Community building reduces suffering and death

For decades, the “third sector” – non-governmental organizations (NGO) – has provided the crucial support that reduces suffering and even death in conflicts and natural disaster across all corners of the world. Thousands upon thousands of people look to these hundreds of organizations for comfort in the most difficult conditions.

But, because of the diversity of the tragic situations they encounter, NGO personnel are often not equipped to deal with new and difficult challenges. Besides their humanitarian skills, they need a whole host of other capabilities: management, leadership, and negotiation, for example.

The Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies (CBHA) was established to improve the skills of all current humanitarian personnel and to develop potential leaders. The program that they are utilizing moves away from the typical one-off workshop approach. Instead, it puts more responsibility (and trust) in the participants to apply what they have learned in action. It is also hoped the CBHA will build a sense of community among organizations, giving each the opportunity to learn from the experience of others.

The result: higher quality, more effective, and faster response to humanitarian disasters, reducing suffering and deaths.

Do you have other examples of collaborative learning?