Sustainability Goal

Ban Nam Khem is a small fishing village that was devastated by the 2004 Tsunami.

There is currently a lot of development happening in the village, which brings change, challenges, and opportunities to all aspects of the community.  The sustainable goals of the project 2 fold, across 2 key focus areas, education (for children and adults) and health and wellbeing:

– Individuals and cohorts of community members will benefit from direct lessons and workshops aimed at helping the community to empower themselves and increase their opportunities and ability to achieve better job security, education, healthcare, and welfare. 

– Simultaneously delivering direct lessons and workshops, the project will work with partner organizations, their staff, and other community members to build their capacity and ensure the community is motivated and able to continue them independently. Once the workshops are designed, established, and the results proved in the long term, the project will phase over to the community and the collaborative partners. 

The project is planned over 10 years.

Sustainability Method

The sustainability methods used will be a combination of phasing down, phasing over, and transitioning over.

 Education 

– Education is key to increasing opportunities. Teaching English will allow them to access work directly and indirectly in the local tourist industry. 

– Currently teaching at the local school and education center. 

– English lessons will continue alongside teacher training and the project will be phased over to the local teachers to run independently. 

– An adult English program will be implemented, which will be phased down if demand declines, and phased over to graduates of the programs to continue the project. 

Healthcare

– Workshops conducted will include dental, wellness, WASH, and mental health but are not limited to, as they will vary depending on the needs of the community. 

– Healthcare check-ups and awareness workshops will also be supported.

– Nurses and volunteers at the local clinic will be fully trained. 

– Workshop material supplied with links to regular updates. 

– The project initiatives will be phased down where relevant, and over to the local clinic who will continue the project. 

Once the project has been completed, the collaborative project will assess strengths and needs within the local area and may transition over to other project areas, potentially within new or additional collaborative project partners. It may also transition over to a new community, or a combination of the above.

Ongoing Sustainability Support

Once phased over, the collaborating partners will continue working together and employ a transition strategy to allow continued contact and ongoing advice/support as required, direct, and via the partner networks developed through the project. The original project will be evaluated by GVI Charitable Programs after 6 months, then 1, 2, and 3 years after phasing over is complete. This will be done via onsite visits, an inspection of data sets, interviews with stakeholders, and collaborative partner meetings.

Sustainability Schedule

Phase 1 – Establish, Years 1 to 3

Establish and build collaborative partner relationships, identify and initiate initial projects. 

– Understand the needs of partners, stakeholders, and community.

– Set clear guidelines and objectives.

– Create a framework. 

– Define and assign the skills and resources required. 

– Acquire funding plan.

– Implement, assess, and evaluate and refine initial projects. 

Phase 2  – Conducting direct capacity building initiatives, Years 4 to 8  

– Project initiatives will be conducted inline with the goals and objectives set, with continuous assessment, refining as and when necessary. 

– Evaluation and measurement of success and impact recorded and shared with stakeholders and both organizing and collaborating partners. 

– Measurement of the results of the projects will be recorded to ensure the long term value project initiatives can clearly be communicated locally.

– Plan for phasing over complete, including achieving any funding required.

Years 4 and 5

– English classes with school students continue –  quarterly tests to check on learning. 

– Launch a pilot 4-week adult English program – 16 modules available. Available to all members of the community – study and evaluate the effectiveness and impact. 

– A similar program will be run for all teachers – train the trainer program.

Years 6

– Teachers work alongside volunteers to teach English classes.

– Success of the pilot English program gains interest and more members of the community are attending. 

– Identification of local community members who are interested in taking over the program full time. Start a coaching and training program – max of 4 people. 

– Train the trainer program – this will be assessed on regular tests and assessments. The program will include curriculum training. 

– The local clinic will be trained on the findings of GVI Charitable Programs research. The clinic will dedicate two members of staff to work alongside us going forward. 

Years 7 and 8

– Continuation of teaching English, during this time, the volunteers will become the observers allowing the teachers to lead.

– Adult learning students will be completing the 16 module course, with the option to take a TEFL qualification. If successful this will enhance their career, a completion of this course would also help with the identification of the community member to take over.

– Train the trainer program will have completed a full school year – a study and evaluation program will be conducted. Based on the findings the program will be amended accordingly. A network of other schools will be established to support and mentor long term.

– The partnership with the clinic will be growing in both trust and knowledge. All workshops will have been conducted in the presence of the clinic staff members. Staff members trained on all workshops.

Phase 3 – Phasing Down and Phasing Over, Years 9 and 10

– Work continues in all areas, and we constantly evaluate impact. 

– Success will be measured by the local teachers taking over the English classes – the quarterly tests to check on learning will still show an increase in grades. They will have all of the resources and teaching material needed. 

– The adult classes continue to roll – local community members now in charge of the program. 

– The local clinic will take over the health checks and workshops – pre and post-workshop tests will confirm the impact. 

– Ongoing support and training available from the network and organizing partner. 

– Discuss a transition strategy with the collaborative partners and if relevant create a transition plan prior to the end of the project. 

– Ensure the ongoing assessment and support plan is clear to all partners prior to the end of the project.