about
Gender
Gender Based Violence, Sexual Violence, Female entrepreneurship, Gender mainstreaming for United Nations agencies, and feminist evaluation
Anti-
Corruption
Transparency, Accountability, Participation, Political Will, Anti-corruption in the Water Sector
Youth
Empowerment
Youth financial literacy, passion seeking, career training, sustainable livelihoods, youth in politics, strategic planning for youth-centered organizations
Education
Instructional design, educational program implementation, education for migrants and ethnic minorities
Public Health
Social determinants of health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Ebola, Covid-19, HIV/AIDS
Environment
Indicator standardization, water, Sustainable Development Goals, Environmental Justice, Agriculture and Food Systems
Play for Change is an international development and evaluation firm by and for people of color and from the Global South! We are unique in solving grand challenges because we have cultural and historical knowledge of the issues that most affect our populations and we are more deeply invested in the future of our communities. We channel our advanced degrees and expertise in the following areas to support changemakers worldwide:
Mission
To support changemakers in having a lasting impact on society. To inspire moments of happiness and joy as we engage with clients, partners, and the broader community through our thoughts, words, and actions.
Vision
A social impact sector where the voices of the most marginalized people are elevated and used to lead lasting change. A world where joy, laughter, and play are infused into every aspect of solving grand challenges.
Values
Joy
We believe joy, laughter, and play should be at the heart of problem solving. We make a conscious effort to make sure the end user' experience is a fun and memorable one.
We seek to understand and expose root causes of the issues our communities are facing and are committed to the fight for greater equity and justice in our society.
Justice
We step outside our comfort zone to embrace different ways of knowing and commit to doing the right thing above all else.
Courage
We honor the cultural and historical wisdom of partners and communities we work with as we recognize we are all learners in the great school of life.
Humility
We see evaluation as a critical means for truth-telling in an age of false news. We foster open and clear channels of communication.
Transparency
our team
Founder and CEO
Kamala is a Colombian-Malaysian American with rich experience leading cross-cultural teams in the United Nations system, government, and non-profit sector in English, Spanish, and French. She studied and worked out of Latin America for eight years where she served in varying leadership roles in non-profit organizations and finally led capacity building initiatives for government officials and UN Staff while working for the United Nations Development Programme.
In an effort to understand the impacts of her work with communities, Kamala pursued a Masters Degree in International Development and has since conducted evaluation across the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe. With Play for Change Kamala channels her on the ground experience with "what works" and "what does not work" in humanitarian and international development settings to support organizations in having a lasting impact.
Network of Collaborators
Play for Change is headquartered in the United States with consultants across Asia, Africa, and Latin America as well. When organizations partner with us, we form a unique working group based on geography, cultural fit, content area expertise, and experience working with specific methodologies. Consultants at Play for Change have native or full professional proficiency of English, Spanish, French, Hindi, German, Amharic, and Swahili.
Consultant Spotlight!
Partners
equity statement
At Play for Change, we understand how racism negatively impacts our health, peace of mind, education, and employment opportunities amongst other aspects of our lives. We also know and have experienced the backlash from challenging white-normative culture in professional settings and have organized ourselves as a consulting firm to counteract this. Together we stand for fighting white supremacist culture at the organizational and systemic levels of society. We also understand that the struggles of black, indigenous and people of color are nuanced, and may require different types of responses. Given the history of physical and economic slavery of black people in our country, their mass incarceration and loss of lives, we believe racial justice efforts should be targeted to accomplish results. We stand in solidarity with the black community and support the Black Lives Matter movement.