Saturday, June 16, 2007
Greetings from Zambia. It's hard to know what details of my foreign lifestyle to fill you all in on, considering I rarely get to update the blog. I could fill endless pages with observations and wonderment of my life in the village. I can only say that I am continually challenged and humbled by the ups and downs of my work and everyday life. Work is really picking up, I've had a slue of meetings with my Neighborhood Health Committee and other communities as well. It's been very difficult for me to communicate to my community why I'm here in Zambia and what my work entails. Naturally they see me as a miracle worker coming from the land of opportunity and it's heartbreaking for me to have to tell them that I can't build their bridge or fund their schools. On the other hand it's beautiful to have them be so excited and thankful for my presence, and to merely watch them take joy in my attempt to live a Zambian life. I'm getting used to the laid back lifestyle of a Zambian village; my meetings usually start from half an hour to an hour late. People usually trickle in throughout and I'm never quite sure who's going to show up. Sometimes I have 15 village kids sitting in wonderment as to what I'm saying. At the end of every meeting, my communities love to teach me a new aspect of their culture, which usually involves cooking a local dish. My latest venture was homemade peanutbutter, called ichikonko in Bemba. It involves shelling, roasting, peeling, and pounding ground nuts. It's quite exciting to see a peanut transform into butter. My villagers always laugh at joy when I try to participate in the culture. I'm still getting used to life in the village, though I've been able to establish a routine and I'm excited to become more familiar with the groups I'm working with and really progress with them.
I'm really starting to make my mud hut feel like a home. Though I still get bombarded with critters. It's amazing how cockroaches don't phase me anymore, where as I would have been horrified before to find one sharing my living space. I had to remove 2 tarantulas from my hut just last week, and had to get a village kid to help me with a giant spider who happened to be on the inside of my mosquito net (which is a definite faux pax and a no-no). The village kids come in handy quite often, and luckily they're never too far away. I cemented the floors of my hut last month, and I've never been so excited about....cement. It cuts my dust intake in half so my lungs are much happier! Not to mention a significant cutback on ants and termites. Termites, by the way, I have found to be incredible creatures. They work at an incredible rate, have mounds that are six feet high, and are often eaten as a local dish. I sometimes come home to find termite tunnels popping up all over my hut. My snake sitings have risen to 4! I am doing surprisingly well at handling the encounters. I've only had one near my hut and again, the Iwes (children) came to my rescue. It's hard to imagine not sharing a space with a crawly creature or two.
I want to thank everyone for their letters and love. One of my favorite things to do after the sun sets is to read letters by candle light when I get lonely in my village. Thank you for taking time to share this adventure with me and for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. This experience continues to be enriching and is pushing me to lengths I never could have imagined. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity I have to serve and I am strengthened by the thoughts of friends and family at home. Until next time, Lisa.
I'm really starting to make my mud hut feel like a home. Though I still get bombarded with critters. It's amazing how cockroaches don't phase me anymore, where as I would have been horrified before to find one sharing my living space. I had to remove 2 tarantulas from my hut just last week, and had to get a village kid to help me with a giant spider who happened to be on the inside of my mosquito net (which is a definite faux pax and a no-no). The village kids come in handy quite often, and luckily they're never too far away. I cemented the floors of my hut last month, and I've never been so excited about....cement. It cuts my dust intake in half so my lungs are much happier! Not to mention a significant cutback on ants and termites. Termites, by the way, I have found to be incredible creatures. They work at an incredible rate, have mounds that are six feet high, and are often eaten as a local dish. I sometimes come home to find termite tunnels popping up all over my hut. My snake sitings have risen to 4! I am doing surprisingly well at handling the encounters. I've only had one near my hut and again, the Iwes (children) came to my rescue. It's hard to imagine not sharing a space with a crawly creature or two.
I want to thank everyone for their letters and love. One of my favorite things to do after the sun sets is to read letters by candle light when I get lonely in my village. Thank you for taking time to share this adventure with me and for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. This experience continues to be enriching and is pushing me to lengths I never could have imagined. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity I have to serve and I am strengthened by the thoughts of friends and family at home. Until next time, Lisa.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Lisa's Friends Visit Her!
Some of Lisa's dear friends (college crowd that she went to Europe with, Guatemala with, lived with in college and later all moved to Seattle for the past year are teaching in Kenya and recently took a 5 day train ride to visit her. Here is their note that I thought you might like to read.
Sandy...
.we are back in Kenya... lamenting our departure from your darling daughter. we love her so soooo insanely much and words simply do not do justice to the amazing experience we had with her. she is healthy and let me TELL YOU has a village that is FANTASTIC. villagers stopping by her hut left and right to offer to fix this, or build that. they are so proud to have her there. her view is STUNNING and we can't wait to get you pictures somehow... or as soon as possible... (may have to be June). the first night we got there we stayed up till 430 talking... please rest easy know how excited the community is to have her there and how willing and present they are. she has a momentous task ahead of her indeed. one that is challenging becuase of the intangibility of the results.... but ulitmately she is the right person to be first generation in a site. she is motivated. we think that africa is going to be really good for lisa. she is going to come back in two years and be soooo relaxed. it is just about impossible to be uptight here... you can't and don't really need to stress about time and such.. so, great. :) we love you and spoke often of how much we love you.. you are so fun! thanks for bring our friend into the world. our lives are better becuase of her... and soooo many others. i know you are so proud.... know that we love YOU and can't wait to see you again soon sometime when we are not galavanting across the world :) love love love courtnae, ada and lori--
"We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between "master" builder and worker. We are the workers, not the master builder; the ministers, not the Messiah. We are the prophets of a future that is not our own." – Oscar Romero
Sandy...
