in common – change your mindset and you can achieve anything! A key lesson which has given me purpose both professionally and personally.”
– Iman Harrak, General Manager, Randstad
A common thing we hear from people interested in participating in our leadership immersion programs is that they’re looking to clarify their purpose or build more purpose into their lives. Our programs create powerful environment for learning and discovery – including from some seemingly unexpected sources.
Iman travelled with us to Uganda and was profoundly moved by what she witnessed about Joseph and having a clear purpose and vision.
“Joseph greeted us as we had come off a 4 hour bus ride to arrive in his village of Kenshunga. He welcomed us with the warmest smile I had ever seen and a great big hug, that even though it was so hot, I was very comfortable with.
While he showed us his basic traditional home and introduced us to his family, I was overwhelmed by the colours in his garden, warmth in the pride of the work he had put into his home and the level of achievement he had reached to be self-reliant.
As I spoke to Joseph and learnt more about his life, I found out that he had various different employment backgrounds and taken any job he could to support his family. He had been working the fields for years on end until he joined the military for 8 years and 9 months, where he was awarded a medal from the President of Uganda for his services. He then became a Preacher while also digging in the fields, but with 11 kids these pursuits were not making him enough money.
After hearing about the work that The Hunger Project does and learning that he could make a big difference in his own backyard, he invested his time to take on a microfinance course through THP, where he invested the money he borrowed into agriculture and crops. He now provides nutritious fruit and vegetables for his family to keep them alive, has put all his children through school, and has also created a business where he rents out patches from his small land to people in his community so they can do the same for their families.
Joseph demonstrated that no matter what the circumstances he was facing, he didn’t lose sight of his vision to provide for his family by boundaries. An entrepreneur and a true leader who taught me the importance of being persistent, resilient, open to new opportunities and having a clear vision which never gets blurred.
Joseph and his family are now self-reliant and key influencers in the community who lead by example to create a better world for those around them.”
You can hear more about Iman’s experience on this podcast:
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/anchor-podcasts/hr-partners/e/58700520
Applications open now for Unlock, The Hunger Project’s next leadership immersion program to Malawi in November 2019 (limited spots still available). Find out more or apply now at www.thp.org.au/unlock
*The original article was posted to Iman’s Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/joseph-true-leader-iman-harrak/