SALT visits to keep the interest of team members
24 August, Nairobi
Eight members of Kenya Competence Trust (KCT) met in Nairobi to connect and share the progress of Community Life Competence in Kenya. The team is blooming as several partnerships, like with Life in Abundance (LIA), were completed successfully and many opportunities are awaiting in the pipeline. The KCT team also regularly does SALT visits together, for the purpose of learning as a team.
Team members developed a self-assessment based on their vision for the team. The following picture shows the reflections on where the team is now:
Key functions include:
• SALT (stimulating & connecting local responses)
• Capacity Development (local, organisational and team)
• Learning & Sharing (source of inspiration & partnership development)
• Organisational change (Documenting/measuring/sharing outcomes
Conducting regular SALT visits as a team is one key component of KCT. Team members try to meet once or twice a month to do SALT visits together, discuss their concerns and ways forward. Here is what Myrna Maglahus, coordinator of the facilitation team in the Philippines, said after meeting Meble Birengo, from 
KCT: “Meble said that doing SALT visits alone as a team can do a lot in keeping the interest of members. It doesn't matter how many members per team, as long as it is a team, learning together. And along the way, we can invite other members (new, old and even non-members) to join us in the visits. We have to keep in mind that when we do SALT visits, we are there because we want to learn - not because we have a project and would like to initiate a collaboration. The collaboration is just secondary.”
During the meeting, facilitators agreed to stimulate at least 2 SALT visits in each of the 4 regions over the next 6 months. They keep KCT posted so that opportunities can be shared with national partners. The SALT visits were grouped around key themes like Mobile Populations, organizations with workplace programmes, Orphans and Vulnerable Children/Youth and income generating activities.
Kenya Competence Trust is successfully implementing several partnerships. With Life in Abundance (LIA) and Women Against AIDS in Uganda (WAA), the team did a successful baseline survey. The next support visit to WAA will take place early September. KCT will introduce the Human Capacity for Development/ SALT process to Tenwek and from September onwards they will accompany the new facilitators for one year. Tenwek is a church hospital that also facilitates various community development and health initiatives. Several opportunities of partnerships are emerging with organizations like VSO, IIRR, FPFK, World Vision, Child Fund and Plan International.