For two days this May, Blumont’s Baghdad program staff and their support teams gathered for their first capacity building workshop this year, put on by the Blumont Monitoring and Evaluation Department in Iraq.
“What is the value of 50,000 Iraqi Dinar (IQD)?” The trainer showed a newly issued 50,000 IQD and asked the participants to think about its value before and after he crumpled the currency in his hand. All the answers were the same, “It is 50,000 IQD.” The trainer responded, “Humanity is the value when dealing with IDPs and doesn’t change based on the IDPs’ circumstances.”
As part of the training, participants designed proposals to explain their expectations for the capacity building workshop. One participant said, “We sometimes need firm leadership.” Another added, “The secret of success is a constant optimism.”
The workshop involved Blumont staff who work in camp management, and the goal was to improve their ability to support the management of the camps in which they operate. Through this capacity building workshop the management capacity of the participants was strengthened, which will directly enhance their performance and provide more accountability and greater outcomes during implementation of the projects they service. Additionally, the workshop provided guidance for Blumont staff to cover areas of weakness and fill gaps in their work. The staff gained skills which will help them better manage their work activities and enhance their communication with other local and international organizations or IDPs.
Ali Tahseen, Team Leader of Salah al Din Camps, expressed her idea of good time management, saying, “It’s a plane! It can take us to good places but it needs a good pilot to avoid turbulence and take us in for a safe landing at the end of the project.”
Ammar Nathem, Technical Engineer in Al Khalidiya Camp, said, “The most important part for me was sharing good impressions with each other, this will build a high level of confidence between the team members.”
Another participant, Ayia Ali, Protection Officer in Al Khalidiya Camps, expressed how happy she was to take part and how lively the workshop was, especially in terms of the trainer’s knowledge and information exchange and engagement between the participants. She added, “After this workshop, I believe that relationship will improve through obtaining good communication skills.”
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