EASUN: Center for Organisational Learning

Season's Greetings to the EASUN family!

A heartfelt note of appreciation...

Because of your support, 2008 was a great year for EASUN. We thank leaders of civil society organizations (CSOs) in East Africa who, through their presence and encouraging words, affirmed EASUN's vision and work. We thank members of the Board who, despite their busy schedules, continued to volunteer their time to provide great leadership and support. We thank participants in our FOD and FAF training courses for providing great atmosphere for learning and transformation. Our Associates were exemplary in extending EASUN's capacities and in breaking new ground for OD practice development in East Africa.

We also wish to take this opportunity to thank our donors for the financial resources that enabled EASUN to innovate for civil society development in East Africa. Thanks to HIVOS (Netherlands) and EED (Germany) for their empowering institutional funding. Thanks to Africa Capacity Building Foundation (Harare) for supporting, in 2008, a range of EASUN programme activities related to institutional capacity building. Thanks also to Reflective Learning UK (RL-UK) for indirect financial support through waivers of consultancy fees when they facilitated EASUN's activities.

On behalf of all of us at EASUN, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to further collaboration in 2009 and beyond.

Mosi Kisare, Executive Director
mosi.kisare@easun-tz.org
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Building new skills for fieldworkers through FAF

What do individuals at the frontier of NGO community outreach really learn in the course?

From December 8th to 12th, EASUN delivered FAF training to 30 fieldworkers of Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania (KMT). This was the first module of the course, which usually requires two separate six-day modules for completion. The training took place in Musoma, a small town on the north eastern shores of Lake Victoria, Tanzania.

You may recall that in a number of past eNews letters (February, May, September, 2008), we shared the impact of FAF training (between 2007 and July 2008) on fieldworkers and organisations in Uganda and Tanzania, as evidenced in their new knowledge and practices. In this particular eNews issue, we offer a concise view of what field workers actually learn in the course itself, based on the recent FAF experiences of KMT fieldworkers in Musoma during the 1st module of the course:

  • Learnt to use story-telling to build a shared picture of group project activities and establish linkages with their purpose in community development activities.
  • Learnt to use questions as a facilitation tool.
  • Learnt to facilitate shared understanding of organisational vision, mission and institutional development questions impacting community development work of a project-group or CBO.
  • Practiced facilitative posture of "letting go" and listening to enhance initiative, creativity and responsibility-taking by members of a project-group or CBO.
  • Learnt the use of a powerful tool for situation analysis, awareness raising and planning improved action.
  • Learnt techniques for assessing effectiveness of a project-group or CBO in managing their activities in relation to their stated vision, goals and plans.
  • Carried out exercises for aligning personal commitments with project-group or CBO organisational expectations, outlook and strategies.
  • Acquired new tools for assessing group development and effectiveness.
  • Mastered skills in characterisation, strategic questioning techniques and facilitative leadership to draw out willing contributions of group members performing a common task.
  • Learnt how to handle resistance and promote trust, confidence and collaboration within a project-group or among CBO members.
  • Learnt to use Alternative Language Channels (ALC) as a means of generating empowered participation (based on equal rights, trust and ownership).

For more information and requests for FAF training, contact: edna.chilimo@easun-tz.org

Invitation to support FAF

Module 1 of FAF training for two organizations - KMT (Tanzania) and Safe Neighbourhood (Uganda) - was made possible through a waiver of fees and other costs by EASUN. In 2008, EASUN was supported in this effort by a grant from Africa Capacity Building Foundation. Both KMT and Safe Neighbourhood are seeking financial support for their respective second modules that will take place in 2009. Full costs of the 2nd module, for each of the two organizations, will range from USD $7000 to $8000. Please share your interest to support the completion of training for any of the two organisations (or both) to: nyantito.machota@easun-tz.org
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EASUN launches database of CBOs and wins...

EASUN officially launched the long awaited Community-Based Organisation (CBO) Referral System in November 2008. The main purpose of the CBO Referral System is to link grassroots CBOs in East Africa with each other and with various service providers, including training institutions, capacity building organisations and funding agencies. The launch took place during the 6th Annual Civil Society Forum and Exhibition organized by The Foundation for Civil Society, in Dar es Salaam. The Forum is an opportunity for CSOs in Tanzania to meet and exchange information about their work.

During the Forum, EASUN's stand attracted over 116 visitors, which gave our staff a chance to explain the workings and benefits of the CBO Referral System to a wide range of civil society leaders in the country. In fact, our presentation and launch of the CBO Referral System at the exhibition was so successful that EASUN was named "Best Overall Exhibitor" at the Forum!

For more information about EASUN and/or the CBO Referral System, visit www.easun-tz.org, where you will find a link to the referral system on the homepage. Alternatively, you can visit www.easun-cbo.org to access the CBO Referral System directly.

And remember, this CBO Referral System is for YOU! Explore the database and expand your networks and your organisational opportunities TODAY!

As always, questions, comments and feedback are welcome! Contact: doly.anyona@easun-tz.org
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This newsshot is also available at: www.easun-tz.org/enews/newsshot_20december2008.html

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EASUN Centre for Organisational Learning
P.O. Box 6120 Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255-(0)27-2548803
Fax +255-(0)27-2548289
info@easun-tz.org
www.easun-tz.org
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