While being a homegrown organization accords Akiba Uhaki Foundation an enviable uniqueness this reality also presents a multifaceted challenge that will have to be addressed conclusively to ensure the organization’s future. To begin with, being a grant-maker requires a significant, reliable revenue stream to support ongoing operations. Akiba Uhaki Foundation is currently dependent on the support of a few international donor partners and will clearly need to grow this small base. In the longer term Akiba Uhaki Foundation will have find innovative ways of growing an endowment to secure its longer-term sustainability. Aside of the financial resource challenge is the human resource capacity challenge and closely associated, the difficulty of creating appropriate systems for grant making and provision of technical support to grantees in a wide variety of settings.

Rather than brood over the ‘tough spots’ Akiba Uhaki Foundation is inclined to spend more of its time encouraging those affected by constant breaches or the outright denial of their rights to imagine ways of addressing them refine the emerging ideas and experimenting with their proposed approaches. This ultimately unlocks their potential for positive contribution to society. Restoring their dignity is in everyone’s interests too – if indeed we are to attain progress, peace and prosperity in this lifetime.