There is a desperate shortage of decent jobs in developing countries. Finn Church Aid’s (FCA) investment company responds to this need by introducing a new tool to Finland’s development policy.
Finland will invest EUR 16 million in small businesses that create jobs through FCA Investments Ltd, a new company established by FCA. The investment is made in a form of a loan and, according to the terms and conditions of the loan, assets will be paid back with interest to the State of Finland in 18 years with profits from investment activities.
At the initial stage, FCA Investments Ltd will invest in business activities in Asia and Africa through two funds. The company will also start to make direct investments.
“The lack of moderately priced financing in developing countries is a key obstacle to setting up businesses that create jobs. The new company can support promising businesses’ growth potential in cases where their activities are still too small-scale to interest traditional development finance companies,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.
FCA Investments is planning to make direct investments of EUR 0.1 –1 million. Traditional development finance companies seldom make investments that are under one million euros because the administrative costs of small investments become too high in relation to the investment made.
Making small investments is worthwhile for FCA because at the initial stage it will use also other resources to support the financing of businesses. It can support them, for example, in matters related to the management of finances, business planning and marketing.
Compared to other similar actors, FCA Investments benefits from the fact that Finn Church Aid has staff on location and they have experience from countries in which investments will be made,” says Executive Director Jouni Hemberg from FCA.
FCA Investments is planning to make its first direct investments in Uganda in Eastern Africa. In addition to Uganda, FCA will probably make direct investments also in Somalia, Kenya, Jordan, Nepal, Myanmar and Cambodia. In some of these countries the operating environment is clearly more challenging than in Uganda.
“Work and sufficient income are the only way to achieve sustainable peace. By providing loans for vocational training and small businesses we can lift people out of poverty. We believe that the private sector will play a key role in providing support also to the poorest countries,” says Hemberg.
Inquiries:
Jouni Hemberg, Executive Director of Finn Church Aid, tel. +358 50 325 9579
Max von Bonsdorff, Director of Unit for Development Finance and Private Sector Cooperation, tel. +358 50 344 1014
Juha Kirstilä, Special Adviser to Minister Virolainen, tel. +358 40 552 8200
Fact: a loan with interest to Finn Church Aid
- The loan to be granted to FCA is a so-called development policy investment. Previously, development policy investments have been made in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) (EUR 9.2 million), Finnfund (EUR 130 million) and the Finland–IFC Climate Change Program (EUR 114 million).
- The interest for the loan is 0.5 per cent, and FCA will start to pay the interest in 2019. The loan period will be 18 years and the loan capital will be repaid in four installments.
- More information about development policy investments on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at: um.fi/kehityspoliittiset-finanssisijoitukset
Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi is the new Executive Director for the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
The Network’s leadership appointed Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi as the new Executive Director on May 1, 2018. The appointment was announced at the 8th Advisory Group Meeting for the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers in Stockholm on May 4-6, 2018.
Since its inception in 2013, the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers has grown from a small UN-led initiative to a coalition of over fifty organizations working together to build bridges between grassroots-level peacemakers and global players in order to strengthen international efforts to build sustainable peace.
During the four-year tenure of former Executive Director Antti Pentikäinen, the Network made significant strides toward fulfilling its mandate to collaboratively support the positive role of religious and traditional actors in peace and peacebuilding processes.
“As we begin this new chapter of our work, I am delighted to see Mohamed Elsanousi step into the Executive Director role, and I look forward to supporting him as he guides the Network into the future,” says Pentikäinen, who will lead the Network working group on reconciliation. This includes research on the impact of reconciliation with Princeton University and the Center for Theological Inquiry.
Dr. Elsanousi has been with the Network since 2014 and previously served as the Director of the Network’s Washington, DC office.
“I am humbled by the appointment and the trust the leadership has shown me. I am thrilled to continue building on what we have already achieved together and crafting a clear and inclusive strategy to further localize the efforts of religious and traditional actors to build peace in the most challenging contexts”, he says.
Dr. Elsanousi’s selection as the Executive Director was also welcomed by the Network’s UN partners.
