The Power of Partnership: A report on decision making, participation and discourse in development aid between Western Heads East and Tukamwuane Women\u27s Group

This report contains the findings on the state of partnership principles exercised by Western Heads East, (a Canadian international development organization) with respect to its relationship with an NGO that receives its technical and financial aid. Western Heads East (referred to in this paper by its acronym WHE) is an organization based in London, Canada at the University of Western Ontario. Staff, faculty and students mobilize resources and personnel in order to collaborate with women\u27s groups in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda to alleviate poverty and the devastation HIV/AIDS. The women\u27s group, called Tukamwuane Women\u27s Group (TWG) is a certified NGO based in Mwanza, Tanzania that sells probiotic yogurt to members of the community and distributes it to people living with HIV/AIDS as an immune system booster. TWG channels WHE\u27s financial and technical resources into this project in a collaborative attempt to address the devastation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the region. This report evaluates policies made regarding where to keep children in the yogurt production facility, the effect of the current state of communication between the two organizations, and the mutual understanding of roles and responsibilities of each partner. These issues were outlined by both parties in various documents, meeting minutes, and sustainability reports (ref), and are then evaluated through according to the partnership principles which are identified as important by WHE and the development industry in general. This culminates in policy recommendations which were taken from the suggestions of both parties, mainly revolving around increasing regular two-way communication between project partners, mobilizing resources and personnel toward this end, a greater understanding of local contextual factors, and a constant evaluation of each partner’s actions according to the mutual principles outlined