This project is to buy 154 carts and 154 shovels for Gongqing Village for collecting yak dung and carrying yak dung from livestock yards to the place where the dung is dried for fuel. This saves women’s time and reduces women’s workload. It also increases the efficiency of women’s work. Village women’s health condition will be improved because they won’t have to carry heavy yak dung on their backs. Village women will have more free time to spend with their elderly parents and take care of their children. The percentage of school enrolment will likely be increased because families won’t need their children to help mothers with house chores. The quality of education will be improved because children have more time to study.

Shem’s Private Donor Mr. Hans funded this project

Shawo Dolma is from the 5th group of Gongqing Village, Duofudun Township, Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. She is working toward her BA degree in the English Tibetan Department at Qinghai Normal University.

What? Bought 154 carts and 154 shovels for Gongqing Village,Duofudun Township, Zeku County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China.
Who? The people of Gongqing Village in Duofudun Township, Zeku County,Qinghai Province.

Photos of project implementation

The project manager at Xining wholesale market, purchasing carts and shovels. The project manager chose the best quality carts and shovels and the shopkeeper gives her an invoice and warranty for the carts and shovel. 

   Two local villagers and three clerks load the carts in Xining on February 7^th, 2012.  Because of the weather, they were very cold. They loaded until 10 pm.

   The truck moves slowly in the snow, and has almost arrived at the village.
   
The truck arrives in the village at 8 pm, February 10^th, 2012.  All the villagers wait and they are very happy to see the carts and shovels. They unloaded all the stuff from the truck and placed the carts in a big yard, but the wheels and other small items were stored in a room.
   
The project manager pays 3,900 RBM to the driver and the driver is counting the money.
   
The three group leaders discuss the distribution of the carts and shovels.
   
After dividing the carts and shovels into groups, all the villagers from those three groups came to take the carts and shovels.
   
A villager from the 5^th group counts the axles to help their group distribute them.
   
Several villagers from the 5^th group try to assemble the carts.

   A village woman called Yede happily bringing her cart home.

   Many local women give Kha tag to the project manager as thanks and took pictures with her.
   
The group leader from the 7^th group puts his fingerprint on the name list paper.
   
The three group leaders give the local contribution to the project manager.
   
A village woman called Sangmao uses the new cart to carry dry yak dung to the family yak dung yard.
   
 A village woman uses the shovel to collect wet yak dung with her cart.
 

Project summary 

Project title: Carts and shovels project for Gongqing Village.

Project goals: To buy 154 carts and 154 shovels for Gongqing village for collecting yak dung and carrying yak dung from the livestock yard to where it is dried, in order to reduce women’s workload, and give women more free time to spend with their elderly parents and take care of their children.

Location of project: Gongqing Village in Duofudun Township, Zeku County Huangnan

Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.

Total beneficiaries: 737 people benefited from the project 

Implementation organization/individual: Sha bo sgrol ma (Zoe), Jiezen (village leader) , and Shem Women’s Group

Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group

Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received

Shawo Dolma received 45,928 RMB (80% of the project funds) from Shem Women’s Group on January 10^th, 2012, and received 11,482 RMB (20% of the project fund) after the project manager implemented the project successfully, which was on March 9^th, 2012.  

Details of project activities

Originally planned project activities:

1. Contact Gongqing villagers; ask and find out their biggest need. (done)
2. Hold a meeting with the villagers and village leader to collect the information about the project. (done)
3. Find the price of materials. (done)
4. Ask permission from the government. (done)
5. Write proposal. (done)
6. Go to village and discuss with the villagers about how to purchase the materials. (done)
7. Get funds. (done)
8. Purchase the materials in Xining. (done)
9. Carry the equipment back to the village. (done)
10. Distribute the carts and shovels to the villagers. (done)
11. Take pictures of the project after it is completed. (done)
12. Interview the villagers to see the impact of project. (done)
13. Write the final report. (done)
14. Send final report with receipts and pictures. (done)

Project Finances:

Note: The actual total cost of the project is 74,965 RMB, and the total donor contribution is 57, 410 RMB. The actual local contribution is 17,055 RMB (in the proposal, the local contribution was 14,830 RMB), but during the project the transportation fee was a little higher than before due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was winter and snowing all the time. Only a few trucks were willing to go at that time. Furthermore, the road from Rebgong to the village was very bad, so the driver said it costs 3,900 RMB, so the village leader and project manager rented only one truck to transport all the stuff.  We were lacking 2,225 RMB; thus, the village leader asked villagers to contribute more than what I wrote in my proposal because of the change in transportation costs. In the original budget, each family needed to contribute 96.3 RMB, but in the actual cost, each family contributed 110.8 RMB, which is 14.45 RMB more than the original budget.

Delays, Difficulties, and Lessons Learned

Delays
The project manager planned to do this project before the New Year, but because villagers were busy with preparations, and because of bad weather, she was not able to undertake the project prior to the New Year.  
 Difficulties

The project manager wrote the proposal in 2009, and her project was funded in 2012, during which time the transportation fee increased; thus, the project manager had to ask  for more local contribution. In the village there are nine groups, so the project manager asked the village leader to choose the poorest three groups in the village. Also the village leader discussed with other group leaders, and they found that the 1^st, 5^th and 7^th groups had more disadvantages than others including: poor economy, education, and environmental condition. But when distributing, those villagers who did not receive the carts and shovels complained. The project manager explained the reason and told them that the three groups needed more help than others and also told them that if there was another chance to do other projects in the future, they would have a chance to benefit according to their family conditions. Finally, all the villagers agreed with that.     

Lessons Learned
The project manager learned that she could complete a project, even though she is a girl and others didn’t believe that she could successfully do the project. There were many carts and shovels of different qualities and prices, and it was important to be acquainted with the goods. Through these experiences, the project manager became more confident in herself.

Interviews

Genzang Dolma
Genzang Dolma is about forty-five years old, she is from the 7^th group in Gongqin village. There are seven people in her family; her father is about eighty years old and she has four children, two daughters and two sons. Her older daughter is about nineteen years old and got married last year. Both her sons attend school and they don’t have time to help their mother. However, the youngest daughter helps her mother, even though she is only eight years old. Genzang Dolma said that she needs to do all of the housework in her family, so she needs her daughter’s help. But she said she is illiterate, she has never been to school so she wants her children to get an education. However, she couldn’t send her daughter to school, because of her family needs. She said she has to get up very early every day to milk all the yaks, and then spend a long time collecting yak dung. Moreover, her father can’t eat a good breakfast without her. Before this project, she said that the most difficult and least efficient work she had to do was to collect yak dung with her hands, she always wished that there could be someone else to help her and save time. Now she says that her problem has been solved; now she has more time to take care of her eighty-year-old father. Also, = now her husband can also use the cart and shovel to collect yak dung because they don’t feel embarrassed with carts and shovels. Now the daughter can also attend school like her brothers. She was very grateful to the donors and also Shem Women’s Group. She said she will always remember their kindness.
  

Da rai ji 
Da rai ji is from the 5^th group in Gongqin Village, and she is around 37 years old. There are eleven people in her family and her family’s condition is very poor. Her father died when she was young and she lives with her mother and younger brother and sister. they Everyone in the family still lives with their 63-year-old mother because she is sick. They have to take care of their mother all the time, so they live together. She said that she has four children, two daughters and two sons, but she gave one of her children to a relative since her husband said that he can’t support such big family, so he decided to give his daughter away. She didn’t complain about her husband’s decision because her husband thought that she had to do a lot of housework, such as milking and collecting yak dung. Her oldest daughter and sister can help, but she always does it by herself. She has never been to school, she also doesn’t know the benefits of education, and when she saw the project manager with carts and shovels, she didn’t believe that she could do such a great thing– she was very surprised.  When she received a cart and a shovel, tears fell from her red cheeks and she repeated only one word: “thanks”.  After I explained about Shem Women’s Group and about the project, she also thanked the donor and Shem Women’s Group, and her family will pray for the good luck of the donors every day. 

Gongbao jia 

 He is from the 7^th group in Gongqin Village. He is around 24 years old. There are three people in his family, including his wife, son and him. He was very happy when we arrived in Gongqin Village. He helped to unload carts and shovels from truck and he said that this time, a young girl did a such great thing, and the boys from Gongqin Village felt embarrassed that they didn’t do anything for their village.  He was also very happy because his family needs a cart and shovel. His wife gave birth before the New Year, so in his family, he has to do all the housework. He can do everything, except collecting yak dung, because in Gongqing Village men never collect yak dung. Traditionally, people have the idea that it is shameful for a man to carry a basket. But with this project, he can also help carry yak dung because he doesn’t feel embarrassed by using a cart and shovel. 

Name list of the recipients

 
      Thank you Letter

   
(1) Translation

Dear Shem Women’s Group,

First, I represent all the villagers of Gongqing Village to say thank you very much for this help. Our village is a very poor village. There are nine groups in Gongqin Village, and all the people lead a very simple life; our economic condition is very poor, and we have no income from official jobs because most people in Gongqing Village are illiterate. Especially the people from 1^st, 5^th and 7^th group, they really don’t know the importance of education, so they think sending children to school is not necessary.

However, the distribution of carts and shovels will increase our income, and with the carts and shovels we can save many daily life problems. For example, economic problems, women’s health problems and lack of education. So we feel so grateful for all your help.

From all villagers

February 29^th, 2012

(2)   Translation

Dear Hans and Mr. Wang,

First, I represent my entire village to say thank you from our heart for your donation to the 1^st group, 5^th group and 7^th group of our village. In our village, more than ninety percent of the villagers are illiterate, especially women. There is a very big gap between men and women. Most villagers think that girls don’t need to go to school and they should marry early and do housework. However, this project changed many things, like villagers began to value girls’ education. They can do such great thing when they get an education. Also most of us now realize how important education is.

Finally, please accept all of our best wishes for you two.

All the villagers of Gongqing Village
February 29^th, 2012

The List of Receipts

Receipt #1

Receipt for the carts and shovels, which is 70,378 RMB in total.
Receipt #2

(1)   Two tickets from Reb gong to Xining, 68.6 RMB in total.

(2)   Two tickets from Xining to Rebgong, 68.6 RMB in total.

(3)   Receipt for Taxi in Xining, 10.0 RMB.

In total, 147.2 RMB for project manager’s transportation fee.

Telephone fee：40.0 RMB (without receipt)

Receipt #3

Translation:
Today, I (Zhaxi) received 3,900 RMB from the project manager for transporting carts and shovels from Xining to Gongqing Village.

Driver: Zhaxi

Track No: 青 D. O2089

Date: Feb, 11th 2012

This project is to buy 56 solar cookers for Dor ra Village in Guide County, in order to decrease women’s burden as well as families’ burden,and improve villagers’ (especially women’s) health condition by using solar cookers instead of wood, yak dung and coal. 

Shem’s Private Donor Ms.Jane Robinett funded this project 

 Jiakmotsering is from Gnyan Tog Village, Rebgong County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Currently, she is studying for her master degree in Qinghai Normal University. 

What?   To buy 56 solar cookers for Dor ra Village in Guide County. 
  Who?  418 people in Dor ra Village. 
Photos of project implementation

These are the solar cookers that were bought from the Gansu Liuji factory on May, 20^th,2012. The solar cookers were transported in two shipments. The factory transported 25 solor cookers the first time, and the second time they transported 31solar cookers. There was a heavy rain before the solar cookers were transported, so the factory manager refused to transport them to the Dor ra Village. They unloaded the solar cookers onto the ground in Laxiwa Township.

The weather became warm and the villagers prepared to transport them to the village. The solar cookers were guarded by a local government worker called Badma during the days when it was too rainy. 

  In this picture the village leaders and the drivers are discussing how to transport and how much they can transport at one time. The rest of villagers went to the mountain top because there was a grassland conflict between villages and they went to negotiate with other villages, the village leaders were having meeting in the local government on this day. After the meeting we started to transport the solar cookers to the villagers.

