Bridge the Gap - Kufusa Mari Junior
Location
The 3 year project will improve math comprehension in primary schools in rural Zimbabwe. At Grade 3 two specific competencies, as identified by teachers, will be addressed. In grade 7 students will form internal savings & lending (ISL) clubs and participate in income generating activities to learn practical mathematics applications. Funds applied for secondary school will be matched.
About You
Emplacement
Adresse et rue du projet
2 End Avenue
Ville du projet
Mutare
État ou province du projet
Manicaland
Code postal
Pays du projet
Zimbabwe
Votre idée
Pays où vous concentrez vos opérations:
Zimbabwe
Vidéo YouTube
À quel stade de votre projet en êtes-vous?
En opération depuis 1 à 5 ans
En moyenne, quel est le revenu des ménages mensuel au sein de la communauté que vous ciblez, en dollars américains?
Please select one
Name Your Project
Bridge the Gap - Kufusa Mari Junior
Describe Your Idea
The 3 year project will improve math comprehension in primary schools in rural Zimbabwe. At Grade 3 two specific competencies, as identified by teachers, will be addressed. In grade 7 students will form internal savings & lending (ISL) clubs and participate in income generating activities to learn practical mathematics applications. Funds applied for secondary school will be matched.
Innovation
Décrivez votre idée en moins de 50 mots.
The 3 year project will improve math comprehension in primary schools in rural Zimbabwe. At Grade 3 two specific competencies, as identified by teachers, will be addressed. In grade 7 students will form internal savings & lending (ISL) clubs and participate in income generating activities to learn practical mathematics applications. Funds applied for secondary school will be matched.
Qu’est-ce qui rend votre idée unique?
The Kufusa Mari Junior project combines ISL with formal education in Zimbabwe schools to increase comprehension of math and access to secondary school. If children must leave school after primary school they will gain entrepreneurial and basic small business skills.
Dans quel domaine travaillez vous ? (Veuillez choisir plus d'une option)
Enfants et adolescents , Protection des enfants , Éducation , Micro-finance , Développement rural , Rural , Agriculture durable , VIH/SIDA .
Quel impact avez-vous atteint?
ASAP has improved academic performance in math (relative to the national average and trends in Zimbabwe) , increased the number of students with a positive attitude about math, and increased interest by teachers in teaching math (confidence) through the Bridge the Gap (BTG) math teacher training project ongoing since 2001.
From 1994 to 2001 ASAP addressed the need for rural education infrastructure and helped communities build 145 new classrooms, construct 58 new teacher duplexes, refurbish 107 dilapidated classrooms, furnish 565 classrooms (through 123 ASAP-trained carpenters) and helped thousands of orphans and disadvantaged children to remain in school each year from 1994 to 2001.
ASAP has improved the income for over 25,000 families in rural Zimbabwe through Internal Savings and Lending (ISL) projects since 2001. Through the creation of sustainable livelihoods these women are able to pay their children s' school fees and meet other household needs. Agricultural skills and cross cutting issues have been introduced through these ISL savings clubs to increase the food security, improve knowledge of household practices to maintain health, prevent the transmission of malaria, HIV/AIDS and more recently, cholera. Agricultural improvements such as growing and using medicinal herbs, conservation farming and perma-culture techniques and growing and using Jatropha and Moringa trees have diversified crops, increased yields and other benefits to these rural communities.
Décrivez le problème primaire auquel votre projet répond.
Children are not acquiring adequate math skills to prepare them for a productive life.
Less that 50% of children are not continuing education beyond primary school.
Décrivez la stratégie de votre organisation afin d’atteindre vos buts?
ASAP is currently implementing a 5 year and 2 year math teacher training project which will end in Dec. 2009. Teachers and students form math clubs and ASAP provides funds for extra-curricular academic activities and competitions. Results on external national exams will document variation in outcomes between the 2 and 5 year projects. In 2007 ASAP piloted the Kufusa Mari Junior concept using unrestricted funds. Students were introduced to the ISL methodology and encouraged to form savings clubs. From May – Oct. 2007 and 328 children have formed 46 savings clubs in 8 schools. A total value of Z$35,764,306 in loans were issued to the participating students within the clubs. The demand for the project was increasing and accepted by schools and community when funds were exhausted.