“As the UN redoubles its commitment to working with religious actors to address some of the most pressing challenges facing their communities, we are thrilled to strengthen and expand our partnership with the Network, with Dr. Elsanousi at its helm,” said H.E. Adama Dieng, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide.
Dr. Azza Karam, Senior Advisor on Culture at the United Nations Population Fund, echoed these sentiments.
“Dr. Elsanousi’s reputation as a strategic convener of diverse actors, a responsible manager of interreligous and intercultural service for peace, and a leader confident in recognizing and building on the achievements of those who went before him, positions him very well to take the Network forward in the years to come.”
As the Secretariat of the Network since 2013, Finn Church Aid also expressed its wholehearted support and enthusiasm for the appointment.
“It has been great to witness the vigor and drive with which the new Executive Director has taken on his role. Mohamed is known for his broad personal networks and networking capacity, which will be a significant asset as the Network continues to grow,” notes Jouni Hemberg, Executive Director of Finn Church Aid.
Dr. Elsanousi’s appointment was announced at the Network’s 8th Advisory Group Meeting on May 4. Drawing on the evaluation concluded in March, the meeting focused on discussions on further development of strategy and structure.
“The evaluation offered concrete recommendations, and Dr. Elsanousi made it clear he will make good use of them as he continues the further development of the Network. The Network is solidifying its position as a significant partner to the international community and will continue to build on models that have proven useful,” says Tomi Järvinen, Director of International Cooperation at Finn Church Aid.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) founded The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers in 2013 at the UN’s request and has since hosted the Network’s secretariat. Read more about the Network here.
Donors’ and international investors’ trust in FCA remained strong in 2017.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) spent 38.6 million euros on aid work last year, an increase of 7.5 million from the previous year. The growth in operations was enabled by the increase in international funding and private donations. The effects of the cuts to development cooperation funding by the Finnish government were still felt in 2017, and operations in Haiti had to be discontinued.
Last year, FCA spent 5.7 million euros on domestic operations and general administrative expenses. Therefore, of one euro, over 87 cents were spent on aid work, and under 13 cents were used for lobbying, fundraising, communications, training, and general administration.
In 2017, Finn Church Aid’s fundraising yielded 41.8 million euros. The support of private donors to the work of FCA is still the single most important source of funding. The funding received from private and business donations in 2017 was 12.7 million euros. In addition, international funding continued its rapid growth, amounting to 12 million euros last year. Parishes were responsible for 7.7 million of the proceeds, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for about 9 million euros.
The work of the 70 -year old Finn Church Aid still concentrated on the most fragile and challenging operative environments in the world. Despite difficult circumstances, the work bore fruit, and hundreds of thousands of people around the world received aid. In Finland, work with immigrants continued to grow.
”In addition to our traditional aid work, occupational training, creating jobs, and improving subsistence are becoming important focal points for FCA. Cooperation with Finnish education operators, such as Omnia Education Partnership Oy and universities, is rapidly yielding results,” says executive director of FCA, Jouni Hemberg.
The high number of prolonged crises around the world in 2017 could be seen in FCA’s humanitarian work. Almost all humanitarian aid focused on supporting refugees in South Sudan, Myanmar, Jordan, Greece, Syria, and the Central African Republic.
Based on funds used for delivering aid, Finn Church Aid is the biggest organisation providing international aid in Finland. As in previous years, most of the work focused on Africa, representing 40 percent and over 18 million euros of all FCA’s work.
Inquiries: Executive Director of Finn Church Aid Jouni Hemberg, tel. 050 325 9579
Ikali Karvinen leads the activities of Finn Church Aid in Eritrea as Education Specialist.
Classes are big, education materials are scarce, and teaching is not held in high esteem in Eritrea. Despite numerous challenges, Eritrean teachers are still interested in developing teaching methods, says Ikali Karvinen.
Karvinen has been leading FCA teacher-training projects in Eritrea since the beginning of 2017.
”On an ordinary day, I guide teachers and colleagues, support the carrying out of research, and plan activities for higher-education institutions to enhance the competence of the personnel,” explains Karvinen.
The political environment in Eritrea is challenging, and many are initially suspicious of foreign operators. Building trust is important.