 The village leaders and the drivers load the solar cooker on the truck. They found that they can only put ten cookers on at one time.
 
The project manager is riding on the villager Rta mgrin rgyal’s motorcycle and has set off from township to the village.  

The villager Rta mgrin rgyal and the village vice leader Lhun gru install the solar cookers properly and this is the family yard of Rta mgrin rgyal. 
 
 

After putting the solar cooker in the family yard they put a black pot on it to try the solar cooker. The solar cookers stayed on the government ground for five days and mud is sticking on the cooker.
 
The project manager is reporting the whole process of the project for the village leaders and how they should use it properly and sustainably.  The villagr leader Dor ji is putting their village’s stamp on the appreciate letter and the project manager is showing the right place to stamp on.   

Project Summary 

Project title: Solar cookers for Dor ra Village. 

Project goals: The immediate goal of this project is to buy 56 solar cookers for Dor Ra Village. 

The overarching goal of this project is to decrease women’s burden as well as family burden, and improve the villagers’, especially the women’s health condition by using solar cookers instead of fire wood, yak dung and coal. 

Location of project: This project is located in Dor ra Village, Laxiwa Township, Guide County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai province. Dor Ra village is about 242 km away from the provincial capital, Xining. 

Total beneficiaries: This project will directly benefit 56 households with 418 people in this village. 

Implementation organization/individual: Shem Women’s Group, Jiakmotsering (Kristina), village leader Dorji and villager Qumei. 

Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group 

Email: info@shemgroup.org 

Phone: 0971-6302115 

Funds received:   

This project was funded by Jane Robinett. Jiakmo Tsering received 9,651 RMB from Shem women’s group on May 14^th, 2012, which is 80% of the funds. The rest 20% received on June, 10^th. 

Details of project activities 

Originally planned project activities: 

 1. Have a meeting with the family leaders (men and women) to collect information about their urgent needs and biggest problems. (Done） 

2. Choose three people to take responsibility for any kind of work related to the project. One is the village leader Dorji. Another is a man named Chu me. Another one is a village woman named Lhatso. (Done) 

3. Find the solar cooker company and choose good quality solar cookers and secure the price. （Done） 

4. Collect the information from the village .（Done） 

5. Get government permission. (Done） 

6. Hold a meeting with the village leaders and discuss each person’s specific responsibility. 

7. Write the proposal. 

8. Receive funds. 

9. Purchase the solar cookers from Gansu Solar Cooker Factory and arrange the transportation. 

10. Distribute the solar cookers to the village. 

11. Hold a meeting with the villagers to see the progress of the project. 

12. Take photographs and interview the recipients. 

13. Send final report to the donor with pictures and receipts.     
Actual activities:
1. Have a meeting with the family leaders (men and women) to collect information about their urgent needs and biggest problems on March 1^st 2011 .（Done） 

2. Choose three people to take responsibility for any kind of work related to the project. One was the village leader Dorji, another, a man named Chume, and another one, a village woman named Lhatso on March 9^th 2011.(Done) 

3. Find the solar cooker company and choose good quality solar cookers and secure the price on March 10^th 2011. （Done） 

4. Collect the information from the village on March 11^th 2011 .（Done） 

5. Get government permission on March 12^th 2011.（Done） 

6. Hold a meeting with the village leaders and discuss each person’s specific responsibility on March 13^th 2011. （Done） 

7. Write the proposal on March 20^th 2011. （Done） 

8. Receive funds on May 14^th 2012.（Done） 

9. Purchase the solar cookers from Gansu Solar Cooker Factory and arrange the transportation on May 20^th 2012.  （Done） 

10. Distribute the solar cookers to the village on May 29^th 2012. （Done） 

11. Hold a meeting with villagers to see the progress of the project May 30^th 2012. （Done） 

12. Take photographs and interview the recipients on May 30^th 2012. （Done） 

13. Send final report to the donor with pictures and receipts on June 5^th 2012.   （Done）  

Project Finances: 

Originally the donor needed to provide 12,000 RMB; actually the donor provided 12,051RMB. Additionally, the villagers planned to contribute 1,200 RMB in total, but in actual they had to contribute 3400 RMB, because the price of the solar cooker increased from 200 RMB to 275 RMB.  

A translation of the names in English

Delays

Difficulties
The difficulties that the project manager faced are: firstly, the project manager found that the prices of the solar cookers were changed after she received the funds, so she was unable to implement the project as originally planned. Secondly, the solar cooker factory manager didn’t provide the solar cookers on time, so the project manager made many phone calls requesting him to be on time. Thirdly, the weather delayed the whole project process, and the project manager wished there would be a sunny day and had to constantly check the weather forecast. Lastly, the village leaders went to dig caterpillar fungus and the project manager was unable to make phone calls to them constantly. So, the project manager emphasized that the villagers should contact the manager constantly. From those causes, the project manager realized that it’s very hard to control all the facts and accomplish a project with no difficulties or obstacles.  

Lessons learned
While implementing this project the project manager learned that it’s very important to be ready for any accidents or changes, for example, price changes or a bad weather. Additionally, the project manager found that it’s very important to communicate with Shem Women’s Group if she has any difficulties and problems, because they will help to analyze the difficulties and give suggestions. Finally, the project manager found that it’s very necessary to have a meeting with the villagers and elder people, otherwise villagers do not know who is doing a project and who is really helping them. So, it’s very crucial to  expain things very clearly to the villagers.  

Interviews

He is a villager of Dor ra Village, his name is Rta mgrin rgyal. He came to Laxiwa town for helping transport the solar cookers to the village. He says that the solar cookers will helped them to save their time, especially right now, the villagers are digging cater pillar fungus on the mountain, so it’s very convenient and useful for the elders who are staying at homes. 
 
He is the village vice leader named Lhun gru, he says it’s a big help for them to have solar cookers, because he states that nowadays the price of coal is rising, so solar cookers are a fantastic tool to replace wood and coal. 
 
He is the highest villager leader in Dor  ra village, his name is Dorji. He also helped the project manager to inspect the village situation. He says it’s their pleasure to have this warmth help. It not only solves their current problem—lack of fuel, but it also helps people to know that there are always some kind people on the world to help us. So, the villagers need to know how to help each other. It is very important and crucial.  

His name is Badma. He helped the solar cooker transporter to unload the solar cookers in Laxiwa Township. He says that it’s a very generous thing to provide that amount of solar cookers to a village. He hopes that the villagers will know the value of this treasure gift and be grateful for the donor and Shem Women’s Group.
 
This old man is also a villager of Dor  ra. He, on behalf of all the villagers says thank you to the donor and project manager. He says it’s very amazing that a female student could help a village to do a project. He hopes that every college student can be that useful for their hometowns. He says he will educate villagers to treasure the solar cookers and use them properly.   

Letter of appreciation  

Translation 

Thanks Letter 

 Dear donor Jane Robinett and Shem Women’s Group: 

      This time you generous people extend a warm arm to us. The solar cooker really make half of our dream come true. Simultaneously, again we want to say a sincere thank you for you. 

     Our village is located on a mountain top and is a less developed farm village. Additionally there are no adequate advanced living properties, so the situation of the village is very pitiful. Fortunately, we got your modern equipment—solar cookers which contribute to our life and make our living condition more convenient. Existence of the solar cookers makes it possible to do other work and reduce our home task time, and also we don’t need to go for fuels. All in all, it’s really made life more convenient for villagers. 

     So, here again we feel gratitude to the donors and sincerely say a thank you very much for you. Lastly we hope all your things go well and all your dreams come true. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          From all Dor Ra villagers, 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              May 31th, 2012 

Receipts 

 This is the receipt for the solar cookers. The total number of solar cooker is 56 and one costs 275 RMB. In total they all cost15,400 RMB. The factory is called Liuji factory and it is in Gansu Province. 

 These two are the tickets of project manager’s bus fees to and from Xining city and the project site in Guide County. One ticket costs 25.6 RMB and both are 51.2 RMB. This expense is from donor’s extra RMB. 

This project is to purchase 35 solar electricity-generating panels for earthquake victims in Zhaxidatong Village, Gyegul Township, Yushu County, Yushu TAP, Qinghai Province; to bring stable light in their tent- homes and help to reduce the burden created by the earthquake, to endow them with a hope for better recovery from the damage, and to empower women and children by providing adequate information access and a proper living environment.

Norlha funded this project

Basam Drolma is a local from lower Menzong Village, Gyegul Township, Yushu County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. She graduated from Qinghai Normal University in 2008. Having grown up in a rural Tibetan area, and having majored in English and Tibetan language with development studies and sociology minors in school, she holds a deep interest and obligation toward the development of rural areas. She joined Shem as a member in 2007. She worked for a local NGO dedicated toward livelihood improvement of a rural Tibetan area in Ganzi Prefecture from 2009 to 2010. Finally, she is currently working for FFI on a Tibetan project, the Community Grassland Project, which mainly undertakes grassland conservation and sustainable management projects in Yushu nomadic areas.

What? To purchase 35 solar electricity-generating panels for earthquake victims in Zhaxidatong Village, Gyegul Township, Yushu County, Yushu TAP, Qinghai Province; to bring stable light in their tent- homes and help to reduce the burden created by the earthquake, to endow them with a hope for better recovery from the damage, and to empower women and children by providing adequate information access and a proper living environment.

Who? 35 households with 318 residents in Zhaxidatong Village, Gyegul Township, Yushu County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. 

Photos of project implementation

The project manager, Basam Drolma, is visiting the solar panel company and discussing solar panel quality and price with the boss of the solar panel company.

 

The solar panels are being transported to the project site from the delivery centre of Yushu County (temporary site established after the earthquake).

The solar panels are being transported to the project site-Zhaxidatong Village and unloaded by the villagers.

The project manager is discussing with the local leaders how to select the poorest households for the project.

The project manager is acting as an interpreter to explain the instructions and brand of the solar panel.

Solar panels are being distributed to the 35 recipients selected in accordance with village data and by a village meeting.

Solar panel powers a 21in television and villagers watching a Spring Festival Program through Kangba TV (Tibetan language program) in the tent home.

A child is watching a solar panel powered television during daytime.

 

Life has become more convenient with permanent lights in the tent-home, and especially helps women doing house chores. (The photo was taken at night)

Having good solar panels in the tent home, life is more hopeful for elders and students.

 

Solar panels not only provided lighting and access to watch television for recipients when they are living in tents, it will also provide them lighting after they moved to new houses. Students will have a healthier and brighter study environment; it facilitates them finishing heavy homework loads without worries of not having enough light.

 

Solar panel displayed outside to absorb sunlight

Project summary

Project title: Solar panel project for Yushu earthquake victims in Jiegu County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Project goals: This project’s goal was to provide 35 solar generating electricity panels in order to bring electricity and information to the most vulnerable earthquake victims of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Furthermore, it will endow them with a hope for better living condition and empower them to recover from earthquake damage by providing adequate information access and proper living environment.

Location of the project: Zhaxidatong community (referring namely to Mengzong and Xihang villages) is located in the northern part of Gyegul Township, Yushu Prefecture, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. It is about 896 kilometers from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai Province. Zhaxidatong Community is the most damaged area by the 7.1 level earthquake that happened on the 14^th of April, 2010.

Project beneficiaries: This project directly benefits 35 Tibetan households with 318 people whose lives has been damaged by the earthquake and who are financially vulnerable.

Implementation organization/individual:
Zhaxidatong Committee, Basam Drolma and Shem Women’s Group.

Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group
Email: info@shemgroup.org

Phone: 0971-6302115

Funds received: Source, Amount, and receiving Date
Norlha funded this project with a total amount of 95,083 RMB.

The project manager Basam Dorlma received 76,066.4 RMB from Shem 

Women’s Group on January 17th 2012 as the first installment. 

And Shem Women’s Group gave 19,016.6 on April 26th 2012 as second

 installment after she submitted the final report. 

