A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Obra Foundation is a non -profit Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) formed with the view to promoting participatory development to enhance the lives of the deprived communities. It is a local NGO located in one of the less endowed Districts in Ghana. It was set up in February 1998 by a group of committed individuals who saw the need for promoting rural education, health, environmental issues and agriculture. This has been possible since our establishment through sensitisation using the Traditional Rulers, opinion Leaders and in collaboration of the District Assembly.
The organization was formed through the help of a white from Holland by name Olga Hutchute. She donated 200 bags of cement to the Amaakrom Anglican Junior Secondary School (A village near our head office), where some of the Foundation members teach. Obra Foundation has now been able to renovate the six-classroom block at a cost of �62,592,000.00 through further assistance from the Ambassador�s Special self-help Program that contributed �22m and together with some contribution from the beneficiary community and the West Akim District Assembly. We are pleased to inform you that all the founding members are around and contributing the quota towards the development of the organization.
The Organization is legally registered with the Registrar Generals Department and the Department of Social Welfare. It is also a member of Ghana Health Coalition. A copy of the registration is attached to this proposal.
The underlisted are the basic rules and regulations guiding the day to day running of the organization.
(i) Punctuality and duty conscious.
(ii) Conflict of interest shall not be tolerated
(iii) Sociable and tolerant to all and sundry in the community.
(iv) Malpractice and malfeasance are forbidden.
(v) Transparency, Accountability, faithfulness and trust should be exercised in discharging of duty.
The Board of Directors shall sanction any member who goes contrary to these provisions.
The organization has some specific goals to achieve.
(i) To raise the health standard of the deprived people.
(ii) Reduce the level of poverty.
(iii) Provision of good drinking water.
(iv) To inculcate more of the people to improve methods of agriculture to increase crop yield.
(v) Ensure good market for agricultural produce.
(vi) Ensure sound environmental practices.
(vii) Building and renovation of school structures.
(viii) Ensure employable skills for women and street children.
(ix) Catering for the handicapped/disabled and brilliant but needy school children from poor homes.
(x) Ensure that all children attend school especially girls.
Board of Directors:
The Executive Director heads this. They see to the management of the activities of the organization. They meet once every month.
Project Officer:
He is the chairman of the project committee and he ensures implementation and supervision of projects.
General Co-ordinator:
He serves as a liaison officer who Co-ordinates all the activities of the organization from the field to the management level.
Volunteers:
They are a group of sympathizers who are normally invited to assist in the performance of specific functions when the need arises.
Project Committee:
This is a five-man committee chaired by the Project Officer. Membership is the Project Officer, General Co-ordinator, the Secretary and two Volunteers specialized on the Project in question. They meet once a month and report to the management.
The organization is a young one with limited resources but has so far made great impact on the society. The organization has held a lot of educational fora on health issues. The organization also does organize periodic communal labour to ensure security in the communities towards the improvement in the health of the people.
The Organization has demonstrational farms where farmers come to observe modern methods of farming. We have also put up a six-classroom block at Amarkrom a suburb of Adeiso.
The Organization is currently championing the campaign on the education of HIV/AIDS in the West Akim district to complement Government policy on this dreany donorul disease, which has no cure.
The Organization has a record keeping and financial book keeping systems in place. We do employ the services of a professional auditor to audit the account of the year. We also write our yearly report and send copies to the ministry of social welfare and the District Assembly office.
The organization is anticipating for expansion so as to extend or services to cover other districts and the whole country eventually. We are looking forward to receiving more resources from donors like you to make our services more efficient. We shall also put up an office complex and employ more skillful experts to facilitate our activities.
Obra foundation works in collaboration with Ghana Coalition of Health, the District Assembly, the District Health Management Team and the District Agricultural Extension Officers.
An electric typewriter and fax machine was donated to the organization by Ghana International Bank a non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. Then also the American Embassy assisted in the putting up of a six-classroom block in the community.
INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION
We offer basically health service in the form of education on preventive measures than curative measures. We also engage in agricultural activities, which we sell the produce to the people in and outside the community.
All our services are opened to everyone. However, we normally lay emphasis on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups especially women and the youth.
