After many years of personal observation regarding the advantages and disadvantages of International Development efforts, the "issues" outlined below are areas that will be an underlying and intentional foundation throughout this project. We have learned that people develop a sense of ownership, pride, and commitment to an activity when they work together to assess their resources and problems. Furthermore they discover hope and feel empowered when they are given a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Too often there is little sense of control by communities themselves over development of decisions and resources. It is in this vein that this project will work in collaboration with the village of Salema to collectively address their most pressing needs.
ISSUE 1: Absence of beneficiary involvement..... SV will encourage communal involvement in initial assessment; identification of priorities; and agreement to the process to which goals can be achieved.
ISSUE 2: Lack of coordinated services, Multiplicity of agencies, agenda’s and purposes which lead to a number of inefficiencies............SV will work with Local Government Authorities, Education Secretaries, Sanitation Boards, and District Health Officers that are key counterparts to eliminate duplication of services and activities. Further, they will advise on various policies that are needed to be kept in mind in regard to education, health and water/sanitation.
ISSUE 3: Failure to achieve intended goals.......SV will make accountability and transparency – both programmatically and financially -to be the central component of this project- thus ensuring we are able to achieve intended goals.
ISSUE 4: No Sustainability Plan for upkeep and continuation of priority areas to remain functional........SV will create sustainability committee to reflect upon what is needed to ensure continuation and upkeep of funded activities.
ISSUE 5: Not understanding the cultural and traditional norms to which can affect the outcome of the project........ SV, as identified above, will have a lead coordinator in country who works closely with the community at all stages of development of this project. It is both advantagous, as well as empowering, to have local leadership who can best understand the cultural and traditional norms within the context of Salema.
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