Yesterday I shared Terry’s heart-felt thoughts as he returned home, but there is another aspect of the visit that I would like to say something about – something that struck me increasingly as the week went on, and that is of fundamental importance for us as donors. How good a job are Save the Children doing with our donations?
As we travelled with them I was more and more impressed by the Save the Children team and the work that are doing. I had expected to see dedicated people and I was not disappointed. I also expected to see people who cared deeply about what they are doing, and we found that in spades. And I had expected to see people who were good at their job, but what I hadn’t expected to see was such a competent and professional organisation, one that stands up to comparison with any of the organisations that I have worked for.
Their approach to strategy was clear and disciplined, helping them figure out what were the most important things for them to be working on, and then they go on to do what’s needed. They are very good at building the networks they need to make change – working with communities, government and other NGO’s. And they are not frightened to take on really difficult projects – in the past I’ve been involved in trying to effect change in large organisations and know how difficult that is, but they are trying to change attitudes and behaviours in major populations.
The people we spent most time with were Sanjib and Shamaila in Delhi, Hermant, O.P. and Sanjay in Jaipur, Jaswinder in Tonk and Nima in Dungarpur. Thank you all so much for your wonderful work and for taking the time to show us what you do. Thanks too to all the others who were involved in the trip, too many to mention here.
Sanjib and Shamaila at work
And of course a big thank you to Jenny and Kris, who did such a wonderful job organising the whole visit, and kept us on track throughout.
The bottom line for me is that I came back convinced that this is a good effective organisation to support in the fight for the world’s children. I hope you agree. If you do, please consider making a donation to them, either case or making a commitment to leave a donation in your will. You can do that on their website through this link Save the Children
Save the Children - India projects observed 