.we are back in Kenya... lamenting our departure from your darling daughter. we love her so soooo insanely much and words simply do not do justice to the amazing experience we had with her. she is healthy and let me TELL YOU has a village that is FANTASTIC. villagers stopping by her hut left and right to offer to fix this, or build that. they are so proud to have her there. her view is STUNNING and we can't wait to get you pictures somehow... or as soon as possible... (may have to be June). the first night we got there we stayed up till 430 talking... please rest easy know how excited the community is to have her there and how willing and present they are. she has a momentous task ahead of her indeed. one that is challenging becuase of the intangibility of the results.... but ulitmately she is the right person to be first generation in a site. she is motivated. we think that africa is going to be really good for lisa. she is going to come back in two years and be soooo relaxed. it is just about impossible to be uptight here... you can't and don't really need to stress about time and such.. so, great. :) we love you and spoke often of how much we love you.. you are so fun! thanks for bring our friend into the world. our lives are better becuase of her... and soooo many others. i know you are so proud.... know that we love YOU and can't wait to see you again soon sometime when we are not galavanting across the world :) love love love courtnae, ada and lori--
"We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between "master" builder and worker. We are the workers, not the master builder; the ministers, not the Messiah. We are the prophets of a future that is not our own." – Oscar Romero
Life in the Village...
Hello from the village in Africa (via my sister Linsey on her computer. Because I have no access to internet whatsoever, Linsey is typing for me as I dictate over the phone)! It's my second full week in the village and things are going really well. I am lucky enough to have had some visitors to help me get settled my first week. Ada, Courtnae, and Lori made the five day journey from Kenya to dwell with me in my little hut and meet my community. We had a ball and they were able to share in some firsts with me: my first community meeting, my first really intense bike ride through the african bush, the first time that I've taken the blood pressure of expectant mothers, my first two and a half hour Catholic mass in Bemba, and my first village dance party. It was quite a tease because now I'm adjusting to the village all by my lonesome, but ironically, as the only american that has ever lived here, I am rarely alone. I have a stream of constant visitors walking up the path to my hut, and there are always iwes (village children) sitting on my porch or peering in wonder at me through the bushes. My first three months at site are what Peace Corps calls "community entry", which is basically me getting to know not only my own village, but the six other zones in the area I am responsible for. My primary job is to support the decentralization of the health care system in Zambia. I'm here to make sure the chain leading from the community to the capital is in tact. My primary focus is on the Neighborhood Health Committee, which consists of volunteers at the community level who are responsible for the well being of their villages and for communicating their health needs up the chain. I have seven NHC's and my goal is to meet with each of them and discuss their activity and knowledge and make sure they're serving the communities. This will probably entail extensive health training with each group. I live within a five minute walk from the rural health center (clinic) which serves the seven zones of my catchment area. I'm also going to be doing a lot of work there and with the staff. What sets Peace Corps aside from other aid organizations is its focus on sustainability. Every project that I undertake, right down to the decisions I make on an everyday basis, should be sustainable so that when Peace Corps is no longer in the village, it won't be a loss for the community, but they will be able to function independently. This idea is what makes this process so long and difficult. For example, instead of facilitating a training to NHC by myself, I should instead try to train other members to do the talks themselves because that is more sustsainable. The health sector of Peace Corps can be one of the most challenging ones because it's hard to see results and we're really depending on the motivation of the community to achieve success. I know it will be a challenge but I am really excited about my work, I have definitely kept very busy. I don't know where all this free time that I'm supposed to have is. I think once I get used to life in the village and the way that things work here, things will settle down. I've been doing a lot of work helping out at the clinic, which serves around 2,000 villagers and has a 3-person staff. Last week I witnessed my first birth at the clinic, a seventeen year-old girl delivered her baby in a room with a table and a bucket of water, then not even a week later, the first death. It was a four year-old girl who lost the battle to Malaria, the second largest killer here in Zambia. Sometimes it is hard to strike a balance between the awe inspiring beauty of the culture I am emersed in and the feelings of helplessness at the reality of their hardships. Every day brings new joys and new challenges. Earlier today I was feeling frustrated by the crowd of kids that were staring at me, as they often do. I just wanted some alone time. But then a minute later I was laughing as they tried to teach me Bemba and help me as I sorted through my laundry. Norman Vincent Peale once said, "change your thoughts and you change your world." I found that to be so true. Every day and every situation is what I make of it. At the end of the day, I couldn't be happier sitting on the porch of my mud hut staring at the stars by candle light. Until next time, love and prayers from Zambia.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Lisa Graduates!
Lisa passed her tests, even the very difficult language test, graduated and is now an official Peace Corps Volunteer!! She is so excited and leaves tomorrow morning for her village (Mwamba), where she will spend the next 2 years. The goodbyes were sad for the group heading in a different direction and she says the Northern team is great. She loves getting your mail so please keep writing to her.
Sandy
Sandy
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Helloooo
I just have a moment to tell y'all whats up in Zambia. Training is wrapping up and we have less than a week until we are posted in the village. Last night we had a huge gathering to thank our host families, this is what I wrote in my journal...
not sure how pablo and I (of all people....everybody knows I can't cook) were put in charge of food, but 7 hours, and 100 hand made tortillas later we had a feast for our absolutely fabulous Zamilies. The evening was incredible. The families arrived crammed in the back of flat bed trucks and land cruisers and were singing upon arrival. We could hear them all the way down the bumpy dirt road to the training center. They were dressed to the max: bamayo's in their finest chetenge suits (beautiful colored fabric that local taylors make into just about anything) and batatas in suit jackets and trowsers. There was so much energy, love, humble pride, and genuine excitment in our tent overlooking the african plains. They are just too much...they love us dearley and are so good to us, you can see it in their eyes. The way they look at us, the care in their touch and the light of their smiles. At the end of our program, they presented US with gifts. They lined up by village (our group is spread through 8 or so villages near Chongway) and danced and sang traditional songs to present their offerings. It was really emotional for me. The pride and love with which each family gave their gifts and hugged each one of us SO TIGHTLY hit my heart like a spear. This merge of culture is so beautiful. The families were radiant, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. I just kept thinking how lucky I was to be witnessing this, to be a part of it. To have entered this place, this world, the lives of these remarkable people. Africa is cool man. I love the dancing and singing, it is such a huge part of the culture. The sounds of Africa are pure elation. I love it.
