Hoe kijkt onze partner terug op het project?
De partner vertelt... van 6 november 2018 door Mussa Nyirenda
Na elk project vragen we onze partner hoe het project is gegaan en welke lessen de partner heeft geleerd. Je vindt hier het bijbehorende rapport.
1. CONTEXT AND SUMMARY
1.1. The original plan of the project
The plan was to construct a school block and two toilets of two doors each and the project has been executed according to plan.
1.2. Implementation of the project
In general the implementation of the project was fine for example the interaction on the construction site between the participants and the community was excellent. The construction also went on well as the community and participants worked hard together and managed to put the floor in one room after doing the plastering. This is a record that has never been achieved in the project before.
2. CONSTRUCTION
2.1. Buildings worked on
The following structures were constructed: school block with the head teachers office, two toilets of two doors each. When the team was arriving the foundation for the school block was already done and the community and participants worked side by side to raise the walls, do the ring beam and roofing of the school block. The participants worked hard also on the painting of the breeze blocks on the windows. The bricklaying and all other activities such as drawing water, passing of bricks to the construction site and carpentry work was done very well in collaboration with each other. The only area that needs to critically looked into is coming up with permanent solution on scalfords. Using local scalfords has proved not to be a very reliable method so far.
2.2. Tasks to be done
The remaining tasks to be done are pointing, drainage, painting otherwise most of the tasks were already done before the group left. The other task to be done is to come up with scalfords that can be moved from one project to the other. This could ease delays of electing scalfords when you reach high heights.
3. FACILITATION OF THE TEAM
3.1. Children Program
The childrens programme went on well and the teacher Mr Paul Mwale was always available with childrens work. The lady Head teacher also was in attendance most of the times. The participants arranged the activities very well as you could see the children enjoying the songs and the creative works of the Dutch participants such as drawings and hats. The only challenge was that the childrens programme was taking place during the time when schools are on holiday and also during some days there was no childrens work so it became difficult to maintain the same number of learners. Despite all these factors the childrens work was successful and childrens party also attracted a lot of childrens.
3.2. Cultural and touristic outings
The cultural programme was very succesfull despite being a very compact programme, all the activities that were lined up in the programme took place. The idea of getting the participants to understand the culture of the people in the community and to appreciate their way of life. This was done through home visits where poor families, women headed families, families of very old people and other families were identified for the visits. These families received gifts from the participants such as sugar, kitchen salt, cooking oil and plastic cups just to mention a few. This gave the participants a wide range of different life styles being experienced by the people in the community. The participants also had a malawian experience where they learnt different things such as pounding of maize, making ridges on the land, shelling maize, carrying buckets on their head without holding the buckets, traditional dances and many more other activities. The shaving of hair by a malawian barber was fun for most participants and also the hairdressing for the girls by malawian women. On touristic outings the participants went to Lake Malawi and also at the same place they bought souvineers which were just arranged to be done at the lake. The participants enjoyed being at the lake and had fun. It also proved that when you spend a night at the lake then you have more time to rest and start off for the trip back to the project site.
3.3. Life Skills
The life skills programme also went on very well with most of the girls and boys being available throughout the training. The participants also enjoyed the participation from the local girls on the topics that were covered. Despite this school being a junior primary but the boys and girls identified turned up well.
4. COOPERATION AND INVOLVEMENT
4.1. Leadership team World Servants
Cooperation between the leadership of World Servants and CCAP was very good as there was a lot of discussions and planning together throughout the project. This equally led to a successful project.
4.2. Local leaders / key persons
The local leaders organised their inhabitants very well as there were always more than enough people assisting with various activities at the construction site. The local leaders were most of the times available on the project site.
4.3. Community
The community involvement in this community was one of the best that has ever been seen in most projects. There was always a lot of people on the construction site on a daily basis. The community was well mobilised and showed a lot of self-motivation.
4.4. Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries who are the learners were actively involved in the activities which were done during childrens work and also outside childrens work the childrens had a lot of fun with the participants.
4.5. (Local) authorities
The local authorities were always available on a daily basis trying to make arrangements and organising the activities to be done on a daily basis. They collaborated well with the group and organised everything for the group.
5. PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS
5.1. Accommodation
Accommodation was arranged in the existing school block and there were no complaints recorded regarding accommodation.
5.2. Food
Food was well arranged and the participants were happy with the food prepared for them. Hygiene was also the main emphasis and there were no sicknesses recorded due to food provided.
5.3. Transportation
The transport provided was also always available for the various tasks such as ferrying of sand and bricks and also visits to internet and shopping. The only minor challenge was the bus which was not consistent on the road however with this group the bus was always available throughout all the trips.
5.4. Safety
Safety of the group was always guaranteed and there were no risks on the groups that were observed so far. The only area that needs further discussion and clarification from our side is driving in the dark. We need to enlighten each other on what time is risky for the group to drive in the dark. From our understanding driving around 7 pm is not a risk at all but sometimes has been regarded by other leaders as driving in the dark. This may not be serious issue with us but we need to adhere with the safety plan.
6. LESSONS LEARNED
From this project there were really not serious lessons learnt apart from the fact that maintaining high level of hygiene both in the kitchen as well as as the dining room is effective in reducing sicknesses in the participants. The other lesson learnt is that with proper planning we can always do more and break the records.
