Lessons Learned during the past 5 years: How to provide the most effective assistance for the basic education of unprivileged children in the mountainous areas of Northern Thailand.
1. Education alleviates poverty and creates a future.
Samsara believes that the best and most sustainable way to alleviate poverty is to provide education. Without education, people cannot develop skills to improve their lives; and that education and alleviating poverty starts with children! Samsara believes the first task is to get the children into the classroom so they can receive a basic education; and the second task is to provide opportunities to the brightest students to finish higher educational levels. Samsara achieves the first task through our Capital Project Program. These are the building projects which we provide the capital plans and guidance to construct school facilities such as dormitories, canteens, toilet buildings, clean water installations, solar panel generated electricity, books and furniture. We have learned that due to the improved facilities more parents will allow their children to attend school and absenteeism decreases enormously. Samsara achieves the second task through our Scholarship Program. We offer Hill Tribe children from the poorest families with best school performance an opportunity to continue their studies after Middle School. We provide financial aid for a minimum of 3 years of Vocational School or 3 years of High School; and for those who qualify up to 4 years of college or University. We offer them the opportunity to prepare for jobs, which require a higher education, with which they can become successful in the field of their choice; role models for other children, and gain recognition as leaders of their community.
2. Focus creates maximum impact and added value.
Samsara focuses our projects in one region, one target group, one field and one administration. We work in the poorest province of Thailand, the mountainous Mae Hong Son Province; and we work for the poorest people in the country: the hill tribes.
Samsara work is focused only at schools for the development of better educational opportunities. Samsara focuses on the 185 schools, which are the responsibility of the Department of Education (Ministry of Education) in Mae Sariang. Our Focus gives us clarity in the definition and the selection of the projects; the decision-making processes; and in taking the responsibility for the execution of projects. Focus enhances cooperation between: 1. The Department of Education and the individual schools, which includes: selection of the most needed projects; shared responsibility for the execution of the projects; official representation at the completion of new facilities at each school. 2. Between the schools: exchange of skills and skilled labour, peer learning, cooperation and cost effectiveness in buying the construction materials; and role modeling between schools and school principles. 3. Between the schools and the parent committees; as a by product of Samsara’s requirement that the parents are involved in the construction of the school facilities, they become proud of their work and as a result send more children more of their children to school, rather than keeping them home to work on the farm. Focus also intensifies the relationships and creates more understanding and trust between Samsara, the Department of Education and the schools. This results in: * Higher levels of quality in realizing the projects. * Increased investment of local and national resources at the schools where Samsara is and was active.
* Productive dialogues about how to develop and maximize education access and facilities in this geographical difficult region, where financial means are very limited.
3. Demand driven projects build local knowledge, motivation and responsibility.
Schools need to write project proposals in which they make clear why the school needs the facility. In most situations the school head principal knows the schools urgent needs best. Samsara has learned how to help them in formulating their priorities without them feeling we are forcing ideas on them. Then when they receive a donation for something they requested, they are motivated to make the project a priority of the students, teachers and parents; and when it is complete, they all feel more responsible to maintain what they have built.
4. Decentralization creates ownership, involvement and expansion.
Samsara leaves the responsibility to execute the projects at the school with the head principals of the schools. We have learned that each school and each situation is different; and the problem solving capability of the people responsible for the project will be much more effective and efficient than that of a foundation based in another city. Samsara's has learned to make contracts, which stipulate clearly defined results with a time schedule and total budget determined. But within those parameters, make the school principles responsible for ordering materials and organising the construction themselves. The school principle organizes volunteers to build the facilities and bring in the skills they need. The parents are much more involved in all aspects of education and school life, when it is the school principle who asks them to participate. This decentralisation of executive power gives each school an experience of authority and involvement, which enhances their feeling of ownership and responsibility; and makes it easy to monitor results rather than concerning ourselves with their process. Decentralisation is of great benefit to Samsara because when ever donations become available, we are able to add additional projects without creating additional management costs.
5. Building relationships creates cooperation, self-consciousness and better results.
Samsara has learned that the key to accomplishing our objectives is building productive relationships; and that we must build relationships at every level of the system within which we work.
