Ghana Livelihoods: The District Chief Executives (DCE) and the District Directors of Education (DDE) for the two districts (Sefwi Wiawso and Akontonbra) attended the ECHOES program launch in their respective district. In addition, the program was attended by all traditional leaders and key COCOBOD staff. The Regional Manager of COCOBOD, Cocoa Service, emphasized that most cocoa farms are affected by diseases because farmers lack basic knowledge in cocoa farm management. He sensitized the populations on swollen shoot viral disease and taught them how to recognize swollen pods and shoots, and the actions to take to prevent disease spread. A farmer at Nkonya had this to say;

“I did not know of any such cocoa disease until the day of the launch of the ECHOES project at Nkonya when it was explained to us and also shown us samples of infected cocoa. I was buying all kinds of chemicals to spray the farm but to no avail. I am scared now, because there are nearby farms which can be attacked. However, the speaker informed us that such farms would be re-established free of charge if reported.”

Agriculture Students parade during the Suiano launch

Côte d’Ivoire Livelihoods: In September, out-of-school youth concluded their vocational training in cocoa-growing and garden crop management over the last quarter. In September, 120 youth graduated from the program, and celebrated in their communities by hosting community-wide events in their villages. At each ceremony, school development committee officials (COGES), chiefs, and youth representatives gave speeches in appreciation of the program. The graduation youth highlighted the leadership training they received in conjunction with the agriculture training, and promised to continue to work together to develop their community. Each youth was given a certificate of participation, ECHOES t-shirts and caps, as well as his or her graduation tool kit. In Sokoura, the youth themselves paid for the ceremony (generator, music, food), and organized an audience of 150 villagers. In Detroya, chiefs and villagers from three different communities came together to celebrate the youth’s graduation, and followed with traditional dances and a parade. In Debo I, 150 people attended the ceremony. In Biéby, where strong community participation has been key to the success of the program, youth interacted with adult farmers at ceremony, and it was found that on average, each graduating youth shared his/her training with 3.8 people. That means that in addition to the 20 youth graduating, an additional 76 community members were trained. In addition to the 150 people present at the ceremony in Debo II, the Zoukougbeu high school Director also participated in the program so that he could learn more about the youth’s training and create linkages with his school’s program for students.

“I found the [graduation] ceremony really important. My son is part of the program and informed me. What he learned encourages me because it’ll teach us to grow quality cocoa and at a higher production [level]. He even knows how to grow garden vegetables. I think this project will keep my child in the village and keep him from going into the city to search for any work.” –KOFFI Ahuié Prospère, Parent, Biéby

“I learned how to make a cocoa nursery, provide shade, make my own compost, prevent certain cocoa diseases, and provide integrated pest management. This training will change my life. Thanks to it, I can train others like I was trained, put in place what I learned, and help me take care of my family.”-- Atsé Niangoran Marcel, out-of-school youth graduate, Biéby.
Each registered youth is between the ages of 18-35, thus legally able to participate in adult activities.

Thirty-four graduating youth in Sokoura with their tool kits

Family Support Scholarships: The scholarship is used to simultaneously support the youth’s education, increasing retention probability, while enhancing the mother’s income-generation potential. It runs for three years and is a package of funding divided into three parts: the first third goes immediately towards the youth’s education for one year: the remaining two-thirds are given to the mother (guardian) as a loan, which she uses to invest in her existing business. She is then obliged, through a signed contract with the school, to repay this amount back to her child’s school in the form of the child’s education fees and support over the next two years (one-third at the beginning of the second year and the last one-third at the beginning of the third year). Scholars are linked with a focus group mentor that promotes education, provides a positive role model, and delivers important information about child labor, the importance of staying in school, as well as life skills and HIV/AIDS awareness. Twenty scholarships were awarded during the 2007-2008 school year to students in Biéby and Adzopé. The ECHOES field agent and focus group members from these two communities monitored the progress of the students and supported their mothers in their enterprise development. In Adzopé, 100% of the students receiving the scholarship passed their grade level. In Biéby, 63% of reporting students passed. An additional 110 scholarships will be awarded at the start of the 2008-2009 academic year.

ECHOES staff will work with the Biéby focus group members and mothers of these students to improve pass rates next year.

Mothers in Biéby learn the value of networking through games

ECHOES Livelihoods, inspiring girls to stay in school: Comfort CUDJO is from Nkonya, a small village in the Wiawso district of the Western Region of Ghana. Comfort is 18 years old and is the youngest of five children. Though her parents are cocoa farmers and live in Nkonya, Comfort had been living all her life in Accra with her elder sister. Comfort stopped schooling last year and returned back to her village when she became pregnant.

