Executive Summary:
The proposed project will enable an existing NGO, Le voie des jeunes (The Voice of the Youth), to buy and renovate a building in order to open a youth center in the prefectural capital of Vogan. This center will provide programs to fight poverty, the trafficking of children, the rural exodus, prostitution and HIV/AIDS, all of which are grave problems in the area. It will provide a safe place for all youth, including people living with HIV/AIDS, youth infected with STIs, and youth with questions regarding sexual behavior and the risks associated with sex.
The center will be a place where youth can receive confidential advice, training and education, and engage in candid discussions on finding creative solutions to the problems they face. To address these needs the center will include a video space to watch educational videos, an information room with computers and where typing classes are offered, a space to hold large-scale trainings and lectures, and an office for confidential advising.
The center will be situated in Vogan, the prefectural capital of Vo. This project responds to the needs expressed by the population of Vogan, who understand the importance of the protection and promotion of youth. It will be conveniently located within blocks of the high school, giving students easy access and ample opportunity to take advantage of its programming. The center will be run by the local NGO La voie des jeunes (The Voice of the Youth). The NGO strives:
- To promote the fight against HIV/AIDS through lectures, theater groups and educational videos
- To promote the fight against the massive rural exodus of youth and the fight against prostitution by teaching income-generating activities that can be implemented locally
- To promote the fight against female illiteracy through free literacy classes for the local apprentice population
- To promote healthy living by providing a safe community where candid discussion is encouraged and life skills classes are offered on a regular basis
The communities within the
Subsistence agriculture is the main source of income in the region. However, due to the heavy exploitation of phosphates and the overuse of land, the soil is extremely poor and yields few foods of nutritional value. The prefecture is also characterized by a strong migratory movement in the form of a rural exodus. Due to the poverty of the region and the lack of family planning, many families cannot afford to feed their children. Parents are forced to send their children out of the area to find work. Surveys reveal that a number of young women and men born in Vo can now be found in Lomé and in other countries, where they are employed in such positions as domestic workers, and, many times, trafficked into prostitution. The catastrophe of HIV/AIDS hits at the heart of the population. The highest level of infection is found in the youth. The trade of sex for money is characteristic of the region, therefore putting young women at extreme risk.
Community Initiation and Community Contribution:The director of the participating NGO, Mr. Michel Akpoto, is an extremely motivated and experienced youth educator and was the first individual to approach me with this project. He has conducted extensive trainings and discussion groups on all aspects of youth culture from HIV/AIDS to peer pressure and income generating activities, many times using his own funds to do so. He was recently named by the National Ministry of Youth as the President of the National Association of Youth Organizations. He is a highly trusted member of society who has a close relationship with many of the youth in the area. His ability to approach sensitive subjects with humor and candidness has gained him respect throughout the
Although the community does not have the cash to pay for the building itself, members are donating their time, labor, sand and water to the project. People are donating electrical supplies to help install electricity in the center. All skilled laborers are donating at least part of their labor as well as all of their transportation costs. Mr. Akpoto himself, as well as many students in the middle school and high school, will be donating unskilled labor to the project.
Project Implementation:
The total renovation of the center is slated to take approximately 11 weeks. The first week will be spent acquiring the building and completing the legal process. We will also hold a community meeting every other week with the involved students and staff to keep everyone up to date on the project. We will also buy and transport the materials for the new roof in the first week.
The second week will be devoted to removing the old roof and raising the walls of the building, which should take two weeks. This will be accomplished by a mason as well as unskilled laborers donating their time. Weeks four and five will be devoted to the construction of the new roof by a carpenter and a mason as well as unskilled laborers.
Week six will be devoted to installing electricity in the building and finalizing the wiring by a community electrician. At the same time, throughout weeks six and seven, the doors and windows will be renovated and secured with new locks and bars. This will be the final stage of renovation on the building.
Weeks eight and nine will be the construction of the terrace, by the mason, the carpenter and the volunteers, and week ten will be painting the building, terrace and outdoor walls, painted by the volunteers. Once all work is completed, an inauguration ceremony of the center will be held in the new building, hopefully in week eleven.Project Sustainability:
The center will offer ongoing educational services on sexual health, HIV/AIDS prevention, literacy, computer skills and life skills. It will also offer confidential advising for any youth in need. The main beneficiaries will be the students of the neighboring high school and CEG (middle school), as well as the local apprentice groups who will be able to take advantage of the literacy classes as well as formations and lectures given in the local language. The center will help to equip young people with healthier behavior, the education to make better choices, increased literacy especially for young women, and help reduce the rate of HIV transmission as youth learn how the disease is transmitted and how it can be prevented.
The sustainability of the project is of the utmost importance to the local population and the board of the center. Once the center has been completed, activities with nominal fees will be put into place in order to raise the money to cover ongoing expenses such as electricity, necessary repairs and routine maintenance. Currently, the NGO owns a photocopy machine, 9 computers, a TV and a DVD player. Charging an affordable fee for use of the photocopy machine and membership in a video club will help to allay costs. People will also be able to order invitations for weddings, funerals and other events that can be published on the center’s computers. Within the project budget we have included the funds for a public telephone which, due to its advantageous location near the high school, will contribute greatly to the income of the organization.
In order to assure the sustainability of his fledgling NGO, Mr. Akpoto has assembled a board of 5 individuals (including him). A general secretary, a general treasurer and two part-time nurses will all be trained to run the organization in the event that he is unable to do so. A group of already-trained peer educators, made up of young men and women from the local high school and middle school, have agreed to offer their time to provide advice to their peers. The current Peace Corps volunteer in Vogan, also trained in community health and AIDS prevention issues, will be available to aid with trainings until August of 2009.
