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Justin Wrubel
Joined: Oct 18, 2004
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sceptics...
November 11, 2004 - 05:47 AM
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What's up everyone! My names is Justin, I'm 18 years old and I live in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. I just recently discovered this site and I would really really appreciate some help with a project idea that I've had for a long time. I feel like the way to empower youth and make the world a better place is to educate. I want to build a secondary school (high school) in an under-developed country. I have read somewhere that in under-developed countries the emphasis is usually placed on elementary schools but that there aren't that many high schools for the students to continue on afterwards. I was thinking of creating a youth group, from people all (it doesn't matter where your from), in an attempt to organize and raise funds for this cause. As a team, I'm confident that we would be able to be successful with this. Once we figure out who is wants to be a part of this then we can start to figure out the details and such. If anyone is interested in being a part of this just reply to this post, leaving a link to your profile and other contact information as to how I can reach you and so that each team member can keep in touch. Thank you very much for your support and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.
Justin
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Soma Pal
Joined: Jan 18, 2004
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Re: sceptics...
November 14, 2004 - 03:24 AM
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Hi!
I am interested. let me know what I can do.
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Danny Sweeney
Joined: Mar 22, 2004
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Re: sceptics...
November 14, 2004 - 04:41 AM
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I'm interested.
email - djs4@aber.ac.uk
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Danny Sweeney
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Re: sceptics...
November 14, 2004 - 04:42 AM
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I'm interested.
email - djs4@aber.ac.uk
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NESTA
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Who wants to help build a school in an under-developed country?
November 14, 2004 - 08:55 AM
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I am interested, u an contact me at sewotoy@hotmail.com or sewotoy@yahoo.com or even better thru my TIG messenger.
lets get the ball rolling
thanx again
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Lim
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Bookmark me
November 23, 2004 - 05:27 AM
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I am intersted as well. You can get me 24/7 through piggyshirleypiggy@yahoo.com which is my email or through my msn messenger, shirleylim83@hotmail.com Hope to work with you guys soon!!!!
Shirley McSalad and her Tomato Friends
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Lim
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Bookmark me
November 23, 2004 - 05:27 AM
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I am intersted as well. You can get me 24/7 through piggyshirleypiggy@yahoo.com which is my email or through my msn messenger, shirleylim83@hotmail.com Hope to work with you guys soon!!!!
Shirley McSalad and her Tomato Friends
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Zuhra Bahman
Joined: Jul 30, 2002
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Help an Afghan School
November 23, 2004 - 06:39 AM
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Dear Justin, following is some information about my project on school in Afghanistan. Let me know if you're interested in helping out. You can even "adopt" one of the school and take full command of raising funds and so on for it. I live in the UK but I am origionally from Afghanistan.Let me know if you're interested and check my profile.
Regards,
Zuhra
Libraries in high schools in Afghanistan
Zuhra Bahman
Background:
In 1999 I wrote a proposal to create a library in an Afghan school. I took the proposal with me to Millennium Young Peoples’ Congress. The proposal got funded in 2002 through the “Be the Change” program of Peace Child International, UK. I used the money to create a library in Maryam High School in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In October 2002, I visited the library and meet the students that were using the library. It was a very positive experience for me and besides getting a sense of fulfilment I got positive practical feedback from the students and staff. Therefore I decided to carry on the project and create eight libraries in eight schools in Afghanistan between July 2004 and July 2006.
I can commit two years as that is the length of time I will be studying for my university and have spare time to spend on the project.
Ideology:
Each library in created through a set procedure designed to develop the student’s leadership, decision making and group work skills. It is designed so that the students could not only get decision making skills but they get a chance to practice it within their school. So the idea behind this project is to not only provide the school with a library but give skills, experience and confident to the students too.
Methodology:
Following is a step by step guide to the way each library is created:
· School is identified with the help of UNICEF in Kabul (they have the responsibility of allocating aid money to school depending on need and avoiding any duplication)
· Permission to create a library within a school is obtained from the Afghan Ministry of Education
· A Contact is made with the school administration and the project is explained
· A group of students are chosen (usually between 15 to 30)
· After the students are briefed about the project, they are divided in to following three groups according to their interest:
1. Book Selection Committee: the students in this group will consult their fellow students, teachers, parents and others and put together a list of books that they will have in their library.
2. Purchase Committee: students in this group will have the responsibility to purchase books, negotiate deals on bulk purchases and negotiate discounts.
