Meet Felix Larbi Appiah

We recently connected with Felix Larbi Appiah and have shared our conversation below.

Felix Larbi, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

After my undergraduate studies, I got posted to a remote village in Ghana for my national service. National service is a mandatory one-year service undertaken by Ghanaian graduates upon completion of tertiary education. I taught children between the ages of 7 and 14 and that was where my purpose was unearthed. For the first time in my life, I came face to face with real poverty; the inequalities between where I grew up (Accra) and this new environment I found myself in was so glaring.

I had hitherto taken so many things for granted, thinking they were basics. Seeing other people cherish these things or not even having knowledge of these was a wake up call for me. A call to action, aimed at bridging the gap between the poor and the well to do, by providing basic needs to make the lives of people, especially children, much easier. I ditched my earlier career aspirations of being in the shipping industry to venture full time into Community Development.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a seasoned community development professional with over a decade of experience driving social change and improving quality of life across diverse communities. In my role as the Head of Community Development in a Municipality, I focus on adult education, adolescent health, youth development, and child protection. partnering with other governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations and international donor agencies to advance the wellbeing of children and vulnerable groups.

My deep insight into how public-sector bodies intersect with civil society enables me to be a valuable intermediary between both sectors. I am passionate about connecting people with the resources they need to thrive, approaching my work with both heart and strategy.

I also run a child rights and protection focused non-profit (YAH-Salem Foundation) where the focus is to safeguard children from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect through school sensitizations. The nonprofit also focuses on child mental health, where I collaborate with psychologists and mental health experts to engage children on mental health issues.

I also coordinate operations on the ground for Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute in Ghana. Our work in Ghana is committed to supporting literacy, promoting youth leadership development initiatives, and preserving cultural heritage in Ghana. Currently, the organization is undertaking a fundraiser to augment our efforts to support a community-centered approach to adolescent health, education and youth empowerment in Ghana by investing in literacy, leadership development, girls’ health, and public well-being. These initiatives aim to create a sustainable impact that strengthens children, families, and communities.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Empathy and Cultural Awareness: I have in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of the communities I work within. If they are a new community, I make it a point to immerse myself into their culture to enable me have a clearer picture of how the people live. This knowledge allows me to design programs that are relevant, respectful, and optimal. Empathy is what has helped me build trust and strong relationships, which is imperative for collaboration and sustainable impact.

Strategic Planning and Project Management Skills: The ability to take a vision from the drawing board to actualization is very crucial in the field of community development. I am able to lead my team to put together a clear course of action with my ability to manage resources, often very limited. I started with pilot projects and this is how I developed my project management skills before scaling.

Communication and Advocacy: Effective conveyance of ideas to stakeholders and funders is very important to the work I do. This helps in advocacy, fundraising and building effective partnerships, which all essential for sustainable project impact. To develop these skills, I had to practice writing a lot of my reports, working on proposals and grants at my free time. My public speaking skills were also improved by me undertaking hundreds of school sensitizations, honing my skills to mount bigger stages.

My advice for those early in their journey would be for them to remain curious and humble. Learning is a journey that never ends and to seek knowledge, you need to be open. The community is your greater teacher! Mentorship is something you cannot do without. Walk in the steps of those who have been on similar paths, and have experience that will come in handy as you chart similar paths. Connect with such professionals and seek the occasional feedback to double-check if you are on the right track. Last but not the least, they should keep track of their progress. Their successes, failures and lessons learnt. To accelerate growth, they need to reflect on our journey and make the right adjustments.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking forward to partnering and collaborating with individuals or organizations who share our commitment to improving the outcomes of children and communities. Examples of folks I look to collaborate with are as follows:

Educational organizations or foundations that support school infrastructure and learning resources for libraries.
Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives forced on education, health and community development.
Nonprofits whose thematic focus are child rights and protection, gender related issues, leadership and skills development for youth.
Hosting professionals and volunteers with expertise in our outreach programs to come and share with our communities would be beneficial. This could be undertaken virtually but due to network challenges, in person visits at least once a year would be appreciated.

Contact Info:

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