‘Hoe kijkt coördinator Mussa Nyirenda terug op het project?’

De partner vertelt... van 15 september 2023 door Mussa Nyirenda

Elk jaar vragen we onze partner hoe het project is gegaan en welke lessen de partner heeft geleerd.

CONTEXT AND SUMMARY
* Describe the original plan/idea for the project. Has the project been executed as planned?
The original plan was to construct two teachers houses and the plan was executed according to the original plan where two teachers houses have been constructed.

* Give a (short) general description of the implementation of the project.
The project has been implemented well since there was good involvement of the locals in the construction process together with the participants. Being the first time to construct with pressed bricks there was a lot of excitement from our local builders because everything was going on smoothly. the interaction at the construction site as well as on cultural activities went on well. the participants had a lot of fun together with the locals through dancing and singing together but also through working side by side.

*How do you look back on the following topics? How was it arranged, what went well, what could be done better?
CONSTRUCTION
- Buildings worked on
The construction of the two teachers houses went on well and both locals and participants worked very hard to make sure that bricklaying on the walls and the roof could be realized. Filling of the foundations was also already done before roofing took place. the community together with the participants worked together in ferrying bricks and sand on the construction site. The women also helped with drawing water to be used on the construction site.

-Tasks to be done
By the time of the handover there was still beam filling, plastering, skirting, pointing, drainage and painting to be done.

PROGRAMS
- Children program
The childrens work took place at a soccer field for the school and there were two teachers from the school who helped with the translations. the participants together with the learners had fun through stories from the bible, playing different games, drawing, singing and dancing. The learners had a wonderful time together with the participants.

- Cultural and touristic outings
So many cultural activities were done including house visits, Malawian express, baking pancakes, assisting with cooking in the kitchen, traditional dances, singing and dancing. The participants also went to Kasungu national park where they saw animals such as Elephants, buffaloes, kudus, antelopes, Hippos and birds.

- Life Skills program and Football for Water
Life skills was conducted for a period of 3 days and 10 boys and 10 girls took part in the training. Football for water also took part at Ndatuwa for one day and at Ndanowa for one day as well. The third day was for the tournament where Ndanowa won the trophy on penalties. The number of people who turned up during the tournament was over 200. The Health Surveillance Assistant from health gave some civic education on sanitation and hygiene.

COOPERATION AND INVOLVEMENT
- Leadership team World Servants
The leaders handled the participants very well and there was good cooperation amongst the leaders themselves but also with CCAP team. This made implementation of the project easy and manageable.

- Local leaders / key persons
The key persons such as SMC/ PTA were actively involved in arranging things on the projects site including guiding the locals on their tasks for the day. They were also responsible for guiding the participants during house visits and visits to their community homes.

- Community
Community members were always available to work side by side with the participants making sure that the construction work was going on well. they were also involved in the interactions taking place at the construction site and during home visits.

- Beneficiaries
The learners who are the primary beneficiaries were involved in the childrens work program where they were able to play games, sing songs, dancing, bible stories and drawings.

- (Local) authorities
The traditional leaders were responsible for making sure that their subjects come to the constuction site and other activities

FACILITATION OF THE TEAM

- Accommodation
Accommodation was arranged in three classrooms where girls occupied two rooms while boys occupied one room. there was enough space for everyone.

- Food
The food was prepared in a local kitchen and served in one classroom which was used as a dining room. the meals prepared were good for the participants as no illnesses were reported related to food.

- Transportation
Transport was always readily available at the construction site except the bus which only came based on need. The jeep and the lorry were always available. no problems with the vehicles was reported during the project implementation.

- Safety
There were no safety issues during the project implementation however one participant was injured during the football match when she fell by herself and was taken to Nkhamenya mission hospital where an x-ray revealed no fracture on her arm. In general there were no other safety issues.

LESSONS LEARNED
This was a very good community which is willing to develop their community and it was well mobilized that's why no struggles were encountered. The good cooperation and good coordination both from CCAP as well as world servants was key to the success of the project. Working as a team is the best way to achieve a successful project.