Bamayo gave me a nshima pot and stirring stick so I can make it in my village, AND the last week she traveled to Lusaka to have a chetenge suit made for me to wear last night...it is GORGEOUS...bright yellow. The taylors here are INCREDIBLE...you merely tell them what you want, skirt, dress, pants, they measure you and 1-2 days and 5 bucks later sha BAM...new wardrobe. She was so happy to see me wear it. I will try to put a picture up, but my camera got wet while visiting a waterfall up No. (rough life, i know) and now won't work...blast!
Ahhh I am really sad to leave my family. But such is life. I am excited to start my service in the village. I have my final language and tech tests next week and If I pass will be sworn in as an "official" volunteer on Friday. Yeah no more trainee status! We'll see if I can manage to give Hiv prevention advice in Bemba by tuesday!! Mufwile ukubombfya umupila....(you must use condoms...). Just a quick thank you to everyone who has written me, you have no idea how much mail means here...and will be even more important when I get to the village. Thank you for all the birthday wishes and the packages...(mom you're the best, and lins and anita, katie b and peter...) and letters (joe and g-rents, ash, my kenya girls, kathy, AP, suz, mark, paul, ...) Sorry if i forgot anyone, I want to you guys to know that I got what you sent...I PROMISE I will always write back, it may take a while (zam post...), but i will. Your love keeps me strong! Until next time.... nalimutemwa sana! (i really love you...) -lisa
I just have a moment to tell y'all whats up in Zambia. Training is wrapping up and we have less than a week until we are posted in the village. Last night we had a huge gathering to thank our host families, this is what I wrote in my journal...
not sure how pablo and I (of all people....everybody knows I can't cook) were put in charge of food, but 7 hours, and 100 hand made tortillas later we had a feast for our absolutely fabulous Zamilies. The evening was incredible. The families arrived crammed in the back of flat bed trucks and land cruisers and were singing upon arrival. We could hear them all the way down the bumpy dirt road to the training center. They were dressed to the max: bamayo's in their finest chetenge suits (beautiful colored fabric that local taylors make into just about anything) and batatas in suit jackets and trowsers. There was so much energy, love, humble pride, and genuine excitment in our tent overlooking the african plains. They are just too much...they love us dearley and are so good to us, you can see it in their eyes. The way they look at us, the care in their touch and the light of their smiles. At the end of our program, they presented US with gifts. They lined up by village (our group is spread through 8 or so villages near Chongway) and danced and sang traditional songs to present their offerings. It was really emotional for me. The pride and love with which each family gave their gifts and hugged each one of us SO TIGHTLY hit my heart like a spear. This merge of culture is so beautiful. The families were radiant, I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. I just kept thinking how lucky I was to be witnessing this, to be a part of it. To have entered this place, this world, the lives of these remarkable people. Africa is cool man. I love the dancing and singing, it is such a huge part of the culture. The sounds of Africa are pure elation. I love it.
Bamayo gave me a nshima pot and stirring stick so I can make it in my village, AND the last week she traveled to Lusaka to have a chetenge suit made for me to wear last night...it is GORGEOUS...bright yellow. The taylors here are INCREDIBLE...you merely tell them what you want, skirt, dress, pants, they measure you and 1-2 days and 5 bucks later sha BAM...new wardrobe. She was so happy to see me wear it. I will try to put a picture up, but my camera got wet while visiting a waterfall up No. (rough life, i know) and now won't work...blast!
Ahhh I am really sad to leave my family. But such is life. I am excited to start my service in the village. I have my final language and tech tests next week and If I pass will be sworn in as an "official" volunteer on Friday. Yeah no more trainee status! We'll see if I can manage to give Hiv prevention advice in Bemba by tuesday!! Mufwile ukubombfya umupila....(you must use condoms...). Just a quick thank you to everyone who has written me, you have no idea how much mail means here...and will be even more important when I get to the village. Thank you for all the birthday wishes and the packages...(mom you're the best, and lins and anita, katie b and peter...) and letters (joe and g-rents, ash, my kenya girls, kathy, AP, suz, mark, paul, ...) Sorry if i forgot anyone, I want to you guys to know that I got what you sent...I PROMISE I will always write back, it may take a while (zam post...), but i will. Your love keeps me strong! Until next time.... nalimutemwa sana! (i really love you...) -lisa
Monday, March 12, 2007
Partnership Proposal
Proposal Application Cover Sheet
Please complete the following sections of the PCPP Proposal Application. When each section has been completed, please mark the appropriate box below.
A. Volunteer Referrals
B. Volunteer and Project proposal information
C. Monitoring and Evaluation
D. Project Timeline
E. Project budget
F. Proposal Narratives
Has the community been informed and fully understands that Partnership funds are to be used only for costs associated with the project and that there will be no additional funding beyond the authorized amount on the proposal as submitted?
Yes No
We verify that this project is needed by the community of Mwamba Village, Kasama District. Zambiawho are the intended beneficiaries, and that we fully understand and will fulfill the requirements of the Peace Corps Partnership Program in implementing this project
Lisa Sekulich 20-01-08
Peace Corps Volunteer’s Signature Date
Alexander Mwamba 20-01-08
Community Partner’s Signature Date
I have reviewed this proposal and certify that it is well-planned, accurately budgeted, and the Peace Corps volunteer has the technical skills to successfully complete the project within the timeframe of his/her service. Furthermore, this proposal meets each Peace Corps Partnership criterion set forth in section 4 of MS720.