Until now, Comfort felt a victim of teenage pregnancy. She was no longer in school, and saw few future prospects for her and her child. “Before the ECHOES project, I felt the whole world was falling apart. Even my parents were not happy to see me. [Ms. Nyantakyi, ECHOES field agent in Nkonya] started talking to my parents on the need for them to support me to continue to Junior High School even though I have a child.” Through long-term dialogue and encouragement with both Comfort and her parents, Ms. Nyantakyi was able to convince them to allow her to re-enroll in the second year of Junior Secondary School. She now regularly participates in the student agriculture club and has joined a dance group, performing at her village’s Child Labor Day celebration.

“[Ms. Nyantakyi] has inspired me and I’m no more ashamed to go to school. My dream was to become a journalist and I hope I can achieve it with hard work. Not only that, but I will also be better off because the way I understand issues has changed. Through the ECHOES project I now know that there are people out there to guide me.” She adds, “Now I know that child bearing should not stop a child from continuing her education. School children should be educated on teenage pregnancy.”

Her parents have also expressed delight in the changes they’ve seen in their daughter. “One of our major problems is solved. Comfort is going back to school. We can have a lady. We are happy and will support her by taking care of the baby,” states Mrs. Mercy Doku, Comfort’s mother.

Comfort passed her grade level this year, and will be enrolling in the final level of Junior Secondary School at the start of the fall term.

Comfort in front of her house

ECHOES Livehihoods, vocational training: It was expected that July would be an exciting time for students in ECHOES project villages in Ghana. Student agriculture club members were nearing the end of their cocoa nursery management training, and were preparing to plant their hybrid cocoa seedlings, selected for their high production capacity and disease resistance. Students had been learning to prepare the soil for transplanting, provide adequate shade, use leguminous trees to improve soil quality and control shade, and space seedlings. As the club members gathered for planting, parents and friends from around the community joined in, and shared some unexpected benefits from the program.

Mr. Duncan EBO, 81 years old, has been living in Nkonya since 1967, as a purchasing clerk for the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB). During planting, he approached Winrock staff to talk about how he was affected by the project, “My granddaughter Jennifer is teaching her grandmother and me how to plant young cocoa plants. As soon she gets home, she tells me how; she started collecting top soil. [Then] she dug and collected the soil inside. She said, ‘Madam [the ECHOES field agent] said that this topsoil has many nutrients. When you put the cocoa in the hole then you use the topsoil to the fill the hole first before the sub soil is put in the hole’.”

He added, “Almost all the cocoa buying companies offer help to farmers in the form of incentives such as a cash bonus, but no knowledge that will help [farmers] in their cocoa farming. I am so surprised and happy as well that our child has understood the lessons taught at school so much so that she has now become [our] teacher.”

Jennifer and her grandmother in front of their house

Family Support Scholarships: When Mrs. ABE was first interviewed, she was earning her living selling local drinks and reported that her son had failed his grade level the past year because he was sick and didn’t get enough to eat. Just a few months after receiving the scholarship, she reported an increase in earnings to 1,500 CFA as profit per day (3.03 USD).

During a recent ECHOES monitoring trip, Mrs. Abe explained how she is benefiting now from her Family Support Scholarship. “Since I’ve started [with the scholarship money], to this day, I’ve been able to save up 10,000 CFA (40.21 USD). I’m saving not only for my children, but also to try to open a restaurant in our village.”

Mrs. Abe also expressed satisfaction towards the results of her son in school. He received the scholarship in primary school and used the money for his fees and supplies. Assi passed his grade level this year with excellent marks and next year will sit for the national examination to qualify for graduation from primary school (BEPC).

Mrs. Abe also participated in the week-long Women’s Small Business Training held in September in her village. There she learned about costing, cash flow management, marketing, accounting, and the benefits of networking. During the training, she stated her profession was attiéké seller (couscous meal typically sold in restaurants), hinting that she was already on the path towards her dream restaurant. When asked about the future, Mrs. Abe added, “If I’m able to [make my restaurant], I’ll be able to educate all of my children no problem. I’m thankful for this scholarship and I think more women in this village could benefit from it.”

Teacher training: 182 of Kibi Presbyterian Training College’s (KITCO) 184 second-year students enrolled in the TFA’s ICT course took part in a series of field trips to the Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration (GIMPA). For a significant number of them, it was their first time in their nation’s capital, Accra.

