ICROSS strategic plan for drought Kenya 2011

The International Community for relief of starvation and suffering works with tribal groups to find long term solutions to poverty and disease.
Our teams and planners are from the communities. Our public health research has made a contribution to International health for thirty years. ICROSS strives to constantly improve its programmes and the way in which we work. We are constantly improving our operations and management.
ICROSS is an International development organization that was founded to bring about lasting changes in health. We work closely with communities, civil society and partners in building long term health care. We are establishing new support groups in other countries as part of our International strategy.

While our Strategic plan details our corporate governance there are key areas of governance that we are prioritising in 2011-2016.
Vision

Our long term strategy as outlined in our five year plan embrace the vision and aspirations of the Millennium development goals building on the values, leadership and cultural structures of African people. The vision of ICROSS places emphasis on the National development framework developed in Africa by Africans.

Africanisation

We are proud that since 2001 all ICROSS programmes were completely managed by Africans. All project managers, supervisors, trainers, field teams and community staff are African. While these teams provide learning opportunities for Intern and volunteer partnerships, the Africanisation of all projects has been a vital component of the success and continuity of the programmes.
Gender

ICROSS is an equal opportunities NGO. As part of our Gender policy, we have actively recruited women into senior management positions. The majority of Project managers and field co ordinators are women, the great majority of field staff are women. ICROSS focuses all its core programme development on gender.
Ownership

Programmes are not owned or driven by donors but by local communities.
Whose Reality

As part of corporate accountability ICROSS places the beliefs, values, cultural structures and hopes of the local people at the centre of planning, decision making and planning. With a strong inclusion policy and partnership in local language we work towards programmes that have their roots in local communities.
Transparency

As part of our policy of accountability to our donors ICROSS continually strives to improve its financial systems and procedures.
With rural projects scattered across geographical areas larger than Ireland there are challenges to ensure best practices and accountability of resources in Africa. ICROSS and our donors undertake frequent internal and external audits with Annual external audits or all programmes.

As part of continual improvements and strengthening of the organization, we conducted external organization and management reviews and have recently commissioned a comprehensive financial review of all financial systems, structures procedures and operations.
Our commitment is to best practices of transparency and collective accountability. ICROSS insists on the highest standards from its entire staff as well as ensuring due diligence and the highest work ethics. Our code of conduct is based upon international gold standards and ensures not only equality and ethics but transparency and integrity.
External audits and comprehensive financial records are available to partners including Governments through our national offices.
Management

Apart of corporate governance ICROSS continues to profesionalise and strengthen its management teams. All management of field programmes is executed by senior staff with at least ten years operational field experience. We are in the process of reviewing management structures in the face of recent expansion of all programmes.
Staff

We have a staff policy based upon the local regulations, laws and norms. ICROSS is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on any grounds.
Advice & Consultation

ICROSS has a team of advisors and skilled specialists that it regularly consults on specific areas of International development. All advisors have at least a decade of experience working in underdeveloped countries while most are currently in operational settings. All ICROSS advisors are highly qualified specialists in their field of expertise with the latest knowledge and information.
This helps ICROSS in its strategic planning and evidence based strategic development.

As part of its international collaboration and team , work ICROSS designs all its international research in close partnership with peer review collaborators.
More Information is Available Concerning Our Corporate Governance

In developing our corporate policies we seek to create a dynamic forward-looking organisation that will be able to respond to emerging challenges and needs in a rapidly changing world. Together with our partners, we are moving forward embracing new ideas and innovative approaches, learning from the wisdom and experience of the past. We are building on evidence and introducing fresh, exciting ideas and directions. Our vision of a better world inspires us, our mission focuses us, and our shared goals unite us. With effective planning, transparency, and clear direction, we will be able to really create lasting change. As part of this process our international advisory board is made up of a wide range of professionals across many disciplines.

http://icrossinternational.org/
www.icross-africa.net
http://icrosskenya.org/
http://icrossprojects.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/ICROSSprojects

Philip Sironka
Head Communication ICROSS
We are a small international organisation working to fight poverty and disease in the poorest parts of the world. For over 25 years we have worked with tribes in East Africa fighting disease. Health professionals work with local communities in long term development and health programmes.

ICROSS works with the resources, capabilities and capacities of poor marginalised communities seeking to strengthen their capacity to improve their own health and livelihoods through the rights based approaches of participation, inclusion and community empowerment processes. ICROSS has fully documented its vast experience in disease prevention and control amongst these disadvantaged communities. This experience is informing national and international best practice on critical areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention, home-based care for those infected with HIV/AIDS and succession planning for orphans and vulnerable children.

Our values include living as equals among those we work with and for, learning their languages and culture, inculcating a respect for diversity of beliefs and dedicating ourselves to long-term commitment to the poor, those who are socially excluded and those who are victims of social injustice.

People in the communities are empowered to take full responsibility for the changes and developments that drive the development of ICROSS. Community participation starts right from needs identification through implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Communities, families and individuals are involved in all decisions that impact, however remotely, upon their lives.

ICROSS believes that the most effective vehicle for development work is the communities' own belief systems and traditions. People have the right to choose and the right to plan their own future, consequently, anthropological research is a key part of our work.
ICROSS Concept

ICROSS is much more than just an organisation working in Africa. ICROSS is a concept, an idea, a set of values, which is shared and advocated by a large and evolving international community. The three decades ICROSS has operated in Africa has taught us the importance of these values and in a world where political, religious and socio-economic agendas play an ever more important role in the aid industry, ICROSS has uniquely, and with instinct, refrained from giving up its values and beliefs.

The values of ICROSS derive from something as simple as caring for our brothers and sisters; assist them out of and prevent them from suffering, without an agenda other than genuinely wanting to assist. We assist them through their own people, their languages, their traditions and existing political and belief systems with a sincere admiration and respect for their cultures.

By listening to the people whom we assist and develop programmes according to their needs and in their presence, rather than our wishes in an office far from their reality, the communities we serve, gain a sense of ownership. This is a real ownership not a donor driven or foreign idea. The feeling of ownership is crucial in any development work; it reduces possible constraints and limitations of a programme and ensures success, cost effectiveness and more importantly sustainability. ICROSS assists communities to facilitate themselves out of affliction.

ICROSS has over the years, scientifically shown, that what we do works. Our values and evidence based approach has ensured that even as a small, bottom-up, grass-root operating organisation, we have gained international respect among politicians, religious leaders, and academics around the world, who among thousands of others, make up the international community of ICROSS. ICROSS actually has the poor, donors and Government represented on our board of Directors, it is transparent and shares new ideas.

This international community is the driving force behind ICROSS as an idea. The humanitarian work of ICROSS stretches far beyond our programmes in Africa. ICROSS is within anyone who genuinely wants to care and assist others with love, respect and understanding. ICROSS as an idea is growing dynamically and with your help could reach more people.
Disclaimer

This is the official web site of the International Community for Relief of Starvation and Suffering. ICROSS is a Kenyan based International NGO founded by Dr Michael Meegan. The projects, research, initiatives and work are operated, managed and run by ICROSS Kenya.

This web site, its contents, programmes and images are the sole property of ICROSS Kenya and no other entity by the same name has any involvement or ownership of these programmes or this web site.

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Please note that all partners, stakeholders and International Advisory board as well as the co-founder Dr. J Barnes working with ICROSS Kenya have no association with any other entity in regard to our programmes or this web site. All reports, research, publications, information and data available are the sole property of and represents ICROSS Kenya and no other entity. No other person or persons may present or claim any of this material or data.
Contact Us
Address


ICROSS International Head Office
ICROSS, PO 507 Ngong Hills, Kenya