project cycle management, non-formal education and community development

1

The young side of the Moon

Edited by Fausto Amico and Alessandro Melillo

Prism – Promozione Internazionale Sicilia-Mondo

with the support of:

Resource Hub for Development (RHD), Kenya

Volunteers for Community Development and

Environment Education, Vietnam

New Beginnings Charitable Trust, India

DOREA Educational Institue WTF, Cyprus

Jaunatnes Iniciativu Centrs, Latvia

Inter Alia, Greece

Federation Dimbaya Kagnalen, Senegal

ERASMUS+ Key Action 2, Capacity building in the field of

youth

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This

publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held

responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

2

Index

FOREWORD ------------------------------------------------------ 4

Who is this booklet for ------------------------------------------ 5

How to use the booklet ----------------------------------------- 5

CHAPTER 1 - The project: The young side of the moon -------- 7

CHAPTER 2 - PCM and the Dark side of the Moon ----------- 14

2.1 The project cycle ------------------------------------------ 14

CHAPTER 3 - The training course on PCM and community

development -------------------------------------------------- 21

3.1 The Analysis phase ---------------------------------------- 22

3.1.1 Cultural diversity through painting ---------------------- 22

3.1.2 The project context -------------------------------------- 25

3.1.3 Stakeholder Analysis ------------------------------------- 27

3.1.4 Problem Analysis ---------------------------------------- 29

3.1.5 Are you a midwife? -------------------------------------- 32

3.1.6 Image theatre -------------------------------------------- 33

3.1.7 The objective tree --------------------------------------- 35

3.1.8 Forum theatre ------------------------------------------- 37

3.1.9 Strategy analysis ----------------------------------------- 39

3.1.10 Cooperative and group work -------------------------- 40

3

3.2 The Planning phase ---------------------------------------- 42

3.2.1 Building the Logframe Matrix -------------------------- 42

3.2.2 First Column: Intervention Logic ------------------------ 42

3.2.3 Completing the Logframe matrix ----------------------- 46

3.2.4 Activity, resource and cost schedules ------------------- 49

3.2.5 Final evaluation: the spiral ------------------------------- 50

CHAPTER 4 – The job shadowing in Senegal, India, Vietnam

and Kenya ----------------------------------------------------- 54

4.1 The job shadowing in Senegal ---------------------------- 55

4.2 The job shadowing in India ------------------------------- 60

4.3 The job shadowing in Vietnam ---------------------------- 65

4.4 The job shadowing in Kenya ------------------------------ 69

CHAPTER 5 – The learning achievments ---------------------- 74

5.1 The participants ------------------------------------------- 74

5.2 The partner organizations --------------------------------- 77

CONCLUSIONS ------------------------------------------------ 78

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --------------------------------------- 81

References ----------------------------------------------------- 83

4

FOREWORD

I am pleased to introduce the booklet “Young side of the

Moon”, summarizing the conclusions of an intense

cooperation and exchange of experiences in the field of youth

and community development, involving 48 youth workers and

8 organizations from Italy, Senegal, Kenya, India, Vietnam,

Latvia, Greece, Cyprus. The project has given us the

opportunity to establish human and professional relationship

with colleagues and friends from different regions of the

World. A first training course was held in Italy, providing a

non-formal and creative training on the Project Cycle

Management linked to the concept on Nonviolent Community

Development, and equipping youth workers with knowledge,

key competences and learning tools needed for the

development and delivery of community-based projects. The

job shadowing where hosted in Senegal, India, Vietnam and

Kenya, offering a reciprocal opportunity for practical learning

experience, exchange of good practice, acquire key

competences in the field of youth work and community

development.

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new lands

but in seeing with new eyes". Marcel Proust

Fausto Amico

PRISM – Promozione Internazionale Sicilia-Mondo

5

WHO IS THIS BOOKLET FOR

The booklet targets youth workers that are engaged in

community work with disadvantaged young people. Overall it

aims to provide inspiration and guidelines to provide youth

workers with knowledge, key competences and practical tools

needed for the development and delivery of community-based

projects that responds to identified young people community’s

needs. The booklet gives also an inside look of a common

learning pathway on youth work and community development

as experienced in different regions of the World.

How to use the booklet

The booklet is intended as a learning resource to support

community development in the frame of youth work.

The first chapter briefly presents the project, its objectives,

activities and the international partnership.

The second chapter reviews key concepts on PCM and how it

could be linked to the concept album of Pink Floyd entitled

"The Dark Side of the Moon”.

The third chapter introduces the Training Course in Italy,

describing the key processes for designing and conducting

training modules on PCM, with a focus on how PCM could be

combined with non-formal education and theatre of the

oppressed.

The fourth chapter reports the Job Shadowing activities in

Senegal, India, Vietnam and Kenya.

6

The fifth chapter includes the conclusions about what we have

learned during the project.

7

CHAPTER 1

THE YOUNG SIDE OF THE MOON

Erasmus+ 2014-2020

Erasmus+ aims to strengthen the quality of youth work and

non-formal learning for young people in Europe. It provides

opportunities for young people to experience learning mobility

in Europe and beyond and for youth workers to develop their

interpersonal skills and improve their employment prospects

through training and networking opportunities in Europe and

beyond1.

Youth workers' training and networking

Capacity Building projects are transnational cooperation

projects based on multilateral partnerships between

organizations active in the field of youth in EU and Partner

Countries.

Project title

The young side of the Moon

Dates

02/10/2014 - 02/04/2016

Description

The project focuses on how the global crisis affects young

people in its multi-dimensions. Different youth needs around

the world are addressed according to a creative approach

1For more information:

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/programme/index_en.htm

8

experimented by PRISM, which is based on use the concept

album of Pink Floyd entitled "The Dark Side of the Moon".

Venue

Italy(Caltanissetta), Senegal (Ziguinchor), India (Vijayawâda),

Vietnam (Hanoi), Kenya (Kisumu).

Countries involved

Italy, Senegal, Kenya, India, Vietnam, Latvia, Greece, Cyprus

Themes

- Project Cycle Management

- Nonviolent community development

- Youth work in EU and Partner countries

General objective

To engage youth workers from EU and Partner countries to

step up into leadership roles in their local and global

communities as agent and multipliers for sustainable co-

development and growth.

Specific objective

To enhance the socio-professional development of youth

workers and organizations to respond to identified community

needs and global challenges affecting young people World-

wide.

Results achieved.

- N. 48 youth workers from EU and Partner Countries equipped

with key competences and tools on Project Cycle Management

and community development.

9

- Strengthened the capacity of youth workers and

organizations involved to delivery community based project

addressing young people.

- Strengthened international cooperation and the exchange of

experiences on youth work and community development

between different World countries.

Participants

N. 48 youth workers engaged with different groups of

disadvantaged young people in community-based activities.

Activities

The project include different mobility activities of youth

workers:

- A Training Course in Italy, Caltanissetta, 20-28 February

2015, involving 28 youth workers from Italy, Senegal,

Kenya, Vietnam, Latvia, Greece, Cyprus.

- A Job shadowing in Senegal, Ziguinchor, 20-28 April

2015, involving 5 youth workers from Italy, Greece,

Senegal.

- A Job shadowing in India, Vijayawada, 20-28 June 2015,

involving 5 youth workers from Italy, Cyprus, India.

- A Job shadowing in Vietnam, Hanoi And Ha Giang

Province, 30 August - 8 September 2015, involving 5

youth workers from Italy, Latvia, Vietnam.

- A Job shadowing in Kenya 28 October to 6 November

2015, involving 5 youth workers from Italy, Cyprus,

Latvia, Kenya.

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The international partnership

The project involves 11 non-governmental organisations from

EU and Western Balkans countries:

Project coordinator: Prism-Promozione Internazionale

Sicilia-Mondo - Italy, Caltanissetta

Prism acts as a local development agent encouraging

transnational cooperation on policies promoted by the

European Commission. The association is intended as a

laboratory where both public and private organizations and

individuals with related interests can converge, exchange ideas

and collaborate to develop projects that promote the

economic, social and cultural development of the territory.

Link: www.associazioneprism.eu

Resource Hub for Development (RHD), Kenya

Resource Hub for Development (RHD) which is a registered

national non-governmental organization was founded in 2010

by young citizens from different communities in Kenya. The

organization regards the youngsters as the most dynamic part

of and source of the society.

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Link: www.kenyadev.org

Volunteers for Community Development and Environment

Education, Vietnam

Volunteers for Community Development & Environment

Education (V4D) is a non-government, non-profit organization

in Vietnam. We provide informal education service for youth,

vulnerable groups, and build capacity for social enterprises.