Many of the students were able to both use the Internet for the first time and register for personal email addresses. Due to our large group numbers, many were not able to obtain an email at GIMPA’s facilities but proceeded to voluntarily obtain ones during school breaks and weekends. The TFA has also offered and has assisted over 25 students in this endeavor per students’ requests.

KITCO is now recognized as the first training college to embark on such a field trip. KITCO’s host at GIMPA, Mrs. Vivian Attah, the institution’s Training Coordinator, informed the TFA that news of the KITCO’s visits reached the Ministry of Education and preliminary discussions were held regarding making such trips mandatory for all training colleges.

Winrock leadership training: While not a specific output for the project, in those areas where leadership training was provided, positive outcomes have resulted and appears to be setting a strong framework for sustainability. For example, the orientation for leaders in the community helps them to understand the role they play in guiding the future of their community and the ECHOES project. They learn about the project, its intended goals and the responsibility of the community to continue the work after the project has ended. Further, they learn who is a leader—the role of men, women and children—what is development, what is sustainable, and the role of leaders in development. This training includes self-actualization exercises. The result of the training has had some positive outcomes, such as prioritizing needs in the community, developing a community management plan, reactivating the school management committee / parent teacher association (PTA), now viewing schools as part of the community as opposed to independent entities about which they had no control or influence.

Winrock school demonstration cocoa and farm plots with permanent reference map supported by agriculture clubs in schools: The demonstration farm, which includes cocoa and other vegetables, serves as a model to compare the progress of the “modern” school farm against the “traditional” practices used in the past. In Cote d’Ivoire, fixed concrete maps, that include colored nails to designate cocoa plants from leguminous trees, have been placed at the site of the school demonstration cocoa farm as a permanent reference on how to implement modern methods for planting cocoa. This reference map serves as a guide for current and future community members on good practices for “line and pegging” cocoa plants and leguminous trees. Ghana uses a similar reference map, but the maps are drawn on poster paper and found hanging in the CR of the school. This approach has a high potential to be sustainable.

Winrock out-of-school youth training and start-up kits: The training provided to out-of-school youth, men and women, using an agriculture-based vocational curriculum and business skills training have good potential to encouraging the establishment of small businesses. Based on the results from focus groups conducted with these targeted beneficiaries, they indicated that they had never considered agriculture as a business venture, merely as a means to eat for the day or make a little money. It was clear from the respondents that they now see the value of working in agriculture, how to manage their funds, and what inputs are needed to ensure success.

Making Cents cocoa livelihoods curriculum: For those shadow teachers trained on this curriculum, it has provided them with an eye toward achieving their vocational goals for the future. While the training was oriented around cocoa, several of the individuals trained have applied the skills they learned into establishing their own side business. One shadow teacher, following training, organized a business plan, determining how much money he would need to open his barber shop, bought his equipment and tools, and now has a business running. Using his marketing training, he has created a large sign that announces his business and services. The training provided him considerable motivation to achieve his dreams and has instilled in others a similar interest to learn these same skills. While individuals trained have not held similar training as yet, the potential for success is evident.

IFESH’s Teachers For Africa: Providing highly qualified teachers from the US to work with teacher training colleges and communities helps build capacity and strengthens the colleges that are producing future teachers and school administrators. Due to the caliber of the teachers who serve as volunteers for IFESH, a wide range of services and technical assistance can be provided. Teachers, both pre-service and in-service, benefit from not only the technical assistance and training they receive, but by the role model that the current women TFAs provide. They serve as an inspiration to future and current teachers and have the potential to motivate these teachers to strive to achieve higher quality in the manner of instruction that they provide their current and future students.

IFESH adult literacy instruction: While not one of the outputs and results originally planned from the ECHOES project, responding to the conditions set by the community for the implementation of the ECHOES project, a very valuable lesson has been learned. From the focus groups held within communities, this one area alone has the tremendous potential of increasing the communities’ support for education overall because everyone in the community has the opportunity to benefit. Allowing adults, as well as children and out-of-school youth up to age 35 participate in literacy instruction increases the value of education in the adult leaders of the community who, heretofore were illiterate but who also makes the decisions about where priorities for the community will lie. The functional nature of the literacy instruction provided was geared to the needs and interest of the adult learners. Recipients of the training were quite vocal and adamant that most programs in the past only addressed children, while leaving the rest out. One stated that, “we are not dead, we still live in the community and wish to benefit as well.” The benefits of the functional literacy instruction they received were explained as preventing someone from cheating them. For example, one chief explained, “Before I had to trust someone else about telling me the weight of my cocoa. Now I can read the weights on the scales so that I know how much my cocoa weighs and how much I should be paid.” Another community leader stated, “I can now sign my name as opposed to making a mark.” He further stated, “I can now read the bill to know how much I should pay. I can avoid someone cheating me because I now can count to see if I get the right change back.”
The women also shared their views. Some indicated, “Now I can read the signs so that I won’t be embarrassed by doing something wrong.” Another states, “I can now read the bill and can count my change so that I don’t get robbed.” Still another shared, “I can go to market and when I sell, I can change the money as opposed to having someone else do it for me.” Another said, “I can now use the telephone and make a call myself without having to ask someone to do it for me.” Understanding the practical aspects of education and how it can be applied in every day life serves to increase within the adult leaders of the community their sense of the value that education can provide for the children and youth. This can serve to bring about sustainable change for future work to improve the quality of education for all community members and results in improving the overall wellbeing of the community.

