SUCCESSES.
We consider success as a process, and by all standard it is evident that the trust
did make remarkable successes during the year in review. Faced with the challenge of responding to the numerous
appeals for aid from across the country, we were able work within our limited resources and positively respond to
several of those appeals with aid in the form of tools, equipments and other materials that suited the needs the
people. And since the vision has always been and still is to equip the people for self-reliance, the donations made
during the period in review were to the intent that the people can use them to develop skill that will enhance
their productivity and thus, making them self-earning. This is exactly what we are seeing as a result. Therefore,
it should be credited to us as success.
Furthermore, our project survey and needs assessment system proved very successful
in helping us identify the real needs of the people, thus locating viable strategies of working with them to meet
such needs. It was through this survey and needs assessment.
programme that we discovered that the 'Missing Link' between rural life and
development is a rudiment to start a process of self-reliant development, that the locals cannot for reasons
provide for themselves. It was as a result that the current projects were set up to be foundation stones for other
projects that might follow.
With such a foundation and first hand knowledge of what the real needs of the
people are, it is now certain that whatever resources put in the current project, will be nothing less than a noble
investment in the lives of the people which can definitely lead to the development of their communities.
Also, worth mentioning is the expansion of the programmes of the Trust during this
period. The Library Scheme which is presently off the ground is a major step towards literacy. The water pump
project and Women's Income Generating Project are also noble steps that will positively expand the work of the
Trust.
Above all, the success of this period was based on the fact that surveys made at
this level have provided a solid basis for the successful implementation of projects that will address the problems
of the community.
COLLABORATION AND
COOPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS.
Cooperation and collaboration with other organisations was an inevitable
phenomenon, as it is impossible for any organisation to succeed without the cooperation of other organisations.
Hence the collaboration with the Catholic Relief Services on the Women Gardening Project, and also the
collaboration the UNESCO club for the provision of library services and temporary office facilities for the
Club.
PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE
FUTURE.
EXISTING
SITUATION.
In rural communities, women are breed winners. And this responsibility becomes
more difficult when they don't have any source of income. In most cases they are stretched between farming and
petty trading in order to make ends meet. This has forced most women.
into undertaken rigorous gardening works during the dry season. As result is now
common for these women to come together as a group with collective efforts to work on a plot to grows vegetables
for sale and home consumption. Work in the garden is mainly in the dry season, as the shorter wet season their
effort is needed in the fields.
A typical size of such a plot is 75 meters by 75 meters. Some kind of fence
surrounds the plot to keep out cattle, but cannot prevent smaller animals like rabbits from damaging the crops. A
hand dug well with depth between 5 and 20 meters, provides for water. Overnight the well collects water, a half or
a third cubic meter is a common average. Each woman lifts the water for her own section of the plot with a bucket
or rubber bag out of this well. This is done one person at a time. If waiting time for each person is too long or
the capacity of the well is too small, another well may be dug.
|