Details of project activities

1. Called the village leader and informed the project approval
2. Phoned the village leaders to update them about the situation on the project site to check if the project could be implemented, especially considering the road conditions. 
3. Contacted Shem office and confirmed the start date of the project
4. Contacted village leader to provide the household living condition data
5. Contacted village leader to discuss the data and the pre-selected 35 households
6. Confirmed the poorest 35 households as solar panel recipients through interviews and inquires
7. Called the village leader to collect the local contribution and asked him to meet in Xining to go purchase solar panels
8.  Traveled to Xining, met with Shem, and received the donor contribution 
9.  Met with village leader and confirmed the purchase company through comparison of the quality and price of several different companies.   
10. Confirmed that Tianyu Solar Panel Company would be the best and met with the head of the company, Zhang Tianrui(张甜睿), ensured the price, the quality, and grantee of the solar panels.  
11. Signed the contract and purchased the solar panels.
12. Discussed the date of solar panel transportation from Xining City to Gyegu town, Yushu County.
13. Transported 35 solar panels from Xining City to Gyegu Town, Yushu County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
14. Solar panels were transported to project site from the delivery company.
15. Held meeting with the receivers and village leaders to distribute the 35 panels to 35 households and explain to the donor instructions and guarantees.
16. Informed the donor and Shem about the date of distribution.
17. Travelled to visit the receivers and conducted interviews.
18. Went to town to scan photos and receipts.
19. Met donor and updated them about the implementation progress.
20. Contacted Shem about the project progress and explained the reasons for delays.
21. Translated interviews and the villagers’ thank you letters.
22. Updated and collected materials from village leader and solar panel company.
23. Worked on the final report.

Project Finance  

All figures are in Chinese RMB
Note 1: The original donor contribution proposed in the action proposal was 91,000RMB, and local contribution was 14,000, which means that each household of the 35 recipients needed to contribute between 400RMB and 300RMB for one solar panel. However, as discussed with the villagers, they think it is difficult for some families to contribute such amount particularly after the earthquake, they don’t have any valuable things left. Because this issue was reported to the donor before the project fund installation, the donor, Norlha, agreed to raise the donor contribution. The actual donor contribution was 95,083RMB, thus it helped to reduce the local contribution to 280RMB. In addition, the actual price of each solar panel was bargained down to 2930RMB from 3000RMB, (the former price discussed). Therefore, the actual budget of the 35 solar panels was 35sets*2930RMB=102,550.  
Note 2:  Before the earthquake happend, delivery companies were located in Geygul Town, with free deliver of goods from the company site to the project site if the goods were valued more than 2000 RMB.That mean this project costs more than 2000RMB and they will deliver solar panels to the project site for free. Therefore, the original budget did not include the cost of transportation by the delivery company to the project site. However, after the earthquake there was only one large delivery company located in Yushu, located 5 km away from Gyegul Town. Therefore, we rented a medium truck to transport the solar panels from the Delivery Company site to the project site-Zhaxidatong Village. Without a planned budget for this unexpected cost, the project manager Basam Drolma called the village leader and discussed the issue with him. The village leader discussed the issue with the local receivers and they proposed for the Village Committee to pay for the medium truck that cost 167RMB as local contribution was only enough to pay 33RMB of the total 200RMB.

Note3: The actual cost of the project was: 35 solar panels: 35sets*2930RMB =102,550+ Transportation from Xining to Yushu 2,000RMB+Transportation fee from delivery company to project site-Zhaxidatong Village 200RMB+Management fee 300RMB=105,050RMB+Shem’s Management fee 500RMB=105,550, in which the donor contributed 95,083RMB, and local contribution amounted to 9,800RMB(280*35) ,Shem’s management fee was 500RMB and the Village Committee paid 167RMB (83.5%) of the transportation for the medium truck (200RMB).List of the recipients:

Names lists in English
Zhaxidatong Village  

Group 1                                   Karma Jyimid KarmaNangwang Suonam Yongtse Mehla Dorlma Pasam Dorlma Tsering Chotso Yama Tseyang Drolma Tashi Yangtse	Group 2 Suonam Tashi Tashi Jyuni Suonam Tsejyi Karya Dawa Dorlma Gelun Kunchok Gyamb Suonam wangmu
Group 3 Duojyi Tsering Tsewangmu Kadolr Yangtse Tsering Dorlma Dorlma Dekyi Tashi yongtso	Group 4 Tsering SanDumb Dawa tsering Sangjyi Jyamyang Tumden Mehmar Tsering Yundhun SuonamZangmu Suonam Bajyi Nima Dolrma Renchi Yangtse Wujin Tsering Chuka

Delays, difficulties and lessons learned

Difficulties:

Despite having implemented small-scaled development projects dedicated toward poverty relief and basic needs of rural villages in marginalized Tibetan Areas since 2005, this was the first project that I implemented where I faced some serious difficulties.

The project started as scheduled. I used my winter vacation and arranged with the village leader that on the 20^th of January that we would visit the solar panel company, and intended to purchase 35 highest quality panels at a competitive price. Regardless of research done ahead of time, we visited three companies to compare the quality and price because it had been almost two months since I checked the solar panel company called Tianyu Company. After spending two and a half days of bargaining and looking at these solar panel companies, our decision went to Tianyu Company( 天宇光伏有限公司) because they have superior quality solar panels and it is the largest company among all these solar panel companies.

Solar panel companies closed for Spring-Festival.
However, one problem was that the company was going to soon close for the Spring Festival holiday and many workers had already left. In addition, the financial system of the company had been cancelled temporarily because they had been working on the annual audit and tax accounting. 

Price and receipts
As stated in the application, we hoped to buy solar panels that could charge adequate amount of electricity, could power a 14-21in television and can easily charge radios and flashlights. However, the price of the solar panel with such quality cost more than our budget allowed. Although we discussed it several times with the head of the company, we told her the solar panels were to help poor families in the earthquake site. Eventually, she agreed to bargain from 3000-2930 rmb.
However, the company was under a financial audit at the time when we were purchasing solar panels, thus they cannot provide the formal receipt right away.In addition, they told us that the time to provide us the formal receipt is still unknown as they also don’t know how long the audit and annual financial accounting will take. Therefore, we asked them to post the formal receipts to me when they can. As a result, we ask them to provide us hand-written receipts with stamp and a note to send the formal receipts later, but it took almost a month and half to receive the formal receipt. Transportation needed to delay due to number of reasons
Transportation needed to delay due to number of reasons
After we agreed upon the price and receipt issue of the solar panels, transportation was the second task. However, as mentioned above, the workers of the solar-panel company had left home for the Spring Festival; the good quality solar panels required professional installment, so the project needed to wait for the technician’s return. In addition, all public deliveries had been stopped during the New Year time, and the heavy snow even stopped individual deliveries (trucks). However, the company agreed to deliver the solar panels as early as possible. The heavy snow remained for about 2 weeks before and during the Spring Festival. Eventually, the 35 solar panels arrived to Yushu on February 10^th, delivered in the first truck delivery from Xining to Yushu since the Spring Festival Holiday. (We finished purchasing on the 23^rd of January)  

Interviews and photograph taking was time-consuming and difficult due to the earthquake resettlement
Since the earthquake happening till now, building of new houses for the recipients of Zhaxidatong village has not been completed. Villagers are still living in the tents, dispersed. Some households got pieces of land to pitch tents in the designated resettlement areas, but some families have moved to remote nomadic areas, seeking adequate land to accommodate the big families and livestock. After the distribution, the project manager rented a taxi to travel around to the solar panels recipients to interview them and take photos. The project manager spent a whole 4 days on this task. 

For the families who moved to remote nomadic areas for temporary resettlement, I asked our village leaders to take the photos and send them to me. However, none of the village leaders or recipients had a digital camera and there was no internet in those remote nomadic areas. The few photos taken from these remote areas needed to be transported to Gyegul Town first and then sent to me when there was internet. In total, the photo taking and complete interviewing had taken around 12 days.    

Village leader was busy with earthquake reconstruction work and had no spare time to support and provide materials for the report and receipts
As I had offered  Zhaxidatong Village Committee the chance to participate in the project directly, they played major roles in the project. As expected, the village leaders of Zhaxidatong, Gamawengci, Jamga and Zhouzhang have provided effective support towards the project mainly in purchasing, transportation, recipients’ selection, and distribution. However, they were too busy to assist me with updates and reports because they had many meetings and tasks assigned to them with re-construction works. Therefore, they did not provide me with the “thank you letter” with village stamp at a scheduled time. In addition, the village leader Gamawengci was unfortunately very sick and hospitalized in Xining for half month. I had to urge them almost on daily basis for the stamp and thank you letter. For the lower tax receipt, the company required many different procedures such as a contract and village stamp as well. I had to start on getting the receipt on March 31^st  after our village leader became available.  

All above factors restricted on-time submission of the final report
All above mentioned difficulties have affected the major implementation of 35 high quality solar panels being distributed to the 35 poor households. Furthermore, these restrictions have delayed the overall implementation period and report submission.  

For instance, I was not able to write the report without having enough materials. The transportation had to wait for the resuming of deliveries and for good conditions on the road from Xining to Yushu. The receipt and thank you letter needed to wait for the stamp of the village committee.   

Positive Outcomes:
Regardless of the difficult processes encountered during the implementation of the project, we have purchased the highest quality solar panels within our budget and have distributed them to the families. This is what I feel most proud of and most satisfied about. This solar panel is has been approved by and has a quality guarantee from the National Energy Department, National Finance Department, and National Technology Department, with a guarantee of ten years. This solar panel not only can power the light for households during night, but it can also charge a 14-21in television and the washing machine, radios, and heating tools etc. My sincere acknowledgement goes to Norlha-Donor, Shem Women’s Group, the Village Committee, and my family.

Lessons learned: 
The main lesson I have learned from this project implementation is that it is very difficult to implement projects after the earthquake because all social services have been destroyed and have not been resumed properly. This restricts implementation of projects for the short-term, and implementation takes longer than normal.  

I also found that the larger solar power companies require complicated procedures, which have both advantages and disadvantages. Procedures guarantee for long-term usage and after-services, however, it’s difficult for a remote village committee to fulfill their requirements effectively.    

Moreover, although it is a convenient time for members who already have a job to choose the annual holiday around the Spring Festival to conduct off job projects, it isn’t the best time for purchasing and arranging transportation. Many companies and delivery systems are closed during this period.  

Interviews of the recipients:


Tashiyangtso(f. b. 1942) lives with her 76-year old husband Tashiwangden, who is a disabled man. All of their three children have married out. They have been burning oil-lamps since the earthquake. They lost three grand children and their adobe-made house was totally flattened by the earthquake. Recently, one of their granddaughters came to live with them because she can use the solar-panel energy to do homework in her grandparents’ home. This old couple does not have any income source and depends on the donations from other villagers. Their rich neighbor has given them the furniture and the TV because the neighbor has moved to Xining.

 

Suonam wangmo, is the poorest among the 35 poor households selected. Her husband was a farmer and an alcoholic, but he died in the earthquake, leaving his wife with two children. Suonam Wangmo’s oldest son (25 years old) has a psychological problem and he has become a thief in the town. Unfortunately, he was arrested and sentenced for five years of imprisonment. The daughter has dropped out of junior middle school last year due to her poor health condition. Suona Wangmo is now working as a door guard and cleaner for a private company and she hopes that soon her daughter can go back to school with her mere income.

 

Gelek (33 years old) is a farmer who married a woman from the same village in 2009. He was pinned by the roof of his house when the earthquake happened; he saved his three-year old son, but severely injured himself. Their house totally collapsed. His wife, Drolma Wengmu is still under medical treatment as her waist was broken during the earthquake. Drolma wengmu’s father and brother were killed in the earthquake. The family works for construction usually, but Dormawngmu is no longer able to engage in heavy work. Gelek hopes that his wife can get better and he works as hard as he can to earn living. Having received the solar panel, it’s easier for Dorlma Wangmu to take regular care of her waist, especially at night.

