By James Achanyi-Fontem, Cameroon Link
Three top level managers of Fine Forest Foundation-Cameroon have just ended a quality assurance and control management training under the supervision of consultants of Sickle Cell Society in London, UK.
The aim of the training was to provide the trainees with on-the-job best practice exposure that could build and enhance their capacity to provide value-for-money sustainability and responsive community-led NGO management while back in Cameroon.
Commenting on course content, the Director of Sickle Cell Society, UK, Dr. Mbi Asaah Nkohkwo, said the value-for-money systems accountability appraisal is going to serve for better corporate planning and delivery, while set objectives will be easily translated into action.
Metrology reporting and public accountability, stakeholder impact assessment, marketing, public relations and partnership strategies, were issues treated during the three-month long training.
The trainees were also introduced to a typical management system set-up, business planning and project management, budgeting for growth, direct and indirect income generation to deliver objectives, book keeping with traceable income deployment, information technology web site, filing knowledge acquisition, quality assurance and control, stake holder satisfaction, fund raising and micro finance, events management and health promotion.
Participants were equally drilled on delivery methods including the use of a learning set and tutorial and Sickle Cell Society adopted models of appraisal. Learning visits, outreach placements, self-directed enquiry and joining-in were other methods deployed.
Apart from the Sickle Cell Society UK, other delivery partners included the British Council and the Commonwealth Commission, North-South TechnoMed, The Millennium Goals Foundation, TMG, United Kingdom and Outreach Management Services UK.
Outreach Management Services equips charities, community and voluntary groups with relevant skills. It helps groups, of all sizes, to maximize their potentials to become leaders in their fields. Outreach's training model is highly participative and enables trainees to achieve insight and clarity, especially as the courses are designed for people with different experience levels.
Sickle Cell Society UK, which was created in 1979, raises awareness and provides support to those suffering from the most common genetic blood disorder in the world. By the end of the 1990s, members of the board recognised that in order for the organisation to continue to have the desired impact on its target communities, a new management approach was required.
In July 2002, Dr. Asa'ah Nkohkwo, an NHS-trained manager and the then Society Secretary, with ideas about what changes were needed, was appointed as director. He has brought in efficiency at all levels within the organisation, saving costs and improving service and scope.
During the closing ceremony at Chessington, UK, the TMG Chairperson, Prof. Sama Nwana, invited the Commonwealth Fellows from Cameroon to serve as the organisation's ambassadors back home. He added that the training will help to promote Sickle Cell Awareness in Cameroon.
In the past two years, Sickle Cell Society UK has been working out a regional plan for West Africa to cover Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Latest information indicates that the World Health Organization has already endorsed the project.
On November 17, three Cameroonians became members of the Commonwealth Fellows Club during an exchange forum in London. For more information log on to
http://cameroonlink.blogspot.com/ and http://uk.youtube.com/user/camlink99
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