Peace Corps Country Director’s Signature Date
Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters
The Office of Private Sector Initiatives
1111 20th Street, NW ● Washington, DC 20526
Tel 202.692.2170 ● Fax 202.692.2171 ● Email pcpp@peacecorps.gov
A. Peace Corps Partnership Program Volunteer Referrals
Peace Corps Volunteer Lisa Sekulich Date
Peace Corps Partnership Program Proposal Application
To be filled out by OPSI Staff:
Fiscal Year: Project Number:
B. Volunteer and Project Proposal information
Country: Zambia, AFRICA
PCPP Project Title: Milex Pre-School
Community Organization: Milex Executive Board, PTA, and Mwamba Community.
Project Implementation Period: Start Date: Dec 2007 End Date: May 2008
Volunteer Name(s): Lisa Sekulich COS Date: March 2009
Peace Corps Sector Assignment: Community Health Action Program
Male
Female
Boys
Girls
Total
# of Participants: those persons directly involved in the design and implementation of the project
60
52
112
# of Beneficiaries: those persons directly impacted by the project
55
52
43
57
207
Project Classification
Peace Corps Project Sector Grouping (Please select only one)
Agriculture
Business Development
Education
Environment
Health
Municipal Development
Water & Sanitation
Youth Development
Other:
Priority Grouping
Infrastructure Development
Instructional Materials
Resources/Equipment and Supplies
Income Generation
Training
NGO Development
Total PCPP Request: $USD: 10,458.35 Local Currency: kwacha (ZMK): 38,695,900
Exchange Rate Used: 3700.00 ZMK to 1 $USD Date of Exchange Rate: 27/01/2007
C. Monitoring and evaluation
How will you know if your project is reaching its goals and objectives, and producing the desired benefits or change?
On this page, you will find a menu of indicators that will help you track the progress of your project. These indicators were chosen because they highlight the kinds of changes and outcomes that are most likely to occur in small-scale community development projects.
Please choose the indicators that you and your community will use to track the progress of your project during its implementation. When you complete your project, you will use the same indicators to report on the results that you and your community achieved.
Indicators of Success
Required
participants acquiring new knowledge or skills
(may include literacy, technical, or vocational skills or administrative and/or financial practices, ability to manage production, marketing or income-generating activities, or ability to obtain financial or technical assistance)
Who/how many? One hundred children ages 3-7 will start their education and develop knowledge and literacy at Milex Pre-School each year. The 10 members of the PTA along with the hundreds of parents and community members will be involved.
What skills? The students will learn English literacy, reading comprehension, basic mathematics, science, history, health and hygiene education, social skills, creativity and will be exposed to the importance of education. One community member will receive pre-school teacher training by the existing certified teacher and eventually take over a class of her own, The PTA and community members involved in the project will gain knowledge and competency in income generation, specifically chicken rearing, and basic infrastructure building, renovation, and sustainable development.
How will you know? We will receive feedback from parents and students on success of lessons and learning environment. The teachers at Mwamba Basic School will also be able to assess incoming grade one students who graduated from Milex. The income generated from the chicken coop will indicate IGA success and determine the rate of expansion and progression of the school.
Choose 1- 4 Additional/Optional Indicators of Success
improved capacity to define and meet goals and objectives
(relates most directly to changes in knowledge, skills and behavior, and may include planning skills, ability to set up group goals, and small project design skills, among others)
What changes? The community will have supported the school from the ground up and be actively involved in the realization of the goals of the project. People involved will have experience in capacity building, basic construction, budget preparation, income generation, chicken rearing, and sustainable development. The founders, school executives and community members will also be working towards their goal to move the school to a permanent location and expand it, allowing more students to be involved. The community will develop skills in sustainable development by creating and implementing small, achievable steps leading towards a larger goal.
How will you know? The development and maintenance of the school and the completion of all project objectives will indicate the community’s success in meeting project goals and working together to achieve them. The future success of the school will determine the community’s ability to start and maintain an income generating activities and create sustainable projects.
Project Timeline:
Approximately how long will your proposed project last?
Months: 6 Weeks: 0 Days: 0
PLEASE NOTE: The amount of time it takes to fund a project can be substantial depending on the amount of request and number of referrals received.
E. Project Budget
Please include a budget summary for the proposed project as a separate attachment. Indicate the quantity needed and the total cost of each item in both USD and local currency. Please also state whether the item will be paid for with PCPP funds or from community contributions (see detailed budget spreadsheet; page 7).
Partnership Contribution: USD 10,458.35 Local Currency: ZMK 38,695,900
Community Contribution: USD 3,459.46 Local Currency: ZMK 12,800,000
Total Project Cost: USD 13,917.81 Local Currency: ZMK 51,495,900
F. Proposal Narratives – Please do not limit your self to the space provided. Text boxes will expand to meet your space requirement for each narrative.
1.
Executive Summary:
Please write a 250 word summary of the proposed project. This allows potential donors to better understand the project. Describe the project objectives. Explain the community contribution for this project and briefly outline your request for the Partnership Program.
Note: This summary will be posted directly on the Peace Corps Website.
Executive Summary:
100 eager children, three reed mats, a passionate teacher, and one chalkboard is what Milex Pre-school is comprised of now. Mirriam and Alexander Mwamba, two local teachers, envision this empty storage room to be a thriving learning environment and a place to open pre-school age children to the excitement of education.