 

Melha Dorlma, is 56 years old. She lives with her daughter. There were 7 people in Tsomo’s (the daughter) family. Tsomo and her husband are farmers; their second daughter was killed in the earthquake. Their four children are all under the age of 12. They said “we have never imagined to have solar panels in our home even though we had seen some other rich families who bought solar panels ever since the electricity was cut after the earthquake”. They have been burning candles and sleeping early every night to save the money needed for candles. They don’t have a TV yet, but said they will buy a radio soon.  

Translation of the thank you letter

 Original copy from the Village Committee
Translation to English  

The respected Donor -Norhal and Shem Women’s Group:Firstly, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all your help! You brought the light to our darkness and gave us hope. Since the earthquake took our families, homes, and light, you are the only ones who have brought us the light. Thank you again!Our life has been inconvenient and we have endured suffering without having a regular light and life is miserable, especially for us who live in the tents. We haven’t had information access, we don’t hear the news, people got sick by burning candles for a long time, many tents caught on fire from burning oil-lamps, students couldn’t study on a regular basis, women and elders suffered from doing house chores in the dim-light of candles. Moreover, it’s difficult for us to buy candles and oil for long periods.

Now, with your help, we have permanent light, which is free and environmentally friendly, we can watch TV, wash clothes. Besides, students, women, and elders have a comfortable living environment. For poor households like us, whom have no stable income access, we can continually use the solar panels after the re-construction of Yushu, as prices of everything gets rapidly higher, we could not afford to pay for the expensive electricity bills. However, having solar panels now it saves us money too.

For all benefits you brought to us, I can do nothing but say, “Thank you very much! We won’t forget your help!”

        Zhaxidatong Village Committee, Gyegul County,Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

                                                                                                                                                                   2012.3.30

Receipts:


 Purchase receipt from Tianyu Company of Xining (35sets*2930rmb/set=102,550rmb)

 Transportation fee from Xining to Yushu (Transported by the Tianyu Company delivery)
 

Management costs include 100RMB( Hotel stay in Xining), 100RMB of Taxi fee in Xining city and 100RMB of phone fee.
 

This is the transportation fee from the Delivery Company to Zhaxidatong Village amounting in 200RMB, in which 167RMB was paid for by the Village Committee.

This project is to host a women’s health training for around 200 women in Stagrig Village, to raise local woman’s health care awareness,to promote the importance of health knowledge and prevent these women from gynecological diseases, as well as introduce the local government policies about free treatment services open for local village women.

Shem’s Private Donor Mr.Hans funded this project

Kajee gyal is from Stagrig Village, Shar Long Township, Guide County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, PR China. She completed her bachelor’s degree in English at Qinghai Normal University. Currently she is working at the Qinghai Tibetan Research Association.

What?

To host a women’s health training for around 200 women in Stagrig Village,

To raise local woman’s health care awareness,

To promote the importance of health knowledge and prevent these women from gynecological diseases, as well as introduce the local government policies about free treatment services open for local village women.

Who?

Women in Stagrig Village, Changmu Township, Guide County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province of China.

Photos of project implementation

The project manager is explaining the project costs and the funder of this project.

This is the first day of health training. Doctor Lhamu sharing her experiences and introducing the free treatment servecies for local women as well as encaurge them to go to official hospitals, it could help them to save money and not to get cheated by non-govermental hosipitals. In order to have an effective training, the doctor and village women have to talk face to face.

Under the local village leader’s support, we got a comfortable house to host the training. Doctor Wo Xiuji is using microphone to teach about health problems.

Doctor Wo Xiuji is using PowerPoint to show relevant health pictures and give detail explanation to villagers. All participates from this village paid great attention to these pictures and this is their first time to receive such training in their life.

Doctor Wo Xiuji is asking questions to village women in order to let all the participants get involved in this training.

Some villagers are taking picture with Doctor Lhamu and the project manager Kajee Gyal. The village women’s leader offered Kadagk as the representative of all the participants to respect and appreciation of the doctor. (Kadagk is a traditional Tibetan special scarf which showing Tibetan people’s pure heart, and honest, sincere respect for an important guest).

Some of the villagers are helping to distribute hygiene materials with project managers.

The project manager and local women’s leader distributed all the hygiene materials for village women in this picture.

The village women and Doctor Wo Xiuji in this picture.

Project Summary

Project title: Health Training Project for Stagrig Village in Changmu Township

Project goals: The immediate goal of this project is to host a two-day health training and distribute hygiene materials to villagers, then let them understand health knowledge’s importance through the training. The overarching goal of this project is raise village women’s health awareness and improves their health condition.

Project location: The Stagrig Village is a semi-nomadic village located in Shar Long Township, Guide County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, PR China. Stagrig Village is about 8 kilometers away from Shar Long Township, and there are approximately 160 households and 868 people in Stagrig Village: 320 women, 368 men and 180 children.

Total Beneficiaries: 200 women directly benefited from this project since they attended the training got all the training materials and listened to the doctor’s presentation. 120 women indirectly benefited from this project, though they didn’t attend the training, they will get the materials health training content from the village women’s leader.

Implementing organization/individual: Kajee Gyal (project manager), Duomacuo( Women’s federation President), Jiulu (Stagrig Village leader), Wa Majia (Vice Leader of Stagrig Village) and Shem Women’s Group.

Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group

Email: info@shemgroup.org, kalwangjyid@yahoo.com

Phone: 0971-6302115

Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received

Kajee Gyal (Project manager) received 10,192 RMB (80% of project money) from Shem Women’s Group on January15th, 2012, and received 2,548RMB (20% of project money) April 18th, 2012 since the project manager implemented the project successfully.

Details of project activities

1. Met the village women’s officers and discuss women’s health problems.

2. Learnt about common women’s health problems by talking to Dr. Suonantso at the Kojima training in 2009.

3. Discussed project experiences with Pda Ma Skyida who graduated from Qinghai Medical University.

4. Discussed the project with the village leader and other small group leaders. Decided where to hold the training and who will be the participants.

5. Interviewed with village women about the health problems they have.

6. Contacted one of the women doctors who work for women’s health.

7. Contacted Doctor Rina Chena Tsho, who will give training to the village.

8. Found the price of materials for the training

9. Wrote project proposal.

10. Received funding.

Activities realized in the framework of the Project:

1. On January 18th, 2012, contacted village women’s leader Mrs. Zhuo Macuo to discuss the start date of the project

2. On February 15th, 2012, contacted both doctor and village leader Jiulu

3. On February 16th, 2012, prepare announcement of the health training

4. On February 18th, 2012, purchased materials in Xining

5. On February 20th, 2012, transported materials to Guide County

6. On February 24th, 2012, transported materials to Stagrig Village

7. On February 25, 26th 2012, host two- day training for the village women

8. On March 4th, 2012, interviewed some village women about the impact of the training

9. Wrote final report and send to Shem on March 22, 2012

Project Finances:

Note:

1. The total cost for this project is 14,450RMB which is 410RMB over than the original budget. Among this 410RMB, 310RMB is lacking from the donor contribution and 100RMB from the local contribution. The participants in this training were agreed to contribute small amount of money to cover the lacking amount, which is 410 RMB.

2. All the receipts for hygiene materials included tax fees.

3. The project manager expected there would be around 320 participants in Stagrig Village and prepared materials for 320 women, but there are only around 200 participants, other women were not available to attend the training at that time. Therefore, the village women’s leader will be in charge of the rest of materials and give them to the women who were not able to attend this training and teach the content of the health training.

Delays, Difficulties, and Lessons learned

Delays

The start date of the project was delayed for one month, because when the project manager received the funds, it was nearly New Year. During these days the villagers were preparing for New Year, doing things such as purchasing New Year goods, which kept them very busy. Traditionally Tibetans spend almost 20 days to celebrate New Year, so the project manager had to wait in order to have an affective training.

Difficulties

First, the project manager wanted to hold this training as early as possible even though the New Year was close, so after received funds from Shem Woman’s Group, the project manager wanted to transport materials from the market first, then discuss the next step. However, unexpectedly many shopkeepers closed their stores because of the New Year. Thus the project manager had to wait until the shops reopened. Second, the project manager had high expectations for this training. She prepared a computer and projector to host this training to make it more effective. But the day before she arrived to the local village the doctor and project manager found out that the computer was not able to show a Power Point which made both of them disappointed, but fortunately they got help from one of doctor’s friends who is good at fixing computers, so they were able to show the Power Point in the village. The last problem is that it was snowing the day before project manager’s departure to Guide County. But the project manager already decided the date of the training and the village women were waiting. As a result, the project manager and doctor took one of the few buses. And it was very late when project manager arrived at Guide County.

Changes

There were two small changes with this project. Firstly, according to original plan the project manager only planned to invite one doctor to host the four-day training, but after discussing it again with more villagers, the project manager decided to invite two doctors from two different level of hospital, because the villagers didn’t have much time to attend this training and also the doctors had tight schedules, too. Doctor Lhamu from the People’s Hospital of Guide County and doctor Wo Xiuji from Tibetan Hospital of Qinghai Province participated in this project. Another previous plan was to buy toothpaste and toothbrush, but after discussed with more villagers, all the people agreed to buy pants and towels instead to buy toothbrush and toothpaste, because they thought pants were more useful than toothpaste and toothbrush. Thus, the project manager agreed with villagers’ suggestion.

Lesson learned

In this training, the project manager has learned several important things. Firstly, the language is very important to communicate with local people, because recently, there are not many Tibetan doctors in our local county. On the other hand, most of the government trainings or meetings use Chinese, so it is hard for the local people to understand. So we had to find a doctor who can speak Tibetan to ensure the local women understand the content.

Secondly, cooperation is very important while doing community project. From this training the project manager learned how to cooperate with official leaders, and it is important to let relevant leaders know what the project is about and exchange opinions or get their suggestions before the implementation of the project.

Thirdly, it’s better to contact village women’s leader to discuss the project implementation. She has more experiences than the project manager. In this training the project manager learnt that the village women’s leader could play an important role, because she has ability to make village women follow the training. For example, participate, respect doctor and keep quiet while the doctor is speaking and so on.

Letter of Appreciation from Stagrig Village

The translation of thank you letter

Thank you letter

Dear Mr. Hans and Shem Women’s Group:

  Recently we received health training in our village. The training provided valuable knowledge for local women regarding women’s health problems. In our life, we have neither seen and nor heard about this kind of training for women. Thus, as the repretentative of the village, I must thank the donor and Shem Women’s Group, because this training made local women braver and more open than ever before. Moreover, we can spread this valuable information to other village women and our friends. We are glad to see that after this training, some of our village women who participated in this training went to local hospital and provincial Tibetan hospital to check their health. Therefore, this training made remarkable achievements for the whole village women. Lastly, I would like to say thank you again and wish your work became more fruitful and hope you can keep doing such great project in the future.

Sincerely,

Zhuo Macuo

March 10th, 2012.

The list of Receipts

Receipt # 1

100 RMB for materials transpotation fees from Guide County to Stagrig Village.

Receipt # 2

300 RMB for doctor’s taxi renting fee between Guide County Town and Stagrig Village for two days.

Receipt # 3

400 RMB for two doctors’ training fees for two days.

Receipts # 4

Basins payment 2560 RMB in total

Receipts # 5

Pants and towels cost 7040 RMB in total.

Receipts # 6

This receipt is for Fu Yanjie (medicine) and the total cost is 2400 RMB

Receipts # 7

(1)

Project manager visited the project site before the project implementation to discuss the project implementation date with the villagers. This cost 70 RMB

(2)

Project manager and doctor’s bus tickets from Xining to Guide County, which is 50 RMB.

(3)

Project manager and one doctor’s bus ticket from Guide to Xining, 50 RMB

(4)

Project manager and doctors’ meal fee on Guide County Town, 34 RMB.

(5)

Phone charge for project manager during the project implementation, 50 RMB

(6)

Taxi fees for project manager during the health training materials booking and purchasing. It is 19 RMB in total.

In total, 250 RMB from the Donor and 200 RMB from local village were spent on project management.

This project is to to provide 21 solar flashlights to12 old people and 9 children who are very poor in Lo rta Village.