Impact
Que devez-vous faire dans les trois prochaines années afin de faire de votre projet une réussite? Réussite la 1ère année:
Pilot the project for one year in the 142 schools where ASAP is currently implementing the Bridge the Gap math teacher training project.
Réussite la 2è année:
Preparation for provincial expansion.
1. Project review, pilot year lessons learned.
2. Management staff recruitment and development
3. Provincial-wide acceptance and understanding of the project on a local level
4. Identify project partners - stakeholder mobilization
5. Procurement of equipment and assets
6. Staff recruitment & training
7. Baseline data report
Réussite la 3è année:
For all project activities to take place in all schools in Manicaland province of Zimbabwe the field staff must be inducted and understand the expectations of the position prior to school opening. Teachers must also be enthusiastic about achieving results and understand clearly what success looks like.
Avez vous un plan d’affaire ou plan stratégique? (oui/no)
yes - for the organization but not detailed for this project yet.
Quelles sont les trois actions que vous devrez mettre en place afin de faire croître votre projet ou organisation? 1ère étape:
A major commitment by a donor to invest in the project and organization.
2è étape:
Capacity building of ASAP to scale-up our work efficiently and improve overall implementation systems.
3è étape:
Improved project management systems including benchmarks and guidelines to insure project success.
Décrivez les résultats auxquels vous vous attendez, suite à ces actions.
ASAP management will have confidence and a clearly defined action plan.
The ASAP Cluster Coordinators will understand his or her role and expectations of the position. At each school the teachers will be motivated to be actively involved in teacher and student math clubs. The students will apply math skills to earn funds for secondary schools and/or learn entrepreneurial skills that will improve life after leaving school. Key core competencies mastered in grade 3 will improve understanding and success in math in subsequent years.
Quel est le moment décisif qui vous a mené à ce projet innovateur?
On April 25 2005 at a "Kufusa Mari" savings and lending graduation celebration in Sedze area a group of children were being awarded tee shirts and certificates for their successful savings club activities. The tee shirts hit well below the knee but their enthusiasm and pride permeated the ground on which they walked as they approached the stage to receive their awards. This is when the idea that the IS&L methodology could or should be adapted to benefit the education of children directly. Since ASAP has a math teacher training project that has been accepted by the Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe, and our staff are respected and welcome in the schools in the areas ASAP operates, it makes logical sense to combine the two projects to increase access to education.
On Feb 11 2009 at an Outcomes Based Thinking workshop the documentation of tangible results were clarified as applied to education. A-ha moment. Since 2001, when the BTG project began, teachers and Heads have identified that they begin to "loose" the students at Grade 3. Recently, project staff have identified these various problems and placed the highest priority on failure to master (1) addition with carrying and (2) multiplication tables. BTG Teacher and Student Math Club activities will focus on these two competencies and document impact not only in grade 3, but in subsequent years.
Parlez-nous de l’innovateur social responsable pour cette idée
Elizabeth Bara (BS Biology) joined the Peace Corps at age 30 and taught science and math at a rural High School in Swaziland. There she met and married Tom Arsenault, also a Peace Corps volunteer teacher. The couple spent long quiet nights trying to figure out how to stimulate creative thought and problem solving abilities in children that had been largely learning by rote. ASAP Africa continues to search for this solution even today.
With the ability to problem solve comes self-reliance. This is the mission of the organization Elizabeth and her husband created, A Self-help Assistance Program – to cultivate self-reliance in rural Africa. From 1994 -2005 the couple lived in Zimbabwe and the program has evolved, having tried various approaches but not yet satisfied that projects have been worthy of scaling up until recently.
Comment avez-vous entendu parler de Changemakers?
We received an email from Roberto Wohlgemuth.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Durabilité
Quels obstacles feraient faillir votre projet?
The obvious obstacle would be inadequate funding to carry out the project. If the current Unity Government should fail there may be civil war or political interference in implementing the project. Civil strikes that include teachers would have a negative effect as well. All that said, ASAP has continued working during the last 9 years of turmoil and economic disaster in Zimbabwe, so it's unlikely there are many obstacles that would actually stop the project.
Source de financement
Si oui, quelle organisation ?
not applicable
Depuis combien de temps cette organisation existe-t-elle? (ex. moins d’un an, 1 à 5 ans, plus de 5 ans)
not applicable
Votre organisation a-t-elle un conseil d’administration?
Yes, there is a Board of Directors.