In addition to scarcity of water and electricity, poor data-communication connections make days very different from those in Finland. According to Karvinen, several things require many times the amount of time.
”My colleague and I laugh at not being able to open a single news report online in up to four days – so life is hard for news addicts!”
From nurse to Education Specialist
Karvinen describes his career path as atypical. After graduating as a nurse, he supplemented his studies in nursing science, and ended up in Kenya to collect research data for his PhD thesis. He earned his PhD in Public Health in 2009.
”Eritrea has been a school of diplomacy for me. I have met people who, despite personal and their home country’s difficulties, look into the future with confidence and hope,” says Karvinen.
The results of the work are not seen instantly, not even in a year or two. With his work, Karvinen hopes to promote cooperation between teachers and different stakeholders, and evidence-based education.
”We believe that the teachers we are working with are the forerunners of a new kind of teachership. They will train future teachers with new methods.”
Text: Minna Elo
Finn Church Aid (FCA) has become a globally valued expert in education and peace work. At the end of September, the 70 years of FCA’s aid work were celebrated in Helsinki.
FCA’s anniversary year culminated in the #courage2017 seminar held in Helsinki on 27 September. Among the speakers were Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, Archbishop of Finland Kari Mäkinen, the UN Under-Secretary General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng, and Alice P. Albright, the Director of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), which is the world’s most important funder of education in developing countries.
“It is admirable, that despite the risks, Finn Church Aid has decided to work in the world’s most fragile countries”, Prime Minister Sipilä said in his speech.
The Prime Minister commended FCA’s practical work in peace mediation and in the fight against violent extremist groups, as well as its courage to open-mindedly try out new methods and partnerships.
“My office receives some of its greatest support from civil society actors like Finn Church Aid”, said UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng.
Partnership with Finn Church Aid, and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers working in connection with it, has led to concrete results.
UN Special Adviser Adama Dieng answered questions from the audience. The seminar was hosted by Baba Lybeck.
“At the heart of all religions is the belief in our common humanity and respect for others. Together we have succeeded in placing a discussion about the positive power of religion at the heart of the work of the United Nations”, Dieng said.
The importance of education was a recurring theme in the event’s speeches. According to the latest estimates, there are 264 million out-of-school children and youth in the world.
“Hundreds of millions of young people are being left behind. They will never acquire the skills they need to break out of poverty or to compete in an increasingly globalised world. The countries they live in are deprived of their input in the building of economically stable and sustainable societies. As a result, we are all less well off”, said GPE’s Director Alice P. Albright. GPE is working to improve education in developing countries.
Albright reminded the audience that we live in an increasingly interconnected world, and inequality of opportunity leads to discontent and conflict, which in turn can spill over national borders. It is the responsibility of everyone – whether from traditional donor countries, emerging economies, developing countries, foundations, civil society or the private sector – to invest in education.
New direction and a wider reach
Ten years ago, Finn Church Aid completely changed its direction. Where earlier FCA had focused on funding the work carried out by its partner organisations it now decided to specialise in peace work, education and improving livelihoods. It also began sending its own relief workers abroad and set up country offices to manage the implementation of its own projects.
“We wanted to take a bigger responsibility for the results of our work. On a global scale we are a small organisation and it is not sensible for us to seek out projects in areas that already have a large number of actors in them. Our work has its biggest impact in the world’s most fragile countries”, says FCA Director Jouni Hemberg.
In ten year, FCA’s income has doubled, partly as a result of international funding. FCA currently employs 350 people, which is nearly ten times more than a decade ago. Last year, 132,500 children and youth received access to education as a result of FCA’s work.
Among the guests at the anniversary event were representatives from FCA’s Finnish and foreign partners, the Finnish government, the Finnish church, other civil society organisations, the media and parishes.
Deaconess Heidi Karvonen from Oulu has been FCA’s contact point in her parish for 20 years.
“International charity work is important for me and I have always wanted to bring FCA’s work forward in my parish. Initially, disaster relief was closest to my heart, but now I feel most strongly about peace work, about how conflict and human suffering could be avoided. At the event today, we’ve heard a lot of emphasis put on the importance of education as the foundation for peace work”, Karvonen says.