Naljor Prison Dharma Service funded this project

Rig skyid is from Lo rta Village, Lo rta Township, Ngawa County, Ngawa Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China. Currently she is studying at Qinghai Normal University 09 BA class.

What? This project is to provide 21 solar flashlights to12 old people and 9 children who are very poor in Lo rta Village.

Who? The 21 poorest people in Lor rta village

Contact Information:

Contact Group: Shem Women’ s Group

Email: info@shemgroup.org

Phone: 0971-63-2115

Project location

This project was implemented in Lo rta Village, Ngawa County, Ngawa Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China.

Brief Description of the Project Implementation:

Before winter holiday on the 6^th of January 2011, the project manager took 21 flash lights from Shem Women’s Group to give to villagers who are poor, old and in bad condition.

There were only 21 flashlights, so the project manager had to choose the poorest families/person to give the flashlights to as Shem requested. The project manager talked to her parents about the villagers’ condition to get a basic idea about the poor families in the village, so the next day she could choose better beneficiaries with the village leader. 

On the next day, the project manager went to see the village leader to discuss the project implementation. The village leader was very happy about the project and he said he will try his best to help the project manager to organize and implement the project. They chose 21 of the poorest people from the village and decided to give the flashlights to them. As soon as they came up with the decision, village leader and project manager informed all the villagers to come together and announced the project and the final decision. The project manager told villagers about the reason for choosing these 21 people as well as where the flashlights were from. Twenty one households were selected based on the following reasons: firstly there are six old women (Tse ring sgron, Zom ko, Bkr go, Lo yag, Ye xes sgron, Kunbzang.) from Lo rta Village who get sick all the time such as headache and they need to buy medicine often, plus they can’t work. Secondly there are three young women (Sko mo, Yar msto, Kun dga sgron) who are widows, they have children but they are living by themselves and everything depends on themselves. Thirdly, an old man (’og go) who has two children and he is divorced. His two children are with him and he is supporting their school fees and life. Another three men (Rig rgl, Tse ring nor bu, Chos rgyn yag ) are from poor families who don’t have young people to labor to earn money for the family. Fourth, other people (Gnas brtn, Lha skyid, Klu sgub, Lha ’tsam, Bkr te, Bde legs, Snang mo, Tse lu) are also from poor families without young people in the family, and also they have many children to go to school and no more children stay home to help do house work.

The villagers were happy about the decision and they said it was the right decision.

Those 21 flashlights were given to those poorest people in front of all the villagers after the announcement. And all the villagers were happy about it, especially the beneficiaries. After the distribution of flashlights, the project manager explained to the villagers again where they were from and how to use them. The villagers are very thankful for Shem and the Donor.

Project result:

After implemented the project, all the villagers said thanks for helping us, and the solar flashlight can not only protect environment but also save money for them. They also said that Lo rta Village is a remote area that transportation is also not convenient. Thus, to buy batteries for normal flashlights costs a lot of money, is not convenient and destroys environment by throwing away the used batteries. But these solar flashlights don’t have these problems, so it is very useful and helpful for nomads.

Photos of beneficiaries:

All the recipients are in this picture.

The women who is closer in the photo is Yis xes smmron and she is a hardworking woman. She only has one daughter and her husband passed away when she was 30 years old.

Yokor is from a poor family and she is forty-seven years old. She has seven children and four of her children are going to school. She is a hardworking woman for her family, especially for sending her children to the school.

He is a primary school student and his family has several children going school. He is good at study.

The Name-list of beneficiaries:

List of the beneficiaries:

Thanks letter

Thank You Letter Translation:
Dear donor and Shem Women’s Group,

Firstly I would like to say thank you very much on behalf of Lo rta villagers for your kind help.

Lo rta Village is in a rural area, and transportation is not convenient, people only earn small incomes from herding and farming, and also there is not much help from outside organizations. So this time the Donor and Shem Women’s Group helped us with their kind heart and gave us these solar flashlights which can save us money, not be harmful to environment, and also are very convenient to use. Therefore, the villagers highly appreciate your kind help.

Finally, I wish the Donor and Shem Women’s Group would succeed everything they do.

Village leader: Chos mchog

February 18^th, 2012

This project is to provide twenty-one computers and one projector to Yushu Profession and Technology School. The goal of the project is to recover the school’s normal education after the earthquake, improve the school’s condition, and also to motivate students’ interest in learning and widen their knowledge..

Norlha funded this project

Wende Drolma is from Yushu County, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province. She graduated from school in 2008 and currently she is an English teacher in Yushu Profession and Technology School.
What? To provide twenty-one computers and one projector to Yushu Profession and Technology School. The goal of the project is to recover the school’s normal education after the earthquake, improve the school’s condition, and also to motivate students’ interest in learning and widen their knowledge.
Who? Yushu Prefecture Profession and Technology School, Qinghai Province, PRC.
Photos of project implementation

The computers were received two days earlier in Yushu, so the project manager Wende Drolma asked her brother to transport the computers from the post office to her home first. In order to hurry up with completion of the project, the next morning the computers were transported to school first to do the installations and set ups. The photo was taken that morning. The computers were piled at the outside of the tent and ready to transport to the school.

The computer shop owner said that it is better to purchase a branded computer which is factory packed rather than a DYI computer, which is assembled by the computer sellers. He told the project manager that the DYI computers crashed easily, since those PCs were made up of different brand components. Therefore, the project manager decided to purchase an original branded computer.

When the project manager visited the school on the third day after the transportation of the computers to school, the students were having computer class.

The project manager talking to the school general affairs chief director and school vice head master about the computers’ configuration and warranties.
Project summary
Project title: Computer Project for Yushu Profession and Technology School
Project goals: to provide 21 computers and 1 projector for Yushu Profession and Technology School. Implement this project to recover the school’s normal education after the earthquake and improve school’s condition. Also to motivate students’ interest in learning and widen their knowledge and better prepare the students either for higher learning or future jobs.
Project Location: This project is located in Yushu Profession and Technology School, Gyegu Town, Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The project site is about 800 km away from Xining City, the provincial capital city. The school is located at the west end of the town.
Total beneficiaries: This computer project directly benefits over 400 students and approximately 50 teachers in Yushu Prefecture Profession and Technology School. This project also benefits 2018 students who have been transferred to other areas after the earthquake and are returning in July this year. In addition, every newly enrolled student also benefits from this project.
Implementation organization/individual: Wende Drolma (Project Manager), Cosima Thommen (Norlha Organization) and Shem Women’s group.
Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group
Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received
Wende Drolma received 57,210 RMB from Shem Women’s Group on April 19th 2012, which is 80% of the funding for the project. The remaining 20% of the funding will be received on the completion of the project.
Details of project activities
1.Discussed the problems of the school with the teachers, and decided what can be done to alleviate these problems.
2.Talked with students about their essential needs.
3. Visited the school to collect information about and for the project.
4. Discussed the sustenance of the project with the teachers and school master.
5. Asked the school leader to get official permission to carry out the project.
6. Took pictures of the school conditions.
7. Researched the price of materials in Xining.
8. Wrote project proposal.
9. Received funding from donor.
10. Collected local contribution.
11. Purchased computer and the projector from Xining.
12.Transported the computers to the school through post office.
13. Held a meeting with the school teachers.
14. Installed the computers and took pictures.
15. Interviewed the teachers and students to assess the success of the project.
16. Wrote final report to donor.
Project Finances

*Note 1: The project manager was able to negotiate with the computer seller to install all the necessary computer programs. And the school teachers were capable of setting up the computers by themselves and they did not need to ask an IT expert to set up the computers. So the school saved 800 RMB instead.
*Note 2: There were unexpected transportation costs. The computers were transported through a post office. And the computers had arrived in Yushu two days earlier than the project manager, thus the project manager had to spend 120 RMB to transport the computers from the post office to her home first. The project manager negotiated the situation with school leaders and they agreed to pay for this expense.
Delays, Difficulties, and Lessons Learned
Delays
According to the agreement between Norlha and Shem, the project has to be implemented in April. However, the project manager received the funds for project at the end of April. Thus the project was started in April, but was not able to be completed until early May.
Difficulties
Generally, this project was successfully completed. However, there are some small difficulties encountered through implementation of this project. First, the project manager Wende Drolma does not have knowledge of computer quality. When the computer sellers stated to her about the computer quality information and its configurations, she did not understand much about this information. So she had to spend almost three full days doing a market research on computer quality information. Second, she also doesn’t know about computer pricing, so she had to ask the computer prices from dozens of shops to get a fair price. Third, there were several unexpected prices that she did not include in the original budget. However, after the project manager negotiated with the school, they paid for the expenses.
Lesson Learned
Recalling all the process of implementing this project, there were several precious lessons that the project manager has learned.
The project manager learned that it is always very important to update Shem and the donor about the project and its condition. That of course requires the project manager’s frequent visit and communication with project beneficiaries. In this case both the donor and Shem would have a very clear concept of the project situation.
The project manager realized the importance of making a detailed budget of the project. Always think very carefully about all possible expenses. It is very inconvenient to negotiate when the expense was not included in the original proposal.
In addition, the project manager has realized the importance of asking when she is making the transportation of the computers. Usually it takes about a week to receive a material that has been transported from Xining to Yushu. However, the computers were received two days after she made the transportation. And she was not back to Yushu yet, so she had to arrange another person to transport the computers to the school.
Interviews

Teacher Menlha
She has been working in Yushu Prefecture Technology and Profession’s School since she graduated from her school. She said, “I have observed the changes and all difficulties that our school had come through. Before the earthquake we had a fine library and a medium computer room. However, the earthquake was like a nightmare, the only difference is that we did not wake up from it and we are still in this nightmare. The earthquake destroyed everything, all the teaching equipment; it even killed students’ motivation and inspiration. It was very sad that students’ smiling face was like a lost memory and it has disappeared since that day (April 14, 2010). I always wished that I could see their smiling faces again. Currently, as the school condition is getting better, they have more choices for learning strategies. I think this can help them erase their bad memories and raise their interest in learning. More over, using multi-media in classes is always helpful in terms of inspiring students’ motivation in learning.”

Teacher Tseren Suonan
He is Chief of School General Affair and also a computer teacher. As I interviewed with him about this computer project, he responded, “First, because of the earthquake the school has lost everything and it has caused great loss on school’s finance. It was great pressure on school’s finance to purchase all the teaching equipments that are needed and required for a higher learning institute. Contribution of this project has surely released some finance pressure for our school. Second, our school consists of TV University and Vocational School, and for both schools IT is one of the most important courses for the students. However, our school was not able to provide them with all the computers that are required in this situation. And by completing this computer project you have solved one of our urgent problems. Therefore, we really feel very thankful to the donor and Shem for arranging this.” According to a small quiz that he had given to students, about 60% of the students know how to start and shut down a computer. However, when it comes to more detailed questions like saving a file or creating a new file, 87% of the students are unable to do these things. He said, “This indicates that most of the students had some access to computers, but they did not receive systematic teachings of computer course.”

School Secretary Mr. Danba
He is the school secretary. When the project manager told him that the donation was made by Norlha, he was surprised, and he said, “Is that a Lama from somewhere?” I explained to him that Norlha is an organization based in Switzerland and it is mainly implementing environmental projects in the Sershul area. Then he nodded but with a hesitating expression. “It sounds like a Tibetan name,” he said. I nodded and then asked him about what he thinks of this project. He said: “Firstly, we thank you, because this project is needed by our school. As you know our school is the only higher learning institute in the whole Yushu Prefecture, and we really have a great ambition of raising some great talented students from our school. But since the earthquake, we have lost all we have and we could not recover the normal classes. And sometimes, I even feel very guilty, because we could not teach them much, since we lack the equipment. Only by teaching them with books and without any actual practice on computer, especially for computer classes, students are not getting anywhere. So it is really important that we have the computers now. And I extend my gratitude to the donors.” Then he was trying to print out something from his computer, but unfortunately, his computer crashed at the moment. He said, “Oh, these computers are really getting old and maybe we should go to the computer room to use the computers that you have donated. I have checked the configurations of those computers. They are really much better computers.”