Link: www.v4d.asia

New Beginnings Charitable Trust, India

NewBeginnings Charitable Trust (NCT) has been working with

International volunteers since 2009. NCT primarily works in the

field of youth and community building, providing as well

volunteering opportunity to international volunteers.

Link: http://new-beginnings-in.webs.com

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DOREA Educational Institue WTF, Cyprus

DOREA Educational Institute WTF is one of the leading training

providers in Cyprus and it is a not for profit organisation,

providing a full range of specialised integrated services in the

areas of training and education.

Link: www.dorea.org

Jaunatnes Iniciativu Centrs, Latvia

Kekava municipality institution “Youth initiative centre” is

founded in 18th January 2011, but it commenced its operations

in July 2012. Centre is devoted to youngsters from 13-25 years

old, but it is worth mention that in centre activities involve

youngsters even from 11 years.

Link: www.facebook.com/jickekava

Inter Alia, Greece

Inter Alia is a civic organization and a think-tank based in

Athens, Greece. Its mission is to raise the capacity and

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awareness of European citizens on the available channels for

acting, participating & shaping Europe. The four main tools for

action are: Analysis, Debate, Networking and Research.

Link: www.interaliaproject.com

Federation Dimbaya Kagnalen, Senegal

Local partner of ChildFund, The federation Dimbaya is civil

Society organization with over 5-year experience in community

development covering Ziguinchor department composed of

114 areas (26 urban districts and 88 villages). Its mission is to

engage youth to bring positive and lasting change in their

communities.

Link: www.facebook.com/fedimbaya

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CHAPTER 2

PCM AND THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

2.1 The project cycle

“Project Cycle Management” (PCM) is the methodology

adopted by European Commission as its main approach for

project and programme management. The main aim of PCM is

to facilitate a participatory approach in designing and

managing projects, starting from the real needs of the final

beneficiaries of the activities. This approach ensures a high

quality of the project activities (that are targeted to the real

needs of the target groups) and, above all, a high level and a

strong sustainability of the project results and impacts. The

project cycle is made up of five phases: programming,

identification, preparation and formulation, (approval and

financing ), implementation, and evaluation

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This cycle highlights three main principles:

1. Decision making criteria and procedures are defined at each

phase (including key information requirements and quality

assessment criteria);

2. The phases in the cycle are progressive and linked to each;

3. New programming and project identification starts from the

results of monitoring and evaluation after every intervention

(cycle).

The monitoring and evaluation phase aim to map the new the

starting context, the new basic situation to deal with a new

project, the initial condition to improve that are to be

considered modified by the previous intervention. Every phase

of the PCM is linked to one (or more than one) song of the

concept album "the dark side of the moon", as described

below.

PCM Phase1: The Programming phase

The Programming phase, in the framework of EU programmes,

this phase refers to the negotiation process undertaken at a

institutional level. The final product of this phase is an agreed

Programme. This is the phase in which the situation is analyzed

to identify problems, constraints and opportunities.

From the project manager point of view, in this phase the

starting context is analyzed , the basic situation we're going to

deal with our project, the initial condition that we want to

improve, change, modify It is analyzed and the information on

the actual needs, whatever the context, target group or

stakeholders are collected in order to target a real need with

the project that we're going to develop in the later stages.

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"The dark side of the moon" TRACK:1 - Speak To Me

The album begins with the introduction ‘Speak to Me.’ The first

sound we hear is a heartbeat representing the beginning of

life. This track is a collage of the entire album, foreshadowing

what is to come, it is a collage of sounds, voices and noises

that can be heard later on the following tracks. It is a summary

of conversation with the new born child asking for advices.

It is exactly what it has to be done at the beginning of the

PCM. The good project manager has to identify all the

elements that will be found later in the project. This is the

phase of collecting information (by "speaking" to the target

groups and stakeholders) on the real needs to address. It's the

phase in which the project manager ask for advices and

information, exactly as the new born child mentioned-above.

PCM Phase2: The Identification phase

The Identification phase focuses on analysis of relevance of

project ideas, selected on the basis of the identification of the

better strategies to address the problems and needs revealed

in the previous phase. For each of these priorities, strategies

that take account of the lessons of past experience will be

formulated. The following question is answered: «Is the project

concept relevant to beneficiaries needs and consistent with EU

policy priorities?»

"The dark side of the moon" TRACK: 2 - Breathe and 8 -

Any Color You Like

The lyrics in Breathe seem to imply two different lifestyles

which are the follower and the chooser. As the second phase

of the PCM is about choices (the strategies to choose to

address problems and needs), It is crucial in our analysis the

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line of the song: “Look around and choose your own ground.”

This line clearly tells one to make your own decisions based

upon information collected through the direct observation and

through data collection from stakeholders. This is the proper

way to go through life, using logic to take decisions. While the

song "Any Color You Like" it is a sarcastic remark that

underlines the chronicle lack of choices that afflict some

people during their live. It stands in opposition to the view of

life in "black and white".

PCM Phase3: The Formulation phase

After the choice of the strategy, the overall structure of the

project is determined. This phase usually consists (in EU

projects), in the preparation of a detailed project proposal. All

the key elements of the projects (context, aims and objectives,

expected results, tasks, roles, activities, target groups, impacts,

budget and so on...) will be detailed in an application form. In

the logic of PCM, this is the phase for the use of the logical

framework approach as a logical tool to go into the details of

the key aspects of the project and to check the feasibility of

the project itself.

The logframe matrix aims at:

- validating and detailing every element of the intervention

logic (first column of the logframe);

- thinking about how the project will be monitored and

evaluated (second and third columns of the logframe);

- taking into account potential risks and assumptions that can

badly influence the project (fourth column),

- the budget and the resources needed for the proper

implementation of the activities.

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"The dark side of the moon" TRACK : 3 - On the Run and

4 - Time

The theme of time, in our overlap between PCM and Pink

Floyd's album has, to this point of the PCM a double meaning:

1) In the formulation of the project proposal, time it is a key

element that must mark the activities, roles and responsibilities

of any project activity. The Gantt chart or the work plan of a

project are the elements that summarize all the key aspects of

any proposed formulation of the project proposal.

2) The time and its deadlines, are common factors and

essential elements to be considered in the process of

formulation and preparation of proposals for project managers

working on call for proposals basis.

PCM Financing stage ($): Approval and financing

The quality of the project will be evaluated by the funding

authority. In the case the project positively meets the selection

criteria and get a proper evaluation, it will receive funding to

be implemented.

"The dark side of the moon" TRACK : 6 - Money

The song opens the B side of the LP with the sound of cash

registers. This song deals with the theme of money and how

modern society is attached to the concept of wealth and

accumulation of resources. In our analysis, the song lends itself

perfectly to accompany the explanation of the PCM phase

which represents the financing stage and the granting of the

project.

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PCM Phase 4: The Implementation phase

In the first phases of the PCM the project has been planned,

the key aspects have been identified and if the grant is

received (financing stage) the project can be put into practice.

The implementation of the project is to be considered as the

practical phase of the cycle in which what have been planned

and written in the application form during the formulation

phase (in terms of activities, achievement of results, proper use

of the resources etc.. ), have to be implemented as closely as

possible to what previously formulated . The implementation

stage of the project cycle is in many ways the most critical, as it

is during this stage that planned benefits are delivered.

"The dark side of the moon" TRACK : 7 - Us and Them

"Us and them" is a song that deals with the issue of relations,

cooperation and how to perceive us and the other. The same

title puts in opposition the idea of the ego within a complex

and diversified society.

These elements, within the PCM implementation phase, are to

be considered as crucial aspects, as especially in the EU-

Funded projects, the joint implementation of the project

activities between partner organisations coming from different

countries is a key element and one of the main aspects for the

proper implementation of the project and for the optimization

of its impacts.

PCM Phase 5: The Evaluation phase

The evaluation phase aims to understand if the implemented

activities were carried out in a suitable way (and so adhering to

what is indicated in the application form) and especially if and

how the starting situational that in the programming phase

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has been identified as a need to satisfy, has been truly

changed / improved.

Therefore the evaluation phase has the double role to:

- measure the impact of the project (and so the effectiveness

of the activities and the sustainability of the impact);

- map the new the starting context, the new basic situation to

deal with a new project, the new initial conditions to improve

that are to be considered modified by the previous

intervention. The evaluation leads to future projects and

programming.

