Project Updates - Part I

EPA
The main office building is practically completed, only some minor finishing touches remain. We are also waiting on the DADO to wire the building for electricity. I have decided to assign one of the open offices for NGOs that operate in Mwazisi, a list which currently includes: Peace Corps, TLC and DAMRA. This will make it easier for the extension workers to store materials, keep books, and track the progress of running projects. Hopefully, this will also encourage a greater presence by the NGO and greater participation by the community. The next phase of the project is the construction of toilets. We hope to finance this portion with community contributions, which are supposed to amount to 25% of total funding under the LDF/World Bank rules. To meet and exceed that threshold we have asked all area chiefs (40 of them) to provide monetary and labor aid to the construction of these toilets. Our funds are running short, we barely have enough to cover the toilets and we need assistance. We discussed so many different design plans, my head is spinning. The community wants strong, expensive construction materials and practices for the toilet construction. As funny as this argument seems, we can’t afford it. So Mr. Mponda, Benedicto, and myself redesigned the structure to use a marginal increase in cement while eliminating the need for 20,000 bricks (Mk. 40,000). We hope this idea works and according to our design it should be just as strong, if not stronger, than the standard design. It is now almost mid-February and the construction of the main building should be entirely completed by the end of the month. Meanwhile, various community members are beginning to get jealous. Accusations are floating around that EPA committee is stealing funds and using it for themselves and thus we are doing a poor job with the construction. The biggest of these accusations was from the committee Chairman himself, who has never attend any meetings or helped with the project. Fortunately, there are enough good people in the community to defend the project and the tireless efforts of the committee. I am never doing a construction project here again.

Secondary School Business Club
Due to the success of the Women’s Group, I began a business club at the Secondary School. The main goal was to attract students in the later forms and teach them business skills. Several students had already come to me independently and indicated interest in learning about business. Granted I hate dealing with teenagers and had no interest in teaching class, the club was a nice compromise. The students in the club are wonderful and eager to learn. I have good mix of boys and girls and it’s already clear that the girls are much smarter and well-spoken. We had our first meeting last week and discussed several ideas for businesses. I tasked the members with doing some market research for the next meeting and we will see if our first business, a cinema house, will come to fruition. During the course of starting this business I will teach them basic skills and together we will write a business plan. This project is still in its infancy so will we see if sustains member interest over the next few months.

Safe Water Project
Using the buckets and Waterguard provided by PSI at IST, my counterpart and I have created a safe water club at both the Secondary and Primary schools. These clubs consist of several students tasked with fetching and treating borehole water for school consumption. In the case of the Primary School, where there are over 900 students, this is a major task but the students are enthusiastic and diligent. They have already consumed the initial supplies of Waterguard and are in need of more. In many schools in Malawi children are often dehydrated and the borehole water or river water they do consume leads to waterborne illnesses and diarrhea. Especially during the rainy season, ground water gets contaminated and is often murky. Thus, we provided the equipment for students to treat their water and conducted demonstrations on proper treatment. We also stress the importance of the clean drinking water for health and safety. After that, it’s all up to the students and the schools to continue the water program and we just have to regularly check-in on the status. Fortunately, the students have been active and we hope it continues.