Building Relationships

No Strings works through local partner organisations who are already focused on delivering education programmes to key audiences around a given issue.

The organisations have a strong sense of ownership; they both advise on the content of a film during its development, and then take the films around the regions they're based to highlighted groups.

No Strings also runs workshops for these partners, which focus both on the content of the films, and creative means to really engage children during the film sessions, using hand puppets and snappy learning exercises.

While we work with many organisations, the following are examples of some of the key ongoing partnerships we have formed.

Trocaire

Trocaire, a leading Irish NGO, has become a very important partner for No Strings in a highly successful relationship that continues to develop and grow.

A joint Council of Europe award to No Strings and Trocaire was announced at the end of 2008, where our Tales of Disasters programme won the World Aware Education Award, to be formally received at ceremony to place later this year.

Trocaire not only co-funded production and in-country costs for the Tales of Disasters programme, but it has given its full support to the roll-out of the series in the Philippines, including the making of an additional film for the region on cyclones.

No Strings has partnered with Trocaire again for a series of three HIV / AIDS-related films for children and communities in sub-Saharan Africa dealing with stigma, prevention and gender equality messages.

OMAR

No Strings has worked with OMAR from the start of our landmine-awareness programme, and the organisation has so far been solely responsible for the distribution of the ChucheQhalin film around the Kabul area, using media bikes donated by eRanger, through regular school visits, and via its own television channel.

Founded in 1990, the Organisation for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation is one of the most experienced mine clearance NGOs operating in Afghanistan. It also runs education, health care and rehabilitation projects with separate staff and budget, the distribution of the ChucheQhalin film and follow-up activities being of special importance to them.

eRanger

No Strings has teamed with the UK-based Ranger Production Company to supply off-road cinema bikes to Afghanistan, which are used to help disseminate the No Strings landmine-awareness film, ChucheQhalin.

Watching the bikes approach their school is a special experience for Afghan children. For staff at OMAR (see above), their popularity lies in the fact that they know in advance that power will be available through the bikes' own self-contained generators, equipment is always good, and that groups of up to 250 people will comfortably be able to see the film over the large cinema screen that pulls out from the special sidecar.

Two additional bikes, donated by the Erach & Roshan Sadri Foundation, arrived in December 2008 to increase the scope of the programme.

Demonstrations can take place outside, where makeshift tenting creates shade in strong sunlight, or in classrooms, with the screen and projector taken inside, and fed through cables from the generator in the sidecar.

OMAR has been delighted with the eRanger bikes, and is keen to expand the programme as far as possible. When security permits, around 1,000 beneficiaries have been shown the film a week using just two of the media bikes.

The Ranger Production Company manufactures various sidecar units that have educational and life-saving functions in South Africa, and is supported by Nelson Mandela.

From top: Kim Wallis of Trocaire with Johnie McGlade, No Strings, and the three main puppet characters from the Tales of Disasters films; eRanger's Ian Avery and Mike Norman with interpreter during a No Strings field visit to Kabul, Afghanistan; an OMAR presentation of ChucheQhalin using the eRanger cinema bike unit

Credits: Clare Allen, Ash Sweeting