This final phase helps to understand why the PCM is a theory

set on a cyclical trend, rather than on a path with a beginning

and an end.

"The dark side of the moon" TRACK : 10 - Eclipse

Eclipse is the final song of the album and it uses many

messages to describe the human experience and to close the

cycle of the story told in the album. In this song the word "all"

it's used twenty times, and it is used to list all the

achievements, the defeats, the improvements made and the

needs never fulfilled of a man, or maybe of the entire human

race, in the path of life, and in particular at the end of this path.

This repetition of the word "all" creates a real list, and in fact, is

the time to draw the conclusions of what has been done, what

has been done, on what could be done better or differently

and what was absolutely better to avoid. A final reflection, a

real evaluation. The track and the album close with the same

heartbeat heard at the beginning of the album. A cycle closes,

but another one is ready to go.

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CHAPTER 3

THE TRAINING COURSE

In this chapter you will find a description of the learning

activities proposed within the training course. It describes the

key processes for designing and conducting training modules

by using Project Cycle Management (PCM), with a focus on

how to plan community development projects in the youth

field. PCM is used and experimented with non-formal

educational and theatre. All learning activities are described by

using the same structure: objectives, timing, instructions,

conclusions and materials needed.

Dates

20/10/2014 - 28/10/2014

Venue

Italy, Caltanissetta

Countries involved

N. 28 participants from Italy, Senegal, Kenya, India, Vietnam,

Latvia, Greece, Cyprus

Themes

- Project Cycle Management

- Nonviolent community development

Learning objectives

To equip youth workers with key competences related to

Project Cycle Management in order to respond to identified

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community needs and global challenges affecting young

people world-wide.

The activities

The training course focuses on two stages:

1. The Analysis Stage, during which the context/area of

the project is screened and analysed, to select the

strategies that will be applied to improve it. We always

intervene in order to address the problems faced by

target groups / beneficiaries, as well as their needs and

interests. The Analysis Phase include :⇒ Stakeholder

Analysis ⇒ Problem and Needs Analysis ⇒ Analysis of

Objectives ⇒ Analysis of Strategies.

2. In the Planning Stage the intervention strategy is

further developed into a practical, operational plan

ready to be implemented. All knowledge and insights

obtained during analysis are integrated in the planning.

The logframe matrixes drawn up, and activities and

resources are defined and scheduled.

3.1 The Analysis phase

Participants are split in multicultural groups focusing on

different main problems that affects young people in local

communities (ex. unemployment, poverty, exclusion, racism,

conflicts, health, education, environment). The participants

should keep the same group throughout the training sessions.

3.1.1 Cultural diversity through painting

OBJECTIVES: The workshop helps participants to develop

awareness of other cultures and appreciation of cultural

diversity. It also enable participants to create a climate of trust

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and understanding, focusing on their capacity to “enter the

other person’s model of the world” through observation,

communication and creativity.

SUGGESTED TIME: 60 min.

INSTRUCTIONS: The activity addresses the issue of cultural

diversity through visual communication. Participants are

introduced to portraits by showing a range of examples

(photojournalism, portraits of homeless, ceramic sculpture,

hybrid of humans and animals, portraits from artistic

movements, etc). Participants are invited to work in pairs and

portrait each other, by bringing out facial characteristics,

expressions, emotions and aspects of cultural identity.

CONCLUSIONS: Presentation of works and final group

debriefing.

MATERIALS: A projector, pencils, colors, papers, good

soundtracks inspiring participants.

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3.1.2 The project context

OBJECTIVES: the activity aims to engage participants in a

common reflection on the area we want to intervene.


INSTRUCTIONS: Participants are introduced to a case study

concerned a development project targeting rural tribe women

in central Africa in order to improve their quality of life. The

case study shows a projects which had to face failure, causing

a damage for the final beneficiaries life instead of an improved

condition. Therefore, the reasons for failure of the project are

asked and discussed among participants.

CONCLUSIONS: The trainer close the case study without

summarizing main findings. Main findings will be analyzed at

the end of the training.

MATERIALS: a flip chart, pencils.

26

The Reciprocal Maieutic Approach (RMA)

The Reciprocal Maieutic Approach (RMA) is a dialectic method

of inquiry and "popular self-analysis" for empowerment of

communities and individuals. It can be defined as a “process of

collective exploration that takes, as a departure point, the

experience and the intuition of individuals” (Dolci, 1996). The

RMA was developed by Danilo Dolci from the Socratic concept

of Maieutic. It derives from the ancient Greek "µαιευτικός",

pertaining to midwifery: every act of educating is like giving

birth to the full potential of the learner who wants to learn, as a

mother wants her child to emerge from her.

In the RMA process, to educate is intended in the classical

meaning of the word, that is “e-ducere”: to take out. As the

name says, RMA is a “reciprocal” process between at least two

persons and it is normally done inside a group, with one person

27

asking questions and others giving answers. It is the reciprocal

maieutic communication that brings out people’s knowledge,

with all participants learning from each other2. As an approach

for nonviolent community development, RMA provides a model

for helping youth workers and young people to become more

active in promoting community projects that concretely

improve their life.

3.1.3 Stakeholder Analysis

OBJECTIVES: The activity aims to identify all those groups,

namely stakeholders, who have a significant interest in the

project


INSTRUCTIONS:

A properly planned project addressing the real needs of the

beneficiaries cannot be achieved without an analysis of the

existing situation. A basic premise behind stakeholder analysis

is that different groups have different concerns, capacities and

interests, and that these need to be explicitly understood and

recognized in the process of problem identification, objective

setting and strategy selection. However, the existing situation

is likely to be perceived in different ways by different groups of

stakeholders. Thus it is important to bring together

representatives of all key stakeholders in the Analysis Phase.

Information about existing problems comes from a variety of

sources including interviews, surveys, reports and statistics. The

2 Source: “EDDILI - To EDucate is to make possible the DIscovery of Life”

http://reciprocalmaieutic.danilodolci.it/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/English.pdf

28

likely relevance, feasibility and sustainability of an intervention

are likely to be much greater if important stakeholders are

consulted during situation analysis.

The main steps involved in stakeholder analysis:

1. Identify the general problem or opportunity being

addressed/considered;

2. Identify all those groups who have a significant interest in

the (potential) project according to the following criteria:

power of influence, interest;

4. Identify the extent of cooperation or conflict in the

relationships between stakeholders;

5. Interpret the findings of the analysis and incorporate

relevant information into project design in order to promote

stakeholder ownership and participation.

A stakeholder map:

29


debriefing.

MATERIALS: pencils, flip chart papers, post-it.

3.1.4 Problem Analysis

OBJECTIVES: Problem analysis identifies the negative aspects

of an existing situation and establishes the “cause and effect”’

relationships between the problems that exist.


INSTRUCTIONS: The analysis is presented in diagram form

showing effects of a problem on top and its causes

underneath. Once complete, the problem tree represents a

summary picture of the existing negative situation.

How to Establish a Problem Tree?

- Step 1: Identify major problems existing within a given

situation (brainstorming).

- Step 2: Select an individual starter problem. Look for

related problems to the starter problem.

- Step 3: Visualization of the problems in form of a

diagram, called a “problem tree” or “hierarchy of

problems”.

- Step 4: Establish hierarchy of cause and effects:

problems which are directly causing the starter

problems are put below; problems which are direct

effects of the starter problem are put above.

- Step 6: Connect the problems with cause-effect arrows.

30

- Step 7: Review the diagram and verify its validity and

completeness.

Rules for Writing Problems:

- Write down your own statement on a card. Write in a

Sentence. Make clear “subject and object”.

- Problems have to be worded as negative situations

- Problems have to be existing problems, not future ones

or imagined ones

- Avoid “No money, No capacity, etc.”

- Avoid generalization – be specific.

- Don’twrite a cause and effect in one card.

- The position of the problem in the hierarchy does not

indicate its importance

- A problem is not the absence of a solution, but an

existing negative situation.

49

How to Write a Card (Sample)

Poverty

Parents have low income

31

Example of a problem tree3:


debriefing.


3 From European Commission, International Cooperation and Development,

Aid Delivery Methods, Project Cycle Management Guidelines

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/methodology-aid-

delivery-methods-project-cycle-management-200403_en_2.pdf

32

Note

Absent solutions are problem statements that do not describe

the current negative situation, but describe the absence of a

desired situation. For example, ‘Lack of trained staff’ does not

describe the specific problem (staff has insufficient or

inappropriate skills), and risks biasing the intervention towards

the absent solution (‘training’) when in fact it might be an issue

of recruitment or personnel management.

