December 4, 2014 - Phillip Moatlhodi

This is not at all organized but describes what we have been doing this past week with Phillip Moatlhodi visiting us.  He is the head guy in humanitarian services for all of Southeast Africa.  He was delightful and had so much insight to help us.  We have felt handcuffed before his visit but not afterwards.  I’ll write a separate letter as well. 

Love, Dad

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Just completed  a telephone conversation with Elder Phil Squires.   He works with food programs for the church welfare department.  A few weeks ago Mbidi Ilunga asked us about receiving help for a food program for his ward.  He is the director of the self-reliance center and the director of public affairs for the church here in Lubumbashi.  He also serves as a bishop.  His ward has begun a project of raising corn on 80 hecters of property on the road to Kipushi.  He could be a possible champion for agricultural development.  

Phil Squires calls tonight while Phillip Moatlhodi is visiting us from Johannesburg.  He is the Area Welfare Manager and his input and consent is required in order to provide assistance in the area plan in the area of agriculture.  He asked just yesterday why there wasn’t more agricultural development her in Lubumbashi where the soil is so rich and the rain plentiful.  

We are scheduled to drive to Kipushi tomorrow with Immaculee.  We  will stop and look at the farming operation and try to provide answers to some  of the questions Phil Squires posed:

1. Who owns the property?
2. What rental arrangements have been made?
3. Where did the members receive  funding for seed and fertilizer for the current crop?
4. Are  there non-members involved in the project?
5. What is the proposed use of the money from this cash crop?

 Primarily for member benedit but must be sustainable; not year after year .  Include listing of equipment along with the number of families involved including members and non-members.  Include the number of households and the number of total members.  Product can be for member benefit and need not be sold.  Mbidi can take this to other areas of the mission.  This can be written as a single PDW.

We  then need to request assistance from  the Kinghorns and Phillip through the area office.  Here we have a good priesthood holder asking for help and we need to modify the area plan to allow that to happen.

All of the timing issues are not just hap hazard.  There is divine intervention in this work and you quickly realize this isn’t our work at all.  We need to do all we can to provide this requested help to Mbidi Ilunga.  The Lord is trying to work through us if we’ll just listen.  

We had a busy day and this was the agenda:  I’ve added other potential projects to this discussion based on suggestions from Phillip

1. Meeting with Charles of the Catholic Diocese about future projects. Blind, roofing, water, desks.
2. Visited the blind school and viewed 42 braille machine with only 2 operational.  Phillip has developed a program for the blind schools in South Africa.  Perkins is the company they work with.  The machines are $750 each.  Check on training provided by Perkins in Zambia.  Consider training someone locally to  repair machines and see how many of the Perkins machines can be repaired before buying new ones.  Submit as a proposal to train and then purchase but only after the repairs element has been completed.
3. Attended Mapendano closing ceremony for new latrines.  Spoke with next-door school director who has solar panels and tanks.  We need to add to his tanks, increase the size of his pump, increase the number of solar panels and provide piping to Mapendano.  Schedule meeting on Tuesday with both school directors and Charles to orchestrate the project and participation and benefits to each party.  Phillip suggested 2-1,000 liter tanks at Mapendano and to add a third at the existing school along with increasing the size of the solar panels, adding a larger pump and giving them one additional tank.
4. Visted Kamwonage school where the roofing is failing and evaluated repair and replacement.  We asked the director to provide us a bill of quantities for the number of roofing sheets and the number of ceiling tiles needed by classroom or by building.  We need the unit cost and then we can estimate how many classrooms we could complete.  The idea would be to purchase all of the materials and do none of the installation.  We would require of the school as their buy-in to do all of the installation.  An idea is to do one at a time so that we don’t store materials and we only proceed based on success of the previous building or classroom.  They will call us when they have the cost estimate information put together.Kids travel tor other scchools
5. Took  Amas to Tumaini Orphanage to provide Christmas clothing and food.  We also looked at new desks for the elementary school that supports the orphanage.  Phillip suggested we write a desk proposal project now because they have $92,000 remaining in the 2014 budget that will be returned if not spent.  We are to send the proposal directly to Phillip.  I suggest we ask for the following:
1. Maisha Karavia   need 400 less 50 foundation less 200 church = 150
2. Peage School need 50
3. Tumaini Orphanage need 100
4. Kamwonage need 75 no match and maybe should exclude

Include as a supplemental for Maisha Karavia, but write the others as a separate PDW and send to Phillip.  Include Kamwonage 75 and include everything.

