Everybody has a story

Local Changemakers

Our Vision- Empower with local people

Local Changemakers empowers Migrants and Diaspora* who were born in developing countries, but now live and work in Europe and

put up projects or businesses in their Country of Origin.

These Diaspora and Migrants are aware of what is going on in their country of origin, still have regular contact with family and friends and are motivated to use their knowledge and expertise effectively in the projects or business. Another additional benefit is that migrants know the language and culture and usually have a local network.

The results of their initiatives are therefore often effective and sustainable.

Local Changemakers believes in this empowering form of Development Co-operation and (local) business development and

focuses on creating more equal partnerships between (African) Diaspora, Local organizations and small Dutch (European)

NGO´s .

Doing this with Consultancy, Coaching, Masterclasses and creating more Visibility for Diaspora and Local organizations.

* Diaspora is a large group of people spread over the world. For instance the African Diaspora that live in Europe. A Migrant is a person who moved to another country for diverse reasons.

focuspoints

Supporting a shift to more Locally Led Development
Promoting the role of Diaspora and Migrant (organizations) within International Development Co-operation Policy. (work with locals)
Increasing the visibility of Migrants/Diaspora development projects and (social) business.
Giving Consultancy, Coaching and Masterclasses to Diaspora and Dutch (European) small NGO´s and Social Entrepeneurs on Local Ownership, Visibility, Gouvernance, Fundraising and Storytelling

How it all begun..

In 2005 I traveled to Ghana to make a documentary about my Ghanaian father who set up all kinds of projects in his native village of Biemso.

I was so impressed by the way my father, as a migrant from the Netherlands(Europe), put up projects in his country of origin that I decided to put up the Ghanasi Foundation and support his projects in the field of education and healthcare.

In 2009, my father's dream came true and we opened the Nana Aufia Kobi Hospital in his native village of Biemso.

I met more and more Migrants and Diaspora who live in Europe and are working on projects in their native countries.

In 2011 I decided to set up the Pimp My Village Foundation to support projects of other Migrant (Diaspora) organizations.

Over the years, project support has been increasingly replaced by storytelling and training /coaching in the areas of fundraising, communication, visibility and making projects self-sufficient. For this reason I decided to change Pimp My Village into a social business in 2025 and renamed it to Local Changemakers!

Unfortunately my father passed away in 2023. He was a sweet and inspiring man. I am grateful for the insights he gave me.