january update

Last week, I spent a day at the F/CBO offices in Sembabule (SACS and SEDAWOD) updating their Excel files to match our revised M&E tools. The tools, which are the forms that the community caregivers use to track service delivery and client registration, are finally finished, after having been in the revision process for several months. Now that there are some changes to the forms, the Excel files have to be updated as well, to reflect the changes and to ensure that the F/CBOs capture all the client information recorded by the CCGs. So, I updated the Excel files and walked the F/CBO staff through the changes. The M&E process has been challenging, as I think I’ve mentioned before, with some of the F/CBOs doing better than others. The whole notion of filling out forms thoroughly and recording them in an electronic database is foreign and not always well accepted here, but there is really no other way to record service delivery. The whole point of PPLP (Partnering for Positive Livelihoods Program) is to provide services to people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) and to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). These services need to be recorded, both for accountability and for reporting purposes. Of course, our goal is to build the capacity of the F/CBOs so that, in the future, they can apply for funding and carry out a program like this on their own, without our help. Therefore, M&E training is crucial to building the capacity of these small organizations, so that they will eventually be able to not only fill out forms and databases correctly, but so that they understand the importance of the record-keeping process. Any institution that grants funding to an organization wants to see that their money is being efficiently used to have a positive effect on the community, and this can only be achieved through monitoring and evaluation of programs.

On Friday, we went into the field, to two different communities, to measure registered OVCs for school uniforms. We are distributing school uniforms and scholastic materials to OVCs in the community, so we had to take measurements, find out which school each OVC goes to, and what the colors of their uniforms are. In the first community we went to, there was a small girl sitting nearby, eating a mango, who I took to be three years old at most. When her name was called and she went to be measured for a school uniform, and I discovered that she was in fact eight years old, my heart caught in my throat. Her stature had been severely stunted by malnutrition. There were other children who were obviously sick and malnourished, but she was by far the most dramatic case. It was heartbreaking to observe, but it also reminded us how important it is to go to the field and actually talk to the clients we are serving, as it helps us directly see the issues that need to be addressed in the community.

This Thursday and Friday, the Sembabule staff is traveling to Mubende for a regional meeting. I haven’t been to Mubende in a few months, so it’ll be nice to see everyone. From Mubende, I plan to go to Kampala this weekend, since Mubende is closer to Kampala than Sembabule is, so transportation costs less and takes less time – can’t really pass that opportunity up.

I’ve been captivated by news articles about the Arizona shooting of Gabrielle Giffords… it’s so shocking, with the potential for so many political ramifications. I hope Americans can keep their heads on straight and use this as a learning opportunity to reevaluate gun control laws and the increasingly inflammatory, intolerant language used in American politics. I’m also keeping my eye on the referendum taking place in Sudan this week… I can’t wait to see how it turns out, and I hope the process is carried out in peace. Did you know that Sudan is the size of the US east of the Mississippi River?!