6. Met with Enoch, Dr.   Kabila and two technicians to consider water development in Lubumbashi.  Visited Tabucongo, a neighborhood in commune Kampemba, an area they pinpointed as one of five with the greatest need for water.  Evaluate whether to:
1. Suggest the top 5 priorities for drilling bore holes
2. Select this as the health zone where a $25,000 repair fund is established
3. Commit $100,000 to water development in this sector with both well repair and new bore holes.  Get assessment from Dr. Pascal, Enoch, Richard
7. Had a meeting with President Thomas to review coordination of humanitarian and mission responsibilities.
8. Finished with dinner at latte-licious.

I think we’ll probably be bored to tears when we return home and don’t have this break-neck schedule.

Friday, December 05, 2014

Immaculee’s husband suffered a stroke during the night and our trip was cancelled to Kipushi.  Phillip did suggest we create a PDW for pump repair.  It would be a $25,000 fund to be used until it is gone and then apply for another $25,000 increment.  This would work for the pumps on the road to Kisanga.  

1. Order of creating this pump repair PDW
1. Identify single health zone and attempt to pattern after Kipushi.
2. Immaculee to contact office that trains repairmen.  Determine cost of repair class for trainees and the cost of repair equipment that could be stored at the health zone office.  Purchase perhaps two sets of tools and arrange for maybe 5-6 to be trained.  
3. Obtain inventory of existing wells and their history.
4. MOH to assist in establishing water committee and coordination with chief
5. MOH to prioritize villages prepared to participate based on having an existing water committee and having created a methodology for collecting money for water usage.
6. Set parameters for participation; $150-$250 in a maintenance fund owned by the village.

Write PDW for $25,000 and when one is done, submit another.  Talk to Phillip to exceed the 5 project limit based on the completion status of existing projects.

We visited Rigideso who had prepared options for extending the existing water lines beyond the World Bank system that is the backbone of water development in Lubumbashi.  

1. This would be a piping project that creates water stations.  They tie into the World Bank trunk lines.  The average cost per water point is about $7,000 compared to $15,000-$17,000 for drilling a new bore hole.  The suggested development of the project is as follows:
1. Contact the Burgermeisters of Commune Katuba and Commune Annex to organize a neighborhood meeting to solicit residents buy-in by performing labor.
2. Commit residents to dig all of the lines and count this as their participation and ownership buy-in.  From the cost estimates, this was just under 10% of the project cost.  In many cases the contractor will not allow the full discount in reducing the contract pricing.  
3. Construction time is about 2 weeks per zone.  Approval process time is about 2 weeks plus.
4. Rigideso’s participation is to manage the project.  They will use their purchasing power in negotiating the best prices through their purchasing department and their experience.  The Church will pay vendors directly and Rigideso will not charge a management fee.  They will receive 100% ownership of the project when complete.
5. We need to visit an existing site where the collection process is working.  Determine the pricing, how much is collected, how much is paid to the person collecting for water, how much is Rigideso reinvesting in the maintenance of the system and how much is profit.  Is there anything set aside in a reserve fund.
6. We will prepare a PDW including all five (5) proposed sites.  We will start first with Katuba and Golf areas.  We will only proceed with the additional sites based on successful completion of the first 2 sites.

We visited the MYRT School and talked to PUMA, the director.  We reviewed his computer lab and asked about the rotation policy.  They had a theft in the past.  He is expecting some help from the US in replacing their current machines.  We asked him if he would be a guest lecturer in the self-reliance center and we asked if he had considered developing a concentrated course in vocational training.  He said the course currently is a 4-year program and would have to be 6 months at a minimum.  We asked if he would be a mentor to others starting a computer lab such as the Peage School and I asked if they rotated their equipment if they would donate the old equipment to a poor beneficiary who can’t afford to do it on their own.  Puma said he is going to the USA in  about a month and will remain there for 18 months.  We will probably not pursue anything with MYRT.

We next visited with Tabu Farrah, who is the chief over handicapped services.  We visited a handicapped association site near the tunnel.  They own 14 store fronts but don’t have any equipment to furnish the stores, so they are currently renting out the store fronts.  The office for the handicapped is currently occupied by 4 families and so is not being used as an office.  

This could become an incubator system where handicapped are taught a business or profession and then have to go out on their own.  It is not working that way currently and there is no funding to do so.  They asked for furniture to equip their offices.  We told them we will listen but are not promising anything now.

We then attended ASBL Grahpe which is the organization who had incorporated self-reliance principles.  They have chickens, mushrooms, sell soda drinks and sell water.  They hope to have a bakery, but it is unrealistic.  They have never had electricity for the oven and they will first need to have a wood fired stove.  The average profit from their best day’s activity as a bakery was $100 per day.  Their sale of chickens was for about 7,500 Fc compared to a cost to raise them of about 5,000 Fc.  They currently have 450 chickens but this is also a seasonal crop.  They were much less organized this time and it was difficult to determine how we could effectively help them.  We want to help but don’t quite know how.  Perhaps furnishings for their office, so they have some credibility would be a good idea.  

