Building capacity

New stage

In mid 2005 the project entered a new stage. Thanks to sports technique assistance from Haarlem, the sports trainers now know enough to organize sports activities independently. They are not yet able, however, to run MHS entirely independently, as they received limited schooling and understand too little about organizational aspects. To help MHS learn more about this field, organizational advisor Jeroen Stol started an 18-month assignment in Mutare in mid 2005. His mission is to train the MHS board members, the programme manager and the Mutare Sports Officer, so that the organization will be able to operate independently. These persons are responsible for managing the organization and maintaining contact with the stakeholders. Since several board members are somewhat inexperienced, Jeroen is responsible for boosting individual capacities and providing advice about restructuring the organization. The objective for MHS is to operate without Dutch human resources input from 2007.

Operating plan

Human Resources Development

  • Management skills: The board's financial management and planning skills have improved.
  • Technical skills:
    -     Individual sports trainers have improved their training methods.
    - Sports trainers have improved their ability/capacity in relation to Information, Education and Communication.

Organizational Development

  • Strategy and policy: MHS members have improved their monitoring and evaluation skills.
  • Learning capability: Sports trainers are better able to reflect on their actions and the consequences/impact. Critical thinking has improved.
  • Structure:
    - A system of subcommittees is in place.
    - Clear rules concerning nominations have been formulated.
    - The most viable organizational structure/status has been investigated.
  • Staffing: Job descriptions.
  • Finance: The board and a subcommittee know about fundraising opportunities and strategies.
  • Networking: MHS has a more positive image with the stakeholders.
  • Learning from the environment: MHS has become better at liaising with and learning from similar organizations at regional and international levels.