The ecumenical partnership was the basis of this cooperation from the start. Partnerships must deal with these existing problems responsibly, and search for suitable solutions. On the contrary, the partner Churches and their organisations in the respective countries, are better qualified to provide a service to the poor in their own country.
Local participation is important for the effective use of development funds.
The Churches and societies in southern and eastern countries claim the right to decide for themselves. This gives Christians in the North the chance to start a dialogue with them, in which questions about church negotiations in the northern churches must be asked. In the last decades, many ecumenical partnerships have flourished at very different levels of the Church, because this dialogue has made them possible. Sponsorship programmes at parish or church levels come alive not least from the actions and initiatives of individuals in building a church partnership overseas. Very often, study trips in southern countries provide the impulse for these partnerships.