The Drop-In Center Begins

We haven’t selected a name for the drop-in centre yet, but we began operations 10 days ago. As you may remember, I am the Secretary of a community collaborative (CCBE for OVCs) made up of a Christian pastor from the town, a Christian pastor from the township, a primary school principal, a representative from the municipal government, two home-based care volunteers and me. The seven of us have been diligently working together since I arrived here in September 2006, to establish a drop-in centre for orphans and vulnerable children who are affected by the HIV/AIDs epidemic….a bottom-up project that is based on building trusting relationships across a wide spectrum of community members who formerly have had nothing to do with each other, let alone sit as equals in meetings month after month developing a mission and vision and “way forward” of what we would like to see improve in our community. This process has been very fulfilling for me as I have been involved from day one. I had thought that this project would be my “secondary” project and that the non-profit organization that Peace Corps placed me with would provide my main avenue for work. But, they have been unable or unwilling to utilize me even after multiple suggestions and ideas from me over time. So, I took the plunge and told the drop-in centre committee that I would dedicate the remainder of my time in Africa helping them to get the centre off the ground. It has been a good decision for many reasons. I needed to make a bigger commitment to a project and not rely on others to define my experience here. Also, the committee really values me and my experience. We have built a good foundation of respect and trust among all of us. Lastly, an outsider like me is still important as a bridge that this collaboration requires. The downside of this decision is that my stress level has definitely increased as I take on more responsibility for the development and implementation of the project.
Approximately 90 children showed up to the drop-in centre on our first after school program. We are starting to implement the services slowly with a once a week after school program. Our intent is to provide a nutritious meal, help with homework, counseling, referrals, recreation, etc. using volunteers from both communities and trained youth leaders to implement the program. Three unused classrooms at a township primary school were donated to us to use and we asked the headmasters of four of the surrounding primary schools to select a limited number of their neediest students to attend our program. We were prepared for 50 kids….oh well. I am learning that there are different levels of chaos when one is confronted with the unexpected. After the second week, I realized that outright chaos can actually begin to look like organized chaos.
And so we begin…..although there are many models of community and program development resources available to me, the one that works the best is a bottom-up approach, with an implementation that is based on our unique community profile, stakeholders, mission and needs. I am suggesting to the committee that we plan a day for strategic planning early in 2008 to take the next step forward for our cause. It is rewarding to be a part of this initiative.