Centre for Knowledge Equity

Jacobabad, Pakistan was named the world's hottest city in May after extreme heat (124°F). Now, it's flooded after extreme monsoon rains. A teacher says many of her students are homeless and will miss months of school: "People had heatstroke, now people have lost their homes."

Satellite images show the extent of damage caused by record monsoon floods in Pakistan. ▪️ At least 1,191 people killed ▪️ Over 1 million homes destroyed ▪️ Crops destroyed in hundreds of thousands of villages ▪️ 700,000 livestock lost (Images: Maxar Technologies)

Floods in Pakistan killed at least 1,191 people, including 380 children — one woman saw her grandchild swept away as she slept. Rains are up to 28x above average. Villages are still swamped. Officials say Pakistan is a "fully soaked sponge" with nowhere for water to go.

Coming back home from a FANTASTIC two-day residential with @KnowledgeEquity. The central learnings from these days are the relevance of collaboration, the (non-tokenistic) role of lived experience, fabulous colleagues in the migration/refugee sector and the incredible views.

Great to have so many allies across the sector join us as we shared our learning from the pilot phase of #ChallengeandChange! ✨ Big thanks @KnowledgeEquity @DazeAghaji @chloedeakin_ @jovan747 for partnering with us on this journey🙏 Learning report: blagravetrust.org/wp-content/upl…

...they're already doing the change & they do it in the work, whether they have the resources or not sometimes so I really see our role as sometimes just getting out of the way, listening, and, moving things in the right direction.' - Eli Manderson Evans @blagravetrust

Thread from today's #ChallengeAndChange and @blagravetrust's new CEO Eli Manderson Evans. 'Not seeing ourselves as the experts feels really important... I think sometimes people just need to get out of the way. And it's that simple, because there's people ready (1/2)

'There are 1000s of young people out there in communities, really disrupting...they are living injustice every single day& they're still out there creating the change. They aren't invisible to their communities, they are to those with power.' - Baljeet Sandhu #ChallengeAndChange

So that's just something that again, what more could we do is actually understanding that people communicate in very different ways. But it's no less credit to what the conversation is about.' - Jaden Osei-Bonsu, Head of Youth Programmes @KnowledgeEquity

From today's #ChallengeAndChange event - 'We have to really unpack a lot more in terms of the language we're using, people are using language that is fit for purpose for their communities... And maybe that we might not see it in a certain way...

'What's really crucial is understanding the expertise we need, moving away from lived experience as voice & as a story that we're constantly focusing on, but what's vital, is understanding lived experience as necessary in terms of knowledge.' - Baljeet Sandhu #ChallengeAndChange

'It was really lovely to have felt really cared for within this process. But then also...oh, ok, we have the power in this decision making process. I think that was the most enlightening part... knowing that all doors for possibilities are open.' - @DazeAghaji #ChallengeAndChange

'You have to really think about agency, the ways of communication, the learning styles of everyone who's part of that design journey, & ... it was really truly about, we're just here for the young change makers, and they were bossing it.' - Baljeet Sandhu #ChallengeAndChange

'I was able to speak the language that the young changemakers were applying spoke too, so it made it feel like we were more like a friend, the friend who was helping them get to their own aims.' - Daze Aghaji @blagravetrust trustee & co-designer of #ChallengeAndChange

Inspiring to hear from Baljeet Sandhu from @KnowledgeEquity highlighting the importance of flexibile funding when supporting changemakers - funders need to be able to listen deeply + design support packages in real time #ChallengeAndChange

'We're committed to running #ChallengeAndChange for the next 3 years... really exciting this year to read all of the applications and just continue to see the amazing work that people are doing.' - Rochell Rowe, Programme Lead @blagravetrust #ChallengeAndChange

'Funder accountability is not simply about giving away money, but that we're also ensuring those we're supporting & investing in, esp. young changemakers, we're not setting them up to fail' - Baljeet Sandhu Chief Equity Officer @KnowledgeEquity, #ChallengeAndChange @blagravetrust

Baljeet Sandu from @KnowledgeEquity telling us the importance of funders taking responsibility to find groups & communities that need the funding #ChallengeAndChange

'Pre-existing models of collaboration with communities are not fit for purpose. We need to create really new spaces with different & unique forms of knowledge & expertise to unite & work in unison to design new funds' - Baljeet Sandhu, @KnowledgeEquity #ChallengeAndChange

Investing in changemakers with direct personal 1st hand experience of inequitable & unjust systems is not only possible but it's absolutely necessary if we really want to work together to address the violence&harm our people & planet are facing -Baljeet Sandhu #ChallengeAndChange