Catalyzing bottom-up system change

Traditional development approaches often shape priorities, decision-making, funding, and reporting requirements from the outside, rather than enabling grassroots organisations and the communities they serve to lead and define their own future. While discussions about shifting power and changing the narrative are becoming more common, genuinely locally led approaches and sustainable exit strategies remain difficult to put into practice.

As a result, many programmes are built around dependency rather than local leadership and ownership. They can become disconnected from existing systems and struggle to sustain impact once external funding ends. Too often, the focus is on delivering activities and results that satisfy donor requirements, rather than strengthening and building on the knowledge, capacities, and systems that already exist within communities. Accountability should first and foremost be directed towards local governments, communities, and the people for whom the support is intended.

TUNAFASI takes a different approach. Its role is intentionally limited, catalytic, and time-bound: supporting, connecting, and championing grassroots organisations that work alongside local government structures and systems—the actors who should lead, own, and sustain development efforts. From the outset, TUNAFASI embeds a clear exit strategy, focusing on strengthening local ownership, capacity, and leadership rather than creating long-term dependence on external funding or expertise. Through this approach, programmes are designed to remain rooted in local systems and continue delivering impact long after external support has ended.

TUNAFASI works with organisations that are deeply rooted in the community, with local leadership and a shared belief that development should be led by communities and local governments, not by external actors or the grassroots ngo itself. We prioritize partnerships that focus on the most marginalized, with a focus on locally-led sustainable development approaches, and disability inclusion.

‍

Locally-led means that grassroots organisations and communities identify challenges, define priorities, and lead decision-making processes, including strategy, the approach and how funding is used. The work is about strengthening what is already there, rather than setting up parallel programme structures that fail once programme funding ends.

When local leaders and communities are genuinely in the lead and feel ownership, change stays sustainable. In DRC, within the DPRP programme, this means that CBR facilitators are paid by the State, not by the programme. Steering committees operate independently from ADED. Local authorities have integrated disability into planning and budgets. Communities contribute financially and in-kind. Systems are strengthened from within, locally-led and locally-owned from the start. That is what bottom-up system change looks like in practice. And it is also why it lasts. The exit strategy is not an afterthought, it is built into the design of every programme from day one. Investing in people and in local leadership and ownership is the spark that leads to change that lasts.

TUNAFASI currently works with four grassroots organizations across three countries in Africa. In eastern DRC, we work with ADED and AJEPAD on Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs (DPRP) to promote disability inclusion and system strengthening. In Tanzania and Kenya, the Pastoral Women's Council and IMPACT Kenya focus on climate adaptation and resilience by  strengthening local agency and local systems.

Yes, supporting our organisation is very welcome. to support TUNAFASI's work. We welcome those who share our belief in bottom-up sustainable development, through trust-based partnerships, and locally-led programmes with a clear exit strategy. Your support enables us to reach more marginalised communities across the world. Feel free to contact us to explore opportunities and how to get involved.