In Your Shoes - Jamie Morrison

I moved into my current role leading the charity Signpost International eight years ago, after previously managing the international programmes since 2008. At Signpost we work globally to eradicate poverty and suffering in all forms, partnering with local organisations and communities to deliver sustainable, community-led programmes based on expressed needs.

In Dundee, we tackle food waste and insecurity by turning surplus food into meals—over 44,000 since 2021—distributed via foodbanks and larders. We run growing and cooking workshops to help children and community groups build skills and confidence, and provide food and activities during school holidays. We are also finalising our Centre for Sustainable Learning in Dundee to educate and inspire future generations on poverty, justice, and the environment.

Meanwhile, we also work in Uganda and Kenya. In Uganda, we support water and sanitation programmes in schools, empower girls and young women through education and skills training, and improve food and income security for farmers. In Kenya, we back a women-led water and income generating project, enable girls to attend school and support community agroforestry initiatives. Find out more at www.signpost-international.org and www.theroundhouse.scot

Monday

I find it staggering how quickly the years seem to roll by, and already we are halfway through January! We have so much happening here at the Roundhouse this coming year and there is a real buzz around the hub as our programmes start up again after the festive break. Our regular cooking and nutrition classes with the local nursery and primary schools always fill the building with the wonderful sounds of life; children laughing and pots clanking as the aromas of freshly baked pizzas or soups waft through to our offices.

We had a soft launch of our community fridge in December, and we look forward to this growing in coming months as we stock it with surplus foods. After a wee hiatus we are so looking forward to reopening our café to the public this year. In partnership with several organisations across the city we will work with young people from a range of settings to create a welcoming space for them to learn new skills in the kitchen and café – watch this space for updates!

Tuesday

Today I fly to Kenya to spend some time visiting our projects and the communities we walk with there. Travelling door to door usually takes around 28 hours so there is plenty of time on the journey for strategising our Dundee projects which have been growing steadily in recent years. As a charity, ultimate success would be the realisation of our vision for an end to poverty and then closing our office, so increased demand on our services is something of a double-edged sword. We are seeing so many struggles within our communities in and around Dundee we need to be doing all that we can to support people both in Scotland and overseas – charity may begin at home, but it should not end there.

In partnership with Robertson Construction Tayside, Transform Community Development, NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation, and others we are in the process of developing our hub in Whitfield, enabling us to increase our support fourfold. This is a wonderful example of local organisations working together for a greater purpose and reminds me of a Kenyan proverb which I love: “if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together”.

Wednesday

There is no chance of sleeping in here as the cockerels outside my window pre-empt dawn by several hours, followed quickly by the sounds of the town waking so I get up to prepare for my day. This morning, we are scheduled to meet representatives from several local and national government departments here in West Pokot, Kenya. Although these meetings are rather procedural, they do provide an essential link between us, our local partner, the communities we walk with, and wider national priorities.

The afternoon is spent supporting our partner – a grassroots community-based-organisation focused on women’s empowerment – to develop and implement project management systems. We’re interrupted only twice by power-cuts, which gives me an opportunity for a fun paperwork audit.

Thursday

I am at my happiest working when I’m sat under a large mango tree, shaded from the African sun, chatting with people about their lives and dreaming dreams together. It is such a privilege to be a part of people’s journeys and today is no different as I chat with a group of women about raising children. I’m gently teased for only having three – the average in the group is twelve.

I have known the community here in Tunoyo village for three years now, and in just that short time have seen such radical transformations in people’s lives. The physical changes – latrines constructed, wells drilled, trees planted – are obviously important, but of greater significance are the changes within the people themselves: improved skills & knowledge, greater confidence, and a real tangible hope for the future.

Friday

At Signpost we recognise that no matter how important our tasks may be, there is more to life than work. We accordingly put a high value on the wellbeing of our team (me included!), and a part of that is taking time out from our desk for what we term “growth days”. Annually these eight days can be used for volunteering with another charity, walking in the hills, lying under a duvet reading a book, or anything in between. Earlier this year I began using my days (and some evenings!) to volunteer with a conservancy in Kenya, supporting their fundraising and projects which work alongside local communities to preserve and rejuvenate a beautiful 88,000-acre piece of land on the Laikipia plateau.

Before leaving the country I always try to spend a day or so here in the tranquillity of the Kenyan bush, cut off from everything. Life can be so incredibly high pressured, and I truly need this time in the vastness and beauty of nature to reset – away from spreadsheets, fundraising applications, and the million other tasks that come with managing a charity in this current climate. And breathe.