A young student of the school
When the project manager entered the class room, the students were having computer class. They were trying to type some words and phrases on the computer. This young boy had immediately caught her attention, because she saw him trying to type with one hand. So asked him if had any chance of using computers before. He smiled very shyly and lifted his right hand and scratched his head timidly and answered, “Yes, I have, but not very often.” “Have you had any computer classes before?” she asked. And he answered, “Not before.” She waited for a little while expecting him to say something more, but he didn’t. So she asked again, “Do you like computer class?” He smiled again and said with little loud voice, “Yes, very much.”

Thank You Letter from the school

Translation of the Thank You Letter
Dear Norlha and Shem Group:
Our school was seriously damaged in terms of life and property, due to the devastating earthquake in Yushu. All the former equipments the school had was completely damaged in that earthquake. Teaching equipments, including multi media and computers, were totally damaged and we lost everything. With this situation our school wasn’t able to restore the normal classes. More over, the teaching was not high quality due to the lack of teaching materials and equipment. Currently, with our effort, the school condition is getting improved; especially with the donation of 21 computers and 1 projector from Norlha and Shem, our school condition is greatly improved. Therefore, we especially thank you for your help and we will certainly use the equipment.
Yushu Prefecture Technology and Profession School
May 4th 2012

The list of Receipts
Receipt # 1

There are in total seven receipts for computers. Each receipt is 9,000 RMB, and the total amount is 63,000 RMB.
Receipt #2

Receipt for projector, 5,000 RMB in total.
Receipt #3

Receipt for computer transportation from Xining to Yushu, 700 RMB in total.
Receipt #4

Receipt for project management expenses, 300 RMB in total.
Receipt #5

Receipt for round trip from Xining to Yushu, 400 RMB in total.

This project is to distribute second-hand clothing in order to improve the living condition of the poorest families in Bar skor (Waku) Village.

Steve & Ligaya funded this project

Drugmo Jay is from Bar skor(waku) Village, Bis mdo(Wendou) Township, Zhon ha(Xunhua) County, Mtsho shar(Haidong) Region, Mtsho sngon(Qinghai) Province, China. Currently she is a student of 09BA class, Qinghai Normal University.

What: To distribute second-hand clothing in order to improve the living condition of the poorest families in Bar skor (Waku) Village.
Who: 15 people from 5 poorest families in Bar skor Village, Wendou Township, Xunhua County, Haidong Region, Qinghai Province, China.

Contact Information:
Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group
Email: info@shemgroup.org
Phone: 0971-6302115

Project Location: The project took place in Bar skor (waku) Village which is located in Bus mdo (Wendou) Township, approximately thirty kilometers southeast of Zhon ha (Xunhua) County, Mtsho shar(Haidong) Region, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, China.
Brief Description of Implementation:
This project was implemented on January 17th, 2012. It was during winter holiday for schools in China. For distributing the clothes, firstly, the project manager and the village leader asked the villagers which families had little income and which families were unable to earn money. Secondly, the villagers and village leader chose the five families that are extremely poor according to the economic situation. They are poor because some of the family members had become seriously sick and therefore can’t do any difficult work, so they don’t have any stable income source. After the five families were chosen, the project manager took the clothes to those families and distributed to them. They were very grateful for this project, especially children and old people.

Photos of the beneficiaries:

His name is Mgon po rgyal and he is thirty-six years old, his father died many years ago. His mother always does work inside and outside of family. And he helps his mother on work such as farming and feeding livestock, and also takes care of his mother. He has two sisters and he sent them to school, the older sister has graduated from university, and other younger sister is studying in a high school in Reb Gong County.

Her name is Byms ba mtsho, she is a middle school student, and now she is studying in Xunhua Tibetan Middle School. She is twenty years old. Her father is very old, and can’t do any work, she has two sisters and one brother, all of them are studying in in Bar skor Primary School, and the old sister is studying at a university.

Klu mo mtsho, her husband passed away when she was young, she is fifty-six years old now and she can’t do any heavy labor because she has a backache. She can’t see very clear, so she had an operation with her left eye last year, but now her right eye also can’t see. She doesn’t have any children, so her life is very hard.

His name is Dgon ba and he is eleven years old. Currently he is in primary school in Wendou Township. He was very good at studying and has great filial piety for his parents. His brother is studying in Xunhua Tibetan Middle School. He is very excited to get these clothes.

Her name is Snying mot she ring, she is twenty- three years old. She takes care of her parents and grandfather. Her grandfather is ninety-two years old and always gets sick. He can’t hear and can’t see; usually he is in the bed. Her parents also get sick and can’t do any heavy labor, so she had to stop going to the school. Now she helps her parents do house work and go out to earn some money from digging caterpillar fungus (a medical herb).

Interview:

When the project manager visited her, she was sick and stayed in the bed, She is seventy- six years old, her name is Snying mo dbal. “Do you often do the housework yourself?” she said “ she can’t see, can’t hear, and also always get sick, especially, her legs can’t move and can’t walk far, so she just stay at home and sometimes walk in the house and do some housework.” She has a son who also has a serious sickness that he can’t do any heavy labor, either. He is forty- six years old, and head of the family. And the two daughters married with men who are from another village. “Is your son married? “Yes, but his wife got a kind of disease several years ago. Her name is G.yng skyid. After that she has not been healthy, and she is very easy to get tired and get cold so she can’t do any heavy labor. But she must do most of the things for the family.” ” What do you think about this project? And does it help a little to improve your life? She said “yes, it’s very helpful and I’m very happy with such project. Because those clothes I can wear for two or three years, it helped me save money.

Klu mo sgrol dkar and sku mo sgrol ma: the project manager Zhoumaojia interviewed these two girls. Both of them are students and the old one is thirteen years old and the younger one is eleven years old. They are sisters and their parents went out and earned money by doing labor work in order to send them to school. This year, her father Rdo rle ` got sick and spent a lot of money in the hospital. Their mother needs to do all the housework for the family, and takes care of their grandmother. So the pillow under their hand is for their grandmother, and the trousers are for their parents, others are for themselves.

Mkhar mo byms: Her name isMkhar mo byms and she is seventy- three years old now. She only has a nephew who is twenty- three years old named Xa bo tshe brtan. She is living with her nephew now, the nephew goes outside to work and earn money for the family. She always gets sick and just stays at home. She has never bought clothes for her and her nephew; they wear the clothes given by other villagers or relatives.

List of recipients:

Recipients’ Name in English

Thank you letter

Translated Thanks Letter
Dear generous donors and Shem Women’s Group:
We are the villagers from Jikor Bar skor Village, Wendu Tibetan Township, Xunhua County, Haidong Region and Qinghai Province. This village mainly depends on farming. However, the prices of goods and food are getting higher and higher these days. Thus, most families in this village are poor and some families can’t afford clothes. Fortunately, Zhoumaojia brought us this Second Hand Clothes Project for the five poorest families in our village and it improved their living condition. This is a great help for our village, therefore, we are writing this thank you letter on behalf of all the villagers. Finally, we wish you succeed in everything you want and live a long life.

March 17th, 2012
Limo Drolma from Wakor village wrote this letter on behalf of whole villagers.

In addition to staff training and project evaluations, Shem completed many projects in 2011. They include the Solar Panel project for Zhuwo Village, Health Training Project in Saisang Village, Book and Computer Project for Hor Nag Primary School, Plough Machine Project for Hor Village, Cow Project for Lha Khang Village, and Threshing Machine Project for Heluoshi Xuma Village.

View full report

This project is to buy 20 threshing machines for six villages in Jialaxi Township to alleviate the village women’s workload and furthermore to improve family living condition.

Shem’s Private Donor Mr. Hans funded this project

Tashi Hlamo is from Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. She graduated from Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department English Training Program in January 2008. Now she is a teacher in Ari Zha Primary School in Shiqu County Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province.

What?  Purchase 26 threshing machines for the six poorest villages to alleviate village women’s workload, and to improve families’ living conditions in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

Who?  Six villages, including Rala Village, Xide Village, Regan Village, Gagandi Village, Walo Village and Niuri Village in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

Photos of project implementation:

The project manager choosing the best quality of threshing machine and electric motor with the boss of the threshing company in her office.

One of Walo Village’s leaders (also a project manager), the truck driver and the project manager check the machines and make sure there are no problems, making sure the company exchanges the machines if there is any problems before loading them into the truck.

 4000W top-quality electric motors

Workers loading the machines onto the truck 

Covering the machines with a tarp

There is heavy snow on the way to the project site, so the driver has to put chains on the truck’s wheels. The project manager and driver did not reach Kanding until midnight, having only one meal the whole day, because the road was so slippery with snow.

The threshing machines and the electric motors arrive at the project site, and the project managers distribute them to the villagers.

The project manager collecting beneficiaries’ fingerprints

The project manager explains the instructions and guarantee of the machines to the villagers. She also distributed the warranty papers.

Rala villagers (from one of the six villages) come to get the machines and the project manager explains the instructions and guarantee again.

The recipients load their own machines in tractors to transport them to their own villages.

Project summary: 

Project title: Threshing Machines for Six Poorest Villages in Jialaxi Township.

Project goals: Purchase 26 threshing machines for six villages to alleviate the village women’s workload and to improve families’ living conditions in Jialaxi Township, Xilong County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

Project location: This project is located in Rala Village, Xide Village, Regan Village, Gagandi Village, Walo Village and Niuri Village in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, PRC.

Total beneficiaries: This project directly benefited 453 people from six villages, including Xide Village, Rala Village, Regan Village, Gagandi Village, Walo Village and Niuri Village.

Implementation organization/Individual:

Tashi Hlamo (the project manager), the six villages and Shem Women’s Group.

Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group

Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received:

Tashi Hlamo received 42,960 RMB (80% of the project funds) from Shem Women’s Group on January 16^th , 2012, and received 9,741 RMB on March 19^th, 2012 after the project manager implemented the project successfully.  

Details of the project activities:

1. Discussed with the villages’ leaders and the villagers why they need threshing machines and how threshing machines can help them to thresh barley.  
2. Discussed with the villagers how three households would share one machine.
3. Figured out where to buy the threshing machines and the prices of machines at a company in Chengdu City.
4. Figured out how to transport the machines to the villages and the transportation fees.    
5. Wrote the project proposal.  
6. Received the funds for the project.
7. Purchased 26 machines from the threshing machine company in Chengdu.
8. Delivered the machines to the project site and distributed them to the villages; explained the instructions and the guarantee of the machine to the villagers.
9. Took pictures of the implementation.
10. Completed the final report.
11. Sent final report to Shem

Project finance: Notes: * +1,199 RMB was the remainder of the donor contribution of the project funds because the project manager purchased slightly smaller machines than originally planned because of the villagers’ recommendations. Out of 1,199 RMB, 200 RMB was given to Anai, whose mouth was injured during implementing the project, for his treatment fee, and the project manager also gave 100 RMB towards his treatment from her own pocket. The remainder of the donor contribution is 999 RMB.                                                                                        

Changes, Difficulties and Lessons Learnt:

 Changes:

    There were two changes to the project. Firstly, in the original proposal, we planned to purchase 20 threshing machines and 20 electric motors at a cost of 2,800 RMB per electric motor. However, the villagers said that in recent years, the electricity is not good so sometimes the there is not enough power to run a 2,800 RMB machine since it needs a higher wattage of electricity. The villagers suggested that the project manager buy a smaller electric motor which costs 2,070 RMB per threshing machine. The cheaper electric motor needs less electricity so it is more useful to the villagers. The project manager bought 26 threshing machines and 26 electric motors, which is 6 more threshing machines and electric motors than we originally planned. We also planned that each of three households would have one machine with one electric motor, but actually every two households received one machine based on their location (for some families, it is a very long distances between households).

