Project Design Management

The Project Design Management workshop teaches volunteers and their counterparts how to involve community members in moving from analysis of their site to planning and implementing projects. As one of the trainers for this year’s conference, I will be responsible for sessions on everything from asset and deficit identification to project design, action plan creation, budgets and evaluation and monitoring- a dream come true.

Training this week was a relief from the difficult village winter and allowed Alla and I to talk with some of the most active volunteers and their counterparts in the country. Inspired by my offer to extend for a third year and the project design review course, we discussed the possibilities of starting an NGO in the village, working on gender issues and planning two summer camps.

Quarterly reports are due at the end of the month and it seems that although this quarter was very much focused on my personal development (including marathon training, vacations and quality holiday celebrations with the host family) next quarter will be very busy. We’re planning to host a local spelling bee in the school and perhaps even a writing Olympics. There’s camp planning, a service learning project and Web site design.

Now if only the weather would warm up.