Global Alliance designs and develops, in partnership with communities, innovative programs addressing locally identified needs of vulnerable children, youth and women in urban slums and remote rural areas of East Africa.

The GAA Commitment to Social Justice through Development is based on a Vision and Core Values, inclu

Goal One: To expand the number of locations for our digital learning program from 23 to 50 in one year in 4 countries, and to increase the number of students in the program from 8,000 to 16,000 by Dec. 2023.

Goal Two: To expand our community library program and resources from currently providing services for 22,000 students to 40,000 by the end of 2023.

Goal Three: To enhance our organizational and administrative structure to ensure a cost-effective and efficient scaling up of our programs.

The organization regularly holds zoom meetings between the executive director and program director in Chicago and staff and partner schools, universities, and local staff in 4 countries (Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania and Uganda) to discuss organizational strategy, program goals and objectives, and contextual implementation frameworks and methodologies. Partners and local staff are encouraged to design implementation and management methodologies and procedures that best suit the needs of students and all of those participating in programs within local contexts. This is a slow process that proceeds from brain-storming to design submission to actual implementation and management toward success. It encourages vision, innovation, adaptability and leadership at the local level. The organization also holds an annual board retreat with all board members and senior staff to review programs and administration, renew commitment, and strategize about the coming year.

Perhaps the most important aspect of our adaptability over the past year is to be understood in light of the COVID-19 epidemic and challenges. As an organization, when the COVID pandemic required lockdowns, facemasks, vaccines, and also led to restricted travel to the countries where our organization operates and provides programs, we made the strategic decision to hold once a week meetings between staff in Chicago and all of our staff in each of the 4 countries on the continents of Africa. Each of these 4 country meetings lasted approximately 1 hour each week and focused primarily on the implementation, management and continued development of the digital learning program. These meetings were conducted over zoom and have lasted until the present, even though we have resumed travel from our headquarters in Chicago to Kenya, Morocco, Tanzania and Uganda to monitor and evaluate all programs. The fact that these meetings were not conducted in person, and nonetheless enabled the organization to continue and even develop the digital learning program efficiently and effectively, is an indication that the organization is adaptable to extreme external conditions in both global and local contexts. In addition, all of our board meetings, as well as administrative meetings at our headquarters in Chicago, have adapted to zoom session due to the continuing unpredictability of new waves of COVID variants and infections. This also has had no disadvantageous outcome in relation to the board's governance, and to our administration, fund raising, and oversight of programmatic activities.