The new classroom build at Kawama is just a small part of a complete Community Development plan which the COINS Foundation and its partners aim to deliver over the coming years. “True community development is a complex process which requires us to engage the hearts and minds of the local people.” explains Foundation President Larry Sullivan. “It is important that we give the community an early demonstration of our intent. There is a danger that these communities hear lots of empty promises without any demonstrable action so we felt it was vital to start construction on the new classrooms and resource centre as soon as possible.”
The first step in our programme was to commission Richard Mwanza, an expert in community assessment with a cv which includes work for World Vision and Oxfam. Richard’s brief was to work with the people of Kawama to conduct a ‘needs assessment’ of the community and produce a ‘baseline report’ and joint recommendations.
Richard’s report suggested two broad areas of work – The Kawama Widows and Orphans Project (KWOP) is our local partner of choice and if they are to stand any chance of delivering on the huge program we have begun to envision, they will need some significant additional infrastructure. To date, no-one at KWOP is paid, they have no income, no office space or place to meet, they have no means of transport, they have to combine their time between community work and the struggle to live. Providing some of these resources is the first phase of our plan. The second is the Project Programme itself. We have identified ten priority projects for Kawama:
Market in Kawama
A Community Health care programme to be extended from KWOP’s existing baby nutrition project and to include a Community Health centre
To build a Secondary School in Kawama
To build a vocational training centre and run training courses in carpentry, IT skills, tailoring and construction.
To establish a sustainable agriculture project
To develop an outreach youth project based around leisure
To complete the build of the additional classrooms for the existing KWOP primary school and commission same with furniture, books and computers etc.
To establish an internet Cafe within the school
To establish a programme of micro-financed businesses
To develop a Family-support programme for disabled young people
To improve the water supply to the area and refurbish the school sanitation block.
Crucial to the success of the whole plan will be creating a ‘route to sustainability’ which will hinge on a balance of health and social care projects and wealth-creation schemes which can grow to pay for them.
There is a real hope and expectation that with your support we have it in our ability to change the fortunes of the people at Kawama from aid-dependency to a thriving and self-sustaining community.
Copyright COINS Foundation | Design by Chris Curd Design
Registered Office: COINS Building, The Grove, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 1QP | Registered Charity No: 1122148
