Convenio is the Spanish translation of “covenant.” It describes the document that evolves from a relationship of mutual trust and respect, in which partners agree regarding the components of a project for which they will take responsibility. There are multiple physical and fiscal resources to consider, as well as important human ones.
After the water testing was complete and our lab bottle was secured, sealed, and stored for transport, we sat down with Getsemani’s Consistory (Session) to work out the details of our water system plan/program. You might imagine that financial considerations would be the only ones of consequence. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Negotiation is the key word. There is give and take, offer and counter-offer, as the members of Getsemani’s Consistory and members of the Fayetteville/Pulaski team commit to provide a lengthy list of essential resources. Beyond the construction of a room, Getsemani’s leaders agreed to pay for and procure various components of the system, and Fayetteville/Pulaski’s team members committed to deliver and fund others.
In addition to arranging and paying for travel, transportation, lodging, and meals, the all-important resource of human beings must be addressed. In order to ensure the system’s long-term success, the Operating Partners (in this case, the Getsemani church) must commit to provide employees/volunteers to construct, operate, and maintain the system. To maximize the health benefits of newly-available filtered water, the Operating Partners must also provide educators to learn, teach, and share with the community on an ongoing basis a basic curriculum that has spiritual and health/hygiene components. In a culture that rarely has access to adequate amounts of filtered water, it is important to reinforce hygiene practices and remind/teach residents the why, when, and how for safe practices of common daily activities that involve water.
As Initiating Partners, we (Fayetteville/Pulaski team) needed to know how many people Getsemani would provide for these various tasks, so that we could adequately plan for their integration in the installation/education process. Aided by our interpreter, we carefully worked our way through all of the resource components, making written notation on parallel English/Spanish documents. Once each group was satisfied with the agreement, signatures were added and copies distributed.
© 2009 Todd Jenkins
After the water testing was complete and our lab bottle was secured, sealed, and stored for transport, we sat down with Getsemani’s Consistory (Session) to work out the details of our water system plan/program. You might imagine that financial considerations would be the only ones of consequence. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Negotiation is the key word. There is give and take, offer and counter-offer, as the members of Getsemani’s Consistory and members of the Fayetteville/Pulaski team commit to provide a lengthy list of essential resources. Beyond the construction of a room, Getsemani’s leaders agreed to pay for and procure various components of the system, and Fayetteville/Pulaski’s team members committed to deliver and fund others.
In addition to arranging and paying for travel, transportation, lodging, and meals, the all-important resource of human beings must be addressed. In order to ensure the system’s long-term success, the Operating Partners (in this case, the Getsemani church) must commit to provide employees/volunteers to construct, operate, and maintain the system. To maximize the health benefits of newly-available filtered water, the Operating Partners must also provide educators to learn, teach, and share with the community on an ongoing basis a basic curriculum that has spiritual and health/hygiene components. In a culture that rarely has access to adequate amounts of filtered water, it is important to reinforce hygiene practices and remind/teach residents the why, when, and how for safe practices of common daily activities that involve water.
As Initiating Partners, we (Fayetteville/Pulaski team) needed to know how many people Getsemani would provide for these various tasks, so that we could adequately plan for their integration in the installation/education process. Aided by our interpreter, we carefully worked our way through all of the resource components, making written notation on parallel English/Spanish documents. Once each group was satisfied with the agreement, signatures were added and copies distributed.
© 2009 Todd Jenkins
No comments:
Post a Comment