The Journey Through 2024: Challenges, Perseverance, and Hope
Every year, as the curtain falls and we reflect on the journey, it’s tempting for nonprofits to measure success by the milestones hit, funds raised, or numbers reported. But leading The Dandelion Philosophy through 2024 has been a reminder that real progress is not just found in data points—it lies in the stories, the lessons, the resilience, and the undeniable belief that we will get there, no matter how heavy the headwinds.
Prepared and Ready for Impact
This year, The Dandelion Philosophy has laid it all on the table. Everything is ready. A robust business plan? Check. Budgets, project designs, risk assessments? Check. Tools, timelines, partners, volunteers, the energy to move a mountain if we had to? All there.
At times, I feel like a captain whose ship is fully equipped, who stands ready at the helm with my crew, the sails unfurled, and yet the seas we seek remain eerily quiet.
The reality, as every nonprofit leader will admit (even if whispered), is that preparing for impact and securing the funds to realise it are worlds apart.
Transformative Work in Action
Our work has been unapologetically bold this year. The psychosocial support programme we ran—designed to bring healing and transformation, especially for women, youth, and children in our communities—demonstrated the power of what is possible when an idea is brought to life.
Evaluated by the University of Zimbabwe, the results spoke loudly: success across the board and participants reporting measurable and meaningful changes in their lives. Outcomes like these reignite our hope because these are lives. These are futures.
This is transformation, not just on spreadsheets, but in people. For our team, this has been a necessary vote of confidence. For me, it’s validation that we’re exactly where we need to be because we are providing solutions that work.
Innovation in the Face of Adversity
And then, there are the extraordinary victories. In a year when nonprofits have scratched and clawed for new ways to break free from donor dependency, we took it a step further by embracing the digital future.
Our NFT art project (UKOO), the first of its kind in the world, carved out a new lane for creative, sustainable funding of development work. It may not be the conventional route to securing impact, but innovation comes from recognising new tools and daring to try something bold.
Featured: Imani, the main character in our UKOO “Warriors of Kindness” NFT collection.
Building Resilience Through Challenges
So yes, there have been victories. Yet, there have also been frustrations—raw, unseen, exhausting frustrations.
Here's what I’ve learnt: success doesn't always follow immediately, even when you build something with unwavering dedication. You can present a watertight plan, a vision brimming with potential and proven outcomes, but without connection and shared belief, the resources to bring those dreams to life don’t always materialise.
Despite this, we continue to learn and grow from these challenges. Each setback teaches us something valuable and strengthens our resolve.
It’s disheartening when organisations say, “We love what you’re doing” or “We stand with you,” yet when the ask is real, the action seldom comes. Smaller organisations like ours live at the knife’s edge.
Each rejection, those “unfortunately, we will not be moving forward” emails—and we know those well—feels like a quiet collapse of air. Months of research, strategy, and energy culminate in silence or disconnection.
While those moments weigh heavy, they also remind us why we keep going: we believe in the cause and the impact we’re creating. Feedback may be rare, but we persist, refine, and press on with renewed determination.
Strength in Unity
I have known fatigue this year, not the kind a night’s sleep will shake off, but a more profound weariness. I’ve sat with my doubts and worries about whether my motivation could carry us through.
Yet, in those darkest times, I have seen this truth play out: we do not walk alone. When I was on the verge of exhaustion, our board stood by me, our leadership team carried the load, our Strategic Advisory Board offered their counsel, and our hundreds of volunteers—every single one of them—reminded me of the profound purpose and impact of our work.
Inspiring those who give their time, effort, and hearts—not for a salary but out of belief in a cause—is no small feat. It demands everything: vision, energy, hope, constant communication, and relentless encouragement.
Ready to Thrive in 2025
As I write this, I’m acutely aware of how nimble, impactful, and driven small organisations fight battles that are bigger than most can see. The long hours, sacrifices, mental and emotional toll… we wear those scars quietly, but not without pride.
We do it because the communities we serve don’t have the luxury of waiting. And I can promise you this: when the funding comes, the relationships are built, and the work takes shape—we will be ready. Because we are already ready. We always have been.
They say 2024 was a challenging year to hold hope. I disagree.
I’ve seen it in every person we’ve worked with, every success we’ve achieved, every meeting with a volunteer whose belief in our mission remains unwavering, and every community that has found hope where none existed before.
I carry this into 2025 because what we are building at The Dandelion Philosophy is not temporary. It’s not a quick fix for persistent problems. It’s systemic, forward-facing, deeply innovative, and ultimately transformative.
To every volunteer, partner, team member, board member, and friend: your belief and effort fuel us. To every donor, collaborator, and ally: come, join us. Understand our vision and trust in the profound change we’re creating.
As for the road ahead, the seas will shift, the winds will rise, and our sails will catch. And we will move—toward thriving communities, rewritten futures, and a world transformed by purpose and action.
We are The Dandelion Philosophy, and we are ready to bloom.