Mwamba Village has an overwhelming population of children from ages 3-7 who don’t have access to early education. The demand in the village is high as over a hundred kids are dropped off each morning at the doors of Milex. Mirriam and Alexander see the children of Mwamba as the future of tomorrow and strive to impart in them the love of learning, the desire to continue their education, and avoid early marriages and dropouts. They want to make the school affordable and available to the families of Mwamba, especially the large OVC (orphan and vulnerable child) population and give the children the opportunity to nurture their young minds. They believe in the power of education and the importance of instilling the desire for children to learn at a very tender age. They hope Milex students will be empowered and well prepared for grade one, feeling confident and successful in basic school and therefore more likely to go on to further their education.
Milex has a building, students, teachers, and community support; all it needs are materials and funding to make the project successful and sustainable. The community and founders envision Milex to be a permanent structure and to possibly expand to an official basic school. Until then, they will use a community-built storage shed that will be renovated by the PTA and turned into a wonderful place of learning to house the children. A permanent chicken coop will be built in the future location of the school and the proceeds will be used to pay the teachers, buy further supplies, keep school fees manageable for the farming population, and to sustain it after the partnership funding is exhausted.
The community will benefit greatly from this project and not only will seeds of education be planted, but the only chicken coop in the village will be opened and managed by school supporters and will support sustainable rural development. For Milex, the sky is the limit.
2.
Background Information:
Please provide a 1-2 paragraph description of your community and the community members involved with the proposed project.
Mwamba Village is situated 22 kilometers from the town of Kasama in the Northern Province of Zambia. It is home to Mwamba Basic School, Mwamba Rural Health Center and over 800 people, over a fourth of who are under the age of 5. Mwamba is bustling with activity and full of motivated community members always looking for ways to evolve.
Mirriam and Alexander Mwamba started Milex in September of 2006 out of their home and have since wanted to expand it to accommodate the many children of the Mwamba area. Mirriam is an enthusiastic teacher who received her teaching certificate from the Preschool Teachers College in Kasama in 2004. Alexander graduated from Kasama Teachers College in 2002 and is currently a teacher at Mwamba Basic School. He is very involved and heads up the school’s Ant-Aids club and runs the sports activities. The project is also supported by the Mwamba Basic Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Clinic In-Charge, Agricultural Officer and hundreds of parents and community members of Mwamba.
3.
Community Need:
Please explain, in 1-2 paragraphs, the merit of this project, and why it is a priority in the community. What happens if the project is not implemented?
Community Need (cont’d):
There is a desperate need for rural Zambian children to learn the value of education early in their lives. There are a lot of families in Mwamba and the surrounding villages who are interested in exploring this option for their children, but there is little funding, priority, or resources for early education projects. Many children from ages 3-7 are left unattended while their families are working in the fields and don’t have a chance to learn necessary social skills and develop their young minds.
In Mwamba, we have an overwhelming OVC (orphan and vulnerable child) population who may never get a chance at an education and Milex is dedicated to give first priority to such children by offering low tuition rates and the much needed opportunity to develop skills and knowledge early.
Also, there are currently no chicken coops in the village and there is a need for villagers to have access to the nutritional meat and eggs. The coop will not only aid the school, but the local nutrition club and instill the knowledge of chicken-rearing and income generation to the area.
If the project is not implemented the pre-school will continue, but the learning environment will not be adequate enough to support the interested families. The students will fade and only a few will get this valuable opportunity. The project funding will also ensure the success of the school and aid in future generations of students.
4.
Community Initiation and Direction:
Describe, in 2-3 paragraphs, how the community is the driving force behind the project. Please discuss who in the community first proposed the project as well as how the beneficiaries are involved in the project’s planning and implementation. What are the roles and responsibilities of the community members?
When I arrived to Mwamba Village in April of 07, I was invited to visit Milex Pre-School by Mirriam. I was very impressed with her passion for teaching and the gift she had to lead the students. The kids were speaking basic English, learning letters of the alphabet, singing songs, and being versed in valuable social skills. I was, however, surprised by her small class size. She started the school in 2006 with 15 enrolled students, and by the end of the year most dropped out because they were unable to pay the tuition. Mirriam and Alexander came to me to with an idea to expand the school, make it affordable for all students who were interested, and give OVC’s in the area the same opportunities more fortunate kids have at education.
I researched ways to expand the project and we decided on a Peace Corps partnership. Mirriam, Alexander, and I had an initial community meeting with a small group of active and interested villagers in the beginning of December. By the second week of December they independently had a community meeting and enrolled over 115 children, chosen a PTA, and found another teacher to train. Though they knew the funding wouldn’t come through for several months, they were determined to start the school in January, and by the third week they had their maximum enrolment of 100 students. Each family paid k3, 000 per student for initial start up supplies and agreed to pay each term.
Classes are currently going on in a large community storage building with 50 3-4 year olds attending the morning session, and 50 5-7 year olds in the afternoons. They sit on reed mats and use a single chalkboard to learn. The community has shown overwhelming support of the project by their willingness to contribute to the project, their timely action and attendance in meetings. The community has vowed to help renovate the storage room, build the chicken coop, pay the yearly fees and continue to encourage their children in their education. The community and the founders will sign a written agreement as to the details of funding, chicken coop income and building contributions to avoid future problems.
5.
Community Contribution:
Please describe, in 1-2 paragraphs, the community contribution to this project. Contributions can include the costs of manual labor and transportation as well as contributions of cash or raw materials. Community contribution must total at least 25% of the total project cost.
The Mwamba community is excited and eager to get Milex up and running. A community-built storage shed was donated by the community to the project and they have vowed to help renovate the building by doing much of the necessary, and otherwise expensive labor including gathering materials, mixing and laying cement, clearing and cleaning the sights, maintaining the buildings and burning thousands of bricks for the chicken coop. The community has also agreed to pay a quarterly fee of k3,000 per student to help with the schools initial start up fund.