3.1.5 Are you a midwife?

Participants are introduced to the Reciprocal Maieutic

Approach (RMA) as an educational approach for group work,

analysis, communication and dialogue.Through a continuous

dialogue that embodies a new way of educating,RMA fosters

the development of everybody’s potential to analyze, imagine

and experiment the capacity to change the reality and act

nonviolently. The project manager is not a leader, but

“midwife”, expert in the theory and practice of questioning and

group work, involved in clarifying the essence of everybody’s

intuitions and experiences.

Assumptions:

- Dialogue is a tool for reciprocal research and active

participation.

- Each person has an inner knowledge that comes from

experience.

- Knowledge is dynamic and it should be built within a group.

- Complex images of reality are built through the plurality of

points of view and everyone’s contribution.

33

- Everybody being in connection inside a group can be an

element of change.

The learning process:

- The space is organized in order to create a democratic, non-

hierarchical environment.

- Participants sit in a circle (sharing of power, equality), so

everyone has the same distance from the centre and can look

each other in the eyes. The space is the metaphor of relations,

communication, expression and creativity. There isn’t any

leader, boss, desk or pulpit.

- The RMA coordinator introduces the issue or a “good

question”. Ex. What is peace according to your personal

experience? What is war?

- The workshop should begin as a process of dialectical

inquiry. It is important to put into practice the mosaic

metaphor, to find nexuses, to connect by association of ideas

and analogies.

- The fragments of knowledge, experience, the hypothesis

made by everyone, are gradually related to one another.

- The RMA coordinator closes the workshop by making a short

summary of what has been said during the session and

drawing conclusions on what emerged from it.

3.1.6 Image theatre

OBJECTIVES: Image theatre it is used to explore internal or

external oppression, unconscious thoughts and feelings related

to the focus problem analyzed by participants through the

34

previous problem tree. Image theatreworks across language

and culture barriers and frequently reveal unexpected

universalities. Through image theatreparticipants go deeper

into the analysis process.


INSTRUCTIONS: In Image Theatre, still images are used to

explore abstract concepts such as relationships and emotions,

as well as realistic situations. This technique was developed by

Augusto Boal as part of Theatre of the Oppressed. Participants

in small groups create physical images concerning a conflict

situation as analyzed in their problem tree. They are then

invited to step into the center of the audience and remake

their image. Participants rapidly sculpt their own or each

others' bodies to express attitudes and emotions. In Image,

participants explore issues of oppression by using nonverbal

expression and sculpting their own and other participants’

bodies into static physical images that can depict anything

concrete or abstract, such as a feeling, issue, or moment.

Spectators are asked to observe these images and reflect on

what they witness.


debriefing.

MATERIALS: any kind of material that participants might

creatively use to perform their scene on the stage.

The Theater of the Oppressed, established in the early 1970s

by Augusto Boal, is a participatory theater that fosters

democratic and cooperative forms of interaction among

participants. Theater is emphasized not as a spectacle but

rather as a language accessible to all. More specifically, it is a

rehearsal theater designed for people who want to learn ways

35

of fighting back against oppression in their daily lives.

According to Boal, “Image Theatre can help bring people

together, in a common space, to creatively, nonverbally, and

dialogically express and develop their perceptions of their

world, power structures, and oppressions”.

3.1.7 The objective tree

OBJECTIVES: Analysis of objectives is a methodological

approach employed to: describe the situation in the future

once identified problems have been remedied; verify the

hierarchy of objectives; and illustrate the means-ends

relationships in a diagram.


INSTRUCTIONS: The ‘negative situations’ of the problem tree

are converted into solutions, expressed as ‘positive

achievements’. For example, ‘agricultural production is low’ is

converted into ‘agricultural production increased’. These

positive achievements are in fact objectives, and are presented

in a diagram of objectives showing a means / ends hierarchy.

This diagram provides a clear overview of the desired future

situation.

The main steps in the process are summarized below:

Step 1: Reformulate all negative situations of the problems

analysis into positive situations that are desirable and

realistically achievable.

Step 2: Check the means-ends relationships to ensure validity

and completeness of the hierarchy (cause-effect relationships

are turned into means-ends linkages).

36

Step 3: If necessary: revise statements, add new objectives if

these seem to be relevant and necessary to achieve the

objective at the next higher level, delete objectives which do

not seem suitable or necessary.

Example of an objective tree4:

4From European Commission, International Cooperation and Development, Aid Delivery

Methods, Project Cycle Management Guidelines

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/methodology-aid-delivery-methods-

project-cycle-management-200403_en_2.pdf

37


debriefing.


3.1.8 Forum theatre

Forum Theatre was developed in the 1960s by Brazilian theatre

director Augusto Boal. It is a theatrical game in which a

problem is shown in an unsolved form, to which the audience,

as spect-actors, is invited to suggest and enact solutions.The

goal of Forum Theatre is to make people more aware of some

problems that they may have not considered previously.

Forum Theatre scenarios are designed to stimulate audience

participation through discussion, interactive role-playing and

shared experiences. Audience members are allowed to attempt

their solutions until they feel satisfied they have done

everything they have wanted to do. After the Forum scene has

been worked through, discussion can take place about the

scene's issue(s). Participants explore the complexity of the

individual/group relation at a variety of levels of human

exchange. They are invited to map out: a) the dynamics of

power within and between groups; b) the experience and the

fear of powerlessness within the individual; and c) rigid

patterns of perception that generate miscommunication and

conflict, as well as ways of transforming them. The aim of the

forum is not to find an ideal solution, but to invent new ways

of confronting problems.

38

OBJECTIVES: It enables participants to find creative solutions to

identified problems through theatre and try out courses of

action which could be applicable to their everyday lives.


INSTRUCTIONS:

- Participants in groups are invited to perform a short

play showing a situation of oppression connected with

their group theme.

- The problem is always the symptom of an oppression,

and generally involves visible oppressors and a

protagonist who is oppressed.

- The play is shown twice. During the replay, any member

of the audience (‘spect-actor’) is allowed to shout

‘Stop!’, step forward and take the place of one of the

oppressed characters, showing how they could change

the situation to enable a different outcome. Several

alternatives may be explored by different spect-actors.

The other actors remain in character, improvising their

responses.

- The game is a form of contest between spect-actors

trying to bring the play to a different end (in which the

cycle of oppression is broken) and actors ostensibly

making every possible effort to bring it to its original

end (in which the oppressed is beaten and the

oppressors are triumphant).

- The process is presided over by the ‘Joker’- whose job

is to ensure a smooth running of the game and teach

the audience the rules, however, like all participants can

be replaced if the spect-actors think they aren’t doing a

good enough job.

39

- Many different solutions are enacted in the course of a

single forum- the result is a pooling of knowledge,

tactics and experience, and at the same time what Boal

calls a ‘rehearsal for reality’.


debriefing.

MATERIALS: any kind of material that participants might

creatively use to perform their scene on the stage.

3.1.9 Strategy analysis

Strategy analysis is a process in which specific project

strategies are selected from among the objectives raised in

objectives analysis, based upon selection criteria. Analysis of

Strategies involves deciding what objectives will be included IN

the specific intervention, and what objectives will remain OUT,

and what the operation purpose and overall objectives will be.

The selected strategy will then be used to help formulate the

first column of the Logical Framework, particularly in helping

to identify the project Overall Objective, Purpose and potential

Results.

How to select the project strategy?

- Divide the objective tree into different clusters of

objectives.

- Name all clusters.

- Remove impossible one to achieve.

- Set criteria to make the final selection.

40

Example of a strategy analysis from the objective tree5:

3.1.10 Cooperative and group work

Through cooperative learning, participants work together in

groups or all together on structured activities. They are

individually accountable for their work, and the work of the

group as a whole is also assessed. Participants work face-to-





41

face and learn to work as a team. They develop interpersonal

skills, learn how to communicate and learn from each other.

They learn how to overcome problems, to deal with conflicts

and find solutions in a cooperative way. Teamwork,

negotiation and communication skills are central to effective

PCM.

The life cycle of a group

Teams pass through four stages of development as they go

from a collection of individuals to a fully cohesive, functioning

group, as follows:

- The RED Team (Forming/ Orientation)

- BLUE Team (Storming/ Dissatisfaction)

- The YELLOW Team (Norming/ Integration)

- The GREAN Team (Performing/ Production)

Understanding these stages and applying the right leadership

strategies is essential to team success.

