The Millenium Villages Project
Mbola, Tanzania
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Organization: The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) is a project of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the United Nations Development Programme, and Millennium Promise. Consisting of 13 original "case study" villages across Sub-Saharan Africa, the MVP seeks to develop a set of best practices in approaches to ending extreme poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Villages aim to promote an integrated approach to rural development. By improving access to clean water, sanitation and other essential infrastructure such as education, food production, basic health care, and by focusing on environmental sustainability, Millennium Villages claims to ensure that communities living in extreme poverty have a real, sustainable opportunity to lift themselves out of the poverty trap.
My Role: As Education Sector Intern, my terms of reference covered five projects of varying size. The primary project was a process documentation of the Community Education Worker pilot, featuring the training and deployment of 10 community-nominated para-professionals with vested interest in educational attainment in their village. Acting as a bridge between schools, MVP, and households, they offered unique and valuable perspectives on the educational challenges facing the Mbola village cluster, as well as locally-sourced solutions. Through focus groups, individual interviews, and shadowing during household visits, I was able to provide the Earth Institute and Millennium Villages Project a direct link to the community and its priorities.
Overall Experience: An incredibly challenging experience at first, this project grew into something with deep personal meaning. I utilized qualitative interviewing skills and participatory research methods for this project, as well as participatory photography and creative writing for smaller side projects.
More Information:
Personal Blog - http://deborahintabora.wordpress.com/
Connect To Learn Blog - http://www.connecttolearn.org/media/CTL-blog
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