6.
Project Implementation:
Please present and discuss, in 3-4 paragraphs, the plan for implementing this project. Describe the phases of the project. Define specific tasks involved with the project, the order in which they will occur, and who will accomplish each task.
The project will have started long before the partnership funds will be collected. The hundred Milex students have been gathering in the storage building for the past two weeks to learn. The next phase of the project will be organizing the students to be broken up in to 4 groups of 25 to better suit the needs of the kids and to start organizing lesson plans. The PTA will meet and discuss who will be in charge of each part of the project. We will have a renovation committee and a building committee for the chicken coop. The furniture will be ordered and the contractor, who is a community member, will begin drawing plans and tasks for the committees.
The furniture will be ordered in the beginning of February and a load of wood, along with other materials will be brought to the local carpenter as soon as possible. Before renovations in April, the classroom will be decorated with temporary learning aids and reed mats to make the environment more conducive.
After the funds come in, there will be a buying committee assigned to gather the necessary materials for the first big transport to the village. Stone and sand gathering along with brick molding and burning will start at the beginning of April as will the chicken coop construction. The school building will be renovated in April while the students are on holiday and the teachers at the Basic School are available to help.
The community and the founders will sign a written agreement as to the details of funding, chicken coop income, and building contributions to make everyone’s roles and responsibilities clear and avoid future problems.
7.
Project Sustainability:
Please indicate, in 3-4 paragraphs, the skills and knowledge that will be acquired by the community through the implementation of this project. How will the project increase the capacity of individuals and support the community in meeting its goals? Does the community have the resources to sustain the project in the long term?
The children of Mwamba will benefit greatly by having a place and people to nourish their young minds and the community will learn valuable skills during the implementation of the project. Sustainability is the goal of every project I start as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The community acknowledges the need to build sustainability into every venture and by adding a chicken coop as an income generating activity to supplement the project. Not only will the school be able to support its future budget, but villagers will learn the importance and necessity of sustainability.
Income generation knowledge is very important in making projects in rural Zambia sustainable. The PTA and community recognized the need for income supplementation for the school and chose chicken rearing to allow the pre-school to function once the proposal money is exhausted.
From the beginning of this project, the community has had long-term plans and wants to eventually build a new structure behind the local market to house the school and chicken coop. The budget is largely taken up by the chicken coop because the community saw the need for it to be a perminant structure to ensure the sustainability of the school and support future plans.
Please complete the following sections of the PCPP Proposal Application. When each section has been completed, please mark the appropriate box below.
A. Volunteer Referrals
B. Volunteer and Project proposal information
C. Monitoring and Evaluation
D. Project Timeline
E. Project budget
F. Proposal Narratives
Has the community been informed and fully understands that Partnership funds are to be used only for costs associated with the project and that there will be no additional funding beyond the authorized amount on the proposal as submitted?
Yes No
We verify that this project is needed by the community of Mwamba Village, Kasama District. Zambiawho are the intended beneficiaries, and that we fully understand and will fulfill the requirements of the Peace Corps Partnership Program in implementing this project
Lisa Sekulich 20-01-08
Peace Corps Volunteer’s Signature Date
Alexander Mwamba 20-01-08
Community Partner’s Signature Date
I have reviewed this proposal and certify that it is well-planned, accurately budgeted, and the Peace Corps volunteer has the technical skills to successfully complete the project within the timeframe of his/her service. Furthermore, this proposal meets each Peace Corps Partnership criterion set forth in section 4 of MS720.
Peace Corps Country Director’s Signature Date
Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters
The Office of Private Sector Initiatives
1111 20th Street, NW ● Washington, DC 20526
Tel 202.692.2170 ● Fax 202.692.2171 ● Email pcpp@peacecorps.gov
A. Peace Corps Partnership Program Volunteer Referrals
Peace Corps Volunteer Lisa Sekulich Date
Peace Corps Partnership Program Proposal Application
To be filled out by OPSI Staff:
Fiscal Year: Project Number:
B. Volunteer and Project Proposal information
Country: Zambia, AFRICA
PCPP Project Title: Milex Pre-School
Community Organization: Milex Executive Board, PTA, and Mwamba Community.
Project Implementation Period: Start Date: Dec 2007 End Date: May 2008
Volunteer Name(s): Lisa Sekulich COS Date: March 2009
Peace Corps Sector Assignment: Community Health Action Program
Male
Female
Boys
Girls
Total
# of Participants: those persons directly involved in the design and implementation of the project
60
52
112
# of Beneficiaries: those persons directly impacted by the project
55
52
43
57
207
Project Classification
Peace Corps Project Sector Grouping (Please select only one)
Agriculture
Business Development
Education
Environment
Health
Municipal Development
Water & Sanitation
Youth Development
Other:
Priority Grouping
Infrastructure Development
Instructional Materials
Resources/Equipment and Supplies
Income Generation
Training
NGO Development
Total PCPP Request: $USD: 10,458.35 Local Currency: kwacha (ZMK): 38,695,900
Exchange Rate Used: 3700.00 ZMK to 1 $USD Date of Exchange Rate: 27/01/2007
C. Monitoring and evaluation
How will you know if your project is reaching its goals and objectives, and producing the desired benefits or change?
On this page, you will find a menu of indicators that will help you track the progress of your project. These indicators were chosen because they highlight the kinds of changes and outcomes that are most likely to occur in small-scale community development projects.
Please choose the indicators that you and your community will use to track the progress of your project during its implementation. When you complete your project, you will use the same indicators to report on the results that you and your community achieved.