42

3.2 The Planning Stage

The results of the stakeholder, problem, objectives and

strategy analysis are used as the basis for preparing the Logical

Framework Matrix. The main output of the LFA is the logframe

matrix. The logframe sets out the intervention logic of the

project and describes the important assumptions and risks that

underlie this logic. With objectively verifiable indicators and

sources of verification, the logframe provides the framework

against which progress will be monitored and evaluated.

3.2.1 Building the Logframe Matrix

The logical framework matrix is a way of presenting the

substance of a planned intervention in a comprehensive and

commonly understandable form. The matrix has four columns

and four rows: ⇒The vertical logic identifies what will be done

and achieved, and specifies the important assumptions and

risks beyond the operation management’s control. ⇒The

horizontal logic relates to the measurement of the effects of,

the indicators, and how and where they will be verified.

3.2.2 First Column: Intervention Logic

OBJECTIVES: The first column of the Logframe matrix is called

the “Intervention logic”. It summarises the ‘means-end’ logic

of the proposed project, by setting out the basic strategy.


INSTRUCTIONS: Participants work in group in order to

structure their intervention logic. The intervention logic

describes hierarchy of the project objectives and makes the

distinction between program strategy (Overall Goal), project

impact (Project Purpose), project deliverables (Outputs) and

the key activities (Activities).

43

The LFM consists of a matrix with four columns and four (or

more) rows, which summarise the key elements of a project

plan, namely:

-the project’s hierarchy of objectives (Project Description or

Intervention Logic);

-the key external factors critical to the project’s success

(Assumptions);

-how the project’s achievements will be monitored and

evaluated (Indicators and Sources of Verification).

The Logframe also provides the basis on which resource

requirements (inputs) and costs (budget) are determined.

Note on terminology

- Overall objective: the broad development impact to which the

project contributes – at a national or sectoral level (provides

the link to the policy and/or sector programme context).

- Purpose: the development outcome at the end of the project,

more specifically the expected benefits to the target group(s).

- Results: the direct/tangible results (good and services) that

the project delivers, and which are largely under project

management’s control.

- Activities: the tasks (work programme) that are needed to be

carried out to deliver the planned results.

The project Information must be extracted from the objective

tree and put into the LFM. When the objective hierarchy is read

from the bottom up, it can be expressed in terms of:

44

- IF adequate inputs/resources are provided, THEN

activities can be undertaken;

- IF the activities are undertaken, THEN results can be

produced;

- IF results are produced, THEN the purpose will be

achieved;

- and IF the purpose is achieved, THEN this should

contribute towards the overall objective.

A description on how transposing objectives into the logframe

matrix is shown below6:





45


debriefing.


46

3.2.3 Completing the draft Logframe matrix

OBJECTIVES: to complete the draft Logframe matrix by

including indicators, source of verifications, assumptions.


INSTRUCTIONS: Participants in their group keep completing

their draft Logframe matrix.

Second Column: Indicators

Indicators describe the operation’s objectives in operationally

measurable terms (quantity, quality, target group(s), time,

place). Specifying indicators helps checking the viability of

objectives and forms the basis of the operation monitoring

system. Indicators should be measurable in a consistent way

and at an acceptable cost.

A good indicator should be SMART:

⇒ Specific: measures what it is supposed to measure

⇒ Measurable

⇒ Available at an acceptable cost

⇒ Relevant with regard to the objective concerned

⇒ Time bound

Third Column: Sources of Verification

Sources of verification indicate where and in what form

information on the achievement (described by the indicators)

can be found. The sources of verification should specify:

⇒the format in which the information should be made

available (e.g. progress reports, operation accounts, operation

records, official statistics etc.);

⇒who should provide the information;

47

⇒how regularly it should be provided (e.g. monthly, quarterly,

annually, etc.);

Fourth Column: Risks and Assumptions

An intervention cannot deal with all contextual factors that can

have an influence on its' performance. Many of them are

outside the control of the single intervention. But they are

conditions that must be met if the operation is to succeed.

Assumptions are the answer to the question: “What external

factors are not influenced by the operation, but may affect its

implementation and achievement of objectives?” Those

assumptions, which are very critical, are risks. If they might

influence the success of the intervention in a negative way if

not realized and if the analysis shows that we may assume that

they will be realized without being completely sure, they are

included as assumptions in the fourth column of the Logframe.

These assumptions have to be monitored during the

implementation of the operation.

An example of a how key elements of the draft Logframe

matrix might look (at this stage of preparation) is shown

below7:





48


debriefing.


49

3.2.4 Activity, resource and cost schedules

An Activity Schedule is a format for analyzing and graphically

presenting project activities. It helps to identify their logical

sequence, expected duration, any dependencies that exist

between activities, and provides a basis for allocating

management responsibility. With the Activity Schedule

prepared, further specification of resources and scheduling of

costs can be undertaken.

A checklist for preparing an activity schedule:

- Step 1: List Main Activities

- Step 2: Break Activities Down Into Manageable Tasks

- Step 3: Clarify Sequence And Dependencies

- Step 4: Estimate Start-Up, Duration And Completion Of

Activities

- Step 5: Summarize Scheduling Of Main Activities

- Step 6: Define Milestones;

- Step 7: Define Expertise

- Step 8: Allocate Tasks Among Team;

Example of indicative Activity Schedule - prepared during the

Formulation Stage:

50

3.2.5 Final evaluation: the spiral

At the end participants sit in a spiral for the final evaluation.

Coming back to first activity, participants are asked: “Why a

project fail?”.

Participants, sitting in a spiral shape, are invited to discuss

about weakness and critical points about their project

proposal, while sitting into the spiral.

The spiral is a metaphor for chaos and confusion. Into the

spiral communication and dialogue are distorted:

misunderstanding, mistrust and distances are nurtured.

In a spiral participants experiences the importance in life of

being in circle as a metaphor for human capital, open

communication, equality, sharing of power, free expression

and creativity.

51

In a circle everyone has the same distance from the center and

can look each other in the eyes. The space is organized in

order to create a democratic, non-hierarchical environment.

Haranguing the crowd from the balcony is totally different

than trying to create a democratic dialogue where it is possible

to communicate and co-plan a nonviolent and sustainable

future.

Why does a project fail?

Lack of beneficiaries involvement: the consultation process in

analysis and planning should comprise beneficiaries and

stakeholders. Project that do not meet the real needs of

beneficiaries could turn into a damage for people life and well-

being instead of an improved situation.

Lack of project management competences: rigorous planning,

coordination and financial management are essential to ensure

effective and timely project activities and achieve results and

objectives.

Lack of consistency between the objectives of the proposed

project with the local context characteristics and priorities.

External conditions: like political instability, difficult physical

environments, natural disasters, etc..

Scarce resources: human and financial resources should be

planned properly at the analysis and planning phase.

52

Community participation in projects is crucial. A project not

including a strategy to attract required support from various

parties and stakeholders, could gets severely affected.

Cultural issues: projects are managed by outsiders (top-down

approach), so there is little interest in them from the local

community and they may not take local culture and

sensitivities into account. Instead, project management

approaches should be tailored to fit with local values and

culture, ensuring active involvement of beneficiaries and actors

from the local community.

Sustainability: it designates the capacity of a project to

continue beyond its lifetime. Project sustainability is a major

challenge in many community projects: various elements of

sustainability are to be identified, assessed and incorporated

into a project right at the design stage.

Team and cooperative work are fundamental, communication

and sharing of responsibilities are crucial for the success of any

project. Sitting and discussing in circles rather than in a spiral,

is therefore condition to life.

54

CHAPTER 4

THE JOB SHADOWING IN SENEGAL, INDIA, VIETNAM AND

KENYA

The job shadowing activities hosted in Senegal, India,

Vietnam and Kenya offered a reciprocal opportunity for

practical learning experience, intercultural dialogue, and

exchange good practice in order to:

- gain insight into day-to-day activities of the hosting

organization;

- learn about youth community work practices and

projects in the hosting community;

- develop contacts that may facilitate strategic

cooperation with the hosting organization and public

authorities in the partner country.

Learning objectives

The transfer of knowledge & experience facilitated by the

job shadowing activities allowed partner organizations

involved:

- to become more capable to work together;

- to develop new international cooperation projects and

synergies in the youth field between partner

organizations and participants involved;

- to gain key competences in youth work and community

development through a plurality of experiences and

perspectives from different World contexts.

