On three cold winters' days in July 1999, the Quaker Peace Centre met in a hall in Kirstenbosch gardens to work out a shared understanding of its vision and mission. Heaters were spun out like spider webs — creating enclaves of radiating warmth around the room. In many ways, this scene symbolised our vision.

Our work is founded on the human hope that glows in spite of the view that South Africa is filled only with crime, poverty, HIV/AIDS, corruption, violence and lack of delivery. But it is important to account for these icy truths at a time of strategic planning. Our twenty-five projects, like the islands of warmth in the room, were connected to each other, and all working together to make a difference.

These three days proved to be a turning point for the organisation. We realised the synergy of our programmes and reached a greater understanding of our role in communicating their values.

We developed an internal mission statement to which we committed ourselves and which we will review regularly. This will act as the blueprint to guide our practices and interactions with each other.

We do not see ourselves becoming a large service provider, but as catalysts, developing models of best practice which we will refine through projects and training manuals. We want to extend our influence and multiply our impact by training trainers, mobilising communities and creating support groups. We envisage a greater role for advocacy and lobbying as we strive to institutionalise our models. We will cooperate with others in strategic partnerships as we seek to attain common goals of peace and development.

Our particular strategic niche is providing peace and conflict resolution processes that are an underlying precondition for effective development. We will focus on projects in the Western Cape, but through documenting and sharing our models of projects and training, we hope to reach beyond the province to the country, region and continent.

Judy Frew, Jeremy Routledge
and Martin Struthmann

QPC Strategic Planning Workshop 1999 with Dirk Marais facilitating

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