School Agriculture Clubs and Sensitization/Awareness Creation: The first part of this quarter’s club activities at Adzopé and Zoukougbeu Lycées were primarily devoted to electing this year’s club government. Due to the increased participation of girls in Adzopé and their presence at the Winrock/R.C. Purdy’s—sponsored camp, girls were elected for the first time into the group’s governing bodies. Each Saturday, the clubs from both communities meet on the site of the school cocoa and garden plots to gain more in-depth agriculture knowledge. This year, the clubs decided to grow purple and white eggplants, tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, cucumbers, watermelon, pepper, and lettuce, and expect to harvest next quarter. They also learned to fight mold and mushrooms that attack vegetable gardens.

“After agriculture club one day, I told my father [a cocoa farmer] what I learned. He was happy, even proud, because I showed him the proper orientation of the cocoa seed to plant in the bags and how deep to put the seed in. He was planting his quite randomly before. This year I helped my father do his nursery and I’m proud because now I have knowledge to help our family that I didn’t have before.” Yimakiesso Bruno BADO, 17 years old, 5eme
World AIDS Day: In addition to regular agriculture activities, agriculture club members planned their community’s World AIDS Day celebration. In Adzopé, club members, in collaboration with the school’s health club, distributed red ribbons to their teachers and other members of the community to show their commitment to those infected or affected by the disease. Club members presented theater skits and poems to the approximate 500 participating students, and representatives from the Departmental Direction for National Education (DDEN), the School Inspection, as well as the school administration were in attendance. In Zoukougbeu, the Sous-Préfet, Mayor’s secretary, Heath Center Director, COOPEC Director, Agriculture office representative, a representative from the School Inspection, school administration, as well as the women Family Support Scholarship beneficiaries were in attendance. Club members presented skits, poems, dances, and a film about HIV to the audience. Approximately 500 students attended.

Bruno, member of the Zoukougbeu agriculture club

World AIDS Day: In addition to regular agriculture activities, agriculture club members planned their community’s World AIDS Day celebration. In Adzopé, club members, in collaboration with the school’s health club, distributed red ribbons to their teachers and other members of the community to show their commitment to those infected or affected by the disease. Club members presented theater skits and poems to the approximate 500 participating students, and representatives from the Departmental Direction for National Education (DDEN), the School Inspection, as well as the school administration were in attendance. In Zoukougbeu, the Sous-Préfet, Mayor’s secretary, Heath Center Director, COOPEC Director, Agriculture office representative, a representative from the School Inspection, school administration, as well as the women Family Support Scholarship beneficiaries were in attendance. Club members presented skits, poems, dances, and a film about HIV to the audience. Approximately 500 students attended.

Students and agriculture club members from Adzopé High School prepare to parade for World AIDS Day

Agriculture Training for Out-of-School Youth: One hundred and twenty out-of-school youth graduated from the livelihoods program during the first year of Winrock/ECHOES implementation. These youth each received one hectare of selected, hybrid cocoa seeds and the tools with which to start their own cocoa plantations using modern growing methods. During the graduation ceremonies, each out-of-school youth was asked what they learned, how the program has affected them, and how many people with whom they shared their training knowledge. It was found that on average for the entire program, each youth shared his or her knowledge with four other friends or family members. This means for the 120 youth trained, 480 other people in the community also benefitted from the livelihoods program, learning about the importance of hybrid seedlings, nursery management, spacing, and plantation maintenance, as well as gardening. The following are quotes from livelihoods graduates:

“In putting in practice what I’m learned, in showing my entourage what I learned, I can change a lot of things in my life. I’ve shared [this training] with many cocoa farmers, for example, almost all the farmers of Baziekro, young and old.”—Jacque BADO, Sokoura

