My big project, The PCPP - Finishing the Ward 4 AMICAALL/Nhlangano Town Council Social Center,

Peace Crops Partnership Proposal (PCPP)

So this is the big project that I am going to be working on until I leave Swaziland, well hopefully it will be done in 2011 not 2012.

It Is called:

Finishing the Ward 4 AMICAALL/Nhlangano Town Council Social Center

Basically, my office operates 4 Social Centers in my town. There are 6 wards but only 4 Social Centers. The basic duties of the Social Centers are first it is a pre-school that operates during regular school days, second is a base for the Caregivers. Now the Caregivers are the people who literally take care of people with AIDS, they aren’t medical doctors, they basically just help with basic care and comfort type of issues. Also, another aspect is the Social Centers are meeting halls of different events and they also have the ability to be a community kitchen for the hungry. (These kitchens are used to cook lunches for the pre-school children.)

So the Ward 4 Social Center which is located at the end of the field which I practice at with my team. And is a closer walk to my home than my work is. This Social Center has no doors or windows. The structure is complete and in good condition. But missing the key advantage of a building protected from the weather and security cause it lacks doors & windows. And then here is the list of other things that need to be done to completely finish the building, install all electrical wiring, outlets, lights and switches, finish the ceilings and flooring, entire exterior and interior of the building painted, the bathrooms completed and the plumbing hooked up, as well as some exterior grounds work. So a lot of stuff to do and it requires a lot of money.

So I have been working (and hinting here in the blog and by the way this is the official announcement) on the paperwork and budget for a PCPP, which is basically a project that is put up on the Peace Corps main website that can be funded directly through the internet by anybody in the world. Now my proposal is just in the first stages of the approval process. This process starts with the local Swaziland office and then the main Peace Corps Washington DC office.

The basic principle a PCPP is that at least 25% of the contribution (ie finances or in kind donations of time, materials) come from the host country. So I have been working with the Town Council (which my office is in the building of and I have regular interactions with the staff on daily basis) on approving its part of the contribution to the PCPP. So this is one more layer of approval that has to happen before it goes active.

But once it goes active on the PC website, I will be notifying you all immediately about it. Because the majority of the funding about 75% comes from donations from the world (or ie any connections I have or the random person who finds the section and donates). This is a pretty costly project here in Swaziland money, but it is pretty small when converted to US Dollars, considering all of the installation work & labor that needs to be done to the building. Of course, the benefits of a finished building in helping the community are tremendous and this is going to be a major aspect of my work here in Swaziland. Because it will literally help support a community of sick people and pre-schoolers for years to come.

So look for updates as the approval process progresses.

And by the way a pre-congrats to my father on his retirement from day to day preaching. YEAH. And he has already gotten a new job. Helping support his son’s PCPP project by being the US fundraiser. So if you start hearing from him regarding this project. Know that it is in good hands all the way around it.