Ten years ago, Ellen-Rose Kambel started the Rutu Foundation, a foundation that is committed to making multilingual and intercultural education the norm. The foundation grew and many projects followed. But how do you take the next step? How can this social enterprise further professionalize and become more sustainable? Ellen-Rose shares her experiences.
Language is an important part of your identity. Anyone who is forced to forget his own language or is insulted and even considered inferior because he speaks another language, loses part of his identity and thus a part of himself. Ellen-Rose Kambel has been fighting this for years. First fifteen years as a trainer of human rights for indigenous leaders in Suriname, among other things, later her attention also shifted to education.
Ellen-Rose: 'Worldwide, children are taught in a foreign language to them, because their language is not 'the norm'. At home, their own language is spoken, at school children are forced into the straitjacket of a different language and culture. As a result, they can't always keep up with the rest of the class because they have to bridge that gap first. That they also bring some extras, namely a different language, there is little understanding for that.'
Intercultural as a norm
In 2011, Ellen-Rose started the Rutu Foundation and the field of work was shifted to the Netherlands, among others. 'Our mission is to make multilingual and intercultural education the norm. One of the things we did from the start was to publish a bilingual calculation method with teaching materials in the native language and the language prescribed by the school. That hit very well. This concept is now finding its way into Europe.'
“Jumping from project to project without a sustainable basis.”
Mindshift
With good teaching material alone you are not there. 'The mind shift of the teachers who work with it is more difficult. Our work therefore goes far beyond publishing teaching materials. The Rutu Foundation provides training, we involve research and politics in our work, have established the Language Friendly School quality mark and are building a broad network to make intercultural education a sustainable and integral part of education.'
“We've always worked on a need-based basis. When a request came in, we started looking for sponsors to raise the necessary money to start the project. When the project was completed, the money was also finished.' Last year I suddenly realized that I no longer felt like 'bettin' for money. To jump from project to project without a sustainable basis. A board member drew my attention to the Social Entrepreneurship Course. This course seemed to me a good common thread in further professionalizing the foundation. And what an eye-opener it was! On the first day of education, I discovered that there is a name for what we do with the Rutu Foundation: social entrepreneurship.'
“I'm used to doing a lot alone, but now I see that this is simply not possible if we really want to make an impact.”
Investment
'I soon learned that making a profit is not a shame, but a necessity if you want to make your business more sustainable. I don't need a big car, do I? I always thought. But you make a profit so that you no longer have to depend on sponsors and well-intentioned donors. And independent was exactly what I wanted to be. You have to make a profit so that you can continue with your business, to invest in the future. Why had no one ever told me that before?”
Self-confidence
'The course gave me a lot of confidence. For example, I got into it with the idea: 'I don't know much about marketing, that so many schools and institutions know how to find us is coincidence.' But already at the first book I read about marketing strategies I thought: we all do that already! Only it never had a name or a theoretical basis. "I'll do something," I always thought. But I'm not doing anything 'just like that'. That gives me the confidence that I am worth it, that our company is worth it. Because if I don't believe that, why would anyone else believe it? Nowadays, when requesting a lecture, I can simply ask: 'What is your budget?'
'The session with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) within the course gave me insight above all. By talking about your company, you come to self-insight. This also applies to the intervision sessions, the guidance by my coach and the contact with fellow entrepreneurs. Whether that's about talking about the budget plans, a too open and therefore easy to copy concept of the foundation or developing confidence in your own abilities. I'm used to doing a lot alone, but now I see that this is simply not possible if I want to make a real impact with the Rutu Foundation.'
First concrete steps
'What I have already implemented I have the organization? The difference between internal and external financing. The first is what you earned, the second thing you received from donations, for example. I always put everything together, but now we keep it separate and focus on one hundred percent internal funding. That's a long-term plan, but what we've already achieved is a conclusive budget with normal salaries for all employees, including myself.'