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INTRODUCTION
Helen Keller Worldwide is an international organization whose main goal is the control of blindness and its leading causes in the world, through the implementation of projects for the control of trachoma, onchocerciasis, and vitamin A and micronutrient deficiencies. HKW counts more than 25 field offices, among which HKI Morocco.
We started our programs in 1986 with the collaboration of the Ministry of Health.
As we conducted various studies and research projects, our programs expanded to include interventions at the community level. Thus, the number of our partners increased to include: governmental agencies at the central level and their representation at the provincial level, international donors, university researchers, local authorities, the communities, local development associations.
Our central office is based in Rabat and we established a regional liaison office in the project area, as our interventions mainly target southern desert provinces in Morocco.
Our main programs are the fight against trachoma and micronutrient deficiencies, closely linked to poverty, ignorance and exclusion. Given these factors, HKI has found it necessary to reinforce the therapeutic interventions through projects such as: literacy, school health, hygiene and sanitation, health education, Community development, and research.
PROJECT PRESENTATION
Introduction:
This project fits within two major national programs; trachoma control and micronutrient deficiency control which have earned the adherence of civil society and the support of institutions.
Our proposal “literacy and sustainable development” targets the rural women of Zagora Province, southern Morocco and has two main components:
- Post-literacy; a more functional advanced literacy that will endow women with technical practical skills in areas of agriculture; raising, income generation, cooperative management; nutrition and trachoma management.
- Set up and management of 10 market gardens for nutrition and income generation
These two components will be jointly managed by GRES, a University Sociological Study and Research Group and Helen Keller International.
The beneficiaries will be women who have successfully completed the first year of the literacy program implemented by HKI and the Ministry of Social Development. Therefore their background in literacy, numeracy and health and hygiene basics will enable them to acquire more advanced technical knowledge specific to health, nutrition, agriculture, livestock, and income generation activity management.
10 market gardens will be set up in the form of cooperatives and will initiate women in gardening, and selling their garden products, thus introducing diversified micronutrient rich foods in the local market and making a profit. Women will also learn aspects related to cooperative management and economics through this process.
The objectives of this pilot project are:
- To accompany women from precariousness to social and economic autonomy.
- To create jobs and generate income
- To develop the economic fiber of an area, which will contribute to improving its social status.
- To grow micronutrient rich foods and to supply the local market with these foods, which will contribute to micronutrient deficiency control.
I. INNOVATION: This project is innovative for :
a) It integrates women into the economic fiber and the market through the post literacy program.
Through our experience in trachoma management and community development, we found that it was necessary to implement an additional step to the literacy project in order to specialize women in areas of gardening, marketing of micronutrients rich foods, livestock and income generation activity management.
This process will enable women to evolve from precariousness to social and economic autonomy: which means that they will actively contribute to improving the health and nutritional status of their families and at the same time participate in the socioeconomic development of their families and eventually their communities.
b) It ensures the food safety of communities through agricultural development
c) It encourages the emergence of women cooperatives as new agents collaborating with local associations in the project area
d) It helps women acquire autonomy, for their new role as farmers and merchants will be valued and acknowledged (keeping in mind this is a male dominated domain)
e) It involves the university in in-depth research projects on health and development in rural areas.
f) It adopts an integrated, multi-sectorial and multidisciplinary approach:
This pilot project combines theory and practice: women will benefit from theoretical training sessions designed by university researchers, and practical sessions in the field led by agricultural engineers and supported by a group of traditional farmers.
It empowers women, enabling them to become active advocates in health and nutrition, and active agents in the socioeconomic development of their communities.
Simultaneously, this project will build and reinforce the capacities of local development agents and literacy monitors to ensure project sustainability and facilitate its replicability.
II. REPLICABILITY:
§ HKI has established its credibility and legitimacy among the population and local development associations and has the organizational skills to replicate its projects. Moreover, HKI is able to coordinate and run international networks.
§ When HKI initiated its health/ literacy program in 1999, we were expecting socio-cultural resistance from husbands and fathers of potential candidates in letting them register for the classes. However, we were surprised that the demand was so high and the number of women from neighboring villages interested in the program so important. Unfortunately, we could not concretely meet all these needs.
Our qualitative evaluation has demonstrated a clear improvement not only of hygiene and physical appearance of rural women, but also of their enthusiasm and psychological well-being/ Their self-image is healed through education .
§ Involvement of HKI in national governmental programs.
Several components of this project fall into two major national health programs: trachoma and micronutrients deficiencies control.
Our central government partners are currently replicating some of our successful projects and activities.
For instance, they are expanding their community oriented interventions related to trachoma to other endemic provinces and they are also planning to conduct a survey on nutritional habits and practices in northern Morocco, similar to the one conducted by HKI in the south.
§ This project is replicable in the five southern endemic provinces, since they share a lot of similarities: ethnic, social, cultural, economic, geographic, climatic, and epidemiological.
Prevalence rates:
§ HKI has received multiple grants and financial support for its health and development projects in these 5 desert provinces, some of which will last until 2006. The existing foundations will be consolidated which will make it easier for us to replicate this project after its first year of trial.
III. REALISM: FEASIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY:
§ HKI Morocco staff has gained significant experience in the design and management of health, educational and economic development projects. Their capacities are regularly reinforced, through training seminars, international workshops, etc.
We have a liaison office in the project area, whose staff will be actively involved in the close supervision, monitoring and evaluation of project activities.
§ We know our partners and target population and we share the same goal.
We have worked with the community and we have contributed to building the capacities of local associations, supervisors and trainers who are now infused with our approach and methods.
We have given beneficiaries a good basis on which to start a new and more advanced experience in terms of training and education, participation and responsibility, and we are confident they will meet our expectations in terms of participation, assimilation and productivity.
§ Many of the university researchers have accompanied us throughout various research projects and consultations. They share the same motivation and rigor in terms of producing quality work and respecting deadlines. This project is an opportunity for both parties to institutionalize this partnership and ensure long term monitoring and evaluation of the project.
§ Given the short life of the project, time consuming activities such as agriculture and livestock could have constituted a constraint.
However, we have chosen seasonal agriculture (which means that we have selected vegetables that grow in three to six month) and the breeding and selling of livestock within 6 months. This will allow women to start reaping the benefits of their efforts in less than one year.
Although the life of this project is one year, we are confident that partners will do their best, respecting time constraint and mutually contributing to enriching this experience.
§ The WB’s financial support will cover major costs of the pilot project: needs assessment, training, modules elaboration, market garden preparation, etc.
Some of these items (IEC material and training modules) will be used at no additional cost during the next years in similar projects.
HKI will use its contribution of 81.000 $ to continue in-service training and project management 3 years after the experimentation.
§ HKI’s approach in terms of Monitoring & Evaluation is as follows:
o HKI and GRES will conduct a baseline survey to assess the human, technical and economical feasibility of the project and define relevant and accurate indicators for the midterm and final evaluations.
o HKI and GRES also plan to conduct an impact evaluation of this project sometime after its end.
Conclusion :
HKI has acquired invaluable experience during its 15 years of activity in Morocco and has established important networks thanks to the collaboration of several governmental, non-governmental, national and international partners.
This project is an additional opportunity for us to join our partners and make the most of their capacities and skills.
Jointly we will develop and implement a successful initiative reaching the most vulnerable category of the population and those excluded from the development process, particularly women.