“Finn Church Aid’s courage is a result of it recognising its roots and identity and drawing from them”, said Archbishop Kari Mäkinen.
The Archbishop spoke of how after the Second World War, churches understood that they were part of a reality in which people’s basic security had been shaken. Talk of a loving God rang hollow when people were not fed, clothed or cared for. The foundation of the churches’ work was the principle of mutual dependence and reciprocity. God’s world is one; its hope and despair are common to us all.
“This courage is needed now as Finn Church Aid works around the world from Central Africa to South Sudan, from Syria to Nepal and Europe. The vulnerable must be protected, the hopeless must be afforded hope, peace must be brought to places of violence.”
The theme for FCA’s anniversary is #courage2017.
In the 70 years worship preceding the seminar, the World Council of Churches General Secretary Olav Fykse Tveit thanked FCA for its contribution in the ecumenical movement. In his sermon Tveit said: ”We live in a world that is getting divided, polarized, focusing on the differences and the dividing forces between us as human beings and between us and nature. We need the courage to live with a vision for unity.”
Ten years ago, Finn Church Aid made a turnaround that allowed us to help more people than before. In honour of our 70th anniversary, we look back on key decisions.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) is the biggest development cooperation organisation and the second biggest provider of humanitarian assistance in Finland. Over the past ten years, its activities have expanded enormously. This is thanks to decisions made ten years ago, when then-Executive Director Antti Pentikäinen took charge.
FCA had long been engaged in development cooperation, mainly by funding projects carried out by partner organisations. However, Pentikäinen considered it important that FCA take responsibility for the results of its work. FCA sent its first aid workers out into the world and soon started to found its first field offices in Africa, out of which it started to carry out its projects.
The work was concentrated on three main themes: education, subsistence, and peace. The FCA workers already had a lot of expertise on education and subsistence. The work on peace was a new theme brought in by Pentikäinen, former advisor of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari.
In peace work, FCA specialised on working with religious and traditional parties. The first target was Somalia, where efforts soon proved fruitful.
”Somalia then was like Syria today. Nobody wanted to go there, and the work was very dangerous. However, we have been able to help Somalia in many crucial turns,” says Pentikäinen.
”The key thing when doing peace work is not to give up and to learn from one’s mistakes.”
Work where others do not go
Another key decision has been to boldly go where others do not want to or cannot go. At the moment, FCA works in the three most fragile countries in the world: South Sudan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic. In closed-off Eritrea, FCA is one of few non-governmental organisations.
”For a small organisation, it doesn’t make sense to go to places with lots of operating parties. In the most fragile countries we get the biggest value for our work,” says interim Executive Director of FCA Jouni Hemberg.
Over the years, countries of operation have changed. State cuts in funding for development cooperation forced FCA to discontinue its work in South American countries. Nowadays, FCA operates in 15 countries, with many of its employees working in the countries of operation. FCA also cooperates closely with local organisations and authorities. The majority of FCA employees are local.
”Their local knowledge is valuable to us. At the same time, our projects are better rooted into local communities and some of the know-how stays there,” says Head of Humanitarian Assistance Eija Alajarva.
Swift help in catastrophes
After the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, more than 44,000 children got to study in schools and temporary classrooms built by FCA. Photo: Johanna Erjonsalo.
Alongside long-term development cooperation, FCA has become a swift provider of humanitarian assistance in catastrophes and conflicts. A turning point was the powerful earthquake in January 2010 that caused over half of the houses in poor Haiti to collapse. More than 220,000 people died.
During earlier natural disasters, FCA had supported aid work by funding organisations operating in the area or other members of the ACT Alliance of church aid organisations. However, the destruction in Haiti was massive, and there was a shortage of education personnel.
FCA took action. First, students were provided with temporary school tents, then temporary classrooms, and finally permanent schoolhouses. However, it was clear from the beginning that more than walls was needed, says FCA education expert Minna Peltola.
”We also wanted to improve the quality of education,” she says.
After the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, one lorry was used to transport material for building a school, teaching material, and a Finnish teacher who told local colleagues of dealing with the difficult experiences caused by the catastrophe. Schools and people were mended at the same time.