55

4.1 The job shadowing in Senegal

Venue

Ziguinchor, Senegal

Dates

20/04/2015 - 28/04/2015

Countries involved

N. 5 participants from Italy, Greece, Senegal.

The context

Located between two neighbouring countries: the Gambia to

the North and Guinea-Bissau to the South; Ziguinchor, in the

south part of Senegal, most educated area with a unique

melting-pot promoting coexistence between different ethnic

groups, religions and beliefs. However, the major drawback of

this region is the old armed conflict over 30 years resulting in

many casualties and displacement. It also significantly delayed

Ziguinchor’s socio-economic development. Added to this is

the unprecedented maritime disaster – the sinking of “Le

Joola” boat – September 26th, 2002, with its consequences felt

at all levels: about 2,865 people died, mostly young

breadwinners (workers, students, pupils) leaving behind many

orphans. These factors explain the precarious socio-economic

situation with more than 75% of the population living below

the poverty line. Families whose main source of income was

agriculture no longer have access to their land now mined.

Entire families have moved to cities further impoverishing host

families already very poor and majorly led by destitute women,

56

causing food insecurity. This is why our organization is

committed into changing this situation.

The hosting organization: Federation Dimbaya Kagnalen

Local partner of ChildFund, The Federation Dimbaya is a civil

society organization with over 5-year experience in community

development covering Ziguinchor department composed of

114 areas (26 urban districts and 88 villages), gathering over

320,000 inhabitants with 39.8% aged 0-14 and 36.5% of 15-35

years. With at least 4,000 children (13.4% infants aged 0-5,

children =70.2% aged 6-14, 16.4% youth aged 15-24) directly

benefitting from the organization’s programs and projects. The

organization’s main objectives are setting up a capable and

aware organization gathering N.7 youth and adults community

based associations bringing appropriate response to those

vulnerable children and young people’s needs in terms of child

protection, healthcare, early childhood care and development,

nutrition, child participation, life skills, youth and economic

empowerment, parental education. Its aim is helping those

neediest children to be young & adults who will bring peace,

positive and lasting change in Casamance.

The activities

The job shadowing offered an outstanding and marvelous

opportunity for reciprocal learning, intercultural dialogue, and

exchange of experiences in the field of community

development, by gaining insight into day-to-day activities of

the hosting organization “Federation Dimbaya Kagnalen” and

its amazing commitment for education and community

development in Casamance. Activities included visit to local

57

community projects, self-help groups and schools in

Ziguinchor and its neighbouring villages

- Visit to local schools in Ziguinchor supported and

financed by Federation Dimbaya: Boutoute, Djiringho,

Katy Kane, ASSOREP Yamatogne.

- Youth club of Boutoute, engaging young people in

recreational and sports activities, education and

Vocational training.

- Th Childfriendly school in the village Nyassia,, including

cultural exchanges with children and young people.

- Round tables with community members of the big

Dimbaya family, including sharing of experiences and

culture.

- Visit to local authorities: municipality and prefecture of

Ziguinchor.

- Cultural tours in the region, as well as specific sessions

dedicated to explore reciprocal opportunities for

synergies and development of follow-up cooperation

projects in the youth field between the partner

organizations involved.

58

Self-Help Group: savings and loans

Federation Dimbaya supports self-help group in the peripheries and

rural areas of Ziguinchor, comprising very poor young people and

women who do not have access to formal financial institutions. A

self-help group is a small voluntary association of people from the

same socio-economic background, who come together for the

purpose of solving their common problems through mutual help,

by promoting small savings which suits the needs of the members.

The savings are kept with a common fund that is in the name of the

group. The self-help group act as a forum to provide space and

support to each member, enabling all members to learn to

cooperate and work in a group environment. A self-help group

significantly contribute to the empowerment of vulnerable groups in

the community.

Senegal children face modern-day slavery

Known as talibés - an Arabic word for pupil - an estimated

50,000 street children, as young as three-years old are sent up to

hundreds of kilometers away from home to big cities, by their

parents to gain religious instruction at "daaras", but they end up

begging on the streets. The phenomenon of child beggars is complex.

Children spend years at the classrooms or "daaras" where "oustaz"

or a "marabout" spirtual guide traditionally teach the children to

read the Koran and to speak Arabic. In practice, the schools serve an

additional purpose - to reduce the burden on parents caring for

large families.

60

4.2 The job shadowing in India

Venue

Vijayawada, India

Dates

20/06/2015 - 28/06/2015

Countries involved

N. 5 participants from Italy, Cyprus, India.

The context

Vijayawada is the third largest city in the southern state of

Andhra Pradesh. Located on the banks of the Krishna river, it is

one of the main commercial and trading centers of Andhra

Pradesh. India is estimated to have one third of the world's

poor. According to World Bank, 37 percent of India’s

population (or about 410 million people) falls below the

poverty line, making the country home to one-third of the

world’s poor. And, although the impressive economic growth

has brought significant economic as well as social benefits to

the country, disparities in income and human development are

on the rise. An enormous number of people live in slums and

rural areas with limited access to electricity, clean water, food,

and educational opportunities. Millions of young people and

children under the age of 14 living in slum are growing up in

abject poverty. Because food is scarce and the need for

families to pool their resources for survival is great, there is

tremendous pressure on young people and children to work.

Slum children work as rag pickers, sewage cleaners and other

unhealthy and dangerous jobs. Young women are married off

61

early, work as indentured servants or end up in prostitution

just to survive. Extreme poverty and lack of education and

employment make girls more vulnerable to being trafficked

from rural areas to big cities in India. While India has gone

through a rapid period of economic growth in recent years,

critics say that growth has come at a severe cost to the

country’s environment in the form of deforestation, pollution

and threats to endangered species.

The hosting organization: NewBeginnings Charitable Trust

NewBeginnings Charitable Trust (NCT) has been working with

International volunteers since 2009. NCT primarily works in the

field of youth and community building with the intervention of

youth activities. NCT has developed a large network of partner

ngos with whom volunteers are placed for volunteering and

youth interactive activities. NCT works in specific social context

of diverse cultural background that calls for specific approach

in implementing programmes and projects related to poor

women, child trafficking, street children, child labourers,

children with disability, young people affected by HIV. Every

programme is designed in consultation with the target group

and is designed for producing sustainable impact on the lives

of the target community. NewBeginnings believes in

community ownership of taking responsibility to grow within.

The activities

Activities during the job shadowing included visit to local

community projects:

- Social Service Society and the Vijayawada Catholic

Diocese, working with street children and formation of

Micro-credit for women from Vinchipet area.

62

- The Asha Sadan community house providing shelter for

children in need of care and protection.

- The self-help groups of women at Kolping Youth Hostel

in Vasantha Rayapular area.

- The Diocesan Youth Animation Centre running

vocational courses for young people who drop out of

school.

- Visit to an orphanage community run by local NGO

HELP, working with rescue and rehabilitation of girl

children trafficked for sexual violence.

- Cultural tours in the region and specific sessions

dedicated to explore reciprocal opportunities for

cooperation and networking, involving local NGOs such

as Leaf society and Siruthuli working on water

management and sanitation in Rural India.

63

Micro finance in the self help groups

NCT in cooperation with the Kolping Youth Centre supports youth

and women groups from villages around Guntur district in Andhra

Pradesh though microfinance projects. Microfinance to Self Help

Groups may be considered as a vital option for meeting the financial

needs of those poorer sections of the society. Microfinance is the

form of financial development that has its primary aim to alleviate

the poverty. The Self-Help Group is a viable organized setup to

disburse microcredit to young people and women for the purpose

of enabling them into various entrepreneurial activities. Micro

finance is a broad term that includes deposits, loans, payment

services, including financial services such as micro credit, micro

savings and micro insurance to poor people.

Human trafficking in India

The trafficking, sale and prostitution of girl children have become

major problems in Andhra Pradesh particularly in Coastal Andhra.

Hundred of girls and women travel on a regular basis and they are

trapped into trouble by traffickers from organized crime

syndicates. There are several factors, which leads the women and

children to be trafficked, such us extreme poverty, domestic

violence, social factors including traditional prostitution practiced

in some nomadic tribes.

Environmental sanitation

Environmental sanitation is a major public health issue in India.

Most Indians living in remote rural areas do not have access to

modern sanitation, causing dangerous diseases and

malnourishment. NCT is working in rural areas in cooperation with

local NGOs on promotion of safe sanitation and drinking water

practices, personal hygiene, solid and liquid waste management’s,

home hygiene and environmental sanitation.

