RED-Rural Education Development

What exactly am I doing in Zambia? By popular demand, I will describe to the best of my abilities what my work as a PCV will entail. Overall, my PC work will help to promote sustainable development. PC uses an old proverb to describe its work, which I am sure you all have heard many times before. If you give a man a fish he can eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he can eat everyday. The three goals of Peace Corps are (1) to provide trained men and women; (2) share and exchange culture with the people whom you are serving; (3) share your host country culture with those in the states. These goals are great and encouraging b/c if and when you are not as successful in your project as you had hoped to be, you always know that you are continuing to accomplish goals 2 and 3 (which I am doing now!). As the result of current education volunteers’ feedback, the LTM (Learning at Taonoga Market) program has been changed to the RED (Rural Education Development) project. My group is the first to be assigned to this project, so we are the pioneers. Our projects will be fluid in nature as we find what aspects of our project work best with Ministry of Education (MOE) initiatives. My work is not limited to education initiatives. We are encouraged to participate in secondary projects such as sensitizing rural communities on issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, GADZ (Gender And Development in Zambia), WID (Women in Development), Girl Empowerment, Life Skills, Family Planning, IGAs (Income Generating Activities), and any other area identified by the community.

Overview of Zambia MOE—(they LOVE acronyms so get ready!)
Zambia’s education system functions through the Ministry of Education. The MOE operates at the National, Provincial, District and Zonal levels. --- I will be working within the Eastern Province and since I am the volunteer nearest to the BOMA (British Oversees Management Area or town) in Chadiza, Chadiza serves as both my District and Zonal levels (aka Boma volunteer). ---- Each District has a DEBS (District Education Board Secretariat) Office and a DRC (District Resource Center). The DRC serves as a resource for all the schools within the district. Official MOE meetings and trainings are held within the DRC. Within each district there are many zones. Each zone has a Zonal Head School (ZHS), ZRC (Zonal Resource Center) and a Zonal Education Support Team (ZEST). The ZEST is made up of the Zonal Head Teacher (ZH), Zonal In-service Coordinator (ZIC) and School In-service Coordinator (SIC). The main function of the ZEST is to carry out the MOE initiative SPRINT (School Program of In-service for the Term).
Briefly, SPRINT trains, monitors and evaluates curriculum, teaching methodology, student performance, and educational initiatives such as ODL (Open and Distance Learning) and IRI (Interactive Radio Instruction). Within each zone there are GRZ (Government of the Republic of Zambia) schools and community schools. GRZ schools are funded and ran by the government. The community schools are funded and ran by the community. Education in Zambia is not free. All children must pay school fees and although children are not required to wear school uniforms or shoes many children are teased/bullied if they do not. As a result, many children particularly OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children) fail to attend school. Another common reason for low attendance or low enrollment numbers is the lack of value for education within the villages. Many families need their children to work in the fields to maintain their family’s welfare. A perfect example of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; one must have their immediate needs such as food, health, and shelter met before they can focus on other areas of need such as education. (I can be easily distracted by my strong opinion in this area so I will remain focused on the topic at hand).

My role as a RED volunteer is two pronged. My focus includes (1) educational initiatives at the District and Zonal Levels and (2) strengthening and/or starting community schools including ODL and IRI initiatives. My main counterparts at the district level will be the DRCC (District Resource Center Coordinator) and the DESO-ODL (District Education Standards Officer of Open and Distance Learning). My main counterparts within the zonal level are the members of the ZEST, the ZH, ZIC and SIC. Within my zone there are many community schools and my main counterparts will be the IRI mentors/teachers and the members of the CSC (Community School Committee). It should be noted that although I am the “boma volunteer,” the boma here in rural Zambia is nothing like what you may think of when you hear ‘boma’ or ‘town’. It is extremely underdeveloped with limited to no resources. So while I will be working with high MOE officials at the District and Zonal Level, I will also be working with community schools within my zone. My village, Chimate, is 10 km from the boma and my district offices however my catchment area quite large. I will serve many GRZ and community schools within my catchment area. One way to promote sustainable development will be to strengthen the communication between the District, Zonal, and Community schools. Linking community schools together to share resources, informing IRI mentors of teacher trainings at the District/Zonal Level, and sensitizing communities on the importance of education are all ways I can promote sustainable development.
(1) Specifics related to my work at the district and zonal level include but are not limited to strengthening the capacity of MOE officials, developing a comprehensive resource center that will provide the teachers a central place to go for classroom materials, to research specific content areas, and to seek support from other educational professionals. I will also work closely with the ZEST team in monitoring and evaluating various projects and initiatives such as SPRINT and SIMON (School In-service and Monitoring). I will also attend teacher trainings and meetings to discuss teaching methodologies, learning styles, and student assessments.
(2) My work within education in the villages include identifying existing community schools and IRI centers as well as identifying any villages which may need to start a community school. Many children have a great distance to travel (20 km or more) to attend the closest GRZ School. Due to these difficulties many children are unable to attend school. For these reasons, it will be important for me to sensitize communities on the importance of education and to encourage them to build a community school. I will work to identify and train a villager to serve as a mentor for the IRI program and to help the school with IGAs to build the school and pay the mentor.

Secondary projects are just as important to my work as RED projects. There has been a strong emphasis on HIV/AIDS and IGAs. IGAs are particularly important for community schools as they provide funding for the mentor salaries and to assist OVCs with school fees, uniforms and materials. Common IGAs include pig farming, school gardens, beekeeping, and other animal husbandries. For the first two months I will be working on community entry projects which include conducting needs assessments, identifying resources through community mapping, completing school profiles, working with my language tutor, identifying and building rapport with a translator and potential counterparts, and getting to know my district and village. During community entry we are strongly encouraged not to leave our village; therefore, I will remain in my village until PC Provincials, which are May 18th.

I hope you now have a better picture of what I will be doing over the next two years. :)