The results reached in education are impressive. After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, FCA rebuilt 300 schools, more than any other organisation. In 2016, a total of over 132,500 children received high-quality education thanks to the work of FCA.
According to Peltola, it is important to invest in the quality of education in the future as well.
”A particular challenge is posed by fragile regions. For example, in South Sudan there is both a violent conflict and a food crisis underway. Young people are very vulnerable, and emotional support must be incorporated into all education.”
The aim now is to reinforce the connection between education and subsistence. There are more refugees in the world than ever after World War II. It is important for the people on the move not to drop out of school and for official degree diplomas to be handed out for their studies, helping them to secure a job and a new life.
FCA has organised degree programmes in Ugandan refugee settlements, with most of the first classes securing employment well. In Cambodia, FCA cooperated with the local Ministry of Education to develop the first student guidance system in the country and educated the first student counsellors.
An internationally respected aid organisation
70 years of aid delivered
Finn Church Aid was founded 70 years ago to channel aid from churches in the United States, Germany, and Sweden to war-battered Finland. After the years of rebuilding, both Finland and the Lutheran church in Finland slowly grew from recipients to providers of aid.
In the 1960s, the wars in Vietnam and Biafra increased the solidarity of Western youth in particular toward the so-called third world, and even in Finland, support grew for the work of FCA. In the late 1960s, the FCA budget grew thanks to the Common Responsibility Campaign fund drive.
As the Finnish church has traditionally been close to many African countries, development cooperation concentrated on these countries in its early years. In the 1970s, FCA e.g. aided the studies of Namibian students in Finland with a scholarship programme.
A new stage in aid work began in the late 1980s, as the Soviet Union loosened its legislation on religion, and churches in the Baltic countries and in Ingria were allowed to commence the formerly forbidden youth and Sunday school work and diaconal work. The region became the focus of FCA’s aid work, educating parish employees, repairing churches, and building church halls.
Finn Church Aid became an independent foundation in 1995. Over the past ten years, the Finn Church Aid personnel has grown from about 40 to nearly 400, and FCA has become the biggest development cooperation organisation and the second biggest provider of humanitarian assistance in Finland.
Thanks to brave decisions, the work of FCA has garnered a lot of respect internationally. More and more international sponsors have faith in the quality of FCA’s work.
In 2013, the UN asked FCA to found the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, and in 2017, FCA was invited to the steering group of international education expert network INEE. In INEE, FCA develops education in emergencies in cooperation with Unicef, Unesco, and other giants of the branch.
”I think not everybody understands yet how much trust the UN, for example, places in FCA’s know-how on negotiating with tribes and religious groups,” says Antti Pentikäinen, currently on leave of absence from his work as Executive Director of FCA, and leader of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers in New York.
”A small Finnish organisation has been invited to renew the practices of the entire UN.”
In recent years, FCA has worked to find innovative new ways to help people. In Greece, for example, thousands of refugees live not in camps but in metropols like Athens.
To reach young refugees, coding workshops were devised, in which young refugees learn the basics of coding and image editing together with young Greeks. At the same time, they get to know each other and become friends, and the gap between cultures is bridged.
In the future, conflicts become more and more diverse and challenging. Climate change will increase extreme weather phenomena, which in turn increase the risk of natural disasters in many countries. Because of the changes, a record number of people have already been forced to leave their homes.
”I’m proud of the church and the Finnish people having an aid organisation that takes responsibility for the real problems of the present moment,” says Pentikäinen.
Text: Noora Jussila
Finn Church Aid (FCA) and The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers have shown that the time of elitist diplomacy is over. Peace processes often leave large parts of populations outside negotiations.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) continues to host the secretariat of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers after 2017. The selection for the period of 2018–2020 was unanimous.
The Network’s core group, consisting of Religions for Peace, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, International Dialogue Center (KAICIID) and FCA, made the decision on Tuesday in the United States.
The Executive Director of the Network, Mr. Antti Pentikäinen, saw the decision as a sign of trust.
“We have managed to create new ways of peace building with religious and traditional peacemakers”, Pentikäinen concludes.
FCA has a long history of working in the most fragile states, such as South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Somalia. Peace processes often leave large parts of populations outside negotiations, particularly youth, women, religious groups and people on the move. Sustainable peace is therefore difficult to achieve.