65

4.3 The job shadowing in Vietnam

Venue

Hanoi and Ha Giang province

Dates

30/08/2015 - 8/9/2015

Countries involved

N. 5 participants from Italy, Latvia and Vietnam.

The context

Ha Giang is a province in the Northeast region of Vietnam,

offering one the most amazing landscape of limestone

pinnacles and granite outcrops. This majestic landscape shelter

the largest diversity of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Although

Vietnam’s 53 ethnic minority groups make up less than 15

percent of the population, they accounted for nearly 50

percent of the poor in 2015, residing in isolated and remote

regions. The schools in these areas are not equipped with

enough facilities and quality of teachers is not as high as in the

city as the result students’ basic skills and knowledge are very

limited. The risk of deforestation and forest resources is

threatening the country, and in fact disasters of deforestation

and depletion of forest resources has occurred in many areas,

deforestation is a national disaster. Environmental issues

become extremely important for future generations, resulting

in many consequences which affect directly the young people.

Poverty in Vietnam tends to be seen as a rural phenomenon,

but following a period of rapid urbanization, it is becoming a

significant issue in urban areas as well.

66

The hosting organization: Volunteers for Community

Development & Environment Education Organisation-V4D

Volunteer for Community Development and Environment

Education (V4D) is a non-government, non-profit organization

in Vietnam with a mission to build global community events

through local environmental and community services. As the

first local Non-Government volunteer organization in Vietnam

with official status to have volunteer programs V4D provides

opportunities that make a difference to the lives of people

from all parts of the world. The organization also works to

setup sustainable projects to protect the environment, provide

basic education for vulnerable groups, and encourage

community development and cultural exchange.

The activities

Activities have been hosted at Hanoi city and at Ha Giang

province, the oldest Shan tea area in Vietnam and one of most

beautiful and breathtaking places in the World. The agenda

included:

- Hanoi several meetings have taken place with university

groups and eco-social enterprises in Hanoi, sharing

projects and initiatives to develop capacity for

disadvantaged youth.

- Visits to community projects on capacity building

targeting ethnic minority groups in Ha Giang, including

orientation training targeting hill-tribe teenagers and

young people.

- Responsible and sustainable tourism projects targeting

tea farmers, including visits to hundred-year-old wild

tea trees in Cao Bo.

67

- Cultural tours in the Dong Van karst plateau Geopark,

as member of the Global Geopark Network

coordinated by UNESCO. A Geopark is a territory, which

includes a particular geological and cultural heritage,

promoting a sustainable territorial development

strategy in order to create for tourism and attracted

many visitor within and outside country.

- Specific sessions dedicated to explore reciprocal

opportunities for cooperation and networking in the

field of youth are responsible tourism.

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP

V4D promotes ethnic minority empowerment through

Capacity Building Programme for Ethnic Minorities. Vocational

training classes and community development activities

designed especially for ethnic minority group are undertaken

through the coordination of field facilitators. The programme

focuses on thematic areas which particularly and appropriately

address the needs of learners and their communities as

determined through community-based needs assessment

surveys, including:

- Income generation projects, for example, poultry

farming and business skills training in marketing,

microcredit management, selling of local products

such as organic tea, handicraft, etc..

- Healthy living education focusing on HIV, sanitation,

nutrition, reproductive health and family planning,

diseases prevention.

Capacity building for ethnic minorities

V4D promotes ethnic minority empowerment through Capacity

Building Programme for Ethnic Minorities. Vocational training

classes and community development activities designed especially

for ethnic minority group are undertaken through the coordination

of field facilitators. The programme focuses on thematic areas which

particularly and appropriately address the needs of learners and

their communities as determined through community-based needs

assessment surveys, including:

- Income generation projects, for example, poultry farming

and business skills training in marketing, microcredit

management, selling of local products such as organic tea,

handicraft, etc..

- Healthy living education focusing on HIV, sanitation,

nutrition, reproductive health and family planning, diseases

prevention.

- Environment: eco and geo-tourism, conservation,

educational programs for appropriate use and management

of natural resources.

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4.4 The job shadowing in Kenya

Venue

Kisumu, Kenya

Dates

28/10/2015 - 6/11/2015

Countries involved

N. 5 participants from Italy, Cyprus, Latvia and Kenya.

The context

Kenya has the largest and most diverse economy in East Africa,

with an average annual growth rate of over 5% for nearly a

decade. However, Kenya remains a highly unequal society by

income, by gender, and by geographical location. Widespread

poverty remains a critical development challenge. Rapid

population growth is another major challenge, further

complicated by high unemployment rates especially among

the youth. Whilst many challenges face young people,

undoubtedly the most acute is the inability to access

employment (particularly in the rural areas). It is this that drives

young people into crime and drugs, and into a general state of

hopelessness and despair. According to the World Bank,

between a third and half of the country’s urban population live

in poverty. High level of poverty in Kenya has resulted to

malnutrition and noninfectious diseases affecting young

people and children especially in the dry areas, not easily

accessible and poorly serviced. Poverty affects educational

levels and children from poor backgrounds have been known

to be much less likely to attend school than those of rich

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families. Poorer educational levels imply poorer chances of

gainful employment. Additional negative factors affecting the

youth include marginalization, lack of voice in the community,

poor representation in decision making and limited

recreational facilities. Drug and alcohol abuse in Kenya has led

to an increase in related social, medical and economic

problems, including poor health, domestic violence, increased

crime, sexual violence, unsafe sex and exposure to HIV for

many young people.

The hosting organization: Resource Hub For Development

Resource Hub For Development (RHD) is a registered national,

non-governmental, non-profit, non religious, non-political,

humanitarian and development Organization founded in 2010.

It has a mandate in partnering with communities, local and

international institutions and organizations in alleviating

poverty through socio-economic empowerment and

humanitarian aid in poor marginalized rural regions and urban

slums in Kenya. RHD stand to change the lives of individual

and families in the poorest communities in Kenya by

promoting initiatives and sustainable development solutions

which advocates facilitating lasting change, strengthening

development capacity for self help, providing economic, social

opportunities and relief to the poor.

The activities

Activities included field trips and visit to community projects

and self-help groups in rural areas of the Kisumu region:

- the poultry project in Nyamware Farm promoting

marketing of community agricultural products.

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- The Saints community school hosting children from the

rural community of Ndigwa-Uyoma and the Supa youth

development group.

- The Alara youth development project engaging young

people living in slum areas of Kisumu through sport,

arts and music.

- The Kibeth Welfare Group (Kakelo Villege -Oyugis) and

Homa Hills (Homa-Bay) aiming at eradicating poverty

through aqua-culture.

- The widows group in Katinga supporting orphans on

education and development.

- Self-help groups in Nyamanga where community

members and young people come together to erect a

dispensary in order to cope with the frequent cholera

outbreak in the area, to provide malaria treatment

within the community, to provide care to HIV positive

people and educate for alleviating stigmatization

among young people affected by HIV.

- The Siany Youth Empowerment Initiative and the

Winyarago Orphanage in Migori.

- Sessions dedicated to networking and exchange of

ideas for follow up cooperation projects in the field of

youth and rural development.

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Widows and orphans in rural Kenya

Due to HIV/AIDS, Unknown Death (pandemic) and poverty, many

women have been left widows with several orphans to feed for

themselves with no or meager resources to survive on with no

support from immediate family members. Widows are left helpless

and orphans drop out of school. Older women are left with many

orphans to feed single handed. This has affected the moral, social,

academic, economical and physical wellbeing of the survivors

causing bitter suffering. Depression, helplessness and poverty are

the end result of this situation which is growing at an alarming rate.

Supporting needy children access education

RHD have enhanced access to basic education services through

sponsorship empowerment to needy orphans, disabled and

vulnerable children in Nyakach region. The establishment of the

‘RHD Education Sponsorship Fund’ has enabled the organization

support 56 disabled, orphans and vulnerable children to acquire

secondary education, vocational and technical training through

sponsorship and provide wheel chairs; fight poverty and empower

needy families/ homes through provision of animals like cows, goats

and farming; and offer guidance and counseling services to the

disabled, orphans and vulnerable children, and their caregivers in

the whole Nyanza region, Kenya.

Capacity Building

RHD offered capacity workshops and training and technical

assistance packages, which helped communities implement school

improvement and reform initiatives fully and successfully. Trough

partnership with international organizations youth exchange,

capacity training and technical assistance initiatives have been

implemented in many areas in Nyanza region. Small grants have

been distributed to local community groups for implementation of

education projects.

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CHAPTER 5

THE LEARNING ACHIEVEMENTS

The impact on participants is connected with the learning

objectives, by equipping youth workers with key competences

related to project cycle management, non-formal education

and youth community work.

