We work with the Ministry of Education, local government, and area NGOs to identify communities with high educational infrastructure needs. As a US-based organization, we find it essential to collaborate with existing institutions in order to fully understand the situation on the ground and create lasting changes.
Village Assessment by Locals
To scout out potential sites for new PoP schools, we send a local team into communities to speak with dozens of school directors, village leaders, parents, and students to find the villages of highest need that could best use our support. We tailor our village approach protocols to the local cultures and regions to ensure a collaborative, productive relationship with local leaders.
Creating the Village Profile
Once our local team has determined that there is potential for PoP to build in a village, they complete a village profile which assesses the community on five criteria: Need, Sustainability, Cost Efficiency, Impact, and Commitment. The Village Profile also details the size and type of structure the community requires.
Creating a Promise Committee
PoP reinforces community engagement by reminding each community that the school we build together is theirs, not ours. We are not donors, they are not recipients; we are partners. We work with the community over the course of a number of meetings to identify exactly what type of project will address the greatest educational need in the village. It is important that the parameters of the project come from the community members themselves. One of the ways through which villages show the necessary commitment to education is the creation of a Promise Committee of eight individuals, comprised of four men and four women representative of the community. This committee signs a contract agreeing to oversee the support and maintenance of their school through each phase of the process, from clearing the land and organizing community labor and materials to encouraging attendance and supporting the teacher.
Collaborating with Ministry of Education
Pencils of Promise works with the Ministry of Education to ensure that the village has a teacher for every new classroom built. This collaboration with the Ministry allows PoP to operate with government support across its regions of impact.
