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AfCAA Board Chair Mrs. Valentine Gitoho has been awarded the ELNET Mark of Ethics Award by the Ethical Leaders Network (ELNET). The award is based on a rigorous ethical assessment of individual leaders or businesses. For businesses the assessment covers all aspects of the business including staff, board, competitors, suppliers. On the other hand, for the leaders the scope includes their family, friends/associates, key accounts, organizational leaders and staff since such leaders are responsible for creating the ethical environment at the workplace through their values and practices.

The ELNET Mark of Ethics Award is intended to transform the business culture in Kenya by entrenching ethical practices and by recognising exemplary leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to ethical practices in the marketplace. The recognition of ethically sound leadership also serves to multiply leaders of integrity who influence others and the society to uphold integrity in their lives, work and business.

‘’I am both delighted and humbled by this recognition. It reminds me of the determination to constantly walk the talk of integrity and accountability. I will use this opportunity to encourage others especially Christian professionals to live up to the calling of Christ to be salt and light of the world’’, Valentine said. She added that her award gives credence to the work of AfCAA in promoting Biblical Standards of accountability and stewardship in the body of Christ in Africa.

Valentine was recently awarded the Integrity Award by the Christian Economic Forum for her commitment to integrity both in her personal and professional life, and for her work in enhancing accountability in the body of Christ in Africa through AfCAA.

Valentine sits on boards of various organization including Beacon of Hope and Trans World Radio- Kenya which have been accredited by AfCAA.

AfCAA promotes stewardship and accountability through raising awareness on the biblical standards, conducting advocacy around relevant issues affecting the church in Africa and offering accreditation based on the Seven Biblical Standards.

AfCAA’s Seven Biblical Standards are Doctrinal Foundation; Leadership and Governance; Learning and Innovation; Talent Management; Cultural Differences, Acceptance and Interdependence; and Resource Mobilization. For more information, visit www.afcaa.org  

AfCAA Board Chair Mrs. Valentine Gitoho has been awarded the Integrity Award by the Christian Economic Forum. She was recognized for her commitment to integrity both in her personal and professional life, and for her work in enhancing accountability in the body of Christ in Africa through AfCAA. Valentine received the award during this year’s Forum held in Utah, USA. Valentine is passionate about enhancing stewardship and accountability in the body of Christ in Africa.

The Integrity Award to the Board Chair not only testifies to AfCAA’s efforts, but also serves to encourage the body of Christ in Africa to adopt stewardship principles as an enabler for ministry growth and an honour to God.

”I am grateful to God for this recognition; it is not about me but the entire AfCAA family, without whom it would not have been possible. Indeed, our work is service to God’s Kingdom by promoting stewardship and accountability as a way of life for Christians in Africa; a complete lifestyle accountability to God, the source and owner of every gift and talent that we have. Stewardship is part of gratitude to God and is expressed in accountability in all our actions as Christians, ” Valentine said.

AfCAA promotes stewardship and accountability through raising awareness on the biblical standards, conducting advocacy around relevant issues affecting the church in Africa and offering accreditation based on the Seven Biblical Standards.

AfCAA’s Seven Biblical Standards are Doctrinal Foundation; Leadership and Governance; Learning and Innovation; Talent Management; Cultural Differences, Acceptance and Interdependence; and Resource Mobilization. For more information, visit www.afcaa.org  

The Christian Economic Forum (CEF), which Valentine is a member of, is a global network of Christian leaders to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ in their respective nations.

Churches and other Christian organisations ought not lag behind in a rapidly changing technological world, not due to lack of knowledge, but due to poor knowledge management. Other secular organizations and corporates are already on the first lane of adopting and advancing their knowledge management strategies and capacity to enhance their organizational performance. Caution ought to be taken that we, the body of Christ do not realise this when it is too late, when our lapses are irredeemable.

But first, what exactly is knowledge management and why is it important?

Knowledge management in simple terms is about getting the right intelligence, to the right people, at the right time, to make the right decisions. It also has to do with how such intelligence is stored and disseminated. To understand the importance of knowledge management in your church or organisation, think about an organism that is presented with various options or choices every day to ensure its survival.

In order to survive, the organism needs to understand its environment and have the right knowledge to make choices that will ensure adaptation and survival. It would have to rely on past experiences and memory to make appropriate decisions every day. But that’s not all. It should be able to anticipate the changes in the environment and make appropriate decisions to withstand or adapt to the changes.

Without proper management of their knowledge or without being innovative, churches and Christian organizations may lose that crucial knowledge through retirement and staff turnover. They are likely to repeat mistakes and fail to replicate successes, fail to collaborate internally and fail to transfer operational knowledge to new staff members quickly and effectively.

Why the Knowledge Management Seminar and what are its expected outcomes?

The main focus of the upcoming seminar is on how churches and organisations can get it right in development and implementation of a knowledge management policy for effective ministry. Knowledge management holds a lot of promise to the body of Christ but its adoption and implementation has been a problem, especially in Kenya where the practice is still at its infant stages. The participants in the conference will get to learn:

• how a knowledge management policy would enable them to keep abreast with trends in a constantly changing technological environment,
• how to deploy systems that safeguard the security and integrity of information and
• how to develop a strategy that promotes organizational Learning & Innovation.

The seminar is timely as Christian organisations and businesses are struggling with better service delivery through innovation, employee retention and loss of organizational memory through retirement and competition. They require proper understanding for full utilisation of their knowledge assets.

Who are you targeting with the Knowledge Conference and why now?

We are targeting all Senior Management of Churches/ Businesses/ Organizations, Human Resource Managers/ Officers, Administrators & Operations personnel, Strategists/ Business development personnel, Lay ministers and church leaders, All decision-makers.

What are the principal rules for an organization to benefit from knowledge management?

First and foremost, you need to get it right – an organisation need to have a clear vision and objective, linked to your overall organizational strategy that knowledge management needs to achieve.