This month Donat conducted two preschool-wide staff development workshops, on the subjects of preschool management and teaching methods. A guest speaker who used to own and operate a private preschool also offered advice at the workshops, which were well attended by most preschool staffers.
An inter-preschool supply sharing program was created to exchange games, toys, and books, and ideas for using them. It has been particularly successful between Kunachi and Dufatanye preschools; in March greater efforts will be made to increase Mwanagaza’s participation in this exchange.
I) DUFATANYE
Summary of project status and achievements:
A Dufatanye PTA meeting was held this month in which parents decided to implement a dress code for their students beginning in term three. The students will not be required to purchase any clothing, but should wear blue, black, and white during school hours.
We also discussed the expansion of community participation and ownership in the school. In response to the Coordinator and PM’s observation that pupils were unable to concentrate in class due to hunger, the parents have planned to create a school garden of maize, beans, and bananas. The parents will be responsible for cultivating this land, and the farming process and nutrition will also be taught during science class and field trips for the Dufatanye students. All food from the farm will be used to feed Dufatanye students, and the parents will rotate duties for cooking the food. Food preparation will also be incorporated into the social studies curriculum.
Initial discussions for selling goats for the IGA also took place this month. The PM discussed the hours and duties of the Goat Monitor with Alphonse. When informed that his hours and pay were going to be reduced in March, Alphonse resigned. He defended his current hours and believes that though his work does not regularly take six hours Monday through Friday, he often works at night and on weekends, and when averaging the amount of work he does, it is more than twenty hours per week. The PM would like to request that the Programming Director revisit the subject of his pay and hour reduction. Alphonse is a valuable member of the Dufatanye staff, and is also a critical ally of FORGE’s in Block G. The PM and Coordinator have discussed shifting the Goat Monitor’s responsibilities to the Coordinator, PM, and PTA, for the month of March but do not believe this is the best permanent solution to the loss of staff. No other candidates have shown interest or capability in filling this position for a half time salary.
Future activities and projections:
Next month post testing will be conducted. Discussions for the IGA will continue and plans for selling the goats will be discussed in further detail. Details for the community led garden will also be cemented.
Indicators and Statistics:
Please see Project Indicators Spreadsheet.
Substantial problems or issues:
See Goat Monitor staffing situation above.
Wishes or requests:
Please consider maintaining Alphonse’s ¾ time hours and salary (150,000zmk, 30hrs/week) so that he can be re-hired in April.
II) KUNACHI
Summary of project status and achievements:
On February 23rd Kunachi tragically lost one student named Mbuyi to malaria. School was cancelled for one and a half days (the day of the girl’s death and the day of the burial) to allow teachers to attend the funeral.
On February 9th, the school suffered a burglary. The Head Teacher found the door to one classroom open, with supplies missing. Stolen items included bleach, soap, jump ropes, children’s books, crayons, colored pencils, and other stationary. The Head Teacher was extremely proactive in following up on this matter and was able to find the thief and recover the stolen materials, as well as the set of keys that were used to pick the lock. The Head Teacher and PM met with police and decided against pressing formal charges against the perpetrator, a 16 year old boy.
A PTA meeting was held on February 13th to allay concerns regarding the teacher Chitula and registration favoritism based on nationality. Parents have still been hesitant to send their children to her class, but the teacher rotation system has successfully resolved this problem. The Coordinator and PM have both continued to observe Machalo’s ability to teach, and both agree that there is no problem with her capacity as an educator, and in fact is very well liked by her students. All parents fully understood that FORGE’s mission is to educate all preschoolers and is not biased toward members of any particular ethnic group, gender, or country of origin.
The PTA also showed increased commitment to the school by contributing money to hire a teacher’s aide. The aide will be responsible for custodian duties like taking the children to the bathroom, cleaning up accidents, informing parents to collect their children if they are sick, and maintaining the school grounds by slashing. Parents who did not contribute to the aide’s salary will continue to report to the school to help with grounds maintenance as necessary. The aide’s help will be very welcome by the teachers, who often have to leave their class to attend to kids who need to use the bathroom or are ill.
The parents also informed the Coordinator and PM that they would like to initiate a community led IGA to increase their ownership in the school and generate income to further support the school. After brainstorming ideas including the creation of a shop and garden, the Kunachi PTA has decided they would like mirror their project after Dufatanye and buy some goats, with each family contributing 3,500zmk per child toward the initial investment. The community would like to know if FORGE can provide additional monetary support for this project. The PM informed them that we may be able to provide logistical support by providing transportation to sell the goats when trips are made to sell Dufatanye goats and by offering a workshop on caring for goats, but that monetary support is unlikely. However, if there are funds available, the PM would support financial investment in this initiative.
Future activities and projections:
The PM would like to meet with the PTA again to review a formal proposal for their IGA. The PM and Head Teacher will discuss ideas for more staff development workshops.
Indicators and statistics:
Please see Project Indicators Spreadsheet.
Substantial problems or issues:
None.
Wishes or requests:
Please consider what support FORGE can offer to the Kunachi PTA for their community led IGA.
