PDM

Last April, Nestor and I attended a challenging and informative training put on by Peace Corps, the Project Design and Management (PDM) Workshop. The training filled in gaps in our planning and project implementation techniques and improved our working relationship. Nestor came out stronger and confident, no longer needing to rely on me for small tasks. He became my equal, yet opposite. We continue to balance our work load and collaborate, but his strengths lay in community mobilizing whereas I provide technical expertise. He has the endless energy of a child and I am an anxiety-driven organizer. He knows how to smother my worries with a joke and I try to focus his free spirit. Our coworkers always tell us what a duo we are together. We have an even working relationship which has made our projects successful in many ways. We share an unwavering passion and motivation to help our community. This has made my PC experience impactful, but not necessarily sustainable. I won’t always be here and neither will Nestor, so what is to happen to the community?

After minor failures, we began to notice the physical and mental toll of our efforts. Our energy and work  was out of balance with community partners and leaders. We surveyed, planned, organized, facilitated, and evaluated programs day in and day out. We had the help of these partners and leaders, but needed to keep a short leash on them. Euphrasia was always the one to initiate and carry out programs and activities. Our partners understood and supported the purpose, but lacked the capacity to complete all the tasks themselves. Euphrasia does not have the (wo)manpower to go it alone, thus training and empowerment was in great need. My staff and I decided that a PDM workshop, modeled after the training Nestor and I attended, would help bridge the gap between recognizing and supporting community programs to planning and facilitating themselves.

teambuilding activity

energizer!

For 2 ½ days at the end of January, Nestor and I facilitated the workshop to 14 pairs (29 total) of participants representing schools, local government offices, partner organizations, parent volunteers, and EDC staff. The participants came from professional & non-professional backgrounds spanning a wide range of ages. The first day covered sessions about the community development cycle, steps in project planning, project identification techniques, and utilizing current assets. This gave each pair the opportunity to understand the “big picture” components needed for successful projects. The second day was the most grueling as it involved a lot of critical thinking. The pairs wrote a vision, goals, objectives, feasibility test,  action plan, and monitoring & evaluation plans for their identified community project. At this point the bulk of the project was developed and the final day focused on getting the project off the ground by means of budgeting, resource mobilization, and proposal writing. The group came out with a wide range of projects: building a new classroom, a mentoring program for youth from broken homes, parenting trainings for fathers, work preparedness seminars, and summer SNP (preschool) classes.

many opportunities to earn
PDM "money" by contributing
 insights or sharing an activity output

lots of overseeing during participant-driven activities

    
   

There was a lot of new content and techniques squeezed into a short time frame for participants with ranging abilities. The “nosebleed” (too much English) and mental strain was relieved by frequent games and energizers. I was continually impressed by their motivation, passion, and lack of complaints. Another successful activity for Leah & Nestor. Now to continue following up and supporting the participants with their project plans. With their proposals due today, our TWG (technical working group) will enhance their project plans and link them to applicable partners and/or funders. We hope this training has also empowered them to take ownership over programs in their community without needing to primarily rely on Euphrasia. A small step in the direction of sustainability.

My favorite participant (daughter of a SNP teacher)

The whole group!