Indicators of Success
Required
participants acquiring new knowledge or skills
(may include literacy, technical, or vocational skills or administrative and/or financial practices, ability to manage production, marketing or income-generating activities, or ability to obtain financial or technical assistance)
Who/how many? One hundred children ages 3-7 will start their education and develop knowledge and literacy at Milex Pre-School each year. The 10 members of the PTA along with the hundreds of parents and community members will be involved.
What skills? The students will learn English literacy, reading comprehension, basic mathematics, science, history, health and hygiene education, social skills, creativity and will be exposed to the importance of education. One community member will receive pre-school teacher training by the existing certified teacher and eventually take over a class of her own, The PTA and community members involved in the project will gain knowledge and competency in income generation, specifically chicken rearing, and basic infrastructure building, renovation, and sustainable development.
How will you know? We will receive feedback from parents and students on success of lessons and learning environment. The teachers at Mwamba Basic School will also be able to assess incoming grade one students who graduated from Milex. The income generated from the chicken coop will indicate IGA success and determine the rate of expansion and progression of the school.
Choose 1- 4 Additional/Optional Indicators of Success
improved capacity to define and meet goals and objectives
(relates most directly to changes in knowledge, skills and behavior, and may include planning skills, ability to set up group goals, and small project design skills, among others)
What changes? The community will have supported the school from the ground up and be actively involved in the realization of the goals of the project. People involved will have experience in capacity building, basic construction, budget preparation, income generation, chicken rearing, and sustainable development. The founders, school executives and community members will also be working towards their goal to move the school to a permanent location and expand it, allowing more students to be involved. The community will develop skills in sustainable development by creating and implementing small, achievable steps leading towards a larger goal.
How will you know? The development and maintenance of the school and the completion of all project objectives will indicate the community’s success in meeting project goals and working together to achieve them. The future success of the school will determine the community’s ability to start and maintain an income generating activities and create sustainable projects.
Project Timeline:
Approximately how long will your proposed project last?
Months: 6 Weeks: 0 Days: 0
PLEASE NOTE: The amount of time it takes to fund a project can be substantial depending on the amount of request and number of referrals received.
E. Project Budget
Please include a budget summary for the proposed project as a separate attachment. Indicate the quantity needed and the total cost of each item in both USD and local currency. Please also state whether the item will be paid for with PCPP funds or from community contributions (see detailed budget spreadsheet; page 7).
Partnership Contribution: USD 10,458.35 Local Currency: ZMK 38,695,900
Community Contribution: USD 3,459.46 Local Currency: ZMK 12,800,000
Total Project Cost: USD 13,917.81 Local Currency: ZMK 51,495,900
F. Proposal Narratives – Please do not limit your self to the space provided. Text boxes will expand to meet your space requirement for each narrative.
1.
Executive Summary:
Please write a 250 word summary of the proposed project. This allows potential donors to better understand the project. Describe the project objectives. Explain the community contribution for this project and briefly outline your request for the Partnership Program.
Note: This summary will be posted directly on the Peace Corps Website.
Executive Summary:
100 eager children, three reed mats, a passionate teacher, and one chalkboard is what Milex Pre-school is comprised of now. Mirriam and Alexander Mwamba, two local teachers, envision this empty storage room to be a thriving learning environment and a place to open pre-school age children to the excitement of education.
Mwamba Village has an overwhelming population of children from ages 3-7 who don’t have access to early education. The demand in the village is high as over a hundred kids are dropped off each morning at the doors of Milex. Mirriam and Alexander see the children of Mwamba as the future of tomorrow and strive to impart in them the love of learning, the desire to continue their education, and avoid early marriages and dropouts. They want to make the school affordable and available to the families of Mwamba, especially the large OVC (orphan and vulnerable child) population and give the children the opportunity to nurture their young minds. They believe in the power of education and the importance of instilling the desire for children to learn at a very tender age. They hope Milex students will be empowered and well prepared for grade one, feeling confident and successful in basic school and therefore more likely to go on to further their education.
Milex has a building, students, teachers, and community support; all it needs are materials and funding to make the project successful and sustainable. The community and founders envision Milex to be a permanent structure and to possibly expand to an official basic school. Until then, they will use a community-built storage shed that will be renovated by the PTA and turned into a wonderful place of learning to house the children. A permanent chicken coop will be built in the future location of the school and the proceeds will be used to pay the teachers, buy further supplies, keep school fees manageable for the farming population, and to sustain it after the partnership funding is exhausted.
The community will benefit greatly from this project and not only will seeds of education be planted, but the only chicken coop in the village will be opened and managed by school supporters and will support sustainable rural development. For Milex, the sky is the limit.
2.
Background Information:
Please provide a 1-2 paragraph description of your community and the community members involved with the proposed project.
Mwamba Village is situated 22 kilometers from the town of Kasama in the Northern Province of Zambia. It is home to Mwamba Basic School, Mwamba Rural Health Center and over 800 people, over a fourth of who are under the age of 5. Mwamba is bustling with activity and full of motivated community members always looking for ways to evolve.
Mirriam and Alexander Mwamba started Milex in September of 2006 out of their home and have since wanted to expand it to accommodate the many children of the Mwamba area. Mirriam is an enthusiastic teacher who received her teaching certificate from the Preschool Teachers College in Kasama in 2004. Alexander graduated from Kasama Teachers College in 2002 and is currently a teacher at Mwamba Basic School. He is very involved and heads up the school’s Ant-Aids club and runs the sports activities. The project is also supported by the Mwamba Basic Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, Clinic In-Charge, Agricultural Officer and hundreds of parents and community members of Mwamba.
3.
Community Need:
Please explain, in 1-2 paragraphs, the merit of this project, and why it is a priority in the community. What happens if the project is not implemented?
