Project Hope International

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Executive Summary

Project Hope international seeks a grant of $25,000 to fund an information technology project for young people in East Palo Alto. The project is aimed at serving 250 young people within the community every year. This will enable them to take advantage of the opportunities brought by information technology and to learn about their rights and roles in fighting human trafficking and gender violence.

Introduction

Project Hope International is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that runs its operations in South Asia, United States (US) and Africa.

The organization’s current mandate is to bridge the technological gap that exists between East Palo Alto and the neighboring Silicon Valley (communities which have been isolated from the rapid economic and technological revolution that has been going in the neighboring communities). East Palo Alto is a dynamic community with inhabitants hailing from various communities (Plugged In, 2000, p. 1).

The mandate of Project Hope international is to provide the technological know-how to empower people to rise against social ills such as human trafficking and gender violence. The technological aid is aimed at complementing educational strategies to create more awareness about human trafficking and gender violence.

The organization’s mandate in East Palo Alto is to improve computer access and to ensure the community takes advantage of the opportunities posed by information technology in enriching their lives. The organization’s function revolves around three main concepts of education, enterprising, and accessibility (Plugged In, 2000, p. 1).

The organization currently runs an after-school program for people from all backgrounds and ages called community Kids. The main participants of the after school program are students below the age of 12. Several concepts in information technology are taught in this program and they include basic introduction to information technology, graphic design and other concepts.

This program is run in collaboration with community-based groups and other relevant stakeholders in the education sector. This is the main factor that acts as the basis for this proposal because it seeks funding for the main class that targets children and teenagers.

To be able to finance effectively this project, project Hope International seeks a grant of $25,000. This financing will be used to cater for 250 children (annually) and provide enough educational opportunities for the improvement of the quality of education in the community.

Project Need

There is a direct link between gender violence and illiteracy (or a lack of education) (Mathur, 2004, p. 12). The same link exists between human trafficking and illiteracy. It is as a result of this revelation that, Project Hope international seeks to educate the local community about the importance of understanding their rights and knowing where to report various social ills that affect them.

There is no better way to achieve this objective than through education (Fernando, 2007). However, there are several challenges experienced before education is fully imparted into the local community. The main challenge of imparting this knowledge among community members is the difficulty experienced in realizing a significant educational outreach.

Since Project Hope International does not enjoy a vibrant infrastructure of imparting knowledge to community members, such as that evident in the country’s education system, there is a lot to be offered by information technology because it provides the appropriate infrastructure for learning.

It is from this understanding that Project Hope International seeks a $25,000 funding for computer education classes aimed at educating young girls, women and children in the community.

The organization’s strategy in imparting knowledge among the young people of the community is mainly based on the principle that, the younger a person is introduced to information technology, the higher the chances of using information technology for economic growth and personal empowerment.

Project Objectives

There are several objectives which the project intends to achieve. First, the project intends to have a low teacher-student ratio where teaching will be individualized and more effective. The ideal ratio would be one teacher for every six students (Scott, 2000, p. 143). Currently, this ratio is not achieved because of a lack of enough facilities and resources to run the program.

This project also aims to achieve a project-based approach where most learning activities will be undertaken in the context of a project. This teaching strategy is projected to provide more meaning to the learning process because it is assumed that, projects empower children with more skills than most learning methods (Mathur, 2004, p. 12).

Ideally, the project aims to encourage students to come up with publications such as magazines, presentations and such like works which highlight various dynamics of gender violence and human trafficking.

This project is also designed to take advantage of the flexibility that conventional school curriculums do not provide when teaching various issues of the society (Nicoll, 2006). Since Project Hope international is a non-governmental organization, it aims to exercise this flexibility. It is from this flexibility that the organization seeks to shed light on various social issues affecting the community.

Finally, this project aims to highlight the fact that, technology can be used for various purposes in the community. Most importantly, the project aims to expose young people to the endless strategies they can adopt to use information technology for the advancement of their community and personal lives.

Project Impact

This project aims to achieve several objectives. The main objective is to improve the community’s level of education regarding gender violence and human trafficking. It is believed that, if the populace is educated about their rights, they can be able to stand up against the above vices, thereby contributing to fight gender violence and human trafficking (Bancroft, 2010, p. 2).

It is also believed that, educating the community, and more especially the young people about gender violence and human trafficking, there will be a surge in the demand for accountability and responsibility from the relevant authorities (regarding human trafficking and gender violence) (Kakkar, 2004).

Moreover, there is bound to be an increase in the number of ambassadors against gender violence and human trafficking if the community is educated about the consequences and spread of these vices.

Apart from educating the community about their rights and the consequences of gender violence and human trafficking, this project also aims to improve computer access in the community. There is a strong commitment within the organization to ensure that there is adequate internet penetration in the community and that most community members have computers.

Currently, Project Hope International operates a computer drop-in-center and a computer networking program which is known as epa.net which acts as a resource for community members to undertake research about various issues in the society (Plugged In, 2000, p. 1).

For close to two decades, epa.net has been able to connect 18 community organizations into a common network which has assisted them to develop WebPages and websites which have significantly improved the efficiency of their operations.

