Hello all!
The water and sanitation project at the local high school in
my village is completed and successful. The children and administration are
benefiting from the increase in availability and frequency of water, along with
the addition of multiple toilets. I wrote the project to a funding source
available specifically to Peace Corps Volunteers, of which is no longer
available to us.
I have now started a new project titled, "Promotion of Sustainable and Quality Cocoa Production Project." I attached a link below to this next and possible final project of mine. I don't particularly like the word donation because it reminds me of just giving someone a handout. This isn't what I am trying to do and I wouldn't be writing and promoting it if I didn't believe in it's probability of helping the local cocoa farmers of my village to help themselves in a sustainable manner. This project is “helping the farmers to learn how to fish, not just handing them a fish.”
I have now started a new project titled, "Promotion of Sustainable and Quality Cocoa Production Project." I attached a link below to this next and possible final project of mine. I don't particularly like the word donation because it reminds me of just giving someone a handout. This isn't what I am trying to do and I wouldn't be writing and promoting it if I didn't believe in it's probability of helping the local cocoa farmers of my village to help themselves in a sustainable manner. This project is “helping the farmers to learn how to fish, not just handing them a fish.”
Many people always ask what they can do to help me or the people
I am working with and this is quite possibly the best opportunity through this
style of project the Peace Corps calls Peace Corps Partnership Program. The
community has to contribute at the least 25% of the budget and then the Peace
Corps puts the project on their website for people to contribute the rest of
the budget requested for.
This project is strictly relying on the good hearts of any
individual who has the compassion to help someone 6,000+ miles away from them
that they will never hear from or meet. I wrote the project and have total control of the finances
requested for. I say this because I see these "save the African
babies" type of commercials on TV and all I question is where is this
money actually going to and to whom.
I live, eat, sleep, and breathe with these farmers on a daily basis. One
of them is my landlord here who I see on a daily basis and eat dinner with
nightly, Fonya Martin. Another is a good friend of mine who I trek into the
jungle with and relax in his “bush house” and eat off the land for the weekend,
Jo jo.
This isn’t just a contribution to a random cause where the
beneficiaries may never feel or see. These beneficiaries are my neighbors and
close friends I have been working alongside for the past year and a half. Everything
up until now has been funding-free, so this is my big final bang that I want to
give to them before I leave. They have done so much for me; I only hope that I
can help to give something back to them.
To me it's not donating, it's spending for a purpose. It is tax deductible and you will truly be increasing the welfare of an innumerable amount of people after the promotion of the idea and benefits seen spider web across the different farmer's families.
The coolest part about this project in particular is that when we initiate any sort of project with the Peace Corps we have to secure 25% or more of the budget from the community to ensure the community is really backing the project. I have secured 52% of the budget from the community. That is an incredible indicator of the importance of this project to my community. They have scraped and saved $9,000 together after the different trainings I have done with them regarding savings, which was never a notion before. “Save for what? I am alive today so I am going to enjoy today,” is what they would have said to me before the numerous trainings my counterpart and I have done with them.
My previous post below here details my work of the last year and a half. If you have any questions about my project, anything, PLEASE contact me. I had a limit of 250 words for the website, so the description is concise. Feel free to email me for a copy of the full project and proposal.
Click the highlighted project title below to read about and hopefully spend some money for a purpose. Please share with friends if you'd like. Tax deductible my friends.
Thank you everyone from the bottom of so many hearts.
To me it's not donating, it's spending for a purpose. It is tax deductible and you will truly be increasing the welfare of an innumerable amount of people after the promotion of the idea and benefits seen spider web across the different farmer's families.
The coolest part about this project in particular is that when we initiate any sort of project with the Peace Corps we have to secure 25% or more of the budget from the community to ensure the community is really backing the project. I have secured 52% of the budget from the community. That is an incredible indicator of the importance of this project to my community. They have scraped and saved $9,000 together after the different trainings I have done with them regarding savings, which was never a notion before. “Save for what? I am alive today so I am going to enjoy today,” is what they would have said to me before the numerous trainings my counterpart and I have done with them.
My previous post below here details my work of the last year and a half. If you have any questions about my project, anything, PLEASE contact me. I had a limit of 250 words for the website, so the description is concise. Feel free to email me for a copy of the full project and proposal.
Click the highlighted project title below to read about and hopefully spend some money for a purpose. Please share with friends if you'd like. Tax deductible my friends.
Thank you everyone from the bottom of so many hearts.
Jacob Pace
Peace Corps Volunteer
Farm and Agribusiness Advisor
Cameroon – South West Region (Menji Town)
+237.56.33.90.44
Link to project and contribution page below.
