Friday, at the office, I work on the questionnaire about JADF performance for M&E (monitoring and evaluation) until a big meeting is taking place that I can also attend to. With Antoinette I have a one-minute-ride to a hotel down the road where we are going to meet with LCBs, local capacity builders. They do work for SNV on the ground and implement what SNV advises. For today, an orientation day has been organised. Tables covered with green cloth are put up in a u-form, facing the wall on which the beamer projects the presentations. Most seats are already occupied, but we are not the last ones to arrive. Everyone receives a bottle of water and a map with information material about SNV.
The meeting starts with introductory words about the purpose of the day and a presentation by the SNV Rwanda Country Director. What is SNV, what is their mission and their vision and how are the LCBs as partners involved in this? Luckily, English is used as it is the official language of SNV. This is a good induction for me as well. A presentation about M&E (Monitoring and Evaluation) and reporting follows. M&E is one of the things I am going to work on so it is extremely useful for me to see the reporting formats and know their backgrounds. The LCBs are not happy about the additional reporting that has to be done now, but it is emphasised repeatedly, that it is most important for the organisations to be accountable. The presentations take longer than expected and our moderator would rather cancel the break for coffee and tea, but the resistance from the participants is too strong. Therefore we agree on a five-minutes break. There is tea, juice, some cake and fish. Tiny fish or parts of fish breaded with something so that only a shimmer of silver is visible. This snack tastes quite interesting. After the short interruption, two more presentations are given on the code of conduct and then contract management. What requirements need to be met by the various contracts is not that interesting for me.
Next, the participants are separated into two workgroups. In these smaller groups, we are supposed to identify challenges and find possible solutions to them. I am in the smaller group and the discussions are going well. LCB representatives and the SNV advisors themselves see challenges in reporting outcome and impact of activities, the time required for the reporting, the writing of case studies. There is much more and the discussion would go on, but we are on a tight schedule and already delayed.
The other group’s presentation is much different to ours. Instead of identifying challenges together with the respective solution, they listed a long list of problems like low rates for transport and then a shorter list of solutions like raising the rates for transport. The impression I get is that some LCB representatives came to the meeting to ask for more money. However, the issues are discussed and the questions answered. I can see, however, that some SNV members are getting a little bit impatient with their partners.
The meeting is slowly coming to an end, when one interesting remark about child labour is made. Someone wants it to be clarified, why exactly there is a problem, as it is the tradition, that all family members contribute to the family’s earnings. While some participants chuckle, it is explained to him, that one should differentiate between child labour and other forms of child work, that do not hamper the child’s growth and education. Material will be forwarded to him to further clarify this issue.
Looking around at the table, some of the attendants seem to be elsewhere with their minds, their faces bored. It is time for this meeting to end. The country director closes the day with last summarising and encouraging words. This meeting should be a start of further improved communication and collaboration between SNV and the LCBs. She thanks everyone for coming and finds a good story to assure the participants that this was not wasted time although they might have lots of other work to do: Two men are chopping wood in the forest. One of them works continuously without break, but the other one still has a bigger pile of wood next to him. That one took his time to sharpen his axe now and then.