3. Financial/Progress reporting Committee: This group of students will keep an eye on finances; they will produce financial reports, reports on the progress of the project, and keep the receipts and other evidence.
· Each group will be briefed on their roles.
· Students will receive their funding in instalments after they give their reports.
· Students will write a report and send all of the evidence, pictures and documents to Zuhra.
· A month after the completion students will write report to Zuhra about the use of library and changes it has brought to their school.
Monitoring and Evaluation:
Following are some monitoring and evaluation mechanism that are built in to the project
1. Each school will write a report about the progress of the project on regular intervals
2. Each School will keep financial records
3. Zuhra will visit each school and write a Case study style profile of the school detailing changes that occurred throughout the duration of the project
4. Any other evaluation and monitoring requests from the funding bodies will be met
5. Angela Schlenkhoff, a PhD student at Kent University will observe the progress of the project
6. Photos, press cutting and any other promotional material will be kept and produced on request
Timeline:
The project started in summer 2004 and will continue until summer of 2006. Three months will be spent on each school. There will be an overlap of a period of inactivity during the school holidays in Afghanistan.
Cost:
Each library will cost $5,000
Some school with bigger student body might need a larger budget
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Ally
Joined: Feb 17, 2003
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Re: sceptics...
November 23, 2004 - 08:20 AM
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Hey Justin
i have a couple questions about this project. please don't take any of this offensively.
Do you know what nation you want to build the school in?
Do you know if that region would like a secondary school?
Have you been invited by the community to build the school?
Have you been consulting the community about building the school, structuring the curriculum, etc...
When and if you have been invited by a community, and consulted them about building this school, will you be using local workers to build the school?
Will they be paid a decent wage and have good working conditions?
Will you want to keep control of the school after it is built, or will you transfer power to a local body?
Is this school going to have a particular religious focus?
Do you even know if a secondary school is needed?
Justin it seems like you want to make a difference, and help out your peers. But you must also recognize that its not always your place to walk into an 'un-developed' region and build them a school. It's crucial that it's the desire of the community and that you are working with them in an equal partnership to realise this project.
I would suggest you do some indepth research to choose a region, and start contaction people/groups in that area. I would also suggest that you talk with other organizations that work on similar projects.
I hope whatever you decide to do goes well and that it is a success for both you and the community you aim to help
ally
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Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler
Joined: May 18, 2003
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Re: sceptics...
November 23, 2004 - 11:36 AM
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Ally's got some questions that really need to be considered. I raised almost identical questions when Luke (frequent poster on these message boards) was suggesting his family would be constructing a school in a country that from his perspective needed infrastructure (it very well could have, I just never saw research one way or the other). Luke's goal was to develop the best possible school for these children and to get people from around the world to put their heads together so they were benefiting from a genuinely worldly experience.
The goals were absolutely nobel but when he presented them he made it seem as if he would swoop in and implement these worldly values and everyone in this country would be unanimously pleased (not saying that's his actual belief but that was how it was presented).
However, what we in the West tend to forget is even though communities in other parts of the world don't *look* developed by our standards, there is still intense pride by those that live there in what they have accomplished (just like we in Canada pride ourselves on Medicare and would hate it if a foreign group came and started up private/for-profit medical clinics because they believe it would make the system more efficient).
This is not to say that we shouldn't try to partner with our brothers and sisters in other countries, only to say that it should be done with an understanding of the power dynamics that exist in any relationship you might build with people in another country and the culture/history that factors into decision-making specific to that region.
A positive relationship between students in Canada and a community in West Africa that I can speak to was an initiative within my former high school. A group of students at my school sought out a community organization established in Ghana and worked on a plan to get students involved with a project this organization was in the process of implementing. Since the project was a by-product of what people living in the West African country had requested, the students' presence was very well received.
Best of luck setting up this programme.
-Adam
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LadyMarmalade
Joined: Nov 16, 2004
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Goodluck
November 24, 2004 - 07:08 AM
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Goodluck in your project Justin.. I am interested, I also wish to manage and and build a high school in Nigeria. My mom is Filipino and she owns an elementary school there. If things work out as planned, I'm intending to let her school grow higher since I am majoring in Computer Science and I would like the school to be computer oriented..
If you need any information, you can send me a private message or reach me at babe_next2001@yahoo.com
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Francis
Joined: Mar 9, 2004
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EDUCATION
November 25, 2004 - 01:08 AM
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High Justin!
Iam the president of Rescue For Humanity International, a registered NGO, Which is committed to the development of the youth in Ghana, West Africa.
