Projects managers from across the Pacific come together for a workshop

Br Allen Sherry and Mr Ashley Bulgarelli from Marist Solidarity (Australia), conducted a workshop on “Effective Funding for Mission” for Brothers and Lay from across the District of the Pacific.  The meeting was held at the Pacific Noviciate in Lomeri, Fiji,6-7 March.  Eleven Marist project managers attended from Fiji, Kiribati, New Zealand and Samoa. The facilitators were invited by the District of the Pacific leadership team to commence a more formal relationship with the District’s projects. 

The two-day workshop started with an introduction to Marist Solidarity of Australia and to the newly developing arm – Marist Volunteers Australia, which included school immersions. Fiji currently hosts four immersion groups each year whilst Kiribati and Samoa are working towards immersions later in the year.

The workshop then moved onto types of funders, project cycle management and then onto the 14 step project proposal writing methodology. Each countries representatives were grouped together as they focused on a real-life project in their school and how to write a strong proposal for this project. It was especially useful for many of the younger Brothers who were new to these processes and to services offered by Marist Solidarity of Australia.

There were many positive outcomes to arise from the workshop and has given these project managers the tools to access funding and develop their projects.