We serve more women than men even though we are not in for women issues only, for example, talking about HIV/AIDS women have been identified as the most vulnerable. We also concentrate on the youth aging between 18-35years that is the reproductive age group.
All the founding members are also staff of the organization. In all we have nine people who are working for the organization. Their names and educational background/qualification are listed below:
1. Mr. James Boamah Mensah Director/Founder
2. Kwao Joseph sixth former (Advanced Level Certificate).
3. K. A. Yeboah-Korang a University graduate (Bsc Planning)
4. Yasser Abdulai a University graduate (Bsc. of Commerce)
5. Asiedu Nyame a sixth former (Advanced Level Certificate)
6. Senyoh Kennedy (Educationist)
7. Hakeem Coudjoe (University Graduate)
8. Fiifi Sammy a sixth former (Advanced Level Certificate).
9 Evelyn Brako, Ordinary Level Certificate holder.
We have a Development Planner, a Sociologist, Business Manager on the board. They have contributed and continue to contribute in diverse ways to promote the goals of organization. They more often than not prepare our proposals.
The current management has been in place since the inception of the organization. It started as a partnership where members pulled their resources together for the administration of the organization. However, in recent years we have been able to recruit some personnel, one of them being a Development Planner. We are not expecting any change in management in the next two- (2) years. As a result of meagre resources we have had some difficulty in attracting qualified personnel.
Decisions concerning the administration and staff welfare are discussed among all the players. Consensus building has been a hallmark.
B PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project or problem we are trying to address is the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has of late taken its toll on our society and its socio-economic effects.
(i) HIV/AIDS menace in recent years has assumed a crucial dimension. Our organization has also recognized the need to controlling the spread of this deadly disease. Also in this area there has not been any effort to embark on this type of project.
(ii) This project has come at a time when the whole world is battling with the issue of HIV/AIDS. It has even attracted the attention of the United Nations. There is no donor or NGO doing a similar project in our proposed project area-West Akim District.
GOAL
The goal of the project is to reduce the spread of the HIV/AIDS in the West Akim District by the end of the project period.
The project addresses the need that has been identified in that, the most vulnerable age group is the youth who are also the future leaders of our country. Again the economic development of the Nation greatly depends on them.
OBJECTIVES
The following are the objectives of the project.
� To intensify education in the rural areas especially through the use of audio visual means so as to increase the level of awareness of the disease from about 60% to about 80% by the end of this project.
� To promote the use of condoms and femidoms among the youth as the only effective means of combating the spread of the disease apart from total abstinence.
� To demystifying the myths surrounding the mode of transmission of the virus.
� To provide advice on how one can live with the disease and to encourage the society not to shun the infected ones.
METHODOLOGY
The aforementioned objectives could only be achieved based on sound and efficient methods of dealing with the situation. In this vein, our organization has released that the verbal education on HIV/AIDS alone is now seen as ineffective. This is because almost everyone is now aware of the presence of the disease, mode of transmission, and the like yet there is no sign of reduction in the spread of the disease.
As a result, we have identified audiovisual on people who have been infected as the new emerging means of dealing with the pandemic. To achieve this we are looking for a Projector/Video deck, a big Screen Television set a generator (which can assist us in getting to the hinterlands) together with other accessories, which can promote this new vision. We will therefore promote audiovisual education alongside the verbal. Under the verbal education the proposed peer educators will carry out the actual activity on the ground
Again, there is going to be regular visits at the District Hospital where most cases are detected to ascertain off hand information about the disease. It is expected that, data collected from this exercise shall bee processed, analyzed and the information gathered will serve as input for further action on the project.
Currently we have human resource in the form of personnel who are facilitating the implementation of the project. The project is expected to be a pilot one specifically located in the West Akim District. Our beneficiaries will be potential HIV/AIDS patients and even those who have acquired the disease. It is expected that the youth between 18-35 years will benefit more from this project in that this group is identified as the most vulnerable group. Again, they are the potential labor force for the development of the economy. They will benefit largely in the form of education.
We must emphasis here that at the moment there has not been any assistance of any form from any quarters. However, we have sent some proposals to some donors and we are yet to hear from them.
