Trustees Chairman

Foundations for Sustainable Development – LAJA ABEREORAN

Introduction
The challenges of global social and economic development have become more pressing across the world especially on the African continent and less developed regions of the world. We have less than eight (8) years to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed upon at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. current realities and recent assessment of progress made at the country level (especially in Africa, and Nigeria as the most populous black nation) shows that there difficulties not only in gaining the necessary momentum but also in the institutional capacities to deliver the required services.
The challenge of reducing
- Illiteracy
- Extreme Poverty and Hunger
- Child and Maternal Mortality
- The burden of disease attributable to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
- Environmental Degradation
- The degree to access to Safe Water, etc
are serious. Therefore, there are calls for action beyond state and government programmes and interventions. It is not prophetic to say that most countries, especially in Africa will miss several of the targets of the MDGs. The crisis in the Darfur region, political instability, weak social, economic and health systems are already pointing in that direction.
It is therefore heart-warming that a Christian organization such as Global Relief Development Mission will seek to work beyond meeting the need of man for spiritual salvation to also addressing the issues connected with physical existence i.e. food, medicine, education etc. Global Relief & Development Mission has stated its commitment to providing emergency relief to the poor families in Northern Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond; working with communities in tackling the problems of hunger, poverty and disease, and discipling and developing people in those communities. I believe that the ultimate in all these is to break the vicious cycle of ill-health, poverty and under-development.

Foundation for Sustainable Development
The various actors in the development arena are involved in different programmes and interventions to address the problems of social and economic development which will in turn accelerate the achievement of the MDGs. But all of our programmes and activities may not endure if we don’t, as a matter of priority, lay the foundation for sustainable development. For Global Relief & Development Mission, the starting point is the appreciation of the fact that we are involved in the kingdom building process. It is in keeping our eyes on the fact that we seek to advance the kingdom of God here on earth and prepare the people for the kingdom of God that is to come.
The Apostle Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit speaks of the fact that we have a starting point.
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation than the one already laid which is JESUS CHRIST” (I Corinthians 3: 10 & 11, NIV)
We are simply building on the work of Christ in our work of evangelism and providing succor to the poor and diseased. The Lord said that much when much when HE proclaimed the manifesto of His ministry in Luke 4: 16-22 the synagogue in Nazareth. God’s spirit is upon him to meet the needs of the poor; those who are imprisoned behind bars and even in their homes; to provide healing and freedom. (see Isaiah 61 for the full content of that manifesto)

I will now proceed to briefly address some specific areas that can facilitate an effective foundation for sustainable development both for the work of Global Relief and in the communities. These areas are capacity development, building partnerships, investing in people, especially the youths and instituting mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.

Capacity Development: Usually when people speak of capacity development, they refer to the abilities to achieve targets, and possibly in an efficient manner. In the work of Global Relief, and as we strive to accelerate poverty reduction, reduce illiteracy and burden of disease, and provide emergency relief, capacity development must be both internal and external to the organization.
It must involve
- Building individual skills and attitudes
- Creating service delivery units when none existed
- Strengthening operational systems and deepening the policy development process to involve the people
- Provision of resources- human, material and financial
- Ensuring community ownership of projects
- Sharing of information

Capacity development must not be fragmented so that we can easily capture cross-sectoral and cross-cultural issues. An effective coordination of capacity development efforts will help to learn lessons and enrich outcomes.

Partnerships: There are enormous challenges for Global Relief and indeed any agency in addressing the problems of hunger, disease and poverty. There is not one organization that is sufficient in itself to address the issues. Even in order for organizations achieve set targets, they still have to look outwards. This is the rationale to build partnerships as an ingredient for sustainable development. Partnership is based on the adage that “two (good) heads are better than one” it is about the fact that one person/organization on its own is not good enough because we are interdependent. It is a terrible thing to be alone so God had to find a suitable partner for Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:20-24). We must stress at this point that it is not partnership for the sake of it. We must build suitable and effective partnerships – partnerships that work. In the case of Adam, the Bible says God had to get a suitable helper (an help meet for him)
The partnerships that will enhance sustainable development must be based on
- Mutual need – we need each other to be better able to achieve the task
- Shared vision, mission and value systems
- Speaking the same language and operating at the same wavelength
- Consensus on priorities, programmes and interventions
- Dynamism i.e. continuous innovation, flexibility, and responsiveness

An effective partnership carries great promise and possibilities. The work is our work, as much as it is my work. It assists in sharing of burdens and maximizing efforts. However, there are potential challenges which include
- Passive and dominant partners
- Inflexible and insensitive partners
- Under-representation of stakeholders
- Alignment of partner –perspective and priorities.

