In November in Addis Ababa, more than fifty representatives from Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) partner organisations in eleven African countries met together for the first time.

 

The aim? To share their successes and challenges, and to learn from each other and from a packed programme of workshops on issues from financial management to HIV/AIDS mainstreaming.

 

“MRDF partners carry out vital work alongside some of the world's poorest communities, meeting needs such as health care, clean water and skills training,” explained Director Kirsty Smith. “These organisations need our support and this conference is just one way in which MRDF is helping them to become stronger and more effective.”

 

Most participants had never met other MRDF partners before, many had never left their own countries and very few were prepared for the low Ethiopian temperatures (which resembled a normal British summer!)

 

The variety of participants meant that people at the start of their careers were able to learn from those with decades of development experience, agricultural experts from East and West Africa could compare notes, and strategies for accessing funding could be shared across national boundaries.

 

There was also time for relaxation: visiting the museums and markets of our host city and, of course, plenty of singing and dancing.

 

A letter presented to MRDF at the end of the conference from all the delegates summed up the experience of those few days: “We can now see with a new eye and understand with a new mind as we review our work and partnership with MRDF … Certainly this has been a huge success and for a long time we will remember it.”

 

Read the conference blog here