LIBERIA: LDS develops 5-year strategic plan
The Lutheran Development Service (LDS) in Liberia has concluded a workshop on its next five-year strategic plan of action.
The 5-year strategic plan workshop was aimed at reviewing its past activities, challenges and successes.
Participants at the Lutheran Development Service Strategic Planning workshop
The strategic planning workshop looked at partnership and networking, enhanced improvement and growth.
It also focused on service delivery and man power development.
According to authorities at the Lutheran Development Service, challenges facing program implementation were also considered in the three-day strategic planning discussion.
The LDS also reviewed its strategic directions including the organization’s advocacy and public engagement on human rights, WATSAN, climate change, agriculture and food security.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the workshop over the weekend, the Executive Director of the Lutheran Development Service, Joseph Binda said his entity has been working in some thematic areas such as microfinance for empowerment, agriculture/food security, and capacity building, among others.
Mr. Binda also said LDS has been working in the areas of emergency response and disaster preparedness.
He said the workshop provided the platform for LDS to review its activities in these areas especially in Nimba, Bong, Margibi and Lofa Counties, with respect to LDS’ mission statement, vision and core values.
He said the review of the Lutheran Development Service activities is intended to put the entity into position to perform in line with existing realities.
Mr. Binda noted that some of the issues that came up during the three-day strategic plan workshop include agriculture/food security and land issue.
Participants at the Lutheran Development Service Strategic Planning workshop
For her part, the Board Chairman of the Lutheran Development Service, Madam Esther Thomas said any organization that does not plan will certainly fail.
Madam Thomas said the workshop has provided the opportunity for the LDS to know the path to thread upon during its activities.
The LDS Board Chair said the workshop helped the organization to review its present status taking into consideration achievements and the way forward.
Also speaking, the lead facilitator of the workshop, Dayugar Johnson said during the discussions a number of challenges surfaced, but key amongst them was sustainability.
Mr. Johnson said the issue of sustainability came up at two levels, sustaining the organization as a body and sustaining project s in communities.
The facilitator stressed that the issue of sustainability came up at the discussion because it was not considered in past activities of the Lutheran Development Service programs.