Votre organisation a-t-elle des partenariats non monétaires avec des ONGs? (oui/non)
Yes
Votre organisation a-t-elle des partenariats non monétaires avec des corporations? (oui/non)
No
L'histoire
Votre organisation a-t-elle des partenariats non monétaires avec le gouvernement? (oui/non)
yes
Veuillez bien nous donner plus de détails au sujet de l’importance de ces partenariats pour la réussite de votre projet innovate
It is only by working together that results are achieved, resources are used effectively and the maximum return on funds invested are realized.
Votre projet desservira combien de personnes par an?
Over 10,000
Quel est le nombre total d'employés et le nombre total de bénévoles dans votre organisation?
34
Comment classifiez-vous votre organisation?
À but-non-lucratif/ONG/ organisation du secteur social
Avez-vous reçu de l’argent de la part d’un our de plusieurs de ces groupes? (Veuillez choisir plus d’une option.)
Banque de Développement Africain .
CONFIDENTIEL: Budget actel annuel, en dollar
$500,000 - $1,000,000
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| April 21 2009 a ISL graduation in rural Zimbabwe.JPG | 82.67 KB |
 | ASAP Africa said: Naveen, thank you for your message. A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP Africa) is seeking donor funding for the Business Leadership ... about this Competition Entry. - 874 days ago read more > |
| Naveen Shakir said: On July 28, 2009 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” competition ... about this Competition Entry. - 875 days ago read more > |
| ASAP Africa said: Thanks for your comment Stephanie. Unfortunately, since implementing the pilot project, the operating environment deteriorated ... about this Competition Entry. - 1031 days ago read more > |
| smarienau said: Thank you for your submission! I had the privilege of seeing this program in person several years ago and still believe that the ... about this Competition Entry. - 1034 days ago read more > |
| ASAP Africa said: Jenna, thanks for this great question. The ISL groups will be formed at grade 7 level, the last year of primary school. The outcome we ... about this Competition Entry. - 1035 days ago read more > |
| chercheur said: Comment le jeu peut-il aider les enfants à apprendre plus? -L’esprit de compétion créera une certaine émulation chez les élèves, ... about this Competition Entry. - 1038 days ago read more > |
| jlawrence said: Elizabeth- Thanks for submitting this incredible project. I am intrigued with the way you tie microfinance and lending groups to ... about this Competition Entry. - 1041 days ago read more > |
Comments
Elizabeth-
Thanks for submitting this incredible project. I am intrigued with the way you tie microfinance and lending groups to more formal primary education. I imagine that it is a bit harder to measure the success and the outcomes of the ISLs on education. Is there a way to tell whether participating in an ISL helps children learn more? How will it help them improve their math scores? Or critical thinking? And how would measure this?
Comment le jeu peut-il aider les enfants à apprendre plus?
-L’esprit de compétion créera une certaine émulation chez les élèves, chacun cherchera à remporter les parties de jeux .Quand une équipe perd une partie ,ceci obligera les joueurs à fournir davantage d’efforts pour une prochaine partie, et ils devront pour cela bien assimiler leurs notions acquises en classe.
-Les exercices qui sont proposés sont formulés sous une forme qui permet de rappeler les notions acquises mais aussi de les évaluer. C’est dire donc qu'en dehors de l’objectif d’évaluation il y a un objectif de consolidation des acquis scolaires qui est visé par cet outil pédagogique.
Comment mesurer le succès des résultats ?
Au cours des parties de jeux chaque élève devra se munir d’un tableau de bord sur une feuille de brouillon ( voir exemplaire dans le guide ) sur lequel il mentionnera ses performances et contre-performances dans chaque matière. Les tableaux de bord seront archivés par l'élève et devront l'aider à suivre ses progressions ou régressions dans chaque discipline.Et selon les résultats de ce tableau de bord, le maître appréciera de la nécessité pour chaque élève de consolider les acquis ou procéder aux remédiations qui s’imposeront chez ce dernier.
Jenna, thanks for this great question. The ISL groups will be formed at grade 7 level, the last year of primary school. The outcome we most want to achieve is for these children to continue on to secondary school, since lack of funding is one of the key obstacles. The actual mechanism of improving critical thinking is an integral part of applying previously learned math skills in a practical real world application. Measuring changes in the ability to think critically is not within the scope of this project.
