Inspirational Woman: Lucy Buck | Founder and CEO of Child’s i Foundation

LucyBuckLucy Buck is 37 years old and lives in London and is the founder and CEO of Child’s i Foundation.

Child’s i Foundation is an organisation committed to finding families for children instead of orphanages. We work in Uganda and work with orphanages across the country to place children back into families by tracing and resettling them into extended families or finding them new adoptive families.

Lucy regularly visits the project and is ultimately responsible for the programme and ensuring there is enough funding.

What inspired you work in the voluntary sector?

I used to work in TV producing all the big reality shows and always felt I wanted to do something worthy with children so I thought it was a good idea to volunteer in a baby orphanage. Whilst volunteering I learnt that most children in orphanages were not ‘orphans’ and had families but orphanages were keeping children rather than putting the effort into reuniting them. The law in Uganda stated that orphanages should be a last resort but tragically the solution was long-term institutionalization. My TV skills are telling a story and creating a connection and generally persuading people to do stuff they didn’t know they wanted to so I transferred my skills to my project and set out to prove that families were a better alternative to orphanages.

I’d like to meet someone special and have a family and turn my attention to the elderly in the UK. In developing countries it’s children who are the most vulnerable but in our society I feel the elderly are at most risk and I’d like to put all the skills I’ve learnt to help them.

What challenges have you had to overcome to get to where you are today?Lucy___child_B_W

The biggest challenge has been changing hearts and minds. When we started there was no culture of adoption and the only option was orphanages. Over the past 4 years, we have set up the country’s first transitional care center, the first national adoption panel, the first campaign promoting local adoption and currently piloting the first emergency foster care pilot. We could not have done any of this without the support of the Government. The legislation always put children first and prioritized family-based care but no one knew it was possible. The Government have from Day One supported us and we set up a task force with UNICEF and a framework was written which prioritized family based care over orphanages based on a continuum of care which we piloted to safely transition a child into a family.

What are the advantages of being a woman working in the voluntary sector?

Emotional intelligence is one of the main advantages. Women are naturally very caring and empathetic. Seven years ago I had a budget of nil and a big idea and it was a matter of persuading people to care enough about the fate and futures of children in a different continent and do something about it. Another surprising advantage has been imposters syndrome. A lot of the time I felt I was in an episode of ‘Faking It’ and it was only a matter of time before people realised that I was a complete phony which is sadly more of a female trait. However this has made me courageous and determined. It has made me constantly test myself (and everyone around me) and as a result we have pulled off the impossible.

It’s only lately that I feel like I’m okay and actually quite good at what I do.

What skills do you have to develop to work with your stakeholders across the sectors?

I think every skill under the sun. I’ve learnt and developed skills in leadership, management, financial management, governance, strategy, branding, communications, social media, reporting to Board, HR, international development, child protection, writing legislation, how to set up a Task Force, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, donor stewardship, pitching, selling, closing, databases and counselling.

I still have a lot to learn and I am really excited to be moving to the offices of Coram who have been helping children in the UK for 275 years. They are kindly donating a desk. Everything I have done has been by trial and learning on the job so it will be great to be in an organisation with so much knowledge and experience and I’ll learn a lot more.

Does working in the voluntary sector diminish earning potential?

For the first 2 years setting up the project I earnt nothing. I survived on my savings and staying on friends sofas or spare rooms. It was emotionally draining as I was staying in up to 4 houses a week carrying a suitcase around with me. My low point was sitting in Bank station at midnight crying as I didn’t have a place to stay one night. The set up phase I was on £25,000 as I was lucky enough to win the Vodafone World of Difference award and until recently I was on £35,000 paid for by Endemol UK my former company I worked for. I now earn £40,000 a year and I need to find new sponsors. I don’t have a pension or a mortgage. I have no idea how much I could earn in the private sector but probably quite a bit more and could also expect maternity pay when I have a family.

How do you normally start your day and how does it usually end?

The ideal me is to wake up and take 5 minutes to be grateful before reaching for my phone. Getting up and doing yoga and meditation and have a healthy breakfast before starting my work. In reality I am on a Skype call in my PJ’s at 7am to Uganda and I don’t have the time to change till lunchtime. I’m working on the former as I’m learning more and more that if you don’t put time into you then you will be no good to anyone else. It’s taken me years to learn this lesson and I learnt it the hard way. So far 2015 it is going much better and this morning I joined the gym with what felt like everyone else in Clapham Junction.

How important is it to take responsibility for your own development?

Critical but as you can see from my interview this has been a slow starter for me. There is always an emergency to deal with. We operate an emergency centre for abandoned babies and the kids are admitted to our care on deaths door. They have been thrown down long drop toilets or left on rubbish tips and it’s very hard to take responsibility for your own development when you are dealing with such life and death issues. By constantly operating in a state of to stress means your body is in a constant state of fight with a rush of adrenaline and that is not sustainable. I learnt that if I don’t have a holiday every 6 months I burn out and make bad decisions. I am a goal setter and I love a challenge and love the work of Dr John DiMartini to make sure you have a healthy balanced life.

Everything I have done has been by trial and learning on the job so it will be great to be in an organisation with so much knowledge and experience and I’ll learn a lot more.

Have you benefited from a coach or mentor in your career?

I am very lucky to have 3 incredible women in my life who guide me. Mog Harding, Dorthe Bucknell and Sue Allan. They are on my Board and provide constant support and between them have years of management experience and social work. Our organisation is constantly dealing with emergencies and I and the organisation would not have survived without their counsel, experience and compassion.

Who are your female role models and why?

I love Brene Brown. I love her work around being authentic and making yourself vulnerable. It’s scary opening yourself up and you sometimes do get hurt by giving your all but it makes you feel more alive.

My Mum. I am very blessed to have my Mum and my loving family. We are wired to love, to be loved and belong and that’s what I want every child in this world to experience.

What are your plans for future?

My plan is to do myself out of a job. For the project to thrive and grow without me. All my team know I want them to run the show and last year we raised 50% of funding in country reducing the reliance on me to raise the funds. I’d like to meet someone special and have a family and turn my attention to the elderly in the UK. In developing countries it’s children who are the most vulnerable but in our society I feel the elderly are at most risk and I’d like to put all the skills I’ve learnt to help them.

For more information visit:

Website

Facebook

Justgiving

childifoundation

Visa - WeAreTheCity - Pioneer 20 - nominations open
WeAreTech Festival 2024 advert

Upcoming Events

march, 2024

Job Board Banner

Related Posts