My role with the Most At Risk Populations (MARPs) Network is to facilitate the building of a stronger organisation. As readers of this blog will have discovered by now I am hugely impressed by the organisation and the colleagues in the Network Secretariat team that I work with. The previous post describes the achievement of the Network moving into its own offices for the first time. There's a tangible feeling of "now we can really crack on and achieve something!".
A key factor in being able to secure the new office was that the Network received a set-up grant from a large donor agency. The funding received has allowed for 6 months rent to be paid, for the office building to be cleaned and decorated and for some additional basic office furniture. As well as setting up the building, there’s two months worth of funding for salaries, travelling and office expenses.
Two months worth of running costs! In January the donor was talking about 6 months worth of running cost support but when the crunch came it was just two months - and the first payment arrived on the 29th day of the first month - and this first payment had to be used by the 30th day (it was April). The team managed to achieve this and then complete all the very detailed claim sheets 100% accurately otherwise no second payment. Well that hurdle has been achieved but we’re still awaiting the second payment - due in May but we’re now at 22 June and the money in the second payment has to be spent by 30 June.
From what I understand this donor’s funding practices are not completely unusual - many are (maybe understandably) cautious because they do not want their funds to be misused. However from where I observe matters I feel that the MARPs Network team are actually being close to being humiliated by this donor’s process. Sam, the Finance and Admin Officer seems to have done little else in the last six weeks other than run backwards and forwards to the donor’s local office to provide incredibly detailed reporting which then gets fed up to the donor’s regional HQ in Nairobi. It feels like MARPs Network is being funded to jump up and down for the donor rather than to get on with the task of supporting organisations working to support Most At Risk Populations.
I want to make it a priority in my work to assist the MARPs Secretariat team to seek out and secure funding support from organisations who have an approach which although appropriately robust will however leave the recipients feeling that they are dignified partners rather than wretched surfs. It’s also important to the effective working of a Network Support organisation to have access to money that can be used flexibly and promptly to support a particular priority or urgent issue that emerges. So much of current funding is strictly administered and tied to detailed historical budgets that may well be out-of-date by the time the money arrives.
I have noticed in my research that many or most of the potential British and European donors who appear willing to fund organisations like the MARPs Network will only do so through a British / European-based Trust or Foundation that is working with or linked to a Ugandan-based organisation. This is, for example, certainly true for Comic Relief who in every other respect are celebrated for having a brilliant relationship with the organisations that they fund.
So what can we do?
In the past months we have been busy setting up good systems within the MARPs Secretariat and we have now achieved “PADOR” status with the European Union - deemed theoretically suitable to receive EU Aid. We are exploring a particular avenue at the moment. However that funding, if we get it, will be very tightly focused.
So we’d like to get a UK Trust established that can be linked to the MARPs Network. We imagine that any such UK Trust would have: (1) a UK / focus of interest around positive sexual health - perhaps focusing on young people; and (2) a focus of supporting the MARPs Network in Uganda by acting as a fund raising vehicle and a conduit for funds from other grant-making bodies in the UK / Europe.
Having two such focuses will open up the possibility of joint working / exchanges and mutual learning.
Are you, dear reader / follower of this blog able and willing to help?
It would be great if someone could do the research needed to set up a Trust and to co-ordinate the recruitment of some Trustees.
We’ll do loads from this end to supply information and photographs explaining the importance of the work - especially in Uganda at this time.
If anyone feels inspired to respond to this (gentle and loving!!) challenge please send us a message on ianandrenate@gmail.com and we can take it from there.
Sorry if this has seemed a bit of a long and ‘ranty’ post!
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
The MARPs Network moves to its own offices for the first time!
It's been a while since I've posted a blog. Life has been busy for both Renate and I. Renate has begun her voluntary work with the VSO Uganda Programme Office and she's been head down on t'internet checking out who the donor agencies / governments are in Uganda and what are the kinds of work that they are keen to fund. At the MARPs Network the last four weeks have been dominated by the exciting and long overdue move to the organisation's own offices for the very first time. Since starting out nearly two years ago the Network has been like a 'cuckoo in the nest' in other people's offices. These hosts have been kind and considerate but of course there are awkward moments. It is really lovely to be settling in at plot 16 Kenneth Dale Drive, Kamwokya (pronounced "Camwotcha").
