The Value of Perspective: Qlik, WeSeeHope and the Power of Change through Data

Amy Budd (Senior Director, Global Programs at Qlik)

Wed Nov 27, 2019

4 min read

Perspective is a funny thing. It’s shaped by our own unique experiences and the lens we see through as a result. This goes for interpreting data – and life.

My lens changed this September when I had an opportunity to travel with Qlik and WeSeeHope to Malawi. WeSeeHope is working with some of the most impoverished communities in Southern and Eastern Africa. It was heartbreaking, heartwarming, and everything in between. And it certainly changed my perspective.

WeSeeHope provides developmental programs to help vulnerable children, young adults, and their caregivers gain the skills they need to improve their lives. Unlike humanitarian organizations, they use a sustainable approach that can be maintained by the communities long after WeSeeHope’s work is done.

They do some incredible work, and it’s having a real impact. They are currently:

Supporting over 66,000 vulnerable children and 25,000 parents, guardians and community volunteers
Working with 217 communities across Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe
Collaborating with 25 different partners on the ground to implement their programs
Running 7 different types of programs including Pre-schools, Kids’ Clubs, Vocational Training, Village Investors Program, Street Work, Child Headed Households, and Child Rights Clubs

The mom in me couldn’t help but think of my own family as I heard stories of children my kids’ ages having to raise their siblings or not be able to attend school because they had a child of their own to raise. Or the grandmother who is now raising her grandchildren in a house with no roof. My lens was forever changed.

Qlik is a long-standing partner of WeSeeHope and a champion of social responsibility. Over the years, Qlik has sent over 100 employees on supporter trips to Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support their life changing work. Qlik has also helped WeSeeHope analyze their program data to pursue additional grant funding.

One of their programs is the Village Investors Program (VIP), which gives caregivers of vulnerable children an opportunity to save and earn money to improve their lives. Members pool their money together to form a community banking system and charge each other interest on loans to grow their group capital. Members use their loans to start and grow their own businesses, and group profits are then distributed at the end of the year.

VIP meeting in progress.

Members then typically use these funds to invest in other businesses and improve their homes, such as adding a metal roof or concrete flooring. Things we take for granted everyday – but game changers for the people of rural Malawi.

VIP member sharing his story. He used his profits to improve his home and diversify his business, from selling nuts to renting out a bicycle and a solar charger within his village.

For the first time in their history, WeSeeHope can quantify the real value of their programs. And it’s not just dollars and cents.It’s ultimately about improving quality of life. And for WeSeeHope, it’s a way to secure additional grant funding to fuel their work.

VIP Dashboard created using Qlik Sense. Screenshot taken November 25, 2019.

“Thanks to Qlik’s dashboard, we are now able to analyze the data collected from the thousand VIP groups we have established since we launched the program in 2014. This is enabling us to demonstrate the impact of this compelling and sustainable economic program with incredible ease, which is groundbreaking for our organization both in terms of our programmatic development and fundraising capabilities. We are so grateful to the team at Qlik for investing their time and efforts into this incredible tool, which is helping us to strengthen the impact of the VIP on vulnerable children and their families.”

– Mark Glen, CEO of WeSeeHope

The difference WeSeeHope is making in people’s lives is real. The six of us from Qlik that traveled with them saw it firsthand. We heard the stories. We were moved. We were inspired. Our lenses were changed.