PILOT PROJECT: While we have ambitious aims to help a large number of poor children in Trujillo we are first running a small pilot project in Porvenir which is the second largest district in Trujillo and one of the poorest. We aim to fully assess the problems that we encounter and to learn from our experiences with the view to expanding the project into other districts. We have good contacts there with a grass roots organization called AMULUP which has been running successfully for the last eight years. They manage funds from international organizations such as TRICLEUP and are dedicated to starting up micro enterprises. This project will be realized with their cooperation and will benefit from their experience. We have been very impressed with their activities during our assessment of the organization but are confident that with our dedicated team of volunteers we will be able to improve the methodology and therefore the success rates of new enterprises. Unlike AMULUP our main mission is to educate children and as a result we will stipulate that from their increased income the families must send their children to school. This project will serve the duel purpose of alleviating poverty within the poor families of Porvenir while at the same time empowering them to send their own children to school.

SUSTAINABILITY: A particular strength of this project is its sustainability. We will invest a given amount of money into each family which will in turn empower them to generate their own incomes and provide for the education of their children for their whole educational career. An alternative could be to directly pay the school fees of each child but it would bring two big problems of unsustainability. Firstly it would mean that the funds would have to be found for the same child year after year, whereas in this project funds will go to help new children every year and therefore the maximum number of children possible. Secondly, if the funding ended the children touched by this project would still be able to continue studying because their families have their own sustainable incomes. If this wasn’t the case then as soon as the funding dried up the children would be forced to drop out of school because economic circumstances would not have changed.

FIRST PHASE: Arriba.Ya has completed the principal stage of the project in which the children of Porvenir who are not in education have been identified and information about their circumstances and particular problems have been noted. This was achieved by working with Mother’s Clubs after holding meetings to explain the project. In all cases the proposal was greeted with enthusiasm, gratitude and offers of full cooperation. These people feel very marginalized by society and the government and are desperate to be active participants in any project that will have obvious benefits to them or to their children.

SECOND PHASE: Now we have identified the children who we want to help we can move to the second phase. This will be implemented in monthly waves of 10 families who will receive help to set up their businesses. They will receive plenty of support which will be detailed below, and at the end of the month a new wave of businesses will start. By taking smaller numbers each time we can be sure of managing them correctly and being able to dedicate the time and support which they will need to give the greatest possible chance of success. It should be noted that this is a pilot project, meaning that we are prepared to be flexible and to react swiftly to unexpected problems, in order to ensure that the expanded project will work as smoothly as possible. Below is offered an explanation of how the project will work.