No organization is involved in the development of our proposal
C MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT AND THE WORK PLAN
The project is expected to last for three years as a pilot one. In view of this the implementation management is going to ongoing till the end of the project. It will be a full time project.
Of course some specialized personnel will be needed to carry out the training of the trainers, f or example, experts in the HIV/AIDS field. They are going to be given per diem during the training period.
The project committee was selected among the general staff based on qualifications and experience. One of the committee members was also selected as the project manager also taking into consideration his experience and knowledge in educational program.
The participants are going to be selected from within the District. However, preference will be given to street children of whom most will be girls. The rationale behind this selection is that the street children are exposed to all forms of social vices, which by and large contribute to the spread of the disease.
Members contribution will be in the form of cash and kind that is labor and services.
The project is designed in such a way that it lends itself to the changing to meet the needs of the day.
The education is going to be carried out throughout the district with much emphasis on the rural folks. Nevertheless, the proposed peer educators shall report to our head office every week. There will also be regular visits to the project areas by our field staff.
The following are some of the problems:
1 Failure to acquire or solicit for donor assistance.
2 Accessibility to the hinterlands.
Activity Persons Responsible Month Time it will take
Selection of the youth to be trained as Peer Educators. Our field staff District AssemblyCommunity Devpt. January 2002 2 Weeks
Training of the youth (Peer Educators) Personnel from the District Health Management Team.Experts in the HIV/AIDS field. January 2002 3 Days
Actual field education by the trained peer educators. Peer Educators office field staff as facilitators February 2002 3 days per week up to the life span of the project.
Monitoring and Evaluation Project CoordinatorDistrict AssemblyDistrict Health Management Team February 2002 3 days per week up to the life span of the project.
D FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Currently we serve anyone within our area of operations. We basically provide education on health-related issues, poverty reduction program, agricultural activities and many others. With regards to educational activities we do not charge any fee for services rendered. Nonetheless, we receive some revenue from our farming activities. Averagely, we normally receive three million cedis (� 3,000,000) to three million five hundred thousand cedis (� 3,500,000) annually.
We sell our produce to the community and transport the excess to neighboring areas especially Nsawan and Accra. The costs are transportation, salaries and marketing.
Prices of our produce are almost always determined by the demand and supply functions. Operations and maintenance costs are going to be borne even after the ANY DONOR funding ends.
We generate fund internally through the establishment of a communication center under our mother organization. Again proceeds from our farming activities will also be used. We have a savings account with Barclays Bank at high street Accra and Standard Chartered also in Accra.
E TECHNICAL SUMMARY
HIV/AIDS as it is has no medical cure. The only way out as of now is education on the preventive measures rather than curative. We have only identified only one technology that is education for behavioral changes.
Our knowledge and experience have evolved from a similar project by Youth Development Foundation (YDF) in the field of adolescence reproductive health.
The project is basically an educational one and thus things that promote education in public place are required by the project.
In the interim we are going to train 40 youth/peers to become Peer Educators who will go to the field to carry out the project.
It is anticipated that the peer educator will work for full time throughout the project period.
Measures to ensure the long life of the project will be sustaining the interest of the peer educators and other players of project throughout the project life.
Yes, additional training will be required.
TRAINING
KINDS OF TRAINING:
(i) Giving the peers information about the HIV/AIDS disease.
(ii) How one can acquire and or prevent him/ herself, how to live with an infected person or with it.
(iii) Personnel from the District Health Management Team and other experts in the HIV/AIDS field are locally available and willing to conduct the training. The training will last for 3 days.
Forty (40) peers are expected to be trained. The cost implication is beyond the reach of our resources.
The rationale behind the choosing of personnel from the DHMT and other allied professional is that, they are the people equipped with the requisite information as far as health related issues are concerned. Their qualification can be obtained from the office of the District Health Administration.
It is expected that the participants would acquire in-depth knowledge in the HIV/AIDS disease, which they can also impart into the potential HIV/AIDS patience.
F ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Our project will have little or no impact on the environment, as it is an educational project and not economic activity.
G BUDGET
In order to achieve results, the issue of funding cannot be over emphasised. It will be a suicidal on our part, if we fail to come out clearly with the estimated project cost. We are requesting for financial assistance and equipment. We are therefore appealing to ANY DONOR to come to our aid by providing us with the underlisted items amongst others.
