YWAM - MERCY RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT OPERATING PRINCIPLES 

Youth with a Mission –Mercy Relief and Development exists to serve poor and needy people as a way of demonstrating God’s unconditional love and concern for all. We value the individual as we recognise we are all made in God’s image, we therefore affirm his/her dignity and self worth by emphasis on relationships as a key principle; we respect and obey the laws and customs of the country in which we operate.As an organization, we have the following principles to ensure focus and give guidelines to our activities:  

Regard for the Poor:

All activities will address the needs of the poor and impoverished. YWAM will seek to involve those poor in every stage of the project in order to empower them to overcome their own difficulties.  We do recognize however that there will always be some who require special assistance. We will therefore try raising awareness in every community of the need to care for those who are disadvantaged and marginalized for whatever reason.

Participation           

YWAM-MRDA seeks the participation of local communities in every stage of the project. The initial needs assessment will be done using Participatory Tools in order  to have as wide an input from the community as possible. When projects are identified, YWAM will seek the participation from the direct beneficiaries in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating projects.  

Local Ownership of Projects           

The local communities and beneficiaries are the owners of any project that YWAM is involved with. We will seek to find the most appropriate project partners and work closely with them to enhance planning, management and monitoring skills that will ensure the project’s success and increase their capacity for planning, managing, and monitoring other projects. We will also seek to create partnerships with government organizations and other like minded international organizations. 

Local Contribution

For every project we expect a local contribution. This helps ensure a greater sense of ownership and responsibility. This contribution can be in cash as well as in kind and in labor. We expect to whereever possible use local resources and are committed to using local knowledge and expertise. 

Transparency in Finances

YWAM promotes financial transparency. Budgets are planned in detail with community participation. Everyone is aware of where the money comes from and exactly what it will be spent on. All spending is in accordance with the project budget and to the project plan. If any changes are made to this then these changes must be agreed to in writing by both YWAM and the local Board of Management. All receipts are checked against actual prices and everything is reported back to the community. Each month bank statements are checked and balanced against the receipts and any petty cash by both the local Board of Management and the YWAM project officer. Recognized international accounting firms will perform annual financial audits. Accountability and integrity will transcend all actions and activities. 

Transparency in Decision Making

Decision making is another area where we promote transparency. The beneficiaries and other members of the community need to understand why certain decisions have been made. This is particularly important when it comes to selecting project beneficiaries, construction companies, or prioritizing of places to begin work. Clear criteria will be set up to aid the selection process, so everyone can see why some were chosen over others. 

Sustainability

All projects will endeavor to be self-sustainable; so that when the project is finished the results will be maintained and developed further by the beneficiaries and community leaders.