“I hope that as we’ve received the cocoa pods, with these modern methods of cocoa-growing, and with the leadership organized by Winrock, I can continue to do one hectare of cocoa each year—then I can harvest the fruits of my efforts. Being the president of the young Burkinabe in Belleville, and having followed the training myself, I’ve already shared this knowledge with over 200 people nearby. ” Idrissa KABORE, Bellville

“This training is going to help me put value to my fields, for a good cocoa plantation, for a good harvest, and to help me prepare my future.” Casimin TIEROU LESSIE, Detroya

“This training is going to help me change my standard of living because I’ll have a good plantation and have a lot of money, which will allow me to have a happy family.” Lucien KOUAMEKAN, Belleville

“I found out about this training from another village chief- me, being a chief of another village, Danhoungbeu, where we don’t have this project. This is an excellent project that I would like my village to benefit from. I see that this NGO keeps its promises and I’m not disappointed. I would like to encourage this project to continue and come help us.” A. BAHIA GBOGRE, chief.

A new group of 120 out-of-school youth was started in December. They have begun their training with the development of their own cocoa nurseries, learning the importance of hybrid seedlings, preparation of shade and shade management, soil quality, and nursery planting and management.
3 In Sokoura, for every person trained, he or she shared that information with 2.84 others. In Detroya it was 1:4.59; in Belleville 1:5.8; and in Debo I and II, 1:3.75.
4 Because this high number could not be verified independently, it was not included in the aforementioned statistic and is considered an outlier.

Safety Training Helps Cocoa Farmers Stay Healthy: Thomas Donkor is a 43 year-old cocoa farmer who has lived in Yawkrom for about 20 years. Mr. Donkor belongs to a spray gang, a group that participates in a mass spraying program introduced by the Ghanaian government to support farmers and help them protect their yields. Though he is a member of this program, he was never trained on farm safety and the appropriate usage of chemicals. To improve his knowledge, Mr. Donkor and other adults in Yawkrom approached their Winrock ECHOES field agent to learn more.

Though adults are not the main target of the ECHOES program, project staffs often train them in their spare time, as the staffs themselves are based in the communities they serve. In Yawkrom, Mr. Donkor, along with other adult farmers in his community, asked to learn more about the chemicals with which they spray their cocoa. Mr. Donkor said, “Farmers who use chemicals to spray their cocoa do not spray right. Activities like eating or drinking go on when mixing or spraying. Even after mixing chemicals, farmers sometimes taste [them] to test the chemicals’ potency. I was one of the people who did not know that they were not using appropriate chemicals to spray cocoa and also did not wear safety clothes during spraying.”

Some recommended chemicals for spraying

Over the past year, the ECHOES project trained Mr. Donkor and his fellow cocoa farmers in the chemicals and dosages recommended by COCOBOD, as well ways to protect themselves while spraying. “We were sometimes mixing two or more chemicals without knowing the effects on the environment and the affect [on us] by causing diseases such as cancer; however the introduction of ECHOES project has reduced most of the bad practices performed by farmers in Yawkrom.”

He adds, “Chemical usage in cocoa communities is a problem that needs immediate attention. Farmers use chemicals without taking the right precautionary measures. It has been realized through the training that farmers use chemicals that are banned without being aware of its consequences.”

Through continuous community sensitization, cocoa farmers in Yawkrom have started using the recommended chemicals for spraying against capsids, and are using recommended quantities and are spraying at the right time. They now wear protective clothing like a hat, nose mask, gloves, goggles, boots and overalls. They know to wash their clothes afterwards, and farmers have stopped eating, smoking, and tasting chemicals.

Entrepreneurship Training leads Youth to Revive Business and Invest in His Community: Many young people migrate from their communities in Ghana to urban centers in search of job opportunities. Oftentimes they find these jobs do not exist, or must be carried out under harmful conditions. As part of the ECHOES effort to find solutions to the challenges of rural quality rural education and migration, Winrock International has been working to improve youth livelihood opportunities through vocational training and enterprise development. It is the goal of these trainings to improve the capacity of individuals in rural communities to increase their future income, diversify their economic base, and improve their agricultural productivity. As a result of the training program, one youth in Suiano who had earlier decided to leave the community for Kumasi or Accra for jobs stayed and challenged himself to accomplish something he previously thought he could not do.

Philip Annin is a 20-year-old senior secondary school drop-out and a very active member of the ECHOES out-of-school youth group in his community. Philip was determined to travel to Kumasi to look for job, but then decided not to go and currently he is running a healthy business in his community. When approached by Winrock staff, he explained his change of heart:

“I completed Junior Secondary School and continued to Senior Secondary School but dropped out in form 2 [before the advent of the ECHOES project]. This is because my parents did not have enough money for me to continue so I had to stop to make way for my older brother to complete his education. This made me stay in the house for two consecutive years and I finally lost interest in schooling completely. My parents later asked me if l wanted to do something else apart from schooling. I decided to do an apprenticeship. But once again they could not provide the money for me to go.

