One of the ideas that inspired the creation of Changemakers 365 was Immediate Service Delivery. It was submitted to ARC’s worldwide staff ideas competition – The Changemakers Award – a few years back. While it didn’t win, we thought it was terrific. And we carried the spirit of the idea forward in Changemakers 365.
Here’s the gist. A lot of ARC’s work is spent on big, long projects. These are projects we’ve planned months in advance with very specific budgets, each dollar earmarked and spoken for. It’s critical work, but the the problem is it leaves little room to respond to emergent needs. If something comes up and someone needs help that’s not already allotted for from a budget, a special request must be made to our institutional donors. The process can take awhile. Immediate service delivery is all about cutting out the waiting time. And getting people what they need, right when they need it.
On Day 267, we wanted to make immediate service delivery a reality in Kyangwali. So we purchased a supply of mattresses, blankets, saucepans, cups, plates, and bowls. We distributed some of them to families and individuals who had come to Kyangwali recently and had been waiting to receive these kinds of items.
“Food without a cooking pan is useless, now we have the energy to hunt for food,” said Mary who received one of the saucepans.
After distributing the items, we had enough left to make the dream of immediate service delivery happen. The pots, pans, mattresses, blankets and more will all be stored in the ARC office. When they’re needed – the moment they’re needed – we will be able to give them to them.