FCA has specialised in helping these groups reconcile with each other and connecting them with high level talks. As a result, UN asked FCA to establish the Network in 2013.
The Network and its partners have lately brokered peace in for instance Libya. The country lacks governmental structures, but the country’s powerful tribes have maintained relative peace in most of Libya after reconciling with each other through this work.
Tribal structures hold power in about 60 percent of Libya and are therefore vital for a sustainable peace. The tribes have also accepted the participation of women in reconciliation, and supported by the Network, the tribes have now been linked to the UN-led national peace process.
“Several peace practitioners acknowledge that we have passed the time of elitist diplomacy. They want to learn how to negotiate with groups, which are usually excluded from the negotiating table”, Pentikäinen says.
The Network’s and FCA’s work has also been recognised for collecting rare first hand data. Findings based on an unprecedented sample of interviews with former Boko Haram fighters were published last autumn, and the results raised interest in international media and among researchers. It was preceded by similar research conducted with Al Shabab fighters in 2014.
The Network has close to 50 members, including states and state-based organisations, regional bodies, academic institutions, and international and national non-governmental organisations.
Read more about the results of FCA’s work in our newly published annual report 2016 (pdf).
The National Dialogues Conference brought the world’s leading peacemakers to Helsinki for the third time.
Regional and local influences in dialogue processes formed an important part of the agenda in the third National Dialogues Conference HELD at the House of Estates in Helsinki on April 5th-6th. The conference was organised by CMI, Finn Church Aid, Felm and Common Space Initiative.
The event provided an ideal opportunity for stakeholders, experts and support actors to exchange ideas and experiences from various contexts.
“I think it’s important just to have that space where those who practice and work with national dialogues can meet each other and imagine what needs to be done in the future”, says Antti Pentikäinen, director of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
Pentikäinen says that the conference is an illustration of Finland’s commitment to peace building.
“I think that Finnish ownership and commitment to peace work is gradually increasing in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the NGO sector, and I’m very happy about it.”
Ahtisaari and Pohamba reunite again
Former president of Namibia Hifikepunye Pohamba. Photo: Tatu Blomqvist
One of the highlights of the conference was when the former Presidents of Finland and Namibia, Martti Ahtisaari and Hifikepunye Pohamba shared their experiences from the liberation of Namibia.
The two men know each other since the 1970’s. At that time the UN laid out its first plan for the independence of Namibia, and the friendship was instant due to mutual respect, said Ahtisaari.
The work of Ahtisaari and Pohamba culminated in Namibia’s independence in 1990.
“The Finns have shaped Namibia’s future a great deal”, said Pohamba.
When asked about what kind of qualities are required from a successful peace mediator, Ahtisaari concluded that a mediator has to be “stubborn as a mule”. Pohamba echoed this, and said that “you need to sit many times and discuss, again and again”.
“Internal conflicts cannot be solved by people outside the country, but by people within the country.”
FCA is the secretariat of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.
Read more about the meeting between Ahtisaari and Pohamba on CMI’s website.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) has been selected to be member of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Steering Group. Executive Director Jouni Hemberg is representing FCA in the board beginning from April 2017.
Education in emergency settings matters today more than ever. For instance natural disasters, the Syrian war and continuous crises in the Central African Republic and South Sudan have forced people to leave their homes, and schools have been closed or destroyed. As a result, millions of children and youth in conflict affected areas are out of school.
Right to Quality Education
- Finn Church Aid (FCA) improves quality learning in Education in Emergencies building on the knowhow of Finland’s highly trained teachers, strategic partnerships and ICT for development.
- Through Education in Emergencies, FCA provides access to learner-friendly and safe learning environments, and to quality learning opportunities for children, adolescent and youth.
- FCA promotes practical ways of ensuring the accessibility and quality of vocational education.
- FCA works in the field of education in emergencies in 9 countries as well as on a global level through e.g. INEE and the Education Cluster.
- Learn more about FCA’s education work here.
