Brudnicki 1 Andrea Brudnicki ENVS 452 Winter 2015 Jean Melious February 24, 2015
Billion Dollar Project Proposal Safe School Construction in Madagascar Executive Summary Problem The government in Madagascar reports that thousands of school facilities can and have been destroyed by a single cyclone. Often times these schools are built back unable to withstand another cyclone and so they inevitably are destroyed again and again. This loss and rebuilding of schools is not only detrimental to the local communities but also is a waste of natural resources. Children are often taken out of school and thus kept from furthering their education and access to more diverse careers. In some places, kids don’t even have access to a school and so the construction of a school that could withstand a major hazard event could have an immense impact on their community. When populations have access to better education they are able to rise up out of meeting their basic needs and achieve more. Some families in Madagascar are essentially being forced into deforestation practices through many different means. If they don’t have enough money they can choose to work for the timber companies that clear-cut the land or for the agriculture companies that plant rice (slash and burn practice that leads to this is called “tavy”) after the trees are gone (Butler, Conservation Threats). This practice not only gets rid of richly biodiverse forest ecosystems but also strips the soil of its nutrients after only several years and leaves the land useless after that. Locals often feel the need to develop the land before their neighbor does, which causes competition in local communities. Local governments and police forces can also often be paid off to allow these illegal practices to occur. Essentially, local people have no power. If they were educated they would have a better understanding of their role and rights in the process and would feel more empowered to disallow this practice to occur. This in turn would leave more forests in the area and allow the bio-diverse ecosystems to flourish uninterrupted. Solution Having a safe school where children can be consistently educated and communities can come together can drastically increase the social capital of a community. This increased social capital can have numerous other positive impacts on other facets of the community. This proposal outlines a project that would implement the creation of 600
Brudnicki 2 cyclone resistant school facilities through community-based safe school construction. The process learnt from this project, as well as the resulting schools, are both valuable benefits of this proposal that will have countless positive impacts on Malagasy communities for years to come. The local children will benefit from a place to go to school. The community will benefit from the strength and pride gained, a building to meet in, and the knowledge gained about safe school construction and hazard mitigation. The Malagasy government will benefit from the increased knowledge capacity of its further educated citizens. The local economy will benefit from the increase in jobs during construction and maintenance. Other similar ongoing projects will benefit from the strength in expertise and resources. The NGO staff will benefit from the experience and possible opportunities for publishing writing about the project. This proposal favors a NGO being formed specifically for this purpose of safe-school construction in Madagascar. Though there are several other organizations working on similar projects, they each encompass different facets that this projects aims to address. The Malagasy Government has a program entitled “Shock Response” that constructs cyclone-resistant schools and health facilities according to specific building codes (Rajaon). Their project advises a committee to be formed of local citizens that can take responsibility for each school. This proposal is advising the same in order to give local community members even more power and association with this school facility that they will be helping construct. Funding Requirements The amount of money that would be needed to fulfill this proposal is $673,200,000. This covers NGO and local labor, land, and materials for the 600 schools. Future funding is a minimal part of the cost, and is only required for regular maintenance.
Statement of Need This project is necessary because it has so many impacts on the future of different communities. If this project were implemented, local communities in Madagascar would richly benefit for years and years. INEE and The World Bank state these communal benefits in a case study about Madagascar. “For a hazard resilient school building to meet its potential to mitigate damage and loss, its community must understand the risk that hazards pose and the building’s capacity to reduce that risk. Fostering a sense of ownership by the individuals and groups who use and maintain the building will help ensure its protective capacity is sustained throughout its years of use” (Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies). These benefits can fit into four different categories.
Brudnicki 3 Madagascar would benefit socially from this project. The project aims to bring together local communities and allow them to strengthen their social capital. The time spent planning and constructing the schools together will increase friendships, comfort, and general excitement between citizens. The local communities are being taught how to construct safe schools, which is a knowledge that can be transferred between different communities. The social bonds can even move outside of specific communities to stretch across the whole country. The country will experience economic benefits from this project. Since the schools will only need to be constructed once rather than over and over, funds will be spared. Money will flow into the communities as labor and materials are sourced locally. This influx of money will cycle through local businesses and generally increase the economy of the country. The increase in stable education in Madagascar will also increase political potential. More citizens will be educated and able to involve themselves in higher up political affairs. This worldliness can benefit the country as they interact in international affairs. This increased education could even lead Madagascar to gain a stronger global presence. This project also has environmental benefits. Fewer resources will be used to construct a higher quality of schools and so more natural resources will be conserved. The planning process involves finding a proper site for each school. This site selection will take into consideration different ecosystems and the services that each provide and aim to retain those invaluable services. Finally, this project can be easily applied to other developing countries that desire to experience all the benefits of safe-school construction. Though each community functions differently, the need for safe schools is widespread and there is potential in each community to work with an NGO in a way that is most effective for the population. There is no doubt that the benefits are universal and the project approach could be used in other parts of the world, no matter the hazard or community.
