On Monday, Jessica and I traveled to the other Central Region office in Mubende, where we’ll be until next Tuesday. The town of Mubende is like NYC compared to Ssembabule… it’s HUGE. We’re staying in the volunteer house, where the Program Manager and her husband usually live, but they’re in the US for 11 days so that’s why we’re here for so long. The house is pretty big, and it’s really nice to be able to stretch out and have a real kitchen. The volunteer house is right next to the office building, and the complex is about halfway up a big hill, so the view is pretty great. There is also nearly constant electricity, and better internet than in Ssembabule, so we’re living the high life here.
This week we’re going along on site supervisions of the faith/community-based organizations (F/CBOs) in Mubende, which is a time for us to provide advice and answer questions, and make sure that the projects that the F/CBOs are working on (funded by us) are on track. Right now, our priority is to make sure that they are on track with data collection using the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools that they’re supposed to use. For example, the community caregivers fill out forms when they visit people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) and orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) – these forms are used to keep track of basic health information, and specific needs that the clients have. These forms make their way back to the F/CBOs, who should be recording the information in an Excel file for their records, and to help them prioritize the needs of the clients. However, this has been a huge challenge (as I think I’ve already mentioned), and the M&E process is not going as smoothly as it should be. The F/CBOs have limited resources and time, and they may only have one computer in their office, so it’s difficult for them to get the forms entered in a timely manner.
This may all sound boring or confusing, and it is kind of a pain, to be honest, but it’s really important that the F/CBOs (and in turn, WellShare, since the information is ultimately passed to us) have this information to keep track of the results of the programs we’re running. If there’s no way to evaluate the program, then it’s impossible to know whether it’s effective or not. This kind of information is also used when compiling the many reports that WellShare has to provide to USAID and other donors. So, Jessica and I are going with on the site supervisions this week to help the F/CBOs enter data and answer questions.
We spent yesterday at St. Thomas, one of the F/CBOs right down the hill from the office here. St. Thomas is partially funded by us, but they also get funding from Compassion, a Christian organization based in Colorado Springs. Through Compassion, they get grants to sponsor children from primary school through university (which I think is amazing). St. Thomas currently has 242 children come every Saturday for a variety of activities and support. It sounds really amazing. Yesterday when we were at their office, kids were stopping by all afternoon to pick up their new uniforms that they wear on Saturdays – and of course, the kids were adorable. They were pretty fascinated by us, and it was fairly entertaining to watch them all try on and get excited by their new uniforms. Jessica and I are planning on stopping by St. Thomas on Saturday to see what they do, and to hang out and play with the kids.
Today and tomorrow we’re also doing site supervisions at the two other F/CBOs in Mubende. It’s really good for me to be here and see how things work, as I’m going to eventually be taking over the M&E process from Jessica, and I need to understand how the big picture works. I left the U.S. one month ago today!
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