Community Need (cont’d):
There is a desperate need for rural Zambian children to learn the value of education early in their lives. There are a lot of families in Mwamba and the surrounding villages who are interested in exploring this option for their children, but there is little funding, priority, or resources for early education projects. Many children from ages 3-7 are left unattended while their families are working in the fields and don’t have a chance to learn necessary social skills and develop their young minds.
In Mwamba, we have an overwhelming OVC (orphan and vulnerable child) population who may never get a chance at an education and Milex is dedicated to give first priority to such children by offering low tuition rates and the much needed opportunity to develop skills and knowledge early.
Also, there are currently no chicken coops in the village and there is a need for villagers to have access to the nutritional meat and eggs. The coop will not only aid the school, but the local nutrition club and instill the knowledge of chicken-rearing and income generation to the area.
If the project is not implemented the pre-school will continue, but the learning environment will not be adequate enough to support the interested families. The students will fade and only a few will get this valuable opportunity. The project funding will also ensure the success of the school and aid in future generations of students.
4.
Community Initiation and Direction:
Describe, in 2-3 paragraphs, how the community is the driving force behind the project. Please discuss who in the community first proposed the project as well as how the beneficiaries are involved in the project’s planning and implementation. What are the roles and responsibilities of the community members?
When I arrived to Mwamba Village in April of 07, I was invited to visit Milex Pre-School by Mirriam. I was very impressed with her passion for teaching and the gift she had to lead the students. The kids were speaking basic English, learning letters of the alphabet, singing songs, and being versed in valuable social skills. I was, however, surprised by her small class size. She started the school in 2006 with 15 enrolled students, and by the end of the year most dropped out because they were unable to pay the tuition. Mirriam and Alexander came to me to with an idea to expand the school, make it affordable for all students who were interested, and give OVC’s in the area the same opportunities more fortunate kids have at education.
I researched ways to expand the project and we decided on a Peace Corps partnership. Mirriam, Alexander, and I had an initial community meeting with a small group of active and interested villagers in the beginning of December. By the second week of December they independently had a community meeting and enrolled over 115 children, chosen a PTA, and found another teacher to train. Though they knew the funding wouldn’t come through for several months, they were determined to start the school in January, and by the third week they had their maximum enrolment of 100 students. Each family paid k3, 000 per student for initial start up supplies and agreed to pay each term.
Classes are currently going on in a large community storage building with 50 3-4 year olds attending the morning session, and 50 5-7 year olds in the afternoons. They sit on reed mats and use a single chalkboard to learn. The community has shown overwhelming support of the project by their willingness to contribute to the project, their timely action and attendance in meetings. The community has vowed to help renovate the storage room, build the chicken coop, pay the yearly fees and continue to encourage their children in their education. The community and the founders will sign a written agreement as to the details of funding, chicken coop income and building contributions to avoid future problems.
5.
Community Contribution:
Please describe, in 1-2 paragraphs, the community contribution to this project. Contributions can include the costs of manual labor and transportation as well as contributions of cash or raw materials. Community contribution must total at least 25% of the total project cost.
The Mwamba community is excited and eager to get Milex up and running. A community-built storage shed was donated by the community to the project and they have vowed to help renovate the building by doing much of the necessary, and otherwise expensive labor including gathering materials, mixing and laying cement, clearing and cleaning the sights, maintaining the buildings and burning thousands of bricks for the chicken coop. The community has also agreed to pay a quarterly fee of k3,000 per student to help with the schools initial start up fund.
6.
Project Implementation:
Please present and discuss, in 3-4 paragraphs, the plan for implementing this project. Describe the phases of the project. Define specific tasks involved with the project, the order in which they will occur, and who will accomplish each task.
The project will have started long before the partnership funds will be collected. The hundred Milex students have been gathering in the storage building for the past two weeks to learn. The next phase of the project will be organizing the students to be broken up in to 4 groups of 25 to better suit the needs of the kids and to start organizing lesson plans. The PTA will meet and discuss who will be in charge of each part of the project. We will have a renovation committee and a building committee for the chicken coop. The furniture will be ordered and the contractor, who is a community member, will begin drawing plans and tasks for the committees.
The furniture will be ordered in the beginning of February and a load of wood, along with other materials will be brought to the local carpenter as soon as possible. Before renovations in April, the classroom will be decorated with temporary learning aids and reed mats to make the environment more conducive.
After the funds come in, there will be a buying committee assigned to gather the necessary materials for the first big transport to the village. Stone and sand gathering along with brick molding and burning will start at the beginning of April as will the chicken coop construction. The school building will be renovated in April while the students are on holiday and the teachers at the Basic School are available to help.
The community and the founders will sign a written agreement as to the details of funding, chicken coop income, and building contributions to make everyone’s roles and responsibilities clear and avoid future problems.
7.
Project Sustainability:
Please indicate, in 3-4 paragraphs, the skills and knowledge that will be acquired by the community through the implementation of this project. How will the project increase the capacity of individuals and support the community in meeting its goals? Does the community have the resources to sustain the project in the long term?
The children of Mwamba will benefit greatly by having a place and people to nourish their young minds and the community will learn valuable skills during the implementation of the project. Sustainability is the goal of every project I start as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The community acknowledges the need to build sustainability into every venture and by adding a chicken coop as an income generating activity to supplement the project. Not only will the school be able to support its future budget, but villagers will learn the importance and necessity of sustainability.
Income generation knowledge is very important in making projects in rural Zambia sustainable. The PTA and community recognized the need for income supplementation for the school and chose chicken rearing to allow the pre-school to function once the proposal money is exhausted.
From the beginning of this project, the community has had long-term plans and wants to eventually build a new structure behind the local market to house the school and chicken coop. The budget is largely taken up by the chicken coop because the community saw the need for it to be a perminant structure to ensure the sustainability of the school and support future plans.
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