Praxis Note 24. Mentoring Leaders of HIV/AIDS Community- Based Organisations

Foolishly, we often try to strengthen community-based organisations (CBOs) as if they were identical to formal organisations. We ignore the very differences that make CBOs potentially the most effective agents of development change. Consequently we find our capacity building at best ineffective and at worst destructive. Leadership is particularly important in small, informal organisations such as CBOs, being both their major strength and often their critical weakness.

This Note describes an innovative mentoring approach to leadership development that concurrently builds the capacity of the CBO as an organisation. This approach is being pioneered by the Barnabas Trust in South Africa which works alongside 53 HIV and AIDS related CBOs.