Creating Positive Change (part 2)

Mandela is quoted much.....what do you think of his wisdom? 

Education is important - for the child, the adult and the community. 

Tearfund goes on to say:

Plan well: Once we know what needs to be changed, it can be tempting to rush ahead and start work. HOWEVER, we need to take TIME to think carefully about HOW exactly to bring about that change. Change can be messy and complicated, and good planning means we are less likely to experience fewer problems....especially in the long run. 

We need to consider who will be affected, who could influence it. And we need to consider any risks that the project may involve and how to minimize those. 

Monitoring and Evaluating our work: It is VITAL to m & e.  Monitoring and evaluation planning needs to start during the design stage of the project. 

Monitoring is the ongoing process of gathering information throughout a project. It allows us to identify any problems early on, providing us with an opportunity to make any changes required. It also shows us how much progress we are making towards our goals. It answers the question, "How well are we doing?"

Evaluation is carried out at the end of project or program, but sometimes also mid-way. This is how we analyze the changes our work has created and how likely they are to last. Evaluation answers the question, "What difference have we made?"

We will never get it perfectly right! But by reflecting on our actions, we can celebrate and build on what has worked well and learn from what has gone less well. This allows us, and others to learn from our experience. 

Which brings me to.... encouraging you to watch this Ted Talk: When an NGO fails.