     The second change is in the location of some of the beneficiaries. Originally, Gere Village was included in the six villages that would get machines from the project, but the villagers had a big conflict recently which is not about the project, and some people left because of this. In addition, some people from the village told the project manager that they could not share the machines with two or three households as planned because of the recent conflict. Therefore, the project manager decided to give the machines to another village named Xide Village instead of Gere Village because there was not enough machines for each family. Xide Village is Gere Village’s neighbor and the distance between the two villages is only about half of a kilometer. The living condition of the two villages is exactly the same and the number of households is also approximately the same.

 Difficulties:

The project was successfully completed. However, during implementation of the project, the project manager encountered some problems as following:

Firstly, when transporting the machines from Chengdu to the project site, it snowed heavily and the road became slippery so it took the truck much longer to get there. The driver and the project manager got very cold and hungry; they only had one meal for the whole day.

Another problem was that when the villagers were unloading the machines from the truck, unfortunately a villager named Anai’s mouth was injured by a machine. There is not even a single clinic in the whole township, so we tried to stop the bleeding and cleaned his mouth with white alcohol(白酒) and gave him Compound Aminopyrine Phenacetin tablets (pain killer去痛片), but it was difficult to stop the bleeding from his mouth. So the project manager immediately let one of Anai’s relatives send him to the county town hospital by motorcycle and she also gave him 300 RMB to see the doctor because Anai did not have money in his pocket at that time. Anai got a doctor to give him stitches for his mouth that day. After the project, the project manager still kept contact with Anai to ask about his heath and his wound was almost completely recovered within 15 days.

The last problem is that many people came to the project manager to ask for machines when she was distributing the machines to the six villages, and some locals even came to her home crying and asking for machines. The project manager told these other people that this time, it had already been decided that only the six villages could receive the machines and she will try to do a machine project for them next time. They finally understood that the project was only for the six villages and they stopped bothering the project manager, and they hope that the project manager can apply for machines for them in the future.

 Lessons Learnt:

 The project manger has done several projects so far, but through managing this project, she also has learnt and experienced different things than during her other projects, for example:

a)        It is very important to be careful to avoid people from getting injured during implementing a project especially during transporting things (loading and unloading things from trucks)

b)        In order to implement a project successfully, it is important to be flexible.

c)        To be strong emotionally is also very important to implement a project successfully.

List of the recipients:

Translation of the name list:

Thank you letter

Translation of thank you letter

Thank you letter

Dear donor and helpers,

Firstly, on behalf of all the beneficiaries of the six villages, I would like to say thank you very much for your compassion and kind help.

I am one of the village leaders and my name is A le. The six villages perch on high slopes of mountains. Our villages are living with very poor conditions and our transportation is not convenient. Therefore, we could not afford threshing machines until this year, and we have always faced the burden of threshing barley and wheat in autumn every year. Before the project, the villagers, especially the village women, needed to get up as early as roosters and go to bed as late as dogs to thresh barley and wheat by their hands for more than one month in every autumn of the year. However, with your kind support, every two or three households got a modern threshing machine, so from the autumn of this year, the women don’t need to spend as much time threshing barley and wheat as before and they can finish threshing in two or three days. This project releases our village women from their heavy burden.

Lastly, I faithfully say many thanks for your kindness and generosity again. Simultaneously we wish all your dreams come true and have a healthy and long life. Tashi Delek Shog!

From all the villagers of the six villages.
February 8th, 2012

The list of receipts:
Receipt #1

34,060 RMB for the threshing machines.

 Receipt #2

19,760 RMB in total for the electric motors.

 Receipt #3

6,500 RMB for the transportation fee of the machines from Chengdu to Xinlong (ID No. and contact number is also provided in the receipt above).

Receipt #4

The project management expenses:

It is 300 RMB for each person from Xinlong County to Chengdu by small car, so it is 600 RMB in total for two people (the project manager and one of the local project managers).

300 RMB for the hotel fee for three nights for two people in Chengdu.

It is 100 RMB for the hotel fee for one night for the two project managers in Kangding.

It is 100 (2×50Rmb) RMB for phone call fees during the implementation of the project.

81RMB (24+20+19+18) in total for taxi fees during the implementation of the project.

This project is to build a stable bridge, for Zhuang Guo Village in order to improve the living conditions for Zhuang Guo villagers by providing a safe and convenient way for them to cross the river.

Hans funded this project

Tashi Hlamo is from Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. She graduated from Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department English Training Program in January 2008. Now she is a teacher in Ari Zha Primary School in Shiqu County Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province.  
What?  Build a stable bridge for Zhuang Guo Village in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. 
Who?  Zhuang Guo Village in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
Photos of project implementation:

The cement for the bridge arrives at the project site and the villagers unload the cement from the truck.

Stones and sand for making the bridge foundation.

The villagers hire an excavator for about two hours from the County town to dig and flatten the bridge foundation.

The villagers make the foundation for the bridge with mixed cement, sand, gravel and stones.

The villagers mix the sand and cement for the bridge foundation.

The project manager visits the project and checks the quality of the bridge in the picture.

The two sides of the foundations for the bridge are in the picture.

The two sides are layered with some tree logs and some stone, which are the foundations of the old bridge in front of the newly built the bridge in the picture.

The completed bridge is in the picture. The bridge is very strong and sturdy. Motorcycles, tractors and trucks can drive conveniently through the bridge at any time.

Project summary:

Project title: Bridge Project for Zhuanguo Village

Project goals: to build a stable bridge for Zhuang Guo Village to improve the living conditions of the villagers by providing a safe and convenient way for them to cross the river.

Project location: The project is located in Zhuang Guo Village, Jialaxi Township, Xinlong (Nyarong) County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.  The village is about 11 km from Xinlong County Town; this is about 700 km from Chengdu City, the capital of Sichuan Province

Total beneficiaries: This project directly benefits 87 people from Zhuang Guo Village and the other five upper villages of Jialaxi, because every upper Jialaxi village has to cross the bridge to go to pray and offer sang for the mountain god every New Year. In total, about 280 people benefit from the project.

Implementation organization/Individual:

Tashi Hlamo(the project manager), Zhuangguo villagers and Shem Women’s Group.

Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group

Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received: Tashi Hlamo received 23,168 RMB (80 of the project funds) from Shem Women’s Group on April twelfth, 2011 and will receive 5,792.62 RMB after the project manager implements the project successfully.

Details of the project activities:

1. Discussed with the villagers why the village needs the bridge and collected information for the project.
2. Discussed the project’s needs with the village leader Tsering Tashi and decided what kinds of materials we needed.
3. Checked the prices of the materials.
4. Took pictures for the project.
5. Wrote the proposal.
6. Received the funds.
7. Held a meeting with the villagers to assign tasks for them.
8. Bought sand, gravel and cement and transported them to the village.
9. Built the foundation for the bridge with mixed cement, gravel, sand and stones.

10.  Placed wood logs on the bridge foundations with boards and earth.

11.  Completed the project.

12.  Interviewed the beneficiaries and took pictures.

13.  Completed the final report.

14.  Send final report to Shem.

Project finance:

Notes: L: local contribution D: donor contribution

Explanation: *-852.5RMB was not enough for the project due to the speedy increase of goods recently in China. Therefore, 852.5 RMB that was not efficient for the project implementation was paid by the villagers.  

Delays, Difficulties and Lessons Learnt:

Delays:

The project was delayed for about four months for the following three reasons: All the villagers were busy with cultivating their field lands when the project manager received the money for the project from Shem Women’s Group. Right after they finished cultivating, it was time for the villagers to climb mountains to dig caterpillar fungus. Digging caterpillar fungus is the main source of income for the villagers, so they had to go for digging caterpillar fungus. The last reason is that there was no enough time between the harvest time and the time of the villagers finish digging caterpillar fungus to implement the project completely for the villagers. Because of the above reasons, the project was delayed for several months. Finally the villagers chose the time after the harvest for the project and it was the best time for the villagers to implement it.

Difficulties:

The project was successfully completed. However, during the implementing of the project, the project manager had encountered a small problem. The problem was about the budget for the project, because the budget for the bridge project was made in 2008 and the project was implemented in 2011. Therefore prices for the materials of the bridge had changed and there was a big difference. Year by year the price of things rapidly increase, and this is true for the price of cement, gravel, sand and payment for workers in this project. Therefore after finished purchasing the materials for the bridge, there was not much money left in the project budget for hiring a skilled boss and skilled workers as the budget planned. However the villagers and the project manager had came up with a good solution, before we planed to hire a skilled boss and ten skilled people for 15days in the proposal for the project but in order to save the money we decided that the villagers would work for a longer time (more days) and hired fewer people for a shorter time (fewer days) compare to the plan in the proposal. In addition, at that time the local skilled boss for the bridge was building a new house, so we decided that one person from every family in Zhuangguo village needed to help the boss to build that house for two days instead of give payment to the boss in order to save the money. So finally we overcame the problem and the project was successfully completed with the full satisfactions of the villagers.

Lessons Learnt:

Through managing this project, project manager learnt and experienced following things:

ž   To keep updated budgets in proposals is very important to carry out projects successfully.

ž   To be thoughtful and flexible are also very important in order to implement a project successfully.

ž   To be aware that projects may not go as planned or as you expected in the proposals.

ž   The project manger should be very careful to choose the right time for implementing projects when she writes proposals especially construction projects, because for a construction project, you should know the villagers’ situation and season in order to avoid delay.

ž   The project manger had done several projects including construction projects but she also learnt new things from this project as mentioned above.

Interview of project beneficiaries:

Genqiu: The project manager Tashi Hlamo interviewed the man in the picture. Genqiu is 28 years old and he is one of the project beneficiaries. There are 11 people in his family: his parents, three brothers, four children, his wife and himself. During the interview, he said that before they had a narrow wooden bridge in poor condition with stones and wood logs for the foundation. However the bridge was not very strong and durable, so almost every year in the rainy summer, a harsh flood came and it washed the bridge away and it put the villagers in very difficult situation. Now because of the thoughtfulness of the kind donor and the helpers of the project, the villagers have a very durable and strong bridge with mixed sand, gravel and cement for its foundation. Therefore from now on the villagers don’t need to be afraid that aharsh flood would wash away their new bridge. He appreciated the kind help of the donor and the helpers of the project by showing his gratitude by saying so during the interview.

Nuobu Zhuoma:

The project manager Tashi Hlamo interviewed the woman in the picture and her name is Nuobu Zhuoma. She is 25years old and there are six people in her family: Her two children and her husband and her mother and mother in law. She showed a big smile on her face and said the village has a very durable and strong bridge because of the kind help of the project manager and the donor when she saw the project manager. During the interview, she said that before the project, the villagers did not have a stable and good bridge, so in rainy seasons, especially summer and autumn, there sometimes was a big flood and it carried the tree logs of the old bridge away and it made the foundation of the bridge with stones and earth fall down. So it not only made the villager’s life difficult and inconvenient. The villagers needed to rebuild the bridge again and again when the harsh floodwater came down. However because of the kind help of the compassionate workers and doners, from this year they don’t need to rebuild the bridge and they don’t need to worry about crossing the river any longer. Finally she wishes the people who helped the project to have a healthy and happy life and she appreciated the kind help of the donor and the project manager.

Thank you letter

Translation of thank you letter

Thank you letter

Dear donor, Shem staff and project manager,

This year under the donor’s kind sponsorship and through Shem’s responsible project person Tashi Hlamo’s professional management, we were able to accomplish the project as we planned, which brings great convenience and help to all the villagers.  

 In the past in order to cross the river, we had faced difficulties for years and years, but now all the people, livestock and even trucks can directly cross over the bridge.  In addition to that even people from nearby villages in the township, such as from Zebu and Nuri villages can cross through this bridge as well. Therefore, I would like to on behalf of all the beneficiaries say that all our hearts are filled with deep respect and infinite gratitude to your kindness, we hope that good health is always by your side and may you get whatever you aspire for!

From Zhuanguo village

December 8th 2011.

The list of receipts:

Receipt #1

It is 9,000RMB in total for the cement.