“I had to work on my father’s cocoa farm for one year and at the end of the season he gave me 300 Ghana Cedis. In the first year [2007] I decided to sell agro-chemicals. The first batch of the stock sold very well and I went in for another batch but this time the market was not good for me so I had to sell them on credit but almost all the debtors failed to pay and this affected my business greatly and all the capital I had got finished. I was discouraged and decided not to continue the business any longer. I decided to travel to Kumasi to look for some job. But fortunately, that was when Winrock International also came into the community and started the ECHOES Project and through their teachings on enterprise and agricultural development made us to understand what true business really meant. With the little knowledge that I gathered from the teaching, I realized that I had to restart my business with new ideas. This all happened around July 2008.

“[Winrock International] came and took us through some of the things learnt during the training. They interviewed us concerning what we do for a living in the community and also asked for our future ambitions. I told them I want to be a very big businessman but in the mean time I want to go back into the Agro-chemicals. Fortunately [my parents] gave me two hundred 200 Ghana Cedis. With this capital I took the first stock of chemicals. I decided not to play with the business anymore but pay much attention. Through the teachings, I learnt how to study the market situation in the community before I could go in for new or more stock, how to price the chemicals to be able to make a profit, how to keep proper records on the business, how to manage the capital and the little profit that I make. I realized that the business is my livelihood and I must cherish it as part of my life. They also taught us how to save money and open an account at the bank. In fact, putting money in the Bank was something I never wanted to do for fear that someone could easily run away with my money. But I got convinced and now I am a proud account holder at A.D.B. [Agriculture Development Bank] with check books. Through the savings that I made from the little profit that I get from the business, my stock has increased tremendously and I have now a store in the community to sell the chemicals in shelves instead of the table-top as had been the case previously.

“The ECHOES Project and Winrock have really helped me. It has proven its benefits to me personally and I would like to encourage the organization to really continue with the good work in the teaching program and if possible, expand it throughout the world so that other people especially the youth can also get the opportunity and be encouraged to realize their potentials.”

Note: the vocational training in cocoa and the entrepreneurship training had not yet officially begun in ECHOES Ghana project communities at the time of this report. The field agents have, however, been testing their skills gleaned from the Making Cents International training hosted by ECHOES with out of school youth and teachers from their project communities, and it is from this experience that Philip learned his skills.

Local Farmers Enrich Soil Using Sustainable Methods: Suiano is a small village in the Sefwi-Juaboso area, noted for the quality and quantity of its cocoa production. Most people are semi-illiterates and small-scale farming is the main occupation for both adults and youth. Farmers establish their cocoa farms using methods passed down from generation to generation. Traditionally, the proposed land for a new cocoa farm is completely cleared of its vegetation, both weeds and trees, irrespective of their economic importance to cocoa production. Seedlings are transplanted or sometimes fresh cocoa beans directly planted on a bare farm with a few banana trees or cassava, and without organized layout. This has many negative effects on the young cocoa seedling and many are unable to withstand the shock of direct sunlight or die-back at early stages. Moisture conservation becomes difficult since the banana leaves are not tall, and soil microbial activities are retarded or stopped completely and the soil temperature rises.

Ophelia Sackyi, a female cocoa farmer, is an active member of the Winrock ECHOES out-of-school youth group in Suiano and has been cultivating cocoa since 2000. Previously, she could boost of about 4 acres farm size which she established using traditional methods. Shortly after she began her training with the ECHOES project, she decided to expand her farm and integrate leguminous trees onto her land. Ophelia was the first in her group to adopt the idea of integrating leguminous trees to provide shade for young cocoa seedlings.

Ophelia notes, “I was using the traditional farming. The only crop that I had to provide shade for the seedlings was cassava. I used to clear all the vegetation including all the trees from the land because we did not know the importance of some of those trees. However, [here] I learnt that some of the trees called leguminous trees could provide shade and replenish the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients and also help to keep moisture in the soil for a long time. I decided to plant some of the Gliricidia in an acre of land to establish that piece of land.”

