If you have been in the philanthropy sector for any period of time, then Halima is not a new name. Even for us at TrustAfrica, we are welcoming her back, this time in a new capacity as a senior fellow. Halima Mahomed is a well-known independent researcher and consultant focusing on knowledge building, advocacy and support to strengthen the narratives, practice and impact of philanthropy in Africa. She is an Associate Researcher at CAPSI and serves as a member of the PSJP management team, Alliance Magazine Editorial Board, and ICNL Advisory Council. Halima has worked for and with a range of African and international philanthropic and philanthropy support organizations and written extensively on philanthropy, with a strong focus on linking philanthropy to local agency and power. We’ve worked closely in the past with Halima on some of our work with social movements, which is another critical area of inquiry for Ms. Mahomed. Halima holds a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Witwatersrand. We are delighted to welcome Halima back to the TrustAfrica family!
Here are Halima’s thoughts on what she’s looking forward to exploring as part of this fellowship:
“Institutionalized philanthropy has the potential to be engaging at a much more holistic and systemic level – and with a significantly broader range of local actors. In a context where the prevalent questions of the day lie around the importance of approaches and systems that enable space for people to claim and exert their voice, power and agency, a different and more contextualized philanthropic practice is needed. I am excited to be able to explore this issue broadly and am also particularly interested in the role of philanthropy in supporting space for local organizing, particularly those organizing spaces that do not usually fall within the more formalized development and civil society sectors.”