What Does Partnership Mean? A New Look At Our Mission Statement.
Earlier this month, we released our expansion initiative with our plans to grow OneVillage Partners across all rural Sierra Leone. The responses from our supporters, donors, and partners have been overwhelmingly positive and we are just as excited as you are!
As we continue with this momentum, we want to highlight our new mission statement:
The mission of OneVillage Partners is to enhance collective wellbeing across Sierra Leone by investing in people and communities through partnerships.
So, what is different?
In practice, not that much. We are still driven by our community-led values and approach, and we’re still working in partnership with local people and communities to build thriving, connected, and resilient communities. But this updated statement more closely aligns with where we want to be in the coming years. New to the statement is the inclusion of our focus on partnerships. Over the years, we have been enhancing our work on community-led development and partnering with communities to identify their most pressing issues. Whilst partnership is something we have always focused on at OneVillage Partners, it was time it was reflected in our mission statement.
But, what does partnership mean?
Partnership to us means we listen. We pay attention to the needs of our communities and focus on empowering them to create sustainable change. It is important to us that our partner communities understand the purpose of our partnership and the mutual responsibilities it entails. This means, while we work to empower volunteer leaders with the skills to lead, they are working diligently behind the scenes to ensure their projects are successful. By fostering partnerships built on mutual trust, we can achieve our collective goals and communities can produce higher quality results.
We are also aware that partnership dynamics change overtime as communities grow and are impacted by external circumstances, such as community development and politics. Yet, at OneVillage Partners, we continue to maintain partnerships far after projects are completed within communities. Our key implications for partnerships are:
Having authentic, meaningful and purposeful partnerships with our communities. We create a balance of power in our partnerships and have mutual understanding of our roles and responsibilities.
We are consistent in our practices. We maximize community led development in our partner communities without any show of favoritism.
Constantly assessing our work with partner communities. Although we are a part of a network of organizations in Sierra Leone, we ensure that we do not lose focus on our main priority – our community partners and their needs.
The beauty of partnership is that they are unique and look different from one another. Here are some examples of what our partnerships can look like:
Partnership with other NGOS:
Some people may want to see a bigger and higher reach. Therefore, partnering with other NGOs that work in neighboring communities can lead to that higher reach. They also see partnership as project focused. Seeing that it is more practical and beneficial for a project to benefit more people at the same time with less effort if partnered with other NGOs.
Partnership with communities:
Whilst some organizations see themselves as lobbyist to give communities a better opportunity, others play a regulator role, ensuring that governments remain honest, focused on serving the people. This is the type of partnership we aim to have. Focusing at ground level, finding ways to bring communities together to provide basic services to those in most need.
So, while we acknowledge the many ways to partner, we know that partnership is key to success in international development. We are focused on ensuring that needs are met, communities are empowered and provided with resilience far after we are gone.
We are excited to have you as part of this journey as we deepen our partnership with communities in Sierra Leone and with supporters around the world. To find out more about our expansion initiative and ways you can join the movement, click here.