Receipt #2

It is 4,800RMB for sand (4 trucks×1200rmb=4800rmb) and 4,800RMB for gravel (4 trucks ×1200=4800rmb). It is 9,600 RMB in total for sand and gravel.

Receipt #3

It is 990 RMB for wood boards and 1690 RMB for wood logs. So it is 2,680 RMB in total.

Receipt #4

It is 280RMB in total for nails, thumbtacks and plastics. It was paid by the villagers.

Receipt #5

It is 6800RMB of the payment in total for the workers.

Receipt #6: The project management expenses:

It is 200 RMB for the project manager from A rizha Primary school in Shi Qu County to Xinlong County (the project site) by small car.

It is 100 RMB for the hotel fee for one night in Ganzi County town.

It is 100 RMB for phone call fee for during the implementing of the project.

Detailed explanation: As shown above, the expenses are for a one-way trip from Shiqu County to the project site (Xinlong), totaling 300 RMB, including transportation and hotel costs. The project manager went to see the project twice, so then 300 RMB×4=1200 RMB plus phone call fee100 RMB. In total it is 1300 RMB for the project management expenses.

Original Project Proposal

Project Location
The project is located in Zhuang Guo Village, Jialaxi Township, Xinlong (Nyarong) County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The village is about 11 km from Xinlong County Town; this is about 700 km from Chengdu City, the capital of Sichuan Province

Population
12 households make up Zhuang Guo Village. There are 87 people in the village: 36 men, 24 women and 27 children.

Education
Among the 60 elder people in Zhuang Guo Village, 54 are illiterate and 6 are monks; the monks can read well but they cannot write well. There are 15 school-aged children in the village, but only 7 children are going to Yinlong Primary school and one is a high school student in Sichuan Tibetan School in Kangding, which is about 400 km from Xinlong County Town. The other 7 children stay at home to help their parents herding livestock and fetching water. No one in the village has an official job. Some parents of the village also say that nowadays it is difficult for the children to get an official job and to send their children to school is just wasting their children’s lives and family money. Some parents cannot deal with all the work – such as fetching water, herding livestock and chores at their homes – without their children’s help. Therefore the children have no time to go to school.

Cash Income
Zhuang Guo Village is a farming village at the foot of a mountain. Four years ago, the villagers had three ways to get cash income:
1. Cutting trees and selling lumber to other cities. 2. Digging caterpillar fungus and selling it (caterpillar fungus is medicinal herb) 3. Construction work outside the village.
However, two years ago, the Xinlong government enacted a “No Cutting Trees” policy, and the villagers no longer can cut trees to earn cash. Therefore now the villagers have only two ways to earn cash income: Digging caterpillar fungus, and construction work. Each caterpillar fungus costs about 5-6 RMB. In total each family could earn about 4,000 RMB from digging caterpillar fungus. Another way to earn cash income is that villagers go out to do construction work in summer and spring. A man can earn 45 RMB per day and a woman can earn 40 RMB per day from construction work. On average each household can earn about 2,500 RMB per year from construction work. On average, each family can earn about 6,500 RMB in total from selling caterpillar fungus and construction work in one year.

Each family spends at least 65,000 RMB on clothes, food, medicine, and the celebrations such as New Year. In Jialaxi Township most of the villages are farming villages Also, selling caterpillar fungus is not a sustainable source of income, because caterpillar fungus grows only on high plateaus in summer and these days there is less of it to be found, and the price of caterpillar fungus is also going down. . The farmers are saying that they will be starving in a few years, because officials’ salaries are increasing, which means that market prices are also increasing.

Agriculture
On average, each household has about 8 mu (one mu = 667 square meters) of land, and each mu of land can produce about 100-150 kg of barley. In the village each household can produce on average about 400 kg of barley, 400 kg of wheat, 125 kg potatoes and 100 kg of beans per year from their land. That is enough for some smaller families to survive for a whole year, but it is not enough for most of the bigger families in the village. So they have to buy barley from Ganzi County Town every year, and 50 kg of barley cost 130 RMB in Ganzi County Town.

Herding
Zhuang Guo village is farming village and they also have some livestock. On average each household has 6 cows, 1 female yak and 1 bull. Each household can produce
about 25-30 kg of butter from cow and yak milk. People in the village just keep the butter to eat and they don’t sell it.

Weather
Zhunag Guo is about 3,080 meters above sea level, and is one of seven villages in Jialaxi Township that are spread along both sides of a river.. The river is a big problem for the seven villages because every year in midsummer and autumn there are lots of heavy rains. Therefore, the river rises and it floods the villages’ bridges, fields, roads and even sometimes houses (click to see photos).

Half of Zhuang Guo villagers are living on one side of the river and half of the villagers are living on the other side of the river. There is a wooden bridge in poor condition between them, which they frequently have to cross carrying things such as crops. However, the river floods the bridge during rainy days in summer and autumn, which puts the villagers in a difficult situation. In the winter it is very cold. Sometimes it snows heavily and the bridge is covered by snow. Therefore it is very dangerous for the villagers to go back and forth.

Project goals
The immediate goal of this project is to build a stable bridge, 6m long, 2.7m high and 3.3m wide for Zhuang Guo Village in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

The overarching goal of the project is to improve the living conditions for Zhuang Guo villagers by providing a safe and convenient way for them to cross the river.

Problems

1. Time consuming and heavy workload
Zhuang Guo villagers are located on both sides of the river. In summer and autumn there are lots of heavy rains in the village, so the river rises up and floods the village’s bridges and fields ( Click to see photos ). The village has a narrow wooden bridge in poor condition, however it floods almost every year in the beginning of autumn.. This makes work difficult for the villagers.

During harvest time the villagers use the bridge to transport the crops by hand tractors. The villagers take about seven or eight days to finish the harvesting with the bridge. However, once the bridge is flooded, the villagers have to carry the crops on their backs to go around about 2 km to get home. So it makes hard work for the villagers and it wastes their time; instead of taking seven or eight days to finish the harvest, they have to take about 25 days without the bridge. Also, usually the whole village takes about two to three days to repair and rebuild the bridge at the end of autumn (when the river becomes small and the water goes down).

2. Dangerous for the village
The bridge is built out of tree logs, and its foundation is made from stones so it is not really durable and firm. Sometimes when the villagers transport heavy things such as firewood in trucks,it splits the wooden bridge and detaches the bridge’s tree logs because the foundation of the bridge is not solid. It is easily broken by rushing floodwater. Therefore it is very dangerous for the villagers and livestock to go back and forth.

In winter snowy days the bridge is covered by snow and when people cross the bridge it also becomes slippery and very dangerous..

3. Inconvenient for the village
When the bridge is washed away by the flood then the villagers have a difficult time reaching the fields on both sides of the river, and are forced to go a long way around to reach their fields.

4. Poor living conditions
The villagers wanted to build a stable bridge, since they need to repair and rebuild the bridge almost every year. However, due to their economic condition, they cannot afford to build a stable and good bridge.

When the village’s bridge is flooded by the river during autumn harvest time, the villagers have to spend about 25 days harvesting instead of seven or eight days. Therefore the villagers have less time to look for extra work to earn money.

Benefits

1) If there is a stable bridge for Zhuang Guo, villagers can transport the crops by hand tractors during harvest time, and they won’t need to carry things on their backs for a long distance. Therefore it lessens the villagers’ workload and saves lots of their time.
2) If the village has a good quality bridge, then the villagers will be safe going back and forth. The villagers also can transport anything by hand tractors and trucks to each side of the river and the bridge will not be broken because it will be made of mixed concrete, sand and gravel. So it will be very stable and the villagers will be safer.
3)If the village has a stable bridge then the villagers won’t need to go a long distance and they can just cross the bridge to reach both sides of the river easily, which will be much more convenient.
4)If there is a stable bridge then it will not be flooded in autumn and summer, and the villagers will not need to spend time rebuilding and repairing the bridge. They can go out to earn money from construction work and their living conditions will be improved.

Beneficiaries
This project will directly benefit 87 people from Zhuang Guo Village and the other five upper villages of Jialaxi, because every upper Jialaxi village has to cross the bridge to go to pray and offer sang for the mountain god every New Year. In total, about 280 people will benefit from the project.

Government support for the project
The project manager called the local government leader Banggeng Duoji in August 2008, and she got permission to do the project. The leader is also very happy about the project and he encouraged the project manager to do the project.

Gender equality
This project benefits both men and women equally but it also involves gender equality issues. Formerly in Jialaxi Township, people used to believe that women were powerless and they could not do meaningful things as men do. They also believed that sending girls to school was useless. However, in 2007, I did a barrier wall project and a solar panel project for two villages in Jialaxi Township. After that many people changed their ideas toward women and they believed that women could do as men can do and they respected women. Before I did these projects, nobody asked me to do projects such as solar electricity panels and potable water for them. But now many people believe that women also can do important things and they ask me to help write proposals for them. Some people tell my father to ask me to write proposals for them while I am not with my family.
If this project is funded, then in my hometown more and more people will believe that if women get an education, men and women have the same ability to do meaningful things. More parents will send their girls to school and they will have high expectations for girls. The girls will also have higher expectations for themselves to accomplish more meaningful things. Once, one of our village women named Wengzheng gave birth to a baby, and when she knew it was a girl she felt sad at first, but later she said “Giving birth to a boy or girl is the same, because Sangjia family’s Tashi Hlamo (project manager) is also a girl but she can do great things that the boys cannot do in our hometown.”

Project steps
1. Discussed with the villagers why the village needs the bridge and collected information for the project. (Done.)
2. Discussed the project’s needs with the village leader Tsering Tashi and decided what kinds of materials we need.( Done)
3. Checked the prices of the materials (Done.)
4. Took pictures for the project (Done)
5. Wrote proposal (Done.)
6. Receive funds.
7. Once the project gets funding then have a meeting with the village leader to assign tasks for the villagers.
8. Buy sand and cement and transport them to the village.
9. Start to build bridge
10. Interview the village men, women and children about the project and take photos.
11. Write detailed final report.
12. Send the final report with photos and receipts to donor.
Time frame
This project will take approximately 26 days.
1 day: Hold a meeting with the villagers
5 days: Transport stones from nearby village
2 days: Purchase sand and cement and transport from county town to the village
1 day: Purchase small materials and transport from our county town to the project location.
15 days: Build the bridge
1 day: Hold a meeting with all the villagers about the completion of the project
1 day: Interview the village men, women and children about the project and take photos

Detailed budget

Project Sustainability
This project is very sustainable because the foundation of the bridge will be built by mixed cement, gravel and sand. So it is very strong and stable, and the flood will not be able to damage it. The foundation of the bridge will be 2.7m high and the water will also not reach the wood logs on the foundation. The wood logs will be placed on the foundation tightly with strong and thick wires. The wood logs are very thick and they will last at least ten years; if the wood logs  become rotten or broken then the village will be responsible for changing them. Since all the villagers know how difficult it is without the bridge so the whole village will be responsible for repairing it.

Reference information
The project manager Tashi Hlamo successfully implemented two small-scale development projects in 2007. One was a barrier wall project for Yatong Village, which was funded by the German Embassy. Another project was a solar electricity panel project for Yinlong Village, which was funded by the British Embassy. In 2009 she also successfully completed a water project for three villages and a solar flashlights project for four villages in Jialaxi Township. The four projects are located in Jialaxi Township, Xinlong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. These four projects are mainly to improve the impoverished local people’s living conditions, reduce their workload and increase enrollment of school children.

The bridge project for Zhuang Guo Village is her fifth project. She has been working for Shem Women’s group in Xining City, Qinghai Province since March of 2008.

Pictures

The village’s bridge is endangered by the flood in this picture from September of 2008. An iron is still attaching one end of one log, and the other bridge logs have already been washed away.

The river rushes up to the village’s road and fields. The road is the whole township’s main route for going back and forth from Xinlong county town to the township. However, in this picture the road is flooded, and rock and mud are sliding on the road. The township people have to go on foot to buy necessities in the county town, which is about 15 kilometers from the township.

The road and field after the flood.

Project Diagram

Map of the project Location