Local Partner Voices: Recent Episodes
Start Network
Start Network is tackling what we believe to be the biggest systemic problems in the sector; centralised power, slow/reactive funding, and an aversion to change. In 2021, our Evidence and Learning Team interviewed representatives from five local organisations who had partnered with Start Network members on crisis response or anticipation. Local Partner Voices captures community-based NGOs' perspectives on how 'Shifting the Power' to them impacts their work. Learn more about us: https://startnetwork.org/ Access the survey that informed this series: https://tinyurl.com/2crumzr4
In this episode we speak with Aurelio Gazzera, the Diocesan Secretary for Caritas Bouar in the Central African Republic (CAR). We speak about the organisation's involvement in a Start Fund COVID-19 response in 2020, where they partnered with a Start Network member they have been working with for 15 years.
Resources reached Caritas Bouar quickly, an aspect Aurelio found impressive as this can sometimes be a difficulty in the region. Challenges they faced included the short implementation window for Start Fund projects, logistical problems related to Geography and movement restrictions associated with COVID-19. Aurelio emphasised the importance of fast, effective resource flows, and urged funders to ensure project expenses are fully covered.
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Dans cet épisode, nous nous entretenons avec Aurelio Gazzera, le secrétaire diocésain de Caritas Bouar en République centrafricaine (RCA). Nous parlons de la participation de l'organisation à une intervention du Start Fund COVID-19 en 2020, où elle s'est associée à un membre du Start Network avec lequel elle travaille depuis 15 ans.
Les ressources ont atteint Caritas Bouar rapidement, un aspect qu'Aurelio a trouvé impressionnant, car cela peut parfois être une difficulté dans la région. Les défis auxquels ils ont été confrontés comprennent la courte fenêtre de mise en œuvre des projets du Start Fund, les problèmes logistiques liés à la géographie et les restrictions de mouvement associées au COVID-19. Aurelio a souligné l'importance de flux de ressources rapides et efficaces, et a exhorté les bailleurs de fonds à s'assurer que les dépenses du projet sont entièrement couvertes.
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In this episode we speak with André Bizoza, the Executive Secretary at RCBIF in Burundi. We discuss two Start Fund responses that RCBIF implemented in 2015 and later in 2020 (political unrest and COVID-19). André describes RCBIF's role in these responses, the degree of community involvement, strengths of the multifaceted partnerships they built and challenges they faced during implementation.
The role religion plays in Burundi and the influence it has within provinces where RCBIF worked is noteworthy, along with the organisation's strong relationships with representatives in different regions of the country.
André discusses RCBIF's level of decision-making power, and benefits of working with an INGO, such as increased visibility and new partnerships which have been successful for their organisation’s sustainability.
*RCBIF: Réseau des Confessions Religieuses pour la promotion de la Santé et le Bien Être Intégral de la Famille
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Dans cet épisode, nous nous entretenons avec André Bizoza, le secrétaire exécutif du RCBIF au Burundi. Nous discutons de deux réponses du Start Fund que le RCBIF a mises en œuvre en 2015 et plus tard en 2020 (troubles politiques et COVID-19). André décrit le rôle du RCBIF dans ces réponses, le degré d'implication de la communauté, les forces des partenariats multiformes qu'ils ont construits et les défis auxquels ils ont été confrontés pendant la mise en œuvre.
Le rôle que joue la religion au Burundi et l'influence qu'elle exerce dans les provinces où le RCBIF a travaillé sont remarquables, tout comme les relations solides de l'organisation avec les représentants des différentes régions du pays.
André discute du niveau de pouvoir décisionnel de RCBIF et des avantages de travailler avec une ONGI, tels qu'une visibilité accrue et de nouveaux partenariats qui ont été fructueux pour la durabilité de leur organisation.
*RCBIF : Réseau des Confessions Religieuses pour la promotion de la Santé et le Bien Être Intégral de la Famille
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In this episode we speak with Lynn Walker, Director at Tree of Life Trust in Zimbabwe. We speak about the organisation’s collaboration with our members during a 2019 Start Fund alert responding to civil unrest in the country.
She says working in a consortium helped them learn how to conduct rapid response projects and build other emergency response skills.
Lynn also spoke about the large number of volunteers that work with Tree of Life, who were critical in providing support when access to certain places was particularly limited, exemplifying the unique roles that local organisations can play at the frontlines of crises.
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In this episode we speak to Regina Nanette Antequisa, Executive director at ECOWEB in the Philippines. The organisation supported a Start Fund project in 2017 responding to conflict using a community-led approach. ECOWEB works in both the development and humanitarian sector, in areas of conflict, poverty, environment, climate change, and governance.
Nanette shares the project’s successes: Start Network members and other partners gave them decision-making power and handled the upward-accountability reporting, allowing ECOWEB to focus more specifically on project implementation. The community are at the centre of most of ECOWEB’s projects, which promotes survivor and community-led approaches. Project design, including identification of needs and budget allocation, are all carried out together with the community.
More broadly, Nanette shares the difficulties ECOWEB has experienced in the past, including crisis funding conditions that sometimes set aside certain funds for community-led responses, and other times fail to include it, which may create confusion and mistrust amongst communities.
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In this episode we speak with Muluneh Tesfaye, Executive Grant Director at Caritas Ethiopia, who participated in our Shifting the Power Disaster Emergency Preparedness Programme (DEPP) in 2017. More information on the project can be found here: https://startnetwork.org/start-engage/shifting-the-power.
Local organisations know the community; they understand context-specific needs. Muluneh speaks about the need to trust local organisations, and support them to meet standards set by international donors, given they know the community.
Muluneh spoke about the ways in which the project could have been improved through reducing top-down ways of working, directly funding local organisations and through follow-up sessions once the project concluded.
In 2021, our Evidence and Learning Team interviewed representatives from five local organisations who had partnered with Start Network members on crisis response or anticipation.
This was organised as follow-up to a local partner survey in 2020, that aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities for collaborative and equal partnerships between Start Network, our members and local partners.
Local Partner Voices captures some NGOs' perspectives on how Shifting the Power to them impacts their collaboration with communities on the frontlines of crises and with multilateral humanitarian organisations.
New episodes available every Wednesday (over the next five weeks).
- Learn more about Start Network
- Access our Local Partner Survey Report.
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