When we have partnerships that are broad based, focused and effective we can be assured of the sustainability of our work in the future.

Investing in People: According to the World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation, there has never been a time to invest in young people living in developing countries than now. It is obvious that the youths represent our future and they are indeed our hope for the future. Therefore, the sustenance of our development efforts on the long term requires that we invest in our youths. It is an investment in a significant population of our laternt and potential human capital. The youths averagely aged 12 –24 will be the next generation of workers, parents and leaders. Investing in our youths is a window of opportunity that we must seize and leverage on so that the “wasted generation” will not be succeeded by yet another wasting generation.

We have a large army of youths in our society and it is amazing that they bear the scourge of unemployment, disease and poverty. Inspite of their size, they lack “voice” especially at the higher levels of governance of state and communities. The challenge is for us to involve and engage them in the development process. They must have a place and a say in our programmes and interventions. In fact the youths should be part of our partnerships as a critical stakeholder.

An investment in youths will involve a mix such as
- Providing adequate infrastructure for education
- Review of educational curricula to provide functional education
- Provision of social and economic incentives to help youths make the transition from school to work
- Creation of apprenticeship and entrepreneurial centres to facilitate the involvement of youths in micro-business. From these centres, some youths could become entrepreneurs out of necessity while some will be by taking advantage of opportunities.

The society has a lot to gain by investing in our youths. The investment must go beyond consultation to the participation of youths in the development process and efforts.

Mechanism for Monitoring and Evaluation: The various programmes and interventions aimed sustainable development do require that we build a system and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation at the levels of inputs, outputs and outcome. There must be a way of assessing the quality and quantity of inputs, keeping track of the processes and measuring performance.

Monitoring and evaluation activities may appear to some as cumbersome and time wasting. But we know that in a programmes lifecycle, conditions change and assumptions may no longer be valid. It is imperative that there is an M&E system to allow changes and adjustments to be made both to strategy and service delivery channels. An effective M&E will cover some of the issues addressed in capacity building & partnerships and investing in young people. It is not about financial and it because technical activities can be monitored and evaluated. M&E can be done by individual agencies, cooperating partners and communities who are project beneficiaries.

In coming up with an M&E system, there must be an agreement on the
- Preparation of M&E activities and plan
- The Schedule
- The Indicators
- Dissemination of findings, among other issues that can impact of the M&E system
A good M&E system will help in noticing and addressing deviations from programme implementation and plan, and help in learning lessons for future activities and programmes.

Conclusion
I must admit that my discussion of the topic is limited in many ways because there are more issues involved than I have addressed. I would also have loved to draw examples from the Bible on all of the issues I raised because I believe that in the scriptures, examples and instructions abound on how to build capacity, promote partnership and invest in young people. The Apostle Paul offers us a lot of insights in some of these areas especially in his relationship with Barnabas, Timothy, Epaphroditus, John Mark and the churches is Asia (cf: Acts 13:41, Acts 14:24-28, Acts 16:1-5, Philippians 2:19-30, II Timothy 4:11)

Global Relief & Development Mission must begin to find creative and efficient ways of addressing issues inlaying foundation for sustainable development in its projects and programmes. However, I recognize that Global Relief does not presently have the means and methods of doing the things that need to be done. In fact, some of them fall within the scope of state authorities and institutions, development partners, civil society and faith-based organizations. The challenge therefore, is for Global Relief to take the initiative to these other stakeholders through advocacy, sensitization and mobilization, and thereby create a critical mass of advocates and volunteers for relief work.
The goals of sustainable development are achievable if not in the short term but really in the long time. Global Relief & Development Mission may not have all it takes to lay the foundation and advance the process of sustainable development. But with faith and work, inspiration and perspiration, we can occupy till the master comes. It is His field and because we follow Him as our foundation, we will not fail.

