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Project Overview

posted on Thursday, August 12, 2010 01:22 PM

A community-based in – school youth project called "Discover Yourself" (DISY) will be established in Rural and Community Secondary Schools in and around Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State. DISY will focus on providing Life Building Skills and Positive thinking counseling for the young students, especially those from the extremely low income areas. It is expected that through the providing of information to the young people that it will be possible to have a direct and positive effect on the well being of their individual selves and the society at large.
DISY will utilize volunteers who are students at the various schools. Each student will be expected to successfully participate in a 12 week training program in each school during which 20 students will be trained on various Life building skills and positive thinking modules at the beginning of their work with DISY. Student volunteers who demonstrate proficiency during the initial training program will become AMBASSADOR of the Project and step the training down to other students according to their peers, under the supervision of DISY Team.
DISY will operate with 3 full time staff members. In addition, a Governing Board made up of community leaders and School staff will operate to provide overall Overseeing of the Project. Periodic evaluations will be conducted to assess the value of DISY on a) helping the student volunteers to become effective educators and leaders, b) the development of new understandings on the part of local youths and c) the improvement of the well being of the communities in Okigwe L.G.A.

Background Information/Statement of the Problem
Major obstacles to youth development in the developing world include Illiteracy, Poverty, Low rate of mentorship and lack of relevant information. A serious problem exists in the rural communities of okigwe of youth involvement in a lot of social vises such as Rubbery, thuggery, kidnapping, Teenage pregnancy and high rate of dying of sexual transmitted diseases. Though youths consist the greater percentage of working force in any society, it is apparent that youths do not have the understanding of the capabilities and abilities available to them as a youth. The most significant group in the development of the society is the youth. Research has shown that the society with youths who have better understanding of positive behaviors to achieve destiny discovery and development stand a significantly greater chance of development (86%) as compared with societies with youth that do not have positive behaviors (47%). ( Baseline survey – Young Minds Organization. 2010).


Clientele
There are two different clientele groups for this project.
The first, and primary, clientele are the rural students of Okigwe communities. This clientele group is represented in the project objectives for Goal #1.

The second clientele group are the communities that will benefit from the change in behaviors of her youths. This clientele group is represented in the project objectives for Goal #2.
Both clientele groups are important and essential components of this project. It is expected that significant learning and follow up will take place for both clientele groups.

Methods
The primary methods for achieving the goals and objectives of the Project will be:
• the creation of a Young Minds Clubs in rural schools.
• Provision of Information, Education and communication materials, and
• the development of a recruitment/training program and supervised practicum for student volunteers.
In addition, a Documentation/Dissemination Plan will be developed by staff to guarantee the systematic collection of information about the operation of the Project and provide the basis for sharing information with other similar projects.
Staff/Administration
The Project will employ three full-time staff.
• Project Director (full time)- Responsible for hiring project staff, overseeing project development and operation, establishing and maintaining links with local government agencies, and budget. The Project Director will be Harjono Soemadji (author of this proposal).
• Project Evaluator (full time) - Responsible for collecting entry level data regarding mother's health and nutrition information and conducting periodic assessment of changes in their level of knowledge, comprehension, and application of that information. Also responsible for developing and implementing a system for periodic formative evaluation of the work of the student volunteers.
• Office Assistant (full time) - Responsible for maintaining the structure and appearance of the Center, routine correspondence, and other forms of communication with mothers in the community.
• Governing Board - A 5 member Board made up of both community leaders and school staff. Responsible for smooth operation of the Project, providing feedback to the Project Director on project policies and operation, and serving as a viable link to the local community.

Available Resources
• Building - A small site office space will be provided by the community head.
• Volunteer Meeting/Training Room and Office - Space will be provided by the School management for the training of volunteers and other activities.

Personnel
- Three full time staff at 100% salary.

Facilities
- None (provided by the community head and the School Management)

Office/Equipment/Supplies/Communication
Needed Office –
A permanent office space in of Okigwe metropolis.

Needed equipment -
Duplicating machine (for preparation of informational educational materials)
Chairs and desks for two offices

One computer laptop (for data storage and confidentiality)
Free Chart board
Needed supplies -
Paper, pencils, Pens, duplicating supplies, and materials preparation.

