Programming Part VI: Faraja Support

The Program

Faraja Trust Fund is a major partner of ours in Morogoro (our office is in their office) and we do a lot of work with them. The idea of this program was for us to provide support in several capacities to Faraja. There were several tasks that we were to be asked to do: 1) help with updating their website; 2) Help with creating and editing an English newsletter; 3) Help with finished a project that was started in the last phase that revolved around students taking pictures and writing stories to go along with them); 4) Doing general office work.

My Job

Before I even left Canada, I was asked if I was able to help with the website. Though my skills are somewhat basic (just take a look at Michael Without Borders), I offered to help in any way I could. I was also asked to help out with office work. The other two projects have yet to start (and since it’s our last week here, I doubt they will).

Challenges and Successes

This program has been pretty much non-existent. We never got a response from the previous web developer so I was unable to even try to help with updating their website. The English newsletter never materialized, and the stories were all in Swahili and not yet translated so we couldn’t do anything with them. On two occasions I completed some office work (and Nicole helped out as well), but that was more than a month ago. Since then, all three of us have asked repeatedly if there is work for us to do and every time we get told to “Come back next week.” So that’s where we stand.

Though this program is far from glamorous, it was something that I was in a small way looking forward to. It was something tangible that I could help out with. I’m a little disappointed that we were unable to do the work, but on the flip side, I don’t think it’s the end of the world.