AFIRD INVITES SPRINGS ALIVE (SPA) TO THEIR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

In Kakiri Town Council,Wakiso District, the area where SPA Headquarters are located, apart from Development Partners like Kakiri Town Council(KTC) and Wakiso District Administration(WDA),which of course become partners with Civil Society Organizations(CSO’s) in the Development Process given the fact that they are the Governing arm of this area and thus ought to be supportive to CSO’s work, for example through getting to know how to network with CSO’s in this area etc,at Springs Alive (SPA) we have come to know that we could actually have organizations like AFIRD as Development Partners among CSO’s and that we can devise a better product to deliver to our communities mainly in Kakiri.

When asked that how comes you came up with such a decision to do good SPA, to attend AFIRD’s 5 year Strategic Planning Process, Julius Musiimenta one of AFIRD coordinators said that this would enable us build capacity, let alone networking. Julius and Sajjabi Salongo (another AFIRD coordinator) must have got an indication that their operations with SPA should stir AFIRD toward building capacity, better networking and deliver a better product to our communities, which actually came out as the main aim targeted in the strategic planning conference.

SPA barely had ever got such exposure, given that after an Organisation has been in Operation for some years say 5 or 10 and more, may need change of direction by virtue of the fact that communities we are operating in as CSO’s do change shape often, hence their problems are subject to change. These problems need to be identified and search out their root causes and effects in order to generate means and ways of how to make it better,however as long as an organisation is operational be it operationing from scratch,it has need for a strategic plan.This we have learnt from this conference.

The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) http://www.iirr.org facilitated the conference with facilitators like Dr.Kennedy N.Igbokwe (the Country Director IIRR, Dr.Angelita P. Canene (their senior programme officer) and Nakawuma Virgie of Kampala International Hospital (the wife of Dr.Kennedy N.Igbokwe).

During the conference we took some photos……..

At SPA we have come to know that part of what we are engaged in needs to undergo such strategic planning process although there is need to take it on with partners willing to be part of this process and see that the issues being brought up are addressed.

An example in this case is when SPA was approached by Mayors for peace.an International organisation of mayors based in Japan.SPA is the Civil society advisors, (with an African perspective) to Mayors for Peace(an organisation of over 2,000 cities world-wide).SPA was asked to come up with a business Plan addressing issues of Africa,given that Mayors for Peace addresses mainly issues to do with nuclear disarmament of the developed world,which may not necessarily be priority issue to address in Africa,at SPA we did not take this serious then but this conference with AFIRD has been an wakening call to resurrect such ideas.