Budget
Year 1 - Development of Center Operation and Recruitment/Training of First Group of Student Volunteers
o Personnel N1,440,000
Project Director Full time - 12 months N720,000
Project Evaluator Full time - 12 months N480,000
Office Assistant Full time - 12 months N240,000
o Development/Production of Educational Materials:
Customized 1000 copies face caps,N960,000
Customized 1000 copies T – shirt N1,200,000
Posters and and Fliers N400,000
Totaling N2,560,000
o Advertising/Promotion N200,000
o Evaluation N58,500
Yearly Total N4258,500
Evaluation Plan
Project evaluation will be the responsibility of the Project Evaluator and consist of two different evaluative strategies - formative and summative.
Formative Evaluation - Primarily qualitative in nature, the formative evaluation will be conducted through interviews and open-ended questionnaires. Mothers and student volunteers will be asked about the day-to-day operation of the Center, the topics covered in the volunteer training program, the attractiveness of the training materials, and other questions to provide feedback for the ongoing improvement of the operation of the Project. The Project Evaluator will meet regularly with project staff to share findings from the formative evaluation effort. Periodic reports will be prepared that identify the major findings of the formative evaluation and how they have been used to improve Project operation.
Summative Evaluation - Primarily quantitative in nature, the summative evaluation will begin with the establishment of baseline data at the beginning of the Project (using a random sample of mothers of young children to assess their food and nutrition knowledge) and then be conducted at 6 month intervals (just prior to each group of volunteers completing their Project service). Data for the summative evaluation will focus on the two primary goals of the project and the objectives of each.
Goal #1
- Pre/post tests of knowledge gain on the part of the youths in knowledge, life building skills and thinking pattern (Objective 1.1).
- Selected interviews of youths to assess their ability to effectively apply life building skills information (Objective 1.2).
- Selected interviews of community members and leaders to evaluate changes in the behaviors of the youths (Objective 1.3).

Goal #2
- Records of number of students involved in the project (Objective 2.1).
- Documentation of agendas/attendance rosters from all training programs (Objective 2.1).
- Documentation of number of youths served and number of volunteer hours recorded at the DISY Programs (Objective 2.3).
- Comparative analysis of Goal #2 data with similar data. (Objective 2.4)

A yearly report will be issued that presents the formative and summative findings.


Month One
o Advertising of Project staff positions
o Meetings with community leaders
o Meeting with School administrators

Month Two
o Interviewing of candidates for Project staff positions
o Finalizing first set Community beneficiaries of Project
Month Three
o Advocacy visits to school administrations and Community Heads
o Selection/hiring of Project staff members
o Preparations for Project launch and take off.
Month Four - Six
o Preliminary advertising of Project operation
o Hosting community meetings at site Office
o Collection of baseline data on youths
o Recruitment/selection/training of student volunteers
Month Seven - Twelve
o Conducting of regular formative evaluation
o Final summative evaluation at end of twelfth month
________________________________________
APPENDIX B - Resume of Kelechukwu Henry I. (Project Director)
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Kelechukwu Henry I.
Title:
Founder/President
Young Minds Organization
Umuchima road, Okigwe
Imo state, Nigeria.
Experience:
Education:
B.Sc. (in view) University of Abuja (Accountancy)
Work:
Monitory and Evaluation Assistant, Rural Women Foundation, Abuja – USAID sponsored.
Consultant on Strategic Communication and Workshop Assistant – WEWE/EUCORD Children of Hope Project, USAID sponsored.
________________________________________
APPENDIX C - PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
For the past 5 years I have had a strong concern for the development and well being of the youths in rural communities of Okigwe Local Government Area.
This is the area in which I was born and raised. Through my studies and working experience with USAID Projects, I have come to learn that it is possible to alleviate the problems of negative behaviors through well designed and meaningfully focused educational programs.
The challenge to the creation and operation of these programs, however, is twofold. First, there does not exist the teaching materials to assist youths in understanding how to improve their life and the effect that behavior change has on their lives and welfare of their own community. And second, there does not exist a group of trained facilitators to assist in delivering this information in a timely and meaningful manner.
Research suggests that the most powerful way to affect the Peace and welfare of a society is through the improved understanding of the Youths. This project will focus on the development of teaching materials and a system for helping youths learn appropriate behaviors and life building skills to help in the development of their community. And, it will occur in a local community location, close to where these youths are living.
.Yours Truly
Kelechukwu Henry I.

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