SELECTED REFERENCES
1. Development Outlook: Published by the World Bank Institute, September 2005 and June 2007
2. The Millennium Development Goals for Health – Rising to the Challenges: By Adam Wagstaff & Mariam Caeson published by IBRD/World Bank (2004)
3. The Power of Partnership: Published by WHO, Geneva (2003)



















	Foundations for Sustainable Development – LAJA ABEREORAN Introduction The challenges of global social and economic development have become more pressing across the world especially on the African continent and less developed regions of the world. We have less than eight (8) years to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed upon at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. current realities and recent assessment of progress made at the country level (especially in Africa, and Nigeria as the most populous black nation) shows that there difficulties not only in gaining the necessary momentum but also in the institutional capacities to deliver the required services. The challenge of reducing - Illiteracy - Extreme Poverty and Hunger - Child and Maternal Mortality - The burden of disease attributable to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - Environmental Degradation - The degree to access to Safe Water, etc are serious. Therefore, there are calls for action beyond state and government programmes and interventions. It is not prophetic to say that most countries, especially in Africa will miss several of the targets of the MDGs. The crisis in the Darfur region, political instability, weak social, economic and health systems are already pointing in that direction. It is therefore heart-warming that a Christian organization such as Global Relief Development Mission will seek to work beyond meeting the need of man for spiritual salvation to also addressing the issues connected with physical existence i.e. food, medicine, education etc. Global Relief & Development Mission has stated its commitment to providing emergency relief to the poor families in Northern Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond; working with communities in tackling the problems of hunger, poverty and disease, and discipling and developing people in those communities. I believe that the ultimate in all these is to break the vicious cycle of ill-health, poverty and under-development. Foundation for Sustainable Development The various actors in the development arena are involved in different programmes and interventions to address the problems of social and economic development which will in turn accelerate the achievement of the MDGs. But all of our programmes and activities may not endure if we don’t, as a matter of priority, lay the foundation for sustainable development. For Global Relief & Development Mission, the starting point is the appreciation of the fact that we are involved in the kingdom building process. It is in keeping our eyes on the fact that we seek to advance the kingdom of God here on earth and prepare the people for the kingdom of God that is to come. The Apostle Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit speaks of the fact that we have a starting point. “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation than the one already laid which is JESUS CHRIST” (I Corinthians 3: 10 & 11, NIV) We are simply building on the work of Christ in our work of evangelism and providing succor to the poor and diseased. The Lord said that much when much when HE proclaimed the manifesto of His ministry in Luke 4: 16-22 the synagogue in Nazareth. God’s spirit is upon him to meet the needs of the poor; those who are imprisoned behind bars and even in their homes; to provide healing and freedom. (see Isaiah 61 for the full content of that manifesto) I will now proceed to briefly address some specific areas that can facilitate an effective foundation for sustainable development both for the work of Global Relief and in the communities. These areas are capacity development, building partnerships, investing in people, especially the youths and instituting mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation. Capacity Development: Usually when people speak of capacity development, they refer to the abilities to achieve targets, and possibly in an efficient manner. In the work of Global Relief, and as we strive to accelerate poverty reduction, reduce illiteracy and burden of disease, and provide emergency relief, capacity development must be both internal and external to the organization. It must involve - Building individual skills and attitudes - Creating service delivery units when none existed - Strengthening operational systems and deepening the policy development process to involve the people - Provision of resources- human, material and financial - Ensuring community ownership of projects - Sharing of information Capacity development must not be fragmented so that we can easily capture cross-sectoral and cross-cultural issues. An effective coordination of capacity development efforts will help to learn lessons and enrich outcomes. Partnerships: There are enormous challenges for Global Relief and indeed any agency in addressing the problems of hunger, disease and poverty. There is not one organization that is sufficient in itself to address the issues. Even in order for organizations achieve set targets, they still have to look outwards. This is the rationale to build partnerships as an ingredient for sustainable development. Partnership is based on the adage that “two (good) heads are better than one” it is about the fact that one person/organization on its own is not good enough because we are interdependent. It is a terrible thing to be alone so God had to find a suitable partner for Adam in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:20-24). We must stress at this point that it is not partnership for the sake of it. We must build suitable and effective partnerships – partnerships that work. In the case of Adam, the Bible says God had to get a suitable helper (an help meet for him) The partnerships that will enhance sustainable development must be based on - Mutual need – we need each other to be better able to achieve