MAREDES partners NCS & CRS for development workshop

MAREDES partners NCS & CRS for development workshop

THE Department of Human Development (DHD) of the National Catholic Secretariat will host a two-day country forum to create the platform for co-ordinated effort for development organisations within the Catholic Church in Ghana to promote the common good.

The June 26 and 27, 2014 first annual country forum, will be held under the auspices of the Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MAREDES) – a national NGO set up by the Catholic Knights and Ladies of Marshall and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Ghana.

It will be on the theme ‘Enhancing Catholic Organizations’ Effectiveness for Public Policy Engagement – Focus on Ethics and Minimum Standards’.

A statement issued from the DHD explained that periodic forums and workshops of Catholic Development Organizations had been going on in other African countries, championed by organisations such as CRS and members of CIDSE, an International Alliance of 16 Catholic Development Agencies working together for global justice.

“However in Ghana there is no such framework for knowledge and experience sharing among the Catholic Development agencies. This has often led to duplication of effort among these sister organizations that are supposed to serve a common purpose on behalf of the poor,” it said.

The statement said it was also a fact that the stand-alone operations of the sister Catholic Organisations and agencies had not helped in enhancing the Catholic Church visibility and feeling of ownership among the Catholic Faithful.

It said effective cooperation and partnership building had become an essential component for the attainment of development outcomes.

It said the forum would also “leverage other opportunities for knowledge sharing, resource mobilisations, common strategy development and general networking among local and external Catholic Development Agencies for effective development cooperation.”