Ghana is a third world country which is currently facing a similar problem with inadequate secondary schools to accomadate the already escalating backlog of pupil who should have entered the high school three, or four years ago.
This has resulted in most of the children becoming street children, selling dogchains,sachet water, and night workers, ect.
This has been our burden for quite sometime now i would very much appreciate your consideration to help us put up any number of secondary schools in this cuontry.
Iam hopeful, that this will go a long way to help these our future leaders acquire more knowledge and become better off in the future.
Please help us.
You can contact us on this address:
acquah66@yahoo.co.uk
Thank You, and may the almighty God be with us all.
Rev. Francis Acquah.
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Francis
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EDUCATION
November 25, 2004 - 01:10 AM
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High Justin!
Iam the president of Rescue For Humanity International, a registered NGO, Which is committed to the development of the youth in Ghana, West Africa.
Ghana is a third world country which is currently facing a similar problem with inadequate secondary schools to accomadate the already escalating backlog of pupil who should have entered the high school three, or four years ago.
This has resulted in most of the children becoming street children, selling dogchains,sachet water, and night workers, ect.
This has been our burden for quite sometime now i would very much appreciate your consideration to help us put up any number of secondary schools in this cuontry.
Iam hopeful, that this will go a long way to help these our future leaders acquire more knowledge and become better off in the future.
Please help us.
You can contact us on this address:
acquah66@yahoo.co.uk
Thank You, and may the almighty God be with us all.
Rev. Francis Acquah.
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paktheen80
Joined: Dec 29, 2003
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Re: sceptics...
November 25, 2004 - 02:10 AM
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hey justin and zuhra
salam
i think u didnt get my post about the project......and i my self couldnt see it over here.....
both zuhra and justin the projects are good
i have worked both the school and making libraries in rural schools....
zuhra jan em very interested in making libraries in rural schools...as i had my proposal presented to APEP afghan primary education program..but they couldnt fund that...i want u to help me in this...
iam also student
wishing u all the best
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Justin Wrubel
Joined: Oct 18, 2004
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Re: sceptics...
November 25, 2004 - 06:37 AM
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Hey Ally, this is Justin. Sorry it took so long to reply back. I felt that you had some great questions...no question is a bad question and I definately do not take them negatively. I had already thought about all the questions you had before I started and I made sure that I knew how to address them when I was recruiting people to help. Now to answer your questions:
Do you know what nation you want to build the school in?
- I do not have a set region as to where I want to build a school. This is because I plan on building more than one in different regions which they are needed. I am wanting to build both primary and secondary schools and help fund them all the way from the actual bricks to the teachers wages.
Do you know if that region would like a secondary school?
- Some of these regions are in demand of secondary schools. Many houndreds of primary schools have been built in some of these areas but the turnover ratio of children from primary school to secondary school are very low which is due to the shortage of secondary schools. The more secondary schools that are available the higher the turnover ratio.
Have you been invited by the community to build the school?
- I am working with a charity called Free the Children (for more info about them: www.freethechildren.org). They have committed to helping youth all over the world and they have been doing this for many years. All the regions that I am considering for building schools I have gotten the O.K. because of Free the Children's influence in those countries already.
Have you been consulting the community about building the school, structuring the curriculum, etc...
- Because I am working alongside Free the Children, they will help me handle that and have already done that for a couple countries.
When and if you have been invited by a community, and consulted them about building this school, will you be using local workers to build the school?
- If I'm not wrong, I do believe that it will be local workers as well as volunteers building the school.
Will they be paid a decent wage and have good working conditions?
- Yes. They will have good wages (except for the volunteers) and the working conditions will be ideal. The charity that I'm working with isn't going to have 'sweat-shop like' environments because that is one of the missions which they battle for, safe and healthy working conditions.
Will you want to keep control of the school after it is built, or will you transfer power to a local body?
- The idea is that once the school is built my group along with Free the Children will continue to help fund the school wherever necessary but that the local community will embrace the school and keep it going.
Is this school going to have a particular religious focus?
- Whatever the predominant religion is in that region is what will be followed. I am Christian but the focus is not to try and incorporate or impose any specific religious beliefs but to empower the youth through education and build skills and togetherness.
Do you even know if a secondary school is needed?
- Because different regions have different social and educational needs it will depend on the area. Some places might need a primary school while another might need a secondary school.
I hope I was able to shed some light on what my intentions are and about what some of the goals of these projects are. If anyone has any questions about it I would encourage you to share your comments or suggestions. If anyone would like to help out your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and God bless.
Justin
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