Project Description Objectives The purpose of this proposal merits three objectives that stem from the goal of improving the environment of Madagascar. The objectives have to do with the actual construction process of the schools and outline the entire project from start to finish. The objectives are necessary for evaluation of the projects’ success. Though there are many facets to this proposal, these three objectives are the main components that the other aspects stem from:
Brudnicki 4 1. 200 cyclone resistant schools will be constructed in different communities in Madagascar and 400 other existing structures will be retrofitted to withstand a 250mph wind cyclone, all involving the local community in the planning, construction, and maintenance processes. 2. 100 new schools and 200 existing schools will be made cyclone resistant within the first 6 years of this project’s implementation, the remaining will be completed within 12 years of the project beginning. 3. After construction is finished, local citizens will be hired to maintain each school after education about hazards and safe school construction has been given to them and their employees. Methods HOW This entire project can be divided up into three different phases.
PHASE ONE- PLANNING During this planning phase an NGO comes into a community with the intention of building or retrofitting a school. But a lot needs to go into that before construction actually begins. The NGO needs to make personal connections with the community, get to know them, and earn their trust. The NGO together with the community members can perform an assessment of the specific needs that the school can accomplish. Though the school will be used for education, it can also serve other purposes such as a meeting place for the community. This time can also be used for education. It is important to educate the community members about hazards and why it is important to build structures that won’t fail. Off of this understanding comes the realization that the environment will suffer from perpetual reconstruction and waste of resources. The site selection is also important to note. A community can together with the NGO choose a site that has minimal hazard vulnerability. This will also retain ecosystems and their services, as they won’t be constructed over. As the NGO and community plan what the structure will look like they can work together to hire local construction men and women. During this phase they also locate materials that can be used in the construction phase. It is crucial that these materials be located inside the country in order to benefit the economy of Madagascar. This planning will also include the different levels of government that will have jurisdiction over the
Brudnicki 5 school. Often times the federal government will need to authorize the use and permitting of the school while the municipal government actually maintains it. This planning time is meant to build the capacity of the community and work with the skills that are present. This process should take around eight months, give or take a few if needed. PHASE TWO- CONSTRUCTION During this phase the actual work on the school is done. The plan has been made, the people have been hired, and the materials locally sourced. During this process the work can be continually evaluated to make sure that it is being done in the best way possible. The NGO will have the guidelines for the evaluation but can work with the community members to do the evaluating. During this time the NGO specialists in safe school construction can be showing the local workers the techniques that are important for resilience in the long run. The construction workers will be paid $32/month, slightly above the national minimum wage of $25/month (US Department of State). This construction phase should take around 6 months, give or take a few if needed. PHASE THREE- MAINTENANCE This third phase is important to keep the school functioning properly after the NGO leaves. In many cases of school construction the NGO builds and then leaves without teaching the locals how to maintain the building, which will render the school useless in a matter of time. When locals are included in the first two phases their involvement in this last phase is crucial and natural to the whole community-based approach. Certain aspects of the building need to be kept up with, including latrines, cleaning, and other miscellaneous tasks that are standard with age. If the locals are taught to keep the school functioning then the project is self-sustaining. The tools have been given to the locals and they are now able to take responsibility for their building that has just been created. This process begins after phase two is finished and lasts indefinitely. WHEN Duration of different phases: Phase one: 8-12 months, begins at month 0 Phase two: 6-9 months, begins when phase one is completed Phase three: indefinite time period, begins when phase two is completed The table below displays the time necessary for each phase and the overlap that may happen as they flow between one another. It is important to note that evaluation is an ongoing process and is done along with all the other phases.