“In a crisis situation, getting schools up and running as fast as possible has remarkable significance for the safety and recovery of children and youth. Schools and the psychosocial support provided in schools can considerably help children and youth to restore a sense of normality, dignity and hope”, says Jouni Hemberg.
“FCA specialises in working with youth. There are many organisations focusing on children, but not as many focus on youth in particular. There’s also a rapidly growing need for vocational education. These are areas that FCA can bring added value to in the Steering Group and the work of INEE”, says Hemberg.
The Steering Group of INEE is comprised of UN agencies (UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF) as permanent members, as well as international non-governmental organisations and donor agencies that serve in four year periods. Steering Group members commit to promoting and advocating increased support for education in emergencies and recovery. They also play a role in seeking funding for INEE.
“The membership of INEE gives FCA an opportunity to influence the development of education from a global perspective”, Hemberg adds.
FCA has been a member of INEE’s Standards and Practice Working Group since 2015 and the network’s Advocacy Working Group since 2016. It has participated in developing practical tools and guidance to organisations that respond to education in emergencies.
A remarkable development work is currently taking place in developing guidance for integrating psychosocial support into education responses in crisis situations. This process will be finalised by the end of May.
“Currently, there‘s very little guidance on psychosocial support in the education sector. Yet, the teacher’s role is essential in improving the well-being of students and building resilience. In a crisis situation teachers themselves are also affected and need support to be able to improve the well-being of children and youth”, says Minna Peltola, Senior Adviser on Education at FCA.
INEE is a network of more than 12,000 individual members and 130 partner organisations in 170 countries. INEE serves its members through community building, advocating, and providing members with the resources and support they need to carry out their work on Education in Emergencies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland evaluated the work of six civil society organisations. Results are considered well in line with Finnish development policies, and FCA’s results are valued highly.
Finn Church Aid’s (FCA) work is described as innovative, effective and efficient in a new independent evaluation on civil society organisations (CSO) in development cooperation.
The evaluation ordered by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) was published on Tuesday. FCAs genuine presence in its programme countries and ability to deliver results in challenging contexts were valued highly.
The report also found that the work of FCA and other organisations does well in reaching vulnerable, poor and marginalised people, especially in fragile contexts. That’s well in line with Finnish development policies.
”MFA’s evaluation shows that the support for CSOs clearly has an impact”, says Executive Director of Finn Church Aid Jouni Hemberg.
“The work of CSOs plays a key role in enhancing opportunities to livelihoods, quality education and dignified lives of the most vulnerable people. Finland should continue supporting this valuable work.”
FCA has expertise and a comparative advantage in its three closely interlinked themes: Right to Quality Education, Right to Livelihood and Right to Peace.
The strong emphasis on linking learning to earning received particular praise in the report. The lives of programme participants had improved in for instance the Democratic Republic of Congo and Jordan.
True partnership and strong trust
FCA’s strong presence in its countries of operation and emphasis on fragile contexts ensure an in-depth understanding of the local contexts. This supports good coordination and relevant programming, according to the report.
Results also point out that FCA’s Country Offices work cost-effectively even in the most challenging circumstances. FCA is also considered able to share relevant, up-to-date information to partners and stakeholders in Finland, and advocate effectively on both local and international levels.
FCA’s partners evaluate their relationship to FCA as true partnership. FCA’s insistence on transparency and accountability both from itself and its partners builds trust within communities as well – even in areas controlled or influenced by radical groups. Donors value FCA for its ability and willingness to undertake innovative interventions in contexts where other actors are less present.
Humanitarian funding needs more flexibility
CSO’s strive to strengthen linkages between relief, rehabilitation and development. This objective could be supported by the MFA through multi-year funding instead of only funding one year at a time.
”The protracted crises of today demand long-term presence in order to ensure continuity and efficiency. The funding of humanitarian assistance should be more flexible”, Hemberg says.
The MFA evaluates a total of 22 organisations receiving its Programme Based Support in three parts. The first part was published in September 2016. The second part that was published this week included FCA and five other CSOs and focused on the period of 2010–2016.
Both reports acknowledged the efficiency of development cooperation and humanitarian assistance performed by CSOs.
For more information: Jouni Hemberg, Executive Director, Finn Church Aid, tel. + 358 50 325 9579