We challenge the schools by getting the principal and teachers to come out of their comfort zones and establish relationships with other schools, parents, villages, and the government, to learn from their project experience. We stimulate them in cooperation with other schools, where Samsara is building the same kind of facilities, saving money by getting discount from purchasing materials and equipment together; and reap the benefit of their learning from each other. We see time and again, how the results, skills and quality, are much higher when principals, teachers and janitors visit other schools where Samsara has built, or is building a facility; By being involved in Samsara projects the schools learn how better relationships with other schools will give each school also more negotiation power in meetings with the Department of Education. Example: when individual school problems (like bad roads, no books, not enough budget for food) can be recognised and shared with other schools; it puts each school in a better position to negotiate (these typical problems) with the government. By being involved in Samsara projects the schools learn how better relationships with the parents will make it easier for the schools to convince the parents of the importance of education for their children; especially when they need to allow their children study at a school which is further away from their village; allow their daughters go to school; and allow their children attend higher levels of education. We build better relationships by making our contracts directly with the schools, and never giving a contract for construction to an outside contractor. While we never pay more than stated in the contract, we never ask schools to give back money they may have saved. We encourage parents involvement as volunteers in the construction, by paying for their food; and encourage peer learning simple skills needed to execute the project, by paying for transport costs to visit other schools to learn from their projects. Samsara has become a role model for how better relationships with the villages, local, regional and national government bodies make it easier for the school to put in requests to the local and national governments for better roads; better access to water sources; and more access to local budgets to be used for the schools.
6. Listening to them and starting projects from their level of knowledge and situational circumstances insures schools will take full responsibility.
Samsara has learned that it is critically important for any foundation wishing to provide assistance, to know what the local level of skills, quality concepts, geographical and climatological circumstances are and to act from there. We have learned if there is no local experience with the systems and equipment installed, problems will occur during the building of the project and the systems and equipment will not be used or maintained. It happens too often with the Development Aid that equipment brought in from abroad or which involves a higher level of technology is not used. Training in installation and maintenance of equipment is essential. Transfer of knowledge must be developed from the existing level at the local.
Each school must be able to use and maintain the equipment it received. Samsara uses designs, equipment and furniture, which are adjusted to the local situation and use. Furniture and equipment usually needs to be “damage free” as transporting it to the mountain schools is difficult, and heavy use requires durable products.
7. Paying only for sustainable projects creates independence.
Samsara requests the schools and the Department of Education sign project request before they are sent to Samsara, guarantees the request fits in their development plan for education in the region, and assures the involvement of the Department of Education in all of our school projects. Samsara donates primarily for structural projects; typically these are school facilities such as dormitories, canteens, kitchens, clean water installations, study centers, and bathrooms. We also donate books. We do not pay for school operating costs such as food or other supplies. This policy comes back to the benefits of focus. Samsara is known for providing assistance specifically in building needed facilities and providing scholarships. By not providing donations for food and supplies, the schools are forced to look for other solutions, which they have done in many ways. Examples include vegetable gardens, mushroom nurseries, chicken and pig farms. These are educational solutions which solves the problem of providing food in a sustainable way; which makes them more independent in the longer run.
8. Low overhead costs creates more funds for the projects Samsara is a volunteer organization.
Volunteers do all of our work. This is the case for the fundraising, the publicity efforts, keeping up the websites, monitoring the projects and executing the projects. We spend a maximum 5% of the donations for transportation (materials and people) and monitoring costs.
9. Results based reporting, and transparent accountability creates credibility and continuity.
Samsara's donors are always clear about how their donation will be spent because we designate every donation to a specific project and/or scholarship. Samsara executes every project, exactly as requested in the application; and immediately upon completion of each project, sends a detailed report with photo's to the donor. Samsara's result based reporting builds credibility and relationships with the donors, which they let us know by making new donations.
10. Many Hill Tribe children need financial aid to have the basic educational opportunity the Government of Thailand offers them.
Samsara has learned this is more of a truth than a principle; many hill tribe families cannot afford to send their children to school; and these children need financial aid to have the opportunity just to attend school. During the years we've offered financial aid scholarships, we've learned a number of lessons; and we've learned an effective scholarship program must include the following elements.: 1. The involvement of the board of education, the schools and the students. 2. A teacher at each school where scholarships are awarded must take responsibility for managing the program which includes: a special bank account; the application process; the students receiving aid; and the distribution of funds. 3. A management information system capable of: entering and accessing each students basic information; linking each student to their sponsoring donor; entering the students grades at the end of each semester; sending their grade reports to their donors; and notifying donors when annual donations need to be sent to Samsara. 4. Giving donors the opportunity to have a sense of personal involvement with each child they sponsor by: sending them a bio and photo at the time their students scholarship is awarded; and sending them grades at the end of each semester. When the donors feel a connection with their students, they are much more likely to continue to provide financial aid for those students who are accepted at a college or university, after graduation from high school or vocational school. Note: To protect students from the possible inappropriate behaviors of any donor, Samsara is the "gate keeper" of all donor/student communications. 5. Focusing on the schools in and around Mae Sariang, helps develop their future community leaders. When Samsara started our work in this region, all of the teachers and important positions in the community, as well as most of the business owners, came from outside the region. We are already beginning to see a gradual but measurable change. 6. Focusing our financial aid almost exclusively on regular and vocational high school levels, increases the rate of change and socio-economic level in the community. 7. Providing financial aid for students who are accepted at colleges and universities accelerates the change, and these children become role models for children who follow them.
Samsara Foundation, Thailand
21-01-2010
www.samsara-foundation.com