Share Learn Grow March 2022

The Village Partnership Approach Cambodia

The Village Partnership Approach is an innovative way to join Australian supporters with communities in Cambodia – as part of an overall Empowerment Through Self Reliance Program which our partner Life with Dignity (LWD) implements

From its inception, ALWS has supported the Village Partnership Program (VPP) through funds from its Australian supporters. By "Partnering a Village" individuals, families, schools, church congregations or businesses that sign up for the VPP are provided with information about a specific village and track their progress and achievements for one year This gives supporters a chance to learn more about empowerment based development and feel a personal connection to the community they are supporting.

The feedback from members of the communities being partnered is that the VPP has many positive impacts For example, the VPP is helping communities provide essential infrastructure and facilities for their villages, that all community members benefit from

Because the VPP process involves the community working together to choose projects and plan action, communities report feeling a strong sense of ownership and pride in what they are achieving. Also, training sessions for village representatives in writing grant applications, budgeting and procurement, improves the skill set within the village that can also be used in the future.

Mrs Kong Pao, 62 years old, is a village leader at Bour village, she said:

"I have learnt much from LWD, such as conflict resolution, proposal writing, and project and financial management The strength of the community is participation of the people, Building the local road is a good activity for my village because it is easier for people with transportation, especially children Without support from the LWD project staff and donors, we would not have the good road” she said

Now, the students go to school regularly, it saved time for school children and helps disabled people to travel more easily and the communities can sell the agriculture products at the higher price, the same as others ”

“… Kakuma Got Talent gives hope for a better future”

The benefits of youth programming in Kakuma Refugee Camp - Kenya

Kakuma Refugee Camp currently hosts over 200,000 people, approximately 36% are youth who would highly benefit from sustainable empowerment programs. Youth are at risk of engaging in negative social behaviours if programs do not focus on their potential.

LWF strives to identify and nurture young talents within Kakuma Refugee Camp One of the most exciting ways LWF does this is through Kakuma Got Talent This activity was started in 2014 and designed to transform local talents and to promote cultural diversity

In this competition, winners are supported through mentorship programs and trainings to enable them to establish sustainable ways of developing their talents while generating income.

“Kakuma Got talent has built confidence in me. I get to share my art work and also learn from my peers each year I participate” says Emmanuel, a refugee from South Sudan who (featured left) who competed in the paintings/ drawing category last year.

In a beautiful piece of art, Emmanuel drew a picture of a woman crossing a river with her child. He says, it’s an experience mothers go through while trying to seek asylum.

Kakuma Got Talent is now an annual talent search that brings together hundreds of young talented artists from Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement.

The three-day activity gathers young artists who showcase their skills in different categories such as music, dance, modelling, poetry, drawings and paintings, amongst others.

With support from UNHCR, DCA and ALWS, LWF Kenya-Somalia organizes the event as a way of promoting talent as well as boosting youth opportunities.

Australian youth Awakening hope...

Lutheran schools already know ALWS's partners very well. Each year, ALWS delivers hundreds of presentations in Lutheran schools, inspiring students to take action against injustice We use the stories of success and the information from our partners' projects to teach Australian young people about the world, about social justice and the amazing work our partners do with communities.

In 2021, more than 20, 000 students in 60 Lutheran schools in Australia participated in over 230 sessions delivered both face to face and virtually 19 schools ran their own fundraising walking events while 7 schools also ran their business classes to parallel the savings and loans groups in villages – with any funds raised going to support small businesses’ our partners support

When we can move the information from head knowledge to heart knowledge, students in our begin the journey to want to make a difference and to become the supporters of the future - so that we can continue to support our partners to empower communities

Daisy (featured left) a year 4 student at a Lutheran school in South Australia was inspired by seeing how supporting a family to get some chickens could change their lives

“I raised $30 selling eggs from our chickens at Dad’s office I used it to buy some chickens in Gifts of Grace and also a School Kit for some kids that needed it I felt happy that I could help someone who didn’t have much to have some chickens now ”

We are so grateful to our partners in the programs overseas, for the important and tireless work they are doing in the community, and for letting us share this with kids in Australia!

Do you have an exciting example of good practice from your program you would like to share with ALWS and our other partners? Let your focal point know and we can try to include this in the next Share Learn Grow!

How the work our partners do in communities inspires

Financial reporting to partner communities

When undertaking financial management assessments with partners in 2021, ALWS found that a number of partners were not confident in reporting financial information with partner communities. We did some research to help and this is what we found: Financial reporting to partner communities is a part of downward accountability.

Downward accountability involves sharing information and updates with beneficiary groups who are the project’s primary stakeholders. It includes activities to ensure transparent use of project resources and consultation as to how financial resources should be used for their benefit.

This has many benefits, including:

- Strengthening trust and respect between staff and community members

- Improving the quality of program decisions, as community members and partners provide feedback

- Empowering community members to make their own decisions

- Reducing risks of inefficiencies and fraud. Content must be clear and relevant, relating directly to your project activities with the partner community.

Summarize expenditures by activity or community, using local currencies where possible. As a general rule, the financial report should have no more than 15 lines of information.

Use graphics and relevant images to make financial information more digestible and inclusive to all levels of literacy and numeracy.

Publish reports as widely as possible to partner communities.

Use notice boards at local events, offices, or health centers. Use social media and WhatsApp groups to share infographics Present reports at community meetings. Publish summary reports in local newspapers or other local media.

Gender Responsive Programming mixedmodality training programme!

ALWS is excited to join with partners in deepening our skills in Gender Responsive Programming. We are supporting 6 live workshop sessions (1 a month, over 6 months) that work through the LWF Gender Responsive Programming modules on Fabo. From the last Wednesday of every month, starting on March 30th, the workshops will take participants through the key learnings and skills from each of the 6 LWF modules in real time and in a safe learning environment. The sessions will be 1.5 hours in length each, and we hope to all come out of these with a real confidence to take steps to integrate a gender responsive approach into program planning, design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. Your ALWS focal point will be in touch with partners shortly to discuss nominations for the training.