ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how a country branch of an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) utilizes partnership in designing and implementing its work against poverty. ActionAid Ethiopia (AAE) is one of more than 300 officially registered NGOs operating in Ethiopia. These organizations are of both local and international origin and religious as well as secular orientation. Many of them have forged collaborative partnerships with local communities, traditional local institutions, and government organizations. AAE's parent organization is the third-largest United Kingdom-based international NGO, with a presence in more than thirty countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. AAE's stated mission is to work, in collaboration with propoor partners and directly with poor and marginalized people, to eradicate absolute poverty and improve social equity. AAE is the sole financer of WISE's programs, but also supports WISE by making its training programs available to WISE members, sponsoring attendance at national and international training programs, and by providing logistical support.
