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 New
Horizons > December
2001
Director’s
message
At
its annual meeting this November, the ECLOF International
Board approved its Guidelines on Training. The guidelines
are of a general nature and are drawn from the experiences
of NECs and other organisations with whom ECLOF has been networking.
The guidelines require that, as far as possible, we make use
of training opportunities and facilities that already exist.
In
this issue of New Horizons, we cover some of ECLOF’s
more recent training activities. They include:
Appropriate
training is critical for staff and also for board development.
However, important as it is, expected benefits from training
may not be realised unless follow-up mechanisms are firmly
in place. These are needed to ensure that the positive lessons
learned from training courses not only benefit the individuals
who take part but also result in an improvement in the management
of the credit programmes in which the participants are involved.
To
make real the benefits of training also calls for commitment
and the willingness to change and adapt. After any ECLOF training
course, there should be a discernible improvement in the management
of our programmes even if this is not always easy to quantify.
Training
is expensive, so there is need for everyone involved to be
conscious of its value and to make every effort to maximise
its benefits.
As
a result of the increasing number of branch offices being
opened by National ECLOF Committees (NECs), we include in
this issue a summary of the discussions that took place at
our last managers’ workshop. These concerned the criteria
that have to be considered whenever a new regional office
is planned.
The
two NECs (Bolivia and Colombia) that presented their case
studies each had an approach that was appropriate and cost
effective within their national context. No matter how ‘good’
a model is, if it is not cost effective the result will be
that it will be too expensive for clients and cannot be sustained.
Only proper prior planning and subsequent frequent monitoring
can prevent this from happening.
As
ever, we appreciate your feedback through the Readers’
Letters section of New Horizons. Please continue to send us
your comments and suggestions.
Muhungi
Kanyoro
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