The Middle East Committee of the Act Alliance Forum in the Second Day of Its Annual Meeting
How to Develop Work Mechanisms and Enhance Humanitarian Services
The Middle East Committee of the Act Alliance Forum continued its annual meeting on a second day, on Monday 24 October 2022, in Amman, Jordan. Attendees were 27 participants from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt, representing local, regional and international organizations members of ACT Alliance, including the Middle East Council of Churches which was the coordinator for the Administrative Committee of the Middle East and North Africa Forum for this year.
The second day’s activities started with an opening Prayer by Rev. Imad Haddad, from the Lutheran Church. Then, participants presented the humanitarian and development activities they implemented in the countries and regions in which they work. Afterwards, a general discussion session was held and focused on the Ecumenical Diakonia topic and how to develop the work mechanisms among the Act Alliance’s members and Churches in each country.
Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, member of the ACT Administrative Board for the Middle East and North Africa, made an intervention in which she explained that lack of work coordination between members cannot achieve the desired results. She also presented examples inspired by a painting in which colors scatter without any meaning or significance although all colors are in the painting. She mentioned that colors represent the members and the painting’s footer is the field in which humanitarian organizations work. Rev. Nasrallah added that seeds also need fertile land to give the healthiest fruits. Mr. Dick Loendersloot, from the Church of the Netherlands, also participated in the session, and made an intervention on the topic at hand, which was followed by a discussion session and exchange of experiences.
Then, another discussion session was held and centered around positioning, helping national parties to work through partners rather than directly with international parties. In fact, this seminar constituted an opportunity to share experiences and opinions between all boards on the topic at hand, as well as the challenges they are facing as local parties which have sustainable field work, in their regions of services.
The other sessions tackled various administrative topics, in addition to a general assessment and exchanging point of views on the date and location of the meeting next year. The Jordan meeting ended with a Prayer by Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah, from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Beirut.
