The Devil is in the Details

Day two of the Arequipa Connect Confernece and our fears of a transportation strike never truly lived up to there dreaded expectations. Rather, our start time was delayed by a an hour and we were forced to talk over the cacophony of protesting marchers bounding their drums and blowing their whistles just outside of the conference hall. That was only subtle distraction to the tremendous work that went on between the conference participants on day two of our Arequipa Connect event.

Our day started with a presentation from Mr. Daniel Bachhuber about the data gathered at the end of day one of the conference. Mr. Bachhuber described the overwhelming interest that conference participants expressed in furthering the concept of a coalition (89% of conference participants submitting a completed survey indicated their interest in creating further collaboration). The data from the survey also supported the strong feelings on the part of the conference participants to share their resources - with 100% of the surveys reporting interest in resource, equipment and professional sharing. Surprisingly 41% of the survey respondents indicated that they would be interested in meeting monthly, with another 24% interested in quarterly meetings. All and all Mr. Bachhuber's report gave great credence to the need for a coalition building conference.

Following Daniel's presentation, the group listened to a report from Mr. Brian Piecuch on a small independent study HBI and MMI commissioned to determine patient’s satisfactions with health care services in the Arequipa area. Mr. Piecuch's presentation and accompanying video were very elucidating to all of the conference participants - as many of the stereotypes commonly held about the Peruvian Healthcare system were not identified as problems by the 150 randomly questioned for the surveyed. In fact, the number one complaint patients had with the healthcare services they received (we collapsed the services into 3 categories - MINSA, EsSalud and private clinics and providers) was the "wait time" necessary to receive care. Less than 5% of the patients polled felt that costs or poor equipment and facilities was an issue for their receiving services.

The report from Mr. Piecuch helped to structure the context of the conversations in our morning conference sessions. Our morning workshops focused on identifying the issues and challenges facing the organizations represented at the conference. The goal from this level of discussions was to chart out a set of common concerns that were endemic or critical to the needs of NGOs working in the Arequipa area in the healthcare sector. Remarkably - everyone seemed to share a common set of concerns: issues with customs, issues attracting and retaining volunteer providers (Peruvian, North American and others) and the poor communication amongst other organizations working in the healthcare sector.

Our afternoon sessions were moderated by Mr. Ken Kraybill and built on the exercises from day one of the conference. During a 2-hour session participants were asked to break into groups of 5 people and to identify a problem, strategize around a potential solution to the problem and then identify the critical steps necessary to the actualization of a solution. The exercise required that the groups work within the "consensus model" of decision making (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making) and that they follow a few prescribed steps - identifying a facilitator for their discussions, designating a time keeper, and appointing a note taker. After the groups worked on their projects for a little under an hour - we reconvened the entire conference to process the exercise.

It became very clear early on in the discussion session that conference participants were excited (almost anxious) to begin the formal process of developing a coalition. With a vote and the appointment of a facilitator for the next meeting - a coalition of NGOs working together in the Arequipa area was born.

The "Groupo Connectado Arequipa (GCA)" will convene their first formal meeting on 09 February 2009. The next steps for forming the coalition will be firmly in the domain of the newly developed GCA and will more than likely take shape in the next couple of months. HBI and MMI will continue to provide technical support with help in meeting facilitation and oversight in the development of an on-line communication tool (Mr. Daniel Bachhuber has graciously offered to spearhead this project); but the new coalition strongly belongs to its new member constituents.

One thing is for certain - when you put a group of spirited, passionate and creative people into a room together for two days . . . GREAT things happen. Stay tuned to this BlogSpot for ongoing updates about the new Groupo Connectado Arequipa coalition and their burgeoning process of development.

HBI is proud to have partnered with MMI on this historic event. We look forward to future conferences that work to create bridges between groups and organizations bringing desperately needed health and social services to the poor.