Reflections from Zanzibar

I can hardly believe that it has been a month and a half since my last blog entry, I feel as though I have accomplished a lot in a short time, including relocating to a different country (Kenya) to start a one month training course with AMREF (African Medical Research Foundation) in Monitoring and Evaluation as well as accepting an M&E position back in Ghana starting in February 2012!

Like the past 7 months, my last month in Zanzibar flew by. In early October I took a trip to Morogoro on the mainland to visit the two YCI interns that were based there working on environmental projects, including water, sanitation and hygiene projects in rural areas. In mid October, I traveled back to the mainland to Dar es Salaam to attend a CIDA intern networking event which was hosted by CIDA country representatives at the Canadian High Commission. This event was really beneficial for me as it happened at the very end of my YCI placement which gave me a good opportunity to actually sit down and reflect on what I have accomplished in the past 7 months. My presentation to CIDA and the other interns was based around "my accomplishments" which I summed up to 3 major achievements:

1. Working with the ZANGOC Executive Committee to complete a final draft of the new ZANGOC strategic plan.
2. Facilitating capacity building workshops on project design and proposal writing to 30 out of 45 ZANGOC member organizations (including travelling to Pemba Island to reach the 5 member organizations based there)
3. Working with YCI and ZANGOC to establish the ZANGOC Gender Equality Team and then providing the team with a basic gender awareness training session which included a guest facilitator from the Gender Unit of the Ministry of Social Welfare. I am also in the process of securing funds from the United Nations Population Fund in order to have the Gender Team trained by a Gender Consultant on auditing and mainstreaming.

After the Gender Awareness Training with the GET

My work contract with ZANGOC and YCI ended on October 21st after which time I was officially on vacation which included me going into the office to finish end term reports and various other tasks. Last week was also busy as I was packing and preparing for visitors and saying goodbye to my Zanzibar friends. I felt like I was finally ready to leave Zanzibar and it was nice to have such a wonderful send off last Friday. ZANGOC had invited me to the office for 4pm when I met with some members of the Executive Committee and Shaib, the YCI coordinator in Zanzibar. They presented me with a certificate showing the work I did and a few people said some words. Then I was asked to speak at which time I actually started crying even though I tried my hardest to hold it back! I think I blubbered something along the lines of how happy I am with the way my placement turned out and how much of a learned experience it was for me....blah blah blah, through the tears I don't really remember!

Me with some members of the ZANGOC Executive Committee

That evening I had one last amazing meal at the House of Spices in Zanzibar with the friends that were visiting along with some expat friends whom I will miss terribly. This was followed by some drinks and lots of dancing which made the night absolutely perfect and summed up the wonderful experience I had on the island for the past 7 months.

I intend to post an update this week about Nairobi city life and the AMREF M&E course, I just wanted them to be separate thoughts, separate blog posts.

Don't forget the little guys

Since last week...

The new YCI volunteers arrived in Zanzibar last Thursday and we had a meet and greet in the office on the 16th. They will be working with ZANGOC Executive Committee and member organizations on the following topics: 

• Environmental improvement campaign in the Chumbuni District
• Health outreach around The International Day Against Drug Abuse - JUNE 26th
• Youth career development program (involving youth from ZANGOC member organizations)
• Small enterprise development workshops
• Establishing a one-stop youth information and resource centre at the YCI office in Mwanakwerekwe
• 10 workshops in Professional Communications for ZANGOC members
• Establishment of a Gender Equality Team within ZANGOC

My role with the volunteers will be minimal but I did meet with them again yesterday to share my ideas on professional communications and youth development. Since I already have a good insight into what the member organizations do and what they want in terms of capacity building, I was happy to share my information to help make their workshops tailored to the actual needs of their participants. 

Another aspect I will be assisting with is in the establishment of the Gender Equality Team. I feel it is important for me to be involved in this team as I am currently writing ZANGOC's strategic plan and gender should be a cross cutting theme throughout all areas of intervention.

Currently, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Youth and Women’s Development is in the final stages of preparing a policy on mainstreaming gender issues in their programs.  In order to prepare for compliance with this policy, ZANGOC and its member organizations want to begin promoting awareness of gender issues within their organizations and in the communities with whom they work. The purpose of the gender equality team will be to strengthen the capacity of local partners to integrate gender equality into their programs including: promoting leadership amongst women and girls and promoting active participation amongst women, girls and youth in decision making processes and public governance. 

To follow the work of the current volunteers in Zanzibar check out the YCI blog

In other news...

I was informed via email last Friday that there would be a meeting at the ZAC office in regards to writing the concept paper for the USAID funded project in Zanzibar (remember my blog "USAID - From the American People"?). As a good Canadian I showed up on time...early in fact, only to find out that the meeting was canceled. I had a feeling this was going to happen based on the tone of Friday's email, however, with English being a second, and sometimes third language, it was hard for me to decipher the language used in the email! So, to play it safe I showed up anyways! Madame Nuru, the Executive Director of ZAC told me upon arrival that there was not enough support from all the identified partner NGOs, as only ZANGOC and ZAPHA+ replied to the email to confirm their attendance at the meeting. She informed me that I should go ahead and submit my ideas for the concept paper to Stephen at VSO (who would compile the concept paper) and wait to see if UMATI and WAMATA (2 NGOs operating at the national level) would also submit their concept paper ideas. 

Unfortunately, this morning I received an email back from Stephen at VSO saying that he has his reservations about this concept paper as UMATI and WAMATA still have yet to submit, therefore we are lacking the regional coverage, strength and partnerships necessary to proceed. Without these components we will be unable to apply for this funding opportunity, as full coverage of Tanzania is a criteria stipulated by USAID for this project. So, it is a shame that without strength in regional partnerships from larger NGOs, Zanzibar has lost this opportunity.  It's too bad that the larger, more established NGOs hold the decision making power and leave the little guys to continue chasing after donor dollars to even keep their organizations a float. With that being said, I am not turning to cynicism just yet :)