1. SELECTION OF FAMILIES: 10 families will be selected whose children are not studying and who do not presently have sufficient resources to afford to pay for their education. This selection is informed and verified by our team of social workers who will visit each home at this stage and as part of an ongoing process.
2. ASSESSMENT OF FSMILIES FOR SUITABILITY: We will work with the families to ensure their enthusiasm and dedication for starting a business and analyse the ideas which they have for starting one. During our preparatory field work we found individuals who had been granted set up funds and who were not successful due to the selection of a blatantly unsuitable business. We will help each family to draw up a very simple business plan identifying where they will buy their materials, how much money they will need to start up, what they can sell their product for and what the possible markets and demand will be. This will help the families to concentrate seriously on what they are about to undertake and increase the likelihood of success. Arriba.Ya can count on experts in their field to advise and support the families in this process.
3. GROUP TRAINING SESSIONS: When all the 15 families have a business plan we will organize the first of many group training sessions. Here we will explain clearly the opportunity that we are offering, why we are doing it, how we are going to work together and what we expect to see in return. These will orientate everyone towards the undertaking ahead. They will inculcate the necessary values to run a successful business and teach how to successfully manage their enterprise covering all aspects from buying and selling to record keeping and planning. These meetings will create a group of people who along with the volunteers will form a strong support network. The participants will have lots of opportunities to meet and discuss problems and they can support each other by using each others services and buying each others products when feasible. Social workers will also be present to run talks and discussions about the importance of education for the lives of their children, and how vital it is that funds be found to facilitate this. That high importance be placed and money allocated to education is a pre condition for the release of funds. The parents will later be asked to sign a contract in which they state that they will send their children to school and encourage them to remain there and do well.
4. SOCIAL WORKER VISITS: The team of social workers will visit the children to be helped in the project to talk to them about the importance of education for them so that they are motivated and ready to study when the year starts. If the child has any problems which may risk their smooth integration into the school system these will be dealt with before hand. These could range from behavioural problems to the need for remedial help with their studies. Our team can count on experienced psychologists and teachers to ensure that the children are ready for the new school year.
5. COLLABORATION WITH SCHOOLS: We have already started our work with the schools of the local vicinity in terms of investigating costs and availability of spaces. This will be augmented once the businesses are under way as we ensure that we have a place for each child in a local school for the coming academic year. The cost to send a child to school is a maximum of 50 dollars, and we recognise that we may need to help with the fees at least during the first year as the business establishes itself. By starting on a small scale we can see how this plays out while being sure of having sufficient funds to support the children.
6. RELEASE OF FUNDS: When the participants have attended the training sessions and the team is happy that they are prepared, that they will be sufficiently dedicated and that they are committed to sending their children to school, the funds will be released. Each business will be given 50 dollars which is the amount that AMULUP have been using with success but which will be open for review by us if it should be deemed to be excessive or insufficient. At the moment of handing over the funds we will sign a contract with the participants which will state their commitment to the project and its educational imperative and our commitment to helping them on an ongoing basis. The idea of this contract is not to be legally binding but to encourage the participants to take the project seriously and to have a record of what they have agreed to.
7. BUSINESSES STARTED: The businesses will be started as soon as funds are released, with everything having been put in place beforehand. Each business will receive lots of support at this initial stage and on an ongoing basis as necessary.
8. FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT: There is strong emphasis in this project on follow up support for all the families that we help. The group training sessions will take place every two weeks or more frequently if practicable and deemed necessary. These will give the members of the meetings a time to discuss their issues and problems and to talk about possible solutions. Over time the frequency of these meetings may decrease if appropriate but this will be seen more clearly throughout the life of the pilot project. As already mentioned the support network offered by all participants is considered to be a vital part of the success of the project, and will be augmented by the professional advice delivered by the volunteer team. These meetings will involve continued discussions about the importance of education and about child development.
9. VISITS TO BUSINESSES: Each business will be visited on an on going basis every week to monitor their progress and to give advice and suggestions where needed. Care will be taken to discover the needs of the businesses so that they can be met at the earliest opportunity either in the group meetings or on an individual basis.
10. ACCOUNTING SYSTEM: Special attention will be placed on the accounting system which each enterprise needs to set up and operate. AMULUP presently insist that 25 percent of profits are reinvested in the business to facilitate growth and we will start with the same figure. It is of vital importance that the businesses grow giving more income for the families and more potential to fund their children’s education. The team will constantly monitor to make sure that this is fulfilled.
11. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR EDUCATION: The school system functions in such a way that children have to wait until the beginning of a new year before they can join the school. For this reason we want to get as many children as possible to begin the new school year in April 2004 and we will coordinate between the schools and the parents to achieve this aim. One important aspect of the business plan will be the allocation of funds for education. This may mean setting aside so much money each month in preparation for the coming school year, or the purchase of the necessary items such as books and uniforms on a planned monthly basis. Emphasis should be placed on the parents providing as much as possible themselves, with us stepping in to assist only when absolutely necessary. Our assistance should only be required in the short term, if at all, with the growth of the businesses leading to the assumption of all responsibilities by the parents. The team of social workers will maintain a close relationship with and give continued support to the children. This will involve working directly with the families in their homes and liaising with the schools to monitor the child’s progress and attendance. The social workers and the broader team will try to solve any problems which the child has and which may risk him or her falling out of the system.
12. FOLLOW-UP DONATION: The system which AMULUP is running gives another 50 dollar grant to the businesses after 6 months to help them to expand. As this is still the pilot project we plan to ascertain the necessity of this as the project progresses but if it proves beneficial we will make provisions for the second donation within our budget. There is a possibility that the second release of funds will take the form of a loan so that the funds will be available for another family.
13. SUPPORTING CHILDREN: It should be noted that there will be many cases where it is impossible to set-up a business with the family of children whom we wish to help to enter into the education system. The children will certainly not be penalized for this and Arriba.ya will help these children by directly supporting them with their school fees. A team of social workers will be allotted to each school and will be responsible for a given number of children. They will check the children’s attendance and progress and will liaise between the school and the home’s of the children. The social workers will be responsible for identifying any problems the child may have at school or at home, and in solving them by bringing in other members of the team if necessary. They will also be responsible for organising talks that will be aimed at the families under their care.