Lilian Saka in full bloom!

Lilian Saka joined Panos Africa five years ago as projects officer. Within a year, she got her first promotion to projects manager. Today, Saka is acting executive director of the organisation, heading projects in 10 countries in the Sadc region. What have been her achievements and what is the reason to her success. Mwereti Kanjo gets her story.

What do you remember most about growing up?

I was raised as my father’s favourite child for some reason. I just had a close relationship with my father and he was the drive in everything that I was doing. I did my primary school education at St. Pius and from Std 1 to Std 4, I was always in the top three, but Std 5 onwards I got first position. I did all this for my father because I always thought he expected the best from me.

What path did your career take?

After graduating from Chancellor College, I got a job with Youth Net and Counselling Organisation (Yoneco). I got a lot of training in development. I was introduced to the issue of health and development which I studied further in my Master’s degree. I also dealt with HIV and Aids issues and all that. I worked with Yoneco from 2000 to 2006.

After that, I joined Concern Universal as HIV/ and Aids coordinator for a food security project, but never really felt like I belonged there. So, when I saw a Panos advert in the newspaper for a programme officer in Lusaka, I applied for it even though a huge part of me did not think I was going to be successful.  Three days later, I was invited for an interview. I arrived there late, but I was given a chance nonetheless. Later on that same day, I got a call which confirmed my success for the post. I remember shouting on the phone. It was really amazing. I joined as a programme officer working under programme manager, but after a year, I was promoted to programme manager- a post I have held until recently.

What did it mean to be a programme manager?

I was in-charge of the HIV and Aids project in all 10 countries Panos is working with. I, therefore, had to develop projects, campaign for them, implant and supervise programme officers and assistants. It was really busy, but quite motivating. In 2009, they added another responsibility to my portfolio; I was to manage the Panos Health Programme. So, I have been heading two major programmes, major in the sense of funding and number of people involved. In March of this year, our director was asked to leave and our board of directors appointed me acting executive director of Panos.

How does it feel to be acting executive director of such a big organisation?

(Laughs). It is a big responsibility. Panos has five programmes: HIV  and Aids and health which I was already working on, media development, environment and natural resource and governance. My advantage is that when I was doing my Master’s in Development Studies, it covered all these issues. So I felt prepared for the job. Also, I have grown during my stay at Panos. There are people that are not doing so well and it is my responsibility to instill confidence in them and encourage them so that they can be better. With that in mind, when I joined Panos, I was only programme officer and it took those that were above me to build me up. I feel that I have the responsibility to do the same for my staff and harness the potential that they have. It is really challenging, especially when I think that I have to take the responsibility of all mistakes from my staff and myself because I am the one reporting to the board of directors. I feel that in these few months, I have grown and I am up for the challenge. I am hoping that I can be confirmed to become the director, but if I don’t make it, no grudges, it simply means that it is not my time yet.

Why do you think Panos selected you?

I think that I am well articulated. Without blowing my own horn, I think I am quite intelligent.

Being a woman in your position, are you ever undermined?

I have experiences where people want to undermine me, but I have made the decision to prove that I know what I am doing. I try to avoid getting emotional and talk only when it is necessary. It is really challenging, but if you have a good approach, then it becomes a little easy. Our board chairperson, Mr. Edward Chitsulo told me that in my position, I just need to be level-headed and work to the best of my capacity.

You mentioned building your staff capabilities, how do you plan on doing that?

I think the first thing is to identify people’s strong areas and weak points. I am positioning myself that I harness the strengths from those I work with and use my strengths to complement where they are weak. I want to see how we can complement each other.

In the few months that you have been acting director, what have your contributions and achievements been?

My contribution so far has been developing projects and sourcing funds for the organisation. Being an NGO, being able to survive is all about sourcing enough funding. The other thing  I am proud of is that when I was joining Panos, we were supposed to be working in Angola. I started it from scratch, without any contacts, no support but I was able, through other contacts that I established, to go to Angola and introduce Panos.

You have a son, are you married?

I have a son from a previous relationship and he is nine years old. I am now in a serious relationship which hopefully will turn into a marriage. I haven’t given up on love. I have met an amazing American guy who lives in Zambia. He loves me and he loves my son; we really get along. In December, I actually visited his family in the States. People say a lot about black women dating white men, but I beg to differ. He really has been good to me.

What has it been like being a single mother?

It is challenging, but my son is very understanding. He is a smart boy and has been very supportive. When I go through tough times, he kind of reads me and he knows that it is when I need his support. I remember there was a time that he kept on telling and reminding me of how much he loved me. He always used to say that when he grows up, he will be my husband. I told myself not to betray the trust and the pride that he has in me. I keep myself at my best in behaviour and capability for my sake, but mostly for my son. We have a good relationship. When I am busy, he understands. The one thing he expects of me is to tell him in good time that I will be travelling. If I just surprise him, he will really be down and disappointed, so I try to plan in time. When he is on holiday, he travels with me and he loves that a lot. We have an open relationship where we talk a lot.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Like I said, in my younger years, it was my dad; he has been the power that gives me internal drive. Over the years, with my son in the picture, I always have him in mind. I always want to do better for him.

Taking up a job with Panos took you to foreign land, how did you cope?

It was difficult, but I think I was focused and needed to get away from my life. Mostly, I miss my friends and the challenge is that when I visit, there is not enough time to go and see them all. Obviously, most of them have moved on and when we do meet, it is different and difficult to catch up. However, I have established new friends in Zambia and I still keep in touch with the ones I was really close to. Thanks to Facebook, it’s now easier.

What have you learnt from life?

I have learnt that it is important to respect people regardless of their status. Just having that human dignity, I think that is key. For me, the most important thing is to believe in God. I pray all the time. I never travel without my Bible and I believe that I cannot do anything on my own. In fact, when I was selected acting director, I prayed to God and said ‘If You are not with me in this, I know that I won’t do it, but if You are the driving man, I know for sure I will succeed.” I have gone through bad experiences where I asked God why this was happening, but he always came through for me.

When you are not at home with your son or when you are not travelling, what are you doing?

I love to go to the cinema and my son loves movies too. Luckily for me, my son and my boyfriend both enjoy animated movies so we usually go together. I also love sampling restaurants, so when I have the time, I will go out for Thai, Chinese food with my boyfriend. My other hobby is reading, I love novels.

Are you a good cook yourself?

I think I do a good job. I don’t have a lot of varieties in the things that I cook, but when I do it, I go all out. I love hosting big dinner parties with friends and family for 10 to 15 people. I am also learning a number of recipes from my boyfriend because he also loves to cook.

What is your advice to women?

They should always aim at doing something great in their life and rising up above all factors that try to pull them down. These factors might be other women and gossip. For young girls, I will just have to say it is possible.