Let’s find out what they have in mind.

Luputa-the church purchased a grinding machine.  Milling machine.  How is it being used?  

Rotation of church owned computers-what are they doing with the rotation of computers?  Br. Gibbons

Disabled people assistance-increase growing the mushrooms and the chickens.  Increase capacity with cages for chickens, pay for the materials to build their own cages, give additional chickens, 200 + another 200 later on.  Let’s see if they can increase their production.  Mushrooms increased capacity.  Write for $2,000 Same group as the roofing; don’t write as a separate PDW but include in a materials request PDW like with the roofing for Kawonage.  Also include the roofing for Kipopo School.  Give them the materials and let them do it.  Similar to painting for projects.  Include members in the painting service project.  Incorporate this with the painting for orphanages.  

Gardening projects failed in Mosambique.  Why?  Member involvement-asked for things and take no buy-in, but non-members will do everything they can.  Involve non-members that is the key.  This is their only opportunity.   Allow them to keep all the produce and only sell the excess.  This is teaching self-reliance and totally justified.  Involve non-members as well.

Maturation- Therese could be the champion, not members.  Use a single PDW that approves $5,000 and identify a single school and then move to another school.  Take your show on the road and allow it to grow.  

Increase the number to 10; close existing projects.  Orphanage could be teaching skills not just sitting around the table or playing games.

Two things we can do before we leave.  Develop a program of continuity.  We do too many things and are spread too thin.  Deepen what we are doing.  

Deepen commitment to single area of development.  For example latrines with Elder VanWagoner.  2-3 projects that will have the most impact.  We want to work on water.  Latrines, wells, boreholes.  

1. Adopt health zones and coordinate a long-term  sustainable project on rotating basis with Immaculee
2. Enoch’s office-could identify the priority of bore hole drilling in Lubumbashi
3. Rigideso-develop a priority map on line extension from the World Bank trunk line project
4. UNICEF-Bertan identifying schools where they develop latrines and we develop water
5. Charles-Water development with extension to the residents.

Project areas for focusing our efforts:

1. Water, well repair, line extension, bore hole, community and school access (Major)
2. Education-desks, chalk boards, painting, curriculum materials, trade school equipment (sewing machines, wood working, machinist training)
3. Women development-

Conclusion of Ideas to be implemented:

1. Desks-
1. Write as a supplemental to the existing Maisha Karavia project- add 150 desks to make our total contribution 350 desks.  Our current project shows 200; school foundation produced 50, but they need 400 total.  We believe in their organizational ability and they have shown the capacity to manage projects and property.
2. Write a separate PDW to be sent directly to Phillip requesting 2014 desks for the following:
1. Peage School-50
2. Orphanage-100-Maison de’June to deliver these desks
3. Kawmonage-75
2. Write  separate water project PDW’s:
1. Pump repair-$25,000 for Immaculee health zone identified and create a rotating fund and renew it each time the repair money has been  spent.  UNICEF potential partnering with Immaculee and with school development. (Bertain, Julia-director)
2. Water line extension-work with Rigideso; request $100,000 for 5 targeted projects; complete Golf and Katuba first and start a rotational policy.  Labor for installation can be their buy-in and turn ownership and maintenance over to Rigideso
3. Water bore holes-Enoch and MOH prioritization.  Start with top 5 and expand based upon success.   Attempt to establish a model agreement.  Specify what MOH will supply and what LDS will supply.  This could become a model across the province and maybe the country.
4. Schools & community access-Charles- model setup at Kamwanesea.  We also need to evaluate latrines and water combined at schools with community water point access.
5. Charles will help us coordinate a joint project with Mapendano and the neighboring school where we install additional solar panels, add a new tank and a larger pump, then run extension lines to Mapendano with 2 tanks of their own and possibly a community access water point.
3. Roofing repair projects:
1. Kamwanesea-roofing tins and ceiling tiles-purchase the materials with the school to provide installation labor from parents, other contractors.
2. Kipopo-buy materials and have the school pay for installation, paint and doors
3. Also the male run orphanage that needs roofing materials.
4. Agricultural projects: PDW
1. Mbidi to provide model through his ward.  Involve non-members and members, allow participants to have 100% of the crop production benefit, sell surplus.  Make sure they have planned for the next crop and save reserves for the future.  
2. Mbidi to make a request for a short-term specialist such as Phil Squires.  Create a model that can be used in Likasi, Mwene Ditu, Laputa, etc. and take your show on the road.