Thursday 23 April - Day 31

Report – Participatory Needs Assessment
24 March – 23 April, end of first month

I have settled in after moving from my first home, have made lots of contacts in the local community, in Abene and the two nearest villages, Dianna and Albadar. I have made friends and feel a lot more comfortable here now. I am learning Mandinka, using a couple of really good books and speaking to people as much as I can. Though I need to study more! I am also using French quite a bit. But I am speaking much more English that I had intended to, which is slowing down my progress with the languages. I can do the full greetings with no problem now in Mandinka. Not all local people speak Mandinka though, some speak Jola or Fula. Most people speak more than 3 languages, French, Wolof, and one or two other local languages such as Jola or Mandinka. As we are so close to Gambia there are also immigrants from the Gambia, though they tend to speak a ‘broken’ version of English, learnt from Jamaican reggae music.

I have started the assessment in an unstructured way and on an ad-hoc basis, following up on contacts made as and when the opportunity has arisen. At this end of month one stage, with two months to go I am now at a point where I am putting together a detailed plan for the assessment process, using the ‘Partners in Planning’ book as a guide and reference tool. I will produce a written document of this plan for the trustees back in London and hope to get feedback from them on it and the benefit of their experience. I hope they will discuss it at the next meeting on 30 April and relay their comments and suggestions to me after.

I have been conducting informal interviews with local people and local leaders of associations. I have sat in and observed a class in Dianna and met with local school teachers. I have done another of the techniques from the Partners in Planning book – producing a resource map of the village Albadar with members of the community. It was very satisfying to watch the process and provide useful information. I have made strong links with a new school opening this week in Dianna providing free English classes to children, with very similar objectives to our own. It is run by a British early years school teacher called Hawa Touré, who has just started a 6 week pilot programme. Abene Karantaa is providing limited funding for this pilot, including exercise books for the children and boards to lean on to write. Funding will be up to a maximum of £50 (at this stage at least), and comes from a donation offered for this purpose.

I am developing a plan for the assessment, and currently putting together a team of local people I can work with to form the planning team. We aim to hold the first planning team meeting on Sunday 26 April. I will of course blog on the results of the meeting as soon as I can after that date, which will hopefully be in good time before the Abene Karantaa meeting in London on 30 April. The team is currently made up of the following people: Christina Ballard (Abene Karantaa representative), Yousoufa Douf, Mamadou Basamban and Jibril Diatta. I am looking to recruit some women and have representatives from all 3 villages, including Abene, Albadar and Dianna, as well as having representation from poor and powerless groups.

Reflections at this stage include the following points:

• Considering changing our name from Abene Karantaa (meaning learning place in Mandinka) to something similar but more the idea of learning, than a fixed building, as we may decide not to have a building of our own but instead fund educational projects.

• We should consider funding literacy and numeracy programmes at the Dianna English Language School in the autumn. The results of Hawa’s 6 week pilot programme will be very interesting and will provide us with a lot of useful information on what works and how it could be improved for the autumn. Initial anecdotal evidence suggests poor literacy levels for the majority of adults over about 20 years old.

• Funding free nutritious meals for children, lunch times in school. Anecdotal evidence suggests children don’t eat balanced meals at home on a regular basis, protein foods such as fish as

• Funding free transport for women to attend classes in Kafountine in the mornings, as an alternative to the expensive and time-consuming use of bush taxis. Transport links to the nearest town, Kafountine are comparatively expensive and journeys are time-consuming.

• There is a need for increased use of birth control and financial independence of women.

• Employment is mostly scarce and irregular. There is strong demand for professional training, including producing batik and tailoring. Having a profession is considered key to development.

• Providing the school in Albadar with the resources that have currently been prioritised, including a cupboard for books and birth certificates, protecting them from mice and termites, improved water in the school and repairs to the buildings, and lighting for extra-curricular classes for those who are behind.