Cost of training 40 (forty) peer educators and their stipends �13,658,100
Transportation Cost �5,209,000
Logistics e.g. Condoms, femidoms and bags for the peer educators �50,425,000
The breakdown of the above estimates are given below:
BUDGET REQUIREMENTS FOR A THREE-DAY WORKSHOP.
Funding AgencyActivities For Any Donor (�) Obra Foundation (�)
STATIONARY (Files, pens, Duplicating papers stencil etc. 200,000
Refreshment (Snack @ �5000 x 55 persons) 275,000
Lunch (�15,000 x 55 persons ) x3 days 2,475,000
Resource persons per diem @ �200,000 x 3 days 1,800,000
Per diem for Participants �55 persons @ �50,000 per day x 3 days. 8,250,000
T & T for 35 peers @ �10,000 per day x 3 days 1,050,000
Organisation (Fuel for internal runs) 15 gallons x �10,600 Hiring of Hall 150,000 �159,000
Publicity and Pressmen 1,400,000
POST WORKSHOP
Logistics ( Condoms 100 boxes @ �5,000 500,000
Femidoms 100 boxes @ �8,000 800,000
Bags for Peer Educators 45 bags @ �30,000 1,350,000
Allowance for peer educators 40 @ � 100,000 per month for one year 48,00,000
Total 64,858,100 434,000
In addition to the Training estimates are the equipment estimates. We are requesting for a Projector/Video Deck, Television set (28�), Generator and the like. We also wish to inform you that our organization will cater for the videotapes on people who have the disease and other equipment to make our vision a reality.
EQUIPMENT ESTIMATES
FUNDING AGENCYEQUIPMENT ANY DONOR (�) OBRA FOUNDATION
AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR 45,000,000
VIDEO DECK 3,000,000
TELEVISION SET (28�) 5,000,0000
GENERATOR ( +1000KWs) 15,000,000
CAMCORDER RECORDER 1,500,000
PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM 15,000,0000
TOTAL 84,500,000 /US$10,625
THE REQUEST
As our meagre resources cannot assist us in fulfilling this laudable project, it imperative for us to request for your help. We should be grateful if you could assist us by giving us some financial and equipment assistance for the smooth implementation of the project. The total amount needed for the project is estimated to be �153,792,100, which is equivalent to US$19,224.02, and we are expecting �128,000,000 which is equivalent to US$16,000.00
Note �8,000 is to US$1 is used for the calculations as of the time of writing this proposal.
CODE OF ETHICS:
Preamble: we the members of Obra Foundation duly accept that the organization is non profit making body and fully voluntary social organization for participatory development. We do recognize the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth, the socio-economic development of the deprived being to raise the standard of living.
We therefore accept the responsibility to be an autonomous body and not be controlled by the Government. Our activities should not conflict with the Government policies but rather compliment it. We acknowledge the magnitude of the services chosen to render to community and as such may be judged in accordance with the applicable provisions of our Code of Ethics.
COMMITMENT TO THE ORGANISATION:
� Recognize that the organization must accept the responsibility to assist the deprived communities in developmental activities.
� Participate and conduct ourselves in a responsible manner in discharging our duties.
� We should not use the resources of the organization for our personal gains.
� Refrain form assigning our duties to politics.
� The activities of the organization should have tremendous positive impact on the society.
COMMITMENT TO THE DONORS:
� There should be a good rapport between the organization and donors.
� Good record keeping to ensure transparency and accountability.
� The organization should build up trust to donors by using the monies given to perform the specific task the money is voted for.
� No member what so ever shall deal with the donor for his personal gains.
COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY:
� The deprived communities shall be the sole beneficiaries of the numerous activities of the association.
� The communities shall be involved fully in execution of a project.
� The association shall consult the community before engaging in any project.
� The association shall be fair and firm to the served community.
COMMITMENT TO THE GOVERNMENT:
� The organization shall work in line with the laid down policies
� We shall be accountable to the Government.
� The organization shall collaborate with the District Assembly in the execution of projects to ensure decency.
� The organization shall complement government effort in developing the local economy.