< Back DRG Outsourcing David White is the CEO of a company called DRG Outsourcing. He finds working with people very exciting and motivating. He believes that one of his main jobs is to make sure everyone understands what the company wants to achieve. This means he spends time clearly explaining the goals and what success looks like for each business project. For example, if a company wants to improve its customer service, David ensures that everyone involved knows exactly what kind of improvements are expected and how they can help reach those goals. By doing this, he helps the team stay focused and work together effectively, making it more likely to achieve the desired results. DRG Outsourcing The BLOG Read all about it READ MORE

If you put someone in a position or a job where they don’t have an interest or the passion, they are never actually going to be happy < Back Judy Stuart Founder of Future Farmers Judy Stuart left school in 1969 and although she came from a farming family, they were not open to the idea of a girl farming. Agricultural colleges were also not open to women at that time. “This was a challenge to me as all I wanted to do was farm. My parents sent me to a secretarial school where they tried to teach me shorthand and typing. I was like a fish out of water. What I found out is that if you put someone in a position or a job where they don’t have an interest or the passion, they are never actually going to be happy.” Although following her passion was hard, Judy did not give up and she started her dairy with three cows. For the first five- or six-years Judy milked the cows twice daily – on her own – even when she was milking 40 cows. “I got up every morning without any days off and I milked the cows in the morning and again in the afternoon. It was what I wanted to do.” A real passion Future Farmers started off with three young school boys Judy met at a youth show who had done very well training young heifers and had been in the provincial team. The boys were about to finish school but unfortunately none of them had the funds or academic achievements required for further education. Discovering that they were likely to be unemployable mortified Judy as she recognised the talent that the boys had for farming and couldn’t bear to see it wasted. “I saw in these young people a real passion and I could identify with them,” she reflected. As Judy was a dairy farmer and knew a lot of other dairy farmers, she asked them to take on these passionate young people. She requested that they be paid a minimum wage and that she would help with mentorship, which would be soft skill based. “One of those boys ended up managing a dairy of over 1000 cows, another has his own beef farming business today and manages beef farms for other people,” said Judy. “Those young people ended up going overseas on internships where they spent a year in another country. The first one went to Germany, which was an incredible experience for him. He phoned me after the first week of being there and said, ‘Judy they have got no workers’. He and his employer were looking after a whole dairy farm. What he learnt there was invaluable.” An incredible experience Judy’s intention was not to start an organisation but to help three young lads. The following year their friends phoned her, asking if she could help them as well. “Obviously I couldn’t say no and the year after that I got more calls. Eventually I closed down my own dairy because there was so much work to do, that I couldn’t do both. It has been an incredible experience for me.” Future Farmers, which is based in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, was founded in 2006 and is an organisation working with youth between the ages of 18 and 26 years old, mainly from remote rural communities. Its goal is to develop these young people into commercial farmers. “It’s very exciting to help set these young people on a career path. It is really not that hard to create an opportunity for a young person to start to develop a career,” explained Judy. As agriculture has such a vast number of sectors, Future Farmers really focuses on what each farmer loves doing, which can be anything from vegetable farming to poultry to rabbits or dairy. “If someone wakes up every morning and does something that they love, they are going to be successful – it’s hard to fail,” explains Judy. Future Farmers does not pay for its participants to get through the process; they pay their own way. As such they are earning and learning. Although Future Farmers has funders, when the young farmers go overseas, they pay back their expenses so that another young farmer can travel overseas. Consequently, the donations received are being regularly turned over. Creating opportunities For Judy doing this work is a real privilege and it’s not something she does on her own. She says, “We have a team of unbelievably good people who are all committed and interested in what we are doing.” In reflecting on her work life balance, Judy says that she can’t really get away from her work. “I love these young people and I love the work that I am doing. The solution for me was to bring my family to the workplace. My husband, Ross, is now retired, and he helps us out a lot. Our daughter, Fiona, is involved, and she works specifically with the overseas internships.” Future Farmers’ goal for the future is to reach more people and to set up offices in more provinces. At the moment, apart from KwaZulu-Natal, there are offices in the Western Cape and in the Free State. In conclusion said Judy, “I think that it is critically important that Future Farmers is a small piece in the whole process of developing these people. The farmers themselves are our partners in this enterprise. We have farmers all over South Africa and overseas who are coming on board and creating opportunities for these young people.” “There are so many stages that involve other people. Future Farmers wouldn’t be here without our sponsors who are investing in these young people’s lives and in agriculture, which puts food on the table for everybody.”

