Dreamcatcher project

Introduction• ICT4D projects need a strong, motivated

volunteer workforce

• But volunteers are difficult to recruit and retain because of:• poor communication between the organization and

the volunteer

• lack of feedback and

• lack of training

• lack of organizational management/leadership from

the host organization

Our goal

• Create a sustainable volunteer

environment for any ICT4D project

• Design an application of recommended

steps to get there

• Apply this design to an existing project

(The Dreamcatcher Project-Phase II)

Target audience

• Organizations that select potential

volunteers that would work for any ICT4D

project

• Potential volunteers:• university students in the last years of their studies

• volunteers collaborating with the NGO that organizes

the project

• seniors

The Dreamcatcher Project

Developed between Save the Children Youth Denmark

and Wema Centre (Kenya)

Dreamcatcher goal:• Develop a sustainable volunteer environment in Kenya

• Reach “street children”

• Raise parental awareness of the value of education for their children

Based on a donated bus where donated computer

equipment will be built in, making it a sort of “mobile

classroom“

Bus under construction

Who is involved in Kenya?

• 8 students from the Mombasa Polytechnic

University College

• The staff of the project will then have two

different profiles:• teachers from Wema Centre that are aware of the

children needs.

• volunteers of the Dreamcatcher project that will be

familiar with the technology used and teaching in the

bus.

Learning environment

• Two different locations:

• Wema Facilities:• short lectures with advices and practical

examples

• Final destination (the bus)• learn how the technology works and how to react

to any problem that may arise

making the "classroom" inside the bus

WEMA - computer class

WEMA center facilities

Some children living in WEMA

Some animals they breed in WEMA

Live performance of the acrobatic group at WEMA

System function and featuresThe application itself is based on the best practices within the volunteer training sector

 

Training plan must be: Practical, on-the-job, buddy system, interactive, build on existing skillset of volunteers

Feedback built on continuous volunteer support

Volunteer requirements (example)1.able to drive (requirement prior to application/training provided)2.able to use computers for teaching and database management   (training provided)3.able to handle food safely (training provided)4.able to read a map (requirement/training provided)5.aware of the Child Protection Policy (CPP) of the centre (training provided)6.aware of classroom management practices (training provided)7.aware of safety issues (for both the volunteers and the children) (training provided)8.able to follow directions and procedures (training provided)9.able to use a cellphone/smartphone (training provided)

Phase I Pilot project• Depending on the budget of the project only the compulsory phases

can be done or all of them• Agreement with the University (compulsory)

• We need collaboration from the University authorities. This volunteer work has to be validated for the mandatory Internship. This will be the first motivation point for the students.

• Public recognition (compulsory)• Names and photographs of the volunteers would have to appear in

the website of the project, in a local newspaper (also in the University newspaper if exist) and in a board in the University giving them public recognition.

• Of course if the volunteer does not want to appear he/she won't appear in these means of communication (in some cases the volunteers prefer to be totally anonymous).

• Badges (compulsory)• Certificate of the work done should be given to the volunteers.

Also a certificate of the training received so they can add it to their curriculum vitae as they have been teachers.

Phase II- Post-Pilot project • Smartphones (optional)

• Depending on the budget a smartphone could be provided to each of the volunteers or the project could have some smartphones in the bus for the volunteers working in that moment to solve doubts and to use them in their teaching experience. These smartphones can have data connection or not depending also on the project budget.

• Specific application (optional)• An app will be loaded onto the smartphones. This app will provide

them with answers to their questions about the program as well as organizing teaching materials, providing assessment feedback and real time verbal support from the Centre.

• University scholarship (optional)• The most involved volunteer in the project might get an university

scholarship in any European University or an insertion in a school program of assistants in Europe.

Application to Dreamcatcher Project

• Very low budget -> only compulsory

phases will be done in the Dreamcatcher

project Phase I

• Experiment ->Phase II- some volunteers

with smartphone and some without it

• Funding only for “starting the project”• sustainable in the long run

Business model• Currently dependent on applied funding • Collaboration agreements with other

partners and sponsorships• Hoping to move to a hybrid social venture

business model at the completion of the second phase of the Dreamcatcher project

Current Budget Dreamcatcher ProjectInternational transport:  2 round trip flight tickets to Aalborg – Nairobi (Source: Unitas)

2077€

Domestic Transport: 2 Flight tickets (NBO-MBA round trip;US$ 2x101,44$) (Source: Kenya Airways)

146€

Taxis from airport to hotel and back (3000 KSH per day x 2 days)

56€

Accomodation: 10 nights for 2 persons in Mombasa (Source: Accomodation Wholesaler in Mombasa)

670€

Vaccinations:                                                                              1x hepatitis-A (570 DKK –15% discount for being a volunteer)            1x hepatitis-A, Yellow fever and Tetanus 955 DKK – 15% discount for being a volunteer; (Source: Aalborg Vaccination Center doctor)  3x Malarone boxes 1.170 DKK (Source: pharmacy)

330€

Communication: internet access and simcard credit. 67€

Country Visa: (2 persons 50 USD per person - 582,41 DKK), and Insurance (18 DKK x 2 persons  x 12 days) (Source: Kenyan Embassy)

135€

Food and transport x 2 persons  x 12 days 536€

4019€

THANK YOU FOR READING

Documents generatedThis presentation is based on a document generated by the team as the main contribution of the final work for the DLNE course.This document is intended to be a guide to be used for any ICT4D project that needs a sustainable volunteer workforce.This document is publicly available here:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1160Am-DA0wN7GQ7dh8U6FBkUlozaGKgdpAW7OQ1UwM8/edit

There is also a facebook group that we have used to collaborate and that is open with much more documentation of the Dreamcatcher project.It is publicly available here:https://www.facebook.com/groups/194138670721464/

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