Ophelia was inspired to apply what she learned once she saw the ECHOES cocoa demonstration plot in her community. “In comparing the old farms in the traditional method with the current technology that has been introduced, I realized that the later could be more yielding than the old method. This is because the cassava alone cannot provide the shade needed for the young cocoa seedlings and sometimes many of them die back immediately after the cassava is harvested. I am very confident that the new technology will give more yield than the old method looking at the nature and the rate at which the [ECHOES plot cocoa] seedlings are growing currently.”

“Fortunately, my farm is located near the main road and many people, upon seeing what I have done differently and the beautiful nature of my farm, ask why I have planted the trees, their names and how I got to know about them. I usually take the opportunity to explain the reasons to them and direct them to the demonstration plot to go and have a look at what is going on and try to adopt the technology since it looks very promising and easy to understand. Now I know of many farmers who have also adopted the technology and have started planting the Gliricidia in their farms just like mine.”

To date, at least four prominent farmers in the community have decided to integrate leguminous trees on their cocoa plots as a result of Ophelia’s testimony. In addition, after observing the school demonstration cocoa plot, some farmers have started thinning their cocoa trees in attempt to space them out and improve air circulation.

Community Awareness-Raising Means the Right to Education:
One of the overall aims of the ECHOES project is to empower cocoa communities to solve their own problems through education and community awareness-raising. The International Day against Child Labor Day in June 2008 was used to educate the people of Nkonya on the right to education, health, and well-being for all children. After the event, Janet approached the Winrock ECHOES Field agent with a particular challenge in her own family, “I have learned through this celebration that every child should be given an education. My little sister has never stepped in the classroom because of a genital problem. All she does is to take care of other babies when their mothers go to farm. My parents and in fact everybody has lost all hope and given up because we felt nothing can be done with her. She urinates on herself. She was born without a female genital organ; no opening at all. There was a small opening on the stomach from which urine comes out after birth. A surgical operation was done to give her an opening around age 6. The doctor prescribed a second operation to fix a bladder for her. My parents could not afford the bill so the second operation to enable her to urinate like a normal person could not be done. She does not realize when secretions are coming from her and she soils herself always. Sometimes she smells badly, so we have feared to send her to school. We thought no teacher would accept this condition and her mates would avoid her that is why she has not been put in school. Please the family would be very happy to see her in school.” The little girl herself added, “I am sick that is why I am not in school. My friends are in school. I want to go to school with my sister but I can’t.”

After this incident, the Winrock ECHOES field agent engaged the little girl and her family in series of conversations about her situation, what she could do, and what that really meant for her education, and the girl’s self-esteem increased. Taking advantage of the improvement, the field agent spoke with her parents and the school authorities and they decided to enroll her in school. Each stakeholder in her education: the school, her family, and project staff monitor how she is coping with the new environment. Her teacher says that she is happy in class and doing well; she may occasionally soil herself and ask to go and change her underwear, but it doesn’t affect the class, adding “I have accepted that we all have the responsibility to give people like her a better future and the basis is education.”

Her parents agree, “I am very surprised to find her in school. When I ask her, she said that all the children at home have come to school and she has also come. ‘I will sit on the floor,’ she says, and I could not convince her to wait any further at home. A load has been off our head, and we will do our best to make her happy always as she is now.”

Teaching Information and Computer Technology with Limited Resources:
In December 2008, IEFA volunteers Jessie Hensley and Karen Washington conducted field workshops. Teachers from the Tepa School District participated in the Mabang workshop; the Nsuta workshop included teachers from the Mankranso School District. The workshops were a success. The teachers were enthusiastic and collaborated on their projects. They were eager to share the results of their hands on activities and they agreed that they would try them in their classrooms. Many of the teachers have limited computer skills and some have none at all. During the ICT workshop it was rewarding to watch teachers create a computer mouse from cardboard. At the beginning of the workshop, only one participant had had any formal training in ICT. One man said he did not know what a computer mouse was. By the end of the workshop, this man had not only seen an example of a real mouse, but had built his own mouse model, and could identify the left and right buttons of a mouse, and demonstrate how to click them. One of the pre-test questions asked participants whether it was impossible to teach ICT without equipment or electricity. Many of the learners responded that it would be impossible. By the conclusion of the workshop, the post-test indicated that many had changed their minds, saying that it was not impossible to teach ICT with limited resources.


Local teachers assemble teaching aids at Teacher Resource Center.

Creating Foldable Teaching and Learning Materials (TALMs):
During the foldable TALMs activity, one group of participants called IFESH IEFA volunteers, over to look at their work. They were very enthusiastic and proud of what they had done. They asked, “Did we learn it correctly?” The answer was yes. They had learned how to make different types of foldables, and now they could teach their students how to make them as well. They were very happy to hear this and snapped their fingers in victory. All of the groups were very involved in making foldables, and they grasped the concept immediately and made functional foldables illustrating lessons on the spot. It was a very successful workshop.