the task - Shared vision, mission and value systems - Speaking the same language and operating at the same wavelength - Consensus on priorities, programmes and interventions - Dynamism i.e. continuous innovation, flexibility, and responsiveness An effective partnership carries great promise and possibilities. The work is our work, as much as it is my work. It assists in sharing of burdens and maximizing efforts. However, there are potential challenges which include - Passive and dominant partners - Inflexible and insensitive partners - Under-representation of stakeholders - Alignment of partner –perspective and priorities. When we have partnerships that are broad based, focused and effective we can be assured of the sustainability of our work in the future. Investing in People: According to the World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation, there has never been a time to invest in young people living in developing countries than now. It is obvious that the youths represent our future and they are indeed our hope for the future. Therefore, the sustenance of our development efforts on the long term requires that we invest in our youths. It is an investment in a significant population of our laternt and potential human capital. The youths averagely aged 12 –24 will be the next generation of workers, parents and leaders. Investing in our youths is a window of opportunity that we must seize and leverage on so that the “wasted generation” will not be succeeded by yet another wasting generation. We have a large army of youths in our society and it is amazing that they bear the scourge of unemployment, disease and poverty. Inspite of their size, they lack “voice” especially at the higher levels of governance of state and communities. The challenge is for us to involve and engage them in the development process. They must have a place and a say in our programmes and interventions. In fact the youths should be part of our partnerships as a critical stakeholder. An investment in youths will involve a mix such as - Providing adequate infrastructure for education - Review of educational curricula to provide functional education - Provision of social and economic incentives to help youths make the transition from school to work - Creation of apprenticeship and entrepreneurial centres to facilitate the involvement of youths in micro-business. From these centres, some youths could become entrepreneurs out of necessity while some will be by taking advantage of opportunities. The society has a lot to gain by investing in our youths. The investment must go beyond consultation to the participation of youths in the development process and efforts. Mechanism for Monitoring and Evaluation: The various programmes and interventions aimed sustainable development do require that we build a system and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation at the levels of inputs, outputs and outcome. There must be a way of assessing the quality and quantity of inputs, keeping track of the processes and measuring performance. Monitoring and evaluation activities may appear to some as cumbersome and time wasting. But we know that in a programmes lifecycle, conditions change and assumptions may no longer be valid. It is imperative that there is an M&E system to allow changes and adjustments to be made both to strategy and service delivery channels. An effective M&E will cover some of the issues addressed in capacity building & partnerships and investing in young people. It is not about financial and it because technical activities can be monitored and evaluated. M&E can be done by individual agencies, cooperating partners and communities who are project beneficiaries. In coming up with an M&E system, there must be an agreement on the - Preparation of M&E activities and plan - The Schedule - The Indicators - Dissemination of findings, among other issues that can impact of the M&E system A good M&E system will help in noticing and addressing deviations from programme implementation and plan, and help in learning lessons for future activities and programmes. Conclusion I must admit that my discussion of the topic is limited in many ways because there are more issues involved than I have addressed. I would also have loved to draw examples from the Bible on all of the issues I raised because I believe that in the scriptures, examples and instructions abound on how to build capacity, promote partnership and invest in young people. The Apostle Paul offers us a lot of insights in some of these areas especially in his relationship with Barnabas, Timothy, Epaphroditus, John Mark and the churches is Asia (cf: Acts 13:41, Acts 14:24-28, Acts 16:1-5, Philippians 2:19-30, II Timothy 4:11) Global Relief & Development Mission must begin to find creative and efficient ways of addressing issues inlaying foundation for sustainable development in its projects and programmes. However, I recognize that Global Relief does not presently have the means and methods of doing the things that need to be done. In fact, some of them fall within the scope of state authorities and institutions, development partners, civil society and faith-based organizations. The challenge therefore, is for Global Relief to take the initiative to these other stakeholders through advocacy, sensitization and mobilization, and thereby create a critical mass of advocates and volunteers for relief work. The goals of sustainable development are achievable if not in the short term but really in the long time. Global Relief & Development Mission may not have all it takes to lay the foundation and advance the process of sustainable development. But with faith and work, inspiration and perspiration, we can occupy till the master comes. It is His field and because we follow Him as our foundation, we will not fail. SELECTED REFERENCES 1. Development Outlook: Published by the World Bank Institute, September 2005 and June 2007 2. The Millennium Development Goals for Health – Rising to the Challenges: By Adam Wagstaff & Mariam Caeson published by IBRD/World Bank (2004) 3. The Power of Partnership: Published by WHO, Geneva (2003)

Mr. Joseph Abereoran Trustees Members Chairman