ASAP will target improving grade 7 academic performance by working through students’ math clubs throughout the school year. The focus will be on revision and preparation for the national ZIMSEC examinations. ASAP will compare the test scores in Mathematics on this externally marked placement exam for entry into secondary school.
The exams scores will be analyzed and compared in two ways
(1) To the national average
(2) To control schools, out side the project area, on a one to one correspondence, where the socio-economic environments of the paired schools are similar.
It is expected that 30% of all students that have been serviced by the BTG at grade 7 will have exam scores that are at least 10% higher than the national average. For the students involved in ISL groups ASAP expects that 50% of these students will surpass the national average by at least 10%.
A more localized comparison will be made by comparing the results between the control and paired BTG schools. Here again we expect to see higher overall test scores by the BTG schools. Results by ISL participants will be recorded separately. Since participation in ISL groups is discretionary, cause and effect will not be substantiated in this case. ASAP will not document if it the weaker or academically superior student that has chosen to participate in ISL activities.
We welcome other ideas or approaches that may strengthen the documentation of outcomes.
Elizabeth Bara
Thank you for your submission!
I had the privilege of seeing this program in person several years ago and still believe that the intersection of ISL and education is ripe with possibility! Not only does it teach critical thinking, but it also works against a major barrier to continuing education: the inability to pay school fees. Elizabeth, do you have any feeling yet for the kind of impact this program is having in the areas where it has been piloted? I'm also curious to know if you plan on expanding this program to Malawi.
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Stephanie Marienau
Ashoka Africa Team Associate
Featured Commentator
Thanks for your comment Stephanie. Unfortunately, since implementing the pilot project, the operating environment deteriorated significantly in Zimbabwe, particularly in the schools. Last year all NGOs were shut down for 4 months and teachers were on strike for the majority of the year. Salaries could not keep up with inflation, which reached 400,000,000%! For this reason, we were unable to follow up with those students who participated in the pilot. As things are beginning to normalize this year, we plan to conduct a follow up survey of these students. Fortunately, we have ongoing project activities continuing in the area, so the work will have minimal cost implications. We plan to identify how many of these children are still participating in a savings club and conducting income generating activities plus also any significant changes that may be attributed to the their participation in the KMJ.
In Malawi, we are not working in the schools at this time. The villages where we are implementing ISL are much poorer than those is Zimbabwe and there is very little, if any, education infrastructure. As you know, ASAP worked together with the rural communities in Zimbabwe for years, helping them fill the need for classrooms, teachers' housing and furniture through ASAP's Community Building Through Education project. It is this kind of long term relationship that is required for communities to trust an organization with their most valued asset - their children!
On July 28, 2009 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” competition and would like to pass on the following feedback (listed below) for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators. We wish you continued luck with your innovative, sustainable, and socially impactful initiatives.
All the best, The Changemakers Team
“I really like that this has an impact on primary and secondary schooling by changing the foundational concepts of a core subject. The focus on math for students and teacher training as well as the microfinance work with parents is really great. The curriculum is relevant, and utilizing active teaching through math clubs and savings clubs can really spearhead changes in other subject areas as well. In terms of sustainability, I would like to learn more about how they plan on funding this initiative. Overall, a great effort!”
- Changemakers “Champions of Quality Education in Africa” Judges: Escuela Nueva, Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts, Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, CARE (United States), African Leadership Academy, UNICEF
Naveen, thank you for your message. A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP Africa) is seeking donor funding for the Business Leadership Project (previously Bridge the Gap-Kufusa Mari) in Zimbabwe for the next 3 years of project activity. Currently we have two small foundations interested in investing in the project, which is great. This does not permit ASAP to scale-up activities to the optimum level; the need in Zimbabwe is so great! ASAP continues to approach other potential investors with an expressed interest in quality education, in hopes that the scope of the project can be expanded to assist more children during these particularly challenging times.
ASAP Africa has an entrepreneurial ethos and has always operated a functional social enterprise. That is, we prefer to generate income to cover our costs instead of depending solely on outside investors; we put into practice that which we preach; self-reliance. From 1995-2005 ASAP operated a carpentry training social enterprise in Zimbabwe. By producing school furniture and teaching aids, ASAP generated ample income to cover our operating costs during that time period.Unfortunately, Zimbabwe became so unstable that the training facility became unviable.
ASAP is confident that such an enterprise will be viable again, providing hands-on vocational skills, much needed materials to enhance education and income for ASAP.