“Empowering Others. Creating Inclusive Societies”
Dotyeni Foundation For Education, Heritage & Rural Development
A bit of history
Through the Dotyeni Foundation for Education, Heritage and Rural Development we continue to offer services to the communities where business is conducted. Three categories of social development are identified and those form the core activities we participate in with communities namely;
Education
Our education programs are targeted at entrepreneurs who wish to learn and understand the skills of running successful businesses.
“We live in a time where jobs are no longer secure or abundant. We are increasingly called upon to be self-reliant, to take risks and initiatives and to generate our own income.” Bev Moodie, Entrepreneurship Made Easy (2000)
That is why we encourage entrepreneurship and seek to get as much funding to assist entrepreneurs in rural areas establish and run successful businesses.
Heritage
Heritage sites and buildings can have a very positive influence on many aspects of the way a community develops. Regeneration, housing, education, economic growth and community engagement are examples of the ways in which heritage can make a very positive contribution to community life. This is because:
- The historic environment is a proven source of benefit to local economies, particularly through tourism.
- An attractive heritage environment assists in attracting external investment as well as maintaining existing businesses of all types, not just tourism-related.
- People are very proud of their local history, but don’t always express how much they value a place until it’s threatened. Because it adds character and distinctiveness to an area, heritage is a fundamental in creating a ‘sense of place’ for a community.
- Adaptive reuse of heritage buildings is an important factor in creating sustainable communities.
- Heritage buildings add value to regeneration projects, both in terms the economic and environmental advantage of reuse over new build and in adding character to a precinct.
- Heritage places can be a potent driver for community action.
- Increased community values and greater social inclusion can be achieved through a focus on heritage matters.
- The heritage places are an excellent local educational resource for people of all ages. Learning about the history of a place is a good way of bringing communities together through a shared understanding of the unique cultural identity heritage places give to an area.
Areas where the heritage is understood and valued tend to be better looked after than those where heritage items have no link with the community. Such links help to foster civic responsibility and citizenship and contribute to everyone’s quality of life.
Rural Development
Infrastructure development is a key driver for progress across the African continent and a critical enabler for productivity and sustainable economic growth. It contributes significantly to human development and poverty reduction. Infrastructure accounts for over half of the recent improvement in economic growth in Africa and has the potential to achieve even more.
The needs for adequate infrastructure—secure energy, efficient transport, reliable communication systems, resilient sanitation, and affordable housing—are particularly apparent.
Africa’s vast infrastructure deficit is a constraint on its growth, but also an opportunity to leapfrog to new, more efficient technologies.
That is why it is imperative to drive projects of infrastructure development, particularly technology infrastructure in the rural areas so that more and more people are connected to the global community.