Forgive yourself, you will make mistakes, don’t dwell on them. We can’t waste our energies on things that we can’t control < Back Femada Shamam CEO Tafta (The Association of the Aged) Femada Shamam has a background in social work and management and has dedicated 21 years to the non-profit organisation Tafta (The Association of the Aged). Tafta supports 1500 people under roof and a further 3500 older people within the community. She took on the role of CEO in April 2017. Femada says, “My initiative is to lead with passion and lead my team so that they can give effect to the purpose, which is to bring dignity, growth and a meaningful life to all older people. If we are able to do that, I think that we will then all really live in a wonderful world.” Femada’s role includes representing Tafta on various local, provincial, national and international platforms such as: International Association for Ageing, the Commonwealth Association for Ageing and Global Aging Network. She serves as the Africa Ambassador to the Commonwealth Association for Ageing. Femada lobbies and advocates for the rights of older people by looking at how we can develop the non-profit space and in making sure that we can service the most vulnerable in our community, develop best practice models through learning from others and supporting those who want to take forward the aging agenda. A great achievement “I don’t believe that what I do is extraordinary,” commented Femada. “But what I do is give of myself 100%. I think that the manner in which I lead the organisation and how we drive the aging agenda will make sure that we have maximum impact on the lives of older people. When I get into a lift with an older person, and they talk about how their lives are better because of Tafta’s interventions, that for me is a great achievement.” There have been many people who have journeyed with Femada and supported her career. “Fundamentally, I have been supported by my mum – she had a foundational impact on my life and believed that nothing should limit me. She believed that we should do whatever we wanted to do with passion, and to do it right or don’t bother at all. That is the philosophy I live my life by; I make sure that I am not wasting my time or other people’s time.” In addition, Femada says that she has learnt from the older people. “Older people lose their filters. While they’re very generous with their compliments, they’re equally generous with their criticism. When I get things wrong, they tell me, which I love listening to because I learn a little more.” Changing the narrative Femada believes that people over the age of 60 can have the greatest impact on the lives of others because they generally no longer feel bound by social norms. In addition, she says, “Can you imagine if we were able to tell older people that they were entering the best time of their lives. It’s about changing the narrative – we can live with the idea that there is hope right until the end.” Commenting on challenges that she has faced along her career, Femada says that the first challenge was growing up in a society that does not value caring for others. This meant that it was very difficult to create a niche for herself, as there was stigma attached to the career that she chose. The second was working through the head and heart conversation. “People assume that because you are compassionate that you have no business sense. My response was to do my Bachelor of Commerce degree so that I could understand how to lead the organisation better. I don’t think that the balance between head and heart is mutually exclusive. I think that both combined are quite powerful and that is how I lead my team. It is important not to be apologetic for caring about our elders, our colleagues, and about the people in our community. You can take that compassionate care, apply it in a business world and achieve great results.” Setting the foundation Femada’s biggest goal is to be regarded as an influencer in the way that the world sees older people so that change occurs. This is especially relevant to creating infrastructure such as housing and transport that is accessible to older people. Secondly, she wants to create a space for the mentorship and guidance of future leaders in the aged care sector. Femada wants to set the foundation for people to respond to the needs of older people as their population grows. On the personal level, Femada’s greatest responsibility is to be the best mom and wife that she can be. “I take that very seriously and that balances out all the other roles that I have. I have an eight-year-old daughter and I want to make sure that the example that I set is one that she would be proud of and one that ignites her passion to follow whatever she wants to in her life.” Never be afraid of learning Her advice to other women is to be true to yourself and start small. Femada’s goal when she started at Tafta was to be the best version of herself. That passion was viewed by others as good, and the opportunities opened themselves. Secondly, she says, never be afraid of learning – both informally and informally – ask people for advice. “There will be times when you fail. Fail fast, get over it, move on to the next thing. I firmly believe that it is in our failures that we learn our greatest lessons.” “The third thing is to forgive yourself, you will make mistakes, don’t dwell on them. We are here for a short moment in time, and we can’t waste our energies on things that we can’t control. Live in the moment; do the best that you can, because the only control that you have is over your own actions,” concluded Femada.