This first picture shows our most recent office - it's the shed with the blue roof at the end of the yard. Cosy to say the least but the Uganda Hotels, Food and Tourism Trade Union didn't take a penny in rent and were kind and friendly to us.
Here's the new office, practically hidden by lovely bushes, flowers and trees - it's a converted house in an estate where nearly all the houses have become offices - it's near a busy road and it's better for commercial use than for residential use.
Below is the view of the garden from the 'boardroom window' - it's really lovely as the greenery does keep the building cooler on the hot days
Doctor Geoffrey (MARPs Network Executive Director) and Doctor Thomas Muyunga (Senior Programme Officer) preparing for a meeting in the nice bright new boardroom
There's a dining room and we share a meal together at midday which is very civilised - here Geoffrey's Mum has popped in to see the new offices and she is thrilled that at last her son (who she is rightly hugely proud of) has a decent place to work from
I get to meet Geoffrey's Mum and she has just said that it's nice to meet the Mzee (Old Man!) at last!
Here, Richard our Office Manager - standing on the right is having his work station 'blessed' by a minister who has taken a supportive interest in his career since he was a little lad. Richard has put his heart and soul into the organisation of the move and it's great to see how proud and relieved he is that we are all so thrilled by the result.
I confess to have been a little taken aback by the extent to which the office move has been celebrated by my colleagues. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't really take in the fact that they all see the achievement of getting and furnishing an office as hugely symbolic - "nothing's going to stop us now!" is the mood. I suppose if I had been around from the start I would have been more tuned in to this. Geoffrey's Mum said during lunch that it had been a big struggle to get to this point and many was the time that she thought the difficulties being encountered would prove just too much to overcome. She also went on to say that having overcome the difficulties - winning the struggle - meant that there are now firm foundations for the future of the MARPs Network's.
These wise words helped me understand better, and properly for the first time, the concept of 'the struggle' that is endured - and expected - by many if not all Ugandans in their everyday lives. So that when an achievement is realised, like the Network getting its first offices, it really is a time for celebration and giving thanks.
This first picture shows our most recent office - it's the shed with the blue roof at the end of the yard. Cosy to say the least but the Uganda Hotels, Food and Tourism Trade Union didn't take a penny in rent and were kind and friendly to us.
Here's the new office, practically hidden by lovely bushes, flowers and trees - it's a converted house in an estate where nearly all the houses have become offices - it's near a busy road and it's better for commercial use than for residential use.
Below is the view of the garden from the 'boardroom window' - it's really lovely as the greenery does keep the building cooler on the hot days
Doctor Geoffrey (MARPs Network Executive Director) and Doctor Thomas Muyunga (Senior Programme Officer) preparing for a meeting in the nice bright new boardroom
There's a dining room and we share a meal together at midday which is very civilised - here Geoffrey's Mum has popped in to see the new offices and she is thrilled that at last her son (who she is rightly hugely proud of) has a decent place to work from
I get to meet Geoffrey's Mum and she has just said that it's nice to meet the Mzee (Old Man!) at last!
Here, Richard our Office Manager - standing on the right is having his work station 'blessed' by a minister who has taken a supportive interest in his career since he was a little lad. Richard has put his heart and soul into the organisation of the move and it's great to see how proud and relieved he is that we are all so thrilled by the result.
I confess to have been a little taken aback by the extent to which the office move has been celebrated by my colleagues. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't really take in the fact that they all see the achievement of getting and furnishing an office as hugely symbolic - "nothing's going to stop us now!" is the mood. I suppose if I had been around from the start I would have been more tuned in to this. Geoffrey's Mum said during lunch that it had been a big struggle to get to this point and many was the time that she thought the difficulties being encountered would prove just too much to overcome. She also went on to say that having overcome the difficulties - winning the struggle - meant that there are now firm foundations for the future of the MARPs Network's.
These wise words helped me understand better, and properly for the first time, the concept of 'the struggle' that is endured - and expected - by many if not all Ugandans in their everyday lives. So that when an achievement is realised, like the Network getting its first offices, it really is a time for celebration and giving thanks.
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