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WHY It is important to take a community-based approach to school construction because it involves the community in such a valuable way. They are able to take pride in their work, their ideas, their materials, and therefore the school facility will come to great use. More children are educated when facilities are liked and comfortable. This increased education provides so many external services that benefit the economy, environment, political system, and general well being. Since this facility will be liked and used, the locals won’t attempt to build illegal and poorly constructed structures that could be demolished in a cyclone. This directly saves money, natural resources, time and effort. The government of Madagascar has enacted a similar type of project entitled “Shock Response” that builds and retrofits schools to be cyclone-proof. A report that outlines this project states that, “The improved appearance of the school buildings, as well as community’s management of the entire process, also helped boost school attendance rate” (Rajaon). They boast that their primary school attendance rate has increased from 53% to 95% in three years and can be attributed to the construction of safe schools. Since Madagascar already has a project going that deals with safe school construction the government will be more favorable of this type of project and therefore will receive it well, which would make this project a great investment. Staffing/Administration This project will require effort from NGO employees, local community members, and government officials. The NGO employees will need to have training in safe school construction and be able to work with diverse populations. There will need to be specialists in construction, architecture, and politics. The NGO employees need to be able to work for months at a time in Madagascar and form relationships with the locals. The NGO might even have to do some mediating between the locals and the government if there are any disagreements among them. The local people will need to have the time to work on the school, and there needs to be individuals that can
Brudnicki 7 participate in the actual construction of the school. There will also need to be a translator present at all times if the NGO employees do not speak Malagasy or French. Most of the volunteer work would be on the part of the local people of Madagascar when they are a part of the planning phase. The paid employees would be locals hired by the NGO for construction or maintenance, or the NGO employees themselves. Evaluation The objectives of this proposal allow the project to be clearly evaluated on their success. If the amount of schools that were projected was constructed, that objective has been met. Given the nature of the project, there is no definite way to evaluate the actual safety of the school until a cyclone occurs. Despite this, the expertise of the NGO employees can be trusted to provide safe structures for Madagascar. The government of Madagascar has recently implemented building codes that address the issue of vulnerability to cyclones, and so meeting those codes will provide another reassurance of safety. But there can also be evaluation going on during the whole process as well. If there is any opposition between the locals and the NGO there is cause for evaluation of the process and how the two are able to work together. Sustainability This proposal certainly addresses capacity building of communities in Madagascar. This allows the effects of the project, as well as the mindset that the project establishes, to remain years and years after the NGO has left. Though the school is only one building that will not multiply, the practice and techniques that are used could be easily passed on from community to community. There is no limit to how far that mindset could spread and impact other communities. The only funding that is required in the future is the maintenance of the schools, which is built into the cost of the project. If that money runs out, the Madagascar government and World Bank are good places to go for further funds. Both have worked on projects in the past that address school or safeschool construction.
Budget The following table outlines a rough estimate of how much it would cost for either building a new school or retrofitting an old one. Since 600 total schools will by made resilient to cyclones this brings the project total to $673,200,000.
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Conclusion Safe-school construction in Madagascar aims to increase social, economic, political, and environmental capacities of individual communities. The benefits from this project are long lasting and self-sustaining, even after the funding stops. The knowledge that is gained during this project can be transferred through different communities over time. If this proposal is accepted, a campaign can be launched to implement this approach globally. This campaign can include outreaches, success videos, and other forms of media that will display the success of this particular project. Publications that describe this case study can also be effective in sharing successes and how other countries can experience these benefits as well. These 600 schools will have tremendous positive impacts on the country of Madagascar if this proposal is accepted. The impacts will be widespread and affect the general population. But the effects will also be very specific to certain individuals. For example, one small child who has been out of school because it was destroyed in a cyclone could return. If a safe school were constructed in her community she wouldn’t have to fear that her education could be put on hold at any moment. The span of positive influence that safe-school construction in Madagascar could have is tremendous, and therefore strongly urges this proposal to be accepted.
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Bibliography Butler, Rhett. Conservation Threats. 2012. 23 January 2014 . Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies. "Guidance Notes on Safer School Construction." 2009. Rajaon, David. "Disaster-resistant schools A tool for universal primary education Development Intervention Fund, Madagascar." n.d. Save the Children. 2014. 23 January 2014 . —. "Community-based Safe School Construction: Developing Guidance to Support Good Practice." 9 July 2014. 24 January 2014 . The World Bank. "Implementation Status & Results Madagascar Madagascar Emergency Support to Critical Education, Health and Nutrition Services Project (P131945)." 2014. —. "Republic of Madagascar Emergency Support to Education for All Projects." 2013. UNICEF. "Schools for Madagascar Building a Better Future." 2011. US Department of State. "Madagascar- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices." US , 2002.