Project Steps

This project is designed to work on two fronts. The first front is centered on forging community partnerships with local organizations. The second front is centered on availing enterprise high-end computer training (Plugged In, 2000, p. 1). Most of the information technology classes are designed to include the input of community-based organizations and schools.

Their contribution is aimed at utilizing the already existing infrastructure for teaching. The entire project aims to integrate the contribution of six community partners, Shule Mandela elementary school, East side preparatory Academy, Children’s preservation network (an after school program), Next Generation day care, Green oaks elementary school and MOMZ (Plugged In, 2000, p. 1).

The project will work with third to eight grade students from Shule Mandela elementary school and ninth graders from East side preparatory school, East side preparatory school is a private school in the community. The project will also work with five to nine year olds from Next Generation Daycare.

Comprehensively, the program will offer four types of classes in the following sequence: Shule Mandela, MOMZ, Project Hope international Enterprises and Multimedia productions. The first class will be aimed at teaching students how to use computers for creative projects.

The first year will focus on introducing computers to students and the second year will be dedicated to introducing students to various types of computer applications such as Microsoft word and the likes. The second phase of the project ensures that, students are versed with the Macintosh operating system.

A new class will be started annually. At the third stage of project implementation, students will be required to undertake a project, based on a specific topic area (either human trafficking or gender violence) using desktop publishing or multimedia production. The main aim of this project phase is to introduce students to various information technology projects students can undertake to make an impact in the community.

Project Evaluation

Since the entire program is divided into respective stages, several evaluation criteria will be used. The first evaluation criterion will be the development of attendance sheets for all classes which will be compiled into weekly reports. Secondly, class journals will be kept by the respective instructors and sent to all relevant staff.

These documents will also be made available online, for review by other stakeholders. Thirdly, a portfolio for each class will also be maintained to include the project outcome for every stage. Lastly, quizzes will also be conducted to test basic class competencies.

Organizational Capacity

Project Hope International has traditionally been known to be a melting point for most NGOs, donors, policy makers, professionals and other stakeholders in alleviating the social suffering brought about by human trafficking and gender-related violence (Academy for Educational Development, 2006, p. 1).

The organization mainly aims to achieve this objective through education, advocacy, and coordination, among some of the stakeholders identified above. There are other NGOs which work with Project Hope International to achieve the same objectives and they include Polaris Project, Free the slaves, Fair fund, The Protection Project and the likes.

Though there are many entrants fighting for fair gender treatment and against human trafficking in the society, Project Hope international is unique in its mandate because it has a wider outreach in the most significant areas where human trafficking and gender violence are most prevalent (Academy for Educational Development, 2006, p. 1).

These places are Asia and Africa. Other organizations do not have such kind of presence in the continent.

Financial Implications

Project Hope International seeks $25,000 to finance part of the information technology literacy project. The cumulative total expense for the entire project is estimated at $83,000 for teenagers and children (more than 70% of this population group is targeted by the project) (Plugged In, 2000, p. 1).

If the project costs surpass the planned budget estimates, funds are going to be sourced from the organization’s contingency fund, but the same funds will be replenished within the shortest time possible. So far, there has been significant support from some professionals in the Information technology field who intend to undertake voluntary work within the project’s schedule.

Also, as evidenced in earlier sections of this paper, there has been significant support from existing educational institutions in the local community. This project is expected to stretch beyond the period stipulated in the project timetable. This advancement is necessitated by the importance of expanding the educational outreach into other groups of people who would contribute towards the realization of the organization’s objectives.

Funding for this expansion will be sourced from well wishers, donors and the organization’s contingency fund. Project Hope intends to acknowledge the input of its sponsors by publishing their logos in local campaigns and brochures.

Conclusion

Project Hope International aims to improve the social wellbeing of several communities across the globe. However, it is a strong belief within the organization that, true social liberation, mainly in the areas of human trafficking and gender violence, can be achieved by educating the general populace about the issue and its dynamics.

It is from this understanding that this paper seeks to source funding for the improvement of education through information technology. This project goes a long way to ensure the local community contributes to the fight against human trafficking and gender violence.

References

Academy for Educational Development. (2006). Project Hope International. Web.

Bancroft, A. (2010). Importance Of Education: Illustrated In An Oration, Delivered Before The Trustees, Preceptors & Students Of Leicester Academy, On The Fourth Of July, 1806; At Opening Of A New Building For The Use Of That Seminary. New York: Thomas & Sturtevant.

Fernando, A. (2007). Causes And Aftermaths Of The Economic, Political And Cultural Migration In The Area Of The Caribbean And Central America During The Xxth Century. New York: Editions Publibook.

Kakkar, S. (2004). Educational Psychology. New York: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.

Mathur, K. (2004). Countering Gender Violence: Initiatives Towards Collective Action In Rajasthan. New York: SAGE.

Nicoll, K. (2006). Flexibility And Lifelong Learning: Policy, Discourse And Politics. London: Taylor & Francis.

Plugged In. (2000). Sample Grant proposal. Web.

Scott, P. (2000). Higher Education Reformed. London: Routledge.

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