IFESH IEFA, Karen Washington, demonstrates how to create teaching aids to local student teachers.

Daloa Teacher Training Center:
Representing Daloa TTC, Corinne Shutack has documented that IFESH’s technology donation in April 2008 has been a great success for the resource center. The staff has mastered how to use the equipment and take good care of it. They also carefully note each and every financial transaction for use of the photocopier and printer in a very organized fashion. They have created a savings account with the money earned from the machines that will be used to buy items on the resource center’s “needs list.” The computer has been used to keep electronic records of books in the library and funds earned from the machines.

IFESH Education Programs Director, Momodou Mambouray and IEFA volunteer,
Corinne Shutack, stands with residents of the Soukora village.

Corinne Shutack recounted:

“I and my fellow villagers love the literacy program. Now people can recognize their own name written down – Isn’t that a joy?” - Village Chief of Soukora

5.The Daloa resource center is equipped with two computers, one printer, one photocopying machine, one scanner and one laminating machine. The selection of requested equipment was coordinated with the Daloa TTC.

Presence of Peter Hesse Foundation in Abengourou, Côte d’Ivoire:
The invitation of the Peter Hesse Foundation and their acceptance to be associated with IFESH in support of ECHOES has been a wonderful accomplishment to report during this quarter. The Montessori trainer Shandra Jacinthe is in Abengrourou. The Montessori materials were delivered and are being fabricated at the selected site. The selection process for students has begun and thirty-five students will be selected to start their two-year training program in January 2009. In turn, upon completion of their training, these students will be able to work with 875 pre-school age children in the future.

This is a meaningful start to addressing a pressing need, first formally identified in the literacy classes, for pre-school classes. Many young women have asked to put their young children in preschool centers while they’re busy making a life for themselves and their families. Thanks to the Abengourou Montessori Training Center, half of the villages will have trained preschool teachers in the next two years.

(From left to right) Fanny Saraho, IFESH,CI Country Representative; Rose Myriam Donatien, IFESH IEFA; Carol Guy-James Barratt, Montessori Program Director for the Peter Hesse Foundation; Lynne Nadia Aime, IFESH IEFA Montessori Project Executive Director; Germain N’Zi, Montessori Project Administrator representing NGO GLUHNAU based in Switzerland), Shandra Jacinth (Montessori Trainer), Christine Konate (Preschool Education Advisor, Abengourou).

HIV/AIDS Conference:
A HIV/AIDS conference was organized on December 12, 2008. The conference was facilitated by IEFAs with the support of ONUCI, DMOSS, CTAIL, Ruban Rouge, Regard Plus, NGO “Terre des Hommes”. It was an initiative of the Technical School (IETP) in conjunction with St. Joseph’s High School.

There were 801 students present with delegations from local high schools’ health clubs. The sensitization was done through sketches, interactive presentations, and Q&As with group leaders and students. The voluntary testing was a clear success. For the first time, 99 young people took responsibility to get tested. During a rap session, students candidly talked about their struggle finding ways to communicate with parents and elders on issues such as healthy sexual behaviors versus abstinence. After the conference, IFESH was invited by other school representatives and students to participate in upcoming events they plan to organize throughout the community and at other schools.

Dramenkro spoksperson relays message from village

Message to the World Cocoa Foundation
By Jean Luc Konaté

We the people of Dramanekro are very grateful for the visit of Mr. Charles Feezel from the World Cocoa Foundation and the IFESH team. The organization has brought in blessing to the cocoa-farming community with the adult literacy program that gave us access to education by teaching us how to read and write and the opportunity we never thought would come.

Today, the women, men and children can now recognize their names when written. Access to education is the future for us, especially our children who are our future leaders.

With the intention of your organization in building a school that will allow our children to attend school closer to home rather than travelling to Kodjina, which looks close, but is yet so far, on our part, we will make all efforts to make sure that our government plays its role by providing teachers for the school you plan to build. Again, thank you for coming to our rescue. As of now, we are literate, not only can we carry out certain monetary transactions by ourselves, but it has also helped us to follow the instructions in improving our cocoa-farming methods by the proper use of farm input and techniques. We wish you a pleasant trip back home.

IFESH IEFA staff and volunteer pose for photo with residents of the Sokoura Village. Jean Luc Konaté (Far right), the chief’s brother in Dramanekro said “the ECHOES program has already made a difference in our lives. We all have access to basic education now, our children are in security and women are no longer worried by their presence in the street.”