Entry: David Noyes, World Cocoa Foundation

On March 26 a team from the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Acquisition and Assistance in Washington, D.C. visited communities participating in the World Cocoa Foundation's ECHOES program in the Western Region of Ghana. ECHOES, which began in 2007, was extended for an additional two years with new funding from USAID and World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) member companies. I joined the team on their visit to Nkonya and the Watico teacher training college in Sefwi Wiawso. After a few brief introductions, we set off for Nkonya where we were met by Bernice, the Winrock field agent based in Nkonya. We met in front of the recently completed ICT-enabled community resource center (ICT stands for information and communications technology) and the newly-renovated Junior High School classrooms. Bernice gave us a quick summary of the work that she and ECHOES partners from IFESH and World Education have been carrying out in Nkonya:

• in-school and out-of-school agriculture and life skills training,
• adult literacy training,
• teacher training,
• family support scholarships,
• classroom refurbishment, and
• the ICT resource center.

A member of the USAID team with out-of-school youth program graduates

After this introduction, we moved on to meet the large group from the community that had assembled to greet the visitors from Washington, D.C. Community leaders, teachers, students, and others from the community were all seated under the large tree just behind the new resource center. The team from USAID was quite surprised to see such a large welcoming committee! After taking our seats, we were welcomed to Nkonya with a short speech by a female student from the 7th grade class who has also been participating in the ECHOES agriculture club. Agriculture club members learn practical aspects of cocoa and vegetable farming, as well as other skills such as public speaking and debate. Prior to ECHOES, it would be very difficult to find a young female student in Nkonya who would have the courage to speak before such a large crowd. The agriculture club performed a choreographed dance routine before we moved to formal introductions. I was given the opportunity to speak about the ECHOES project and thank the community for their enthusiastic reception and for all the work they have done to improve education in the community. We then gave the team from USAID a chance to address the crowd as well. They expressed their appreciation for the warm welcome and they said they were happy to see the impact that USAID funding was having in the community. They also expressed the hope to continue working together in the future.

We had a few more exchanges with the communities members, including a word from the chief, thanking USAID and ECHOES for all the support they have brought to Nkonya, and then moved on to observe some of the results of the project. We stopped by the ICT-enabled resource center, the Junior High School classrooms where students demonstrated what they have been learning in agriculture, and the school demonstration plot. At the demonstration plot, we were joined by a graduate from the out-of-school youth agricultural livelihoods program under the first phase of ECHOES. In the second phase of ECHOES, a new group of out-of-school youth will be trained in improved cocoa and food crop farming. However this new group of youth, with the support of the Winrock field agent, will be trained by graduates such as the one that joined us at the demonstration plot. The youth explained to us how to correctly plant cocoa, including the proper tree separation, the types of trees to use for permanent shade, and leguminous trees for improving the soil. We had a few more stops along the way back to the school and then it was time to head back.

We made a brief stop by the office of the district director of education for the Sefwi Wiawso district. The district director has been a strong supporter of ECHOES, and told the team from USAID that he hopes to work with ECHOES partners to see how they might replicate the project themselves in other communities in the district. We finished the visit with a stop by the Watico Teacher Training College where IFESH volunteers are working together with the principal and other instructors to bring improved teaching abilities to pre-service and in-service teachers and administrators.

Before the team moved on to their next destination, we sat down to a brief meal. I asked them of their impressions from the visit. Overall, they were very impressed by how involved the entire community was in the project and the level of engagement people there seemed to have. I agreed and noted that community involvement has been one of the key features of the ECHOES project. We have found that by involving the entire community from the beginning, we can make the project not only more successful, but ensure long-term sustainability as well.