5.1 The participants

Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship

- to analyze and “understand” the context in which they work

and live;

- to turn common ideas into social and cultural projects that

responds to identified young people’s community needs;

- to plan and deliver young people-oriented projects in their

local communities;

Sense of initiative and

entrepreneurship

Cultural awareness and

expression competences

Social and civic competences

Communication in foreign

languages

Learning to learn

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- to respond to community needs related to young people

more effectively;

- to manage their projects more systematically through project

cycle management.

Cultural awareness and expression competences

- to learn about other cultures and youth work experiences

from different World context;

- to improve the capacity to work in multicultural teams.

Social and civic competences

- to make a positive contribution to society as informed,

responsible and engaged young citizens;

- to increase the capacity to addresses problems and needs

that affect young people globally.

Communication in foreign languages

- to improve English in a multicultural environment and to

learn about different views on life.

Learning to learn

- to pursue and organize one's own learning, either individually

or in groups, in accordance with one's own needs.

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Debbie, participant at the training course in Italy:

PCM training course in Caltanissetta was an awesome

experience. First of all, the course was based on a brilliant idea,

taking Pink Floyd’s tracks from the album “Dark Side Of The

Moon” and analyzing the steps of Project Management Cycle. It

became clear and understandable in a unique way, always

having in mind and sometimes listening to the famous songs.

This course taught me how to deconstruct a problem and step

by step analyze it until I reach the desired outcome. Secondly,

the diversity of the group was definitely a significant advantage.

Getting in touch with people not only from Europe but from

Vietnam, Kenya and Senegal was very educational and curious

and amazing. We exchanged ideas and thoughts and problems

and challenges we may face and I think it evolved me

personally. Overall, it was an amazing experience and very

intense because on one hand we learnt things from the course

and on the other hand we learnt things by just talking and

interacting with each other.

Boyka, participant at the job shadowing in Senegal:

Monday morning – we were picked up by a driver who brought

us to the FDK’s office. A sincere welcoming by the Office

Manager Haby Diallo who we have already met in Caltanissetta,

a short tour of the office and… a meeting with FDK’s Board who

sung for us “Bonjour, bonjour”… We couldn’t feel differently but

welcome, smiles, open eyes and hearts when meeting a large

group of parents, local advisors, religious and civil community

leaders, managers, social workers and students, singing for us.

For a young organization like ours this mobility was a great

opportunity for growing through reciprocal learning,

intercultural dialogue, and exchange of experiences in the field

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of youth work and community development. And learning from

our hosting organization “Federation Dimbaya Kagnalen” (FDK)

was a unique experience of its own.

5.2 The partner organizations

Increased cooperation and networking

- strengthened cooperation between organizations from EU

and World countries to develop joint projects that responds to

common challenges faced by young people;

- sharing of different youth work and community development

experiences from different regions of the World;

- increased experience to work in a multicultural and multi-

ethnic environment;

- network of youth workers who will use the key competences

acquired in their local activities with young people.

Resource Hub For Development team:

The long awaited job-shadowing is finally in Kenya

We at RHD feel delighted and honored to welcome, host and

share good moments with you our friends from Europe. We wish

you all a very fruitful and productive stay at Resource Hub For

Development (Kenya). We are sure you will feel the indomitable

love, splendor and comfort throughout your stay in Kenya.

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CONCLUSIONS

A classic definition of “project” is the one that intends it as a

series of actions planned in order to change, modify and

improve a situation or a condition that needs to be improved,

or simply a problem that has to be solved. A less-known

definition of the one mentioned above, but which I think is

absolutely relevant because it derives from our direct

professional experience in project management, is based on

the idea that the project is to be considered as a “living

creature”. The main idea under this second definition, is that

each project we undertake in our lives (regardless of whether

they are personal or professional projects), needs to be

protected, fed, stimulated, guided and monitored to be

brought to completion. Therefore, the attitude any project

manager need to have towards a project is very similar to the

attitude of a good parent towards a child.

The theory of the Project Cycle Management - PCM, (the

theoretical basis that is used for the proper management of

any project), considers the project as an entity that has, in fact,

its own life cycle. The cycle of a project is punctuated by stages

that lead it from its conception to its implementation and its

fulfillment, exactly as the stages of the life of any individual.

This "humanized" conception of the project, led me to dare an

experiment based on a strange overlap between the project

(precisely understood as a living being) and one of the main

works of art of the 900s whose addresses the topic of the man,

the human being and its way of living on this planet. The

masterpiece I am talking about is one of the best-selling

albums of all time: “The dark side of the moon” of the British

79

rock band Pink Floyd, released in 1973. After its release, the

album went to number one on the Billboard chart for one

week, but it ended up staying on the Billboard charts for 741

consecutive weeks (or just over 14 years). The dark side of the

moon is one of the first example of the so-called "concept

album". Concept album is a studio album where all songs or

lyrical ideas contribute to the telling of a story or evisceration

of a topic. The story told by Pink Floyd, as already explained, is

the story of human being and in particular the story of how

men are in modern society. In this framework, “The dark side

of the moon” begins with the sound of a heartbeat (to

symbolize the birth) and it ends with the same beat that slowly

fades away (to symbolize the end of a path). This album’s

cyclicity further facilitated the overlapping of the PCM (which

by definition is cyclic) to the album itself.

The overlapping experiment was considered successful when I

realized that the tracks in the album, had a direct assonance

with each stage of the PCM, even in accordance with the

sequence of the songs, as explained in the following chapter.

Finally, the famous album cover depicting a PRISM on a black

background, hit by a beam of light , represents the perfect

metaphor of “human being” and of a “project” (which in our

experiment went in parallel), by showing the human (in the

idea of Pink Floyd) and project (in our theory) abilities to

acquire a simple input from the outside (the light beam) and to

process it, change it, turn it into something more, something

new, something better ... the colors of the rainbow! That’s

PCM! That’s life!

Not by chance our organization is called “PRISM”…

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to express our sincere thanks to the participating

organizations: Resource Hub for Development (RHD),

Volunteers for Community Development and Environment

Education, New Beginnings Charitable Trust, DOREA

Educational Institue WTF, Jaunatnes Iniciativu Centrs, Inter Alia,

Federation Dimbaya Kagnalen.

A special thanks to all partner coordinators, staff and

community members of the job shadowing activities in

Senegal, India, Vietnam and Kenya, for welcoming us as friends

and sharing their professional experience in community

development:

Haby Diallo, Baye Mor Talla Ndiaye, Adoulaye Diouf, Salif

Kanoute, the president Moussa Ndir Samb, the Sagna” family

and all Dimbaya community members and friends;

Ravi Sebastian, Fr Prasad, Fr Bala and all friends from the New

Beginnings Charitable Trust network;

Hong Tuoi Vu, Tuyet Trinh, Son Quang Trinh and all the V4D

team in Ha Giang and Hanoi;

The RHD family: Amos Oketch Odera, Peter Kosgey Okeyo,

Omole Adual Gaudensia, Otwaroh Akinyi Ruth and all the RHD

members Omole Gaudensia, Omutelema Lois, Mibei Bavelyne,

Mirikau Ernest, Paul Andega, Otwaro Ruth, Akuma Peter, Okoo

Christopher, Obonyo David, Ogola Erick.

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We would like to acknowledge the contributions of all youth

workers taking part in the training course: Lampros Lamprou,

Georgios Philippou, Justina Pluktaitė, Viktorija Triuškaitė, Diana

Batraka, Boyka Boneva, Maria Latta, Nikolaos Papakostas,

Nikolaos Pasamitros, Despoina Theodosiou, Linda Vaškevica-

Veita, Vita Priede, Reinis Zobens, Salif Kanoute, Haby Diallo,

Marie Claire Anastasie Sagna, Jeanne D’arc Sagna, Donatello

Miraglia, Tuyet Trinh, Tuoi Vu, Eleni Proxenou, Maria Giapitzaki,

Kristaps Zalkalns, Amos Okech Odera, Gaudensia Aduol Omole,

Ruth Akinyi Otwaroh, Giuseppe Divita, Giuseppe Zuzzè,

Giovanna Vaccaro, Zeeshan Aslam, Djassi Mamadou, Faye

Bunja, Dario Ferrante, Arunkumar Govindaraj, Sai Prathyusha,

Ignatiou Panagiota, Abdoulaye Diouf, Haby Diallo, Baye Mor

Talla Ndiaye.

Finally, we acknowledge the help and financial support of the

“The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency –

EACEA” and of the Eramus+ programme.

PRISM – Promozione Internazionale Sicilia-Mondo

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