Report of the General Meeting on 1 to 3 April 2011

Following an invitation by Natalie Zaiss and Jean-Christophe Dalka, active members of the FMF met up in the idyllic Au bei Freiburg in Natalie's home to discuss common goals and activities for the upcoming six months.

Friday: Environmentally-friendly arrival by sharing a "Baden Württemberg Ticket" - the logistical brainchild of Jean-Christophe. The excellent catering of our kitchen team Gregor and Kerstin and a night walk contributed towards a good spirit in which the members could get to know each other.

Saturday: As planned, at the strike of 11 A.M., the official part of the encounter began. After everyone presented his or her connection to the project, they were invited to a game of "speed dating" on the following topics: life zest, passion, soft spots and motivation to being involved in the organisation. Afterwards we were surprised by a Skype-conference with Nosiku and nine further members of the MCOP. It evoked great expectations and hope on both sides of the line. Jean-Christophe gave us a very professional outline of the Mmabana Foundation's young history and explained the organisation's structure to us. Then our experienced kitchen team managed to prove their culinary skills once over: Pasta Napoli, a German student's classic; in short: Spaghetti with tomato sauce.

After having cleared our minds with a spring walk, we returned to the day's tasks. The afternoon proved itself as very engaging and dynamic; creative and innovative project ideas were developed. After a thorough brain storming session, we arranged our ideas and distributed the tasks amongst ourselves: who shall take care of which project idea until when? We settled on a deadline of four weeks during which we would send out inquiries and set up detailed plans so that we may draw nearer to realising our ideas. This was followed by an informative schooling (our very first members' coaching!) by our IT-specialist Simon, a.k.a. Schaufi, who explained to us how to use internet platforms like "huddle" and "Adrive". These tools should facilitate in the cooperation and communication of the team. Eventually the existing teams were rearranged to new groups, to which specific task fields were assigned.

The weekend ended on a high note with guitars sounding to the beat of drums around a camp fire, a relaxed breakfast on Sunday morning and cleaning up together.