Responses to some points/questions raised by Ashwini and Vishwa --------------------------------------------------------------- Some of the responses can be gleaned from the site visit report; others I didn't want to put in a site visit report that I assume will be put in the public domain. - Sustainability of the project: Fr. Godfrey freely admits that he has no real ideas about how to make the projects sustainable, in the sense of not needing external support from organizations like Asha. If they are unable to raise the necessary funds, they will simply have to shut down some of the centres, and re-open them when they can afford to do so. The support on the part of the Jesuit organization will always be there, but that support is organizational, not financial. Thus, even if Fr. Godfrey leaves Nandurbar, there will be other Fathers to continue where he left off. This happened when Fr. Godfrey left Shirpur, and the new team at Shirpur simply carries on the work. The transition period is usually taken into account when the Jesuit order decides how and when to move their priests around. - Management of funds: Asha-Zurich funds are being managed by the Fathers at Vishwamandal Sevashram. I didn't look at their books to see if there were any signs of mismanagement. I'm assuming Asha-Zurich obtains the necessary financial records from Vishwamandal. - Attitude of locals to project: From what I'm told, the Pawara community has over the years become more receptive to the education of their children, at least at the primary school level. They do realize the importance of reading, writing and basic arithmetic. But there's a long way to go yet for them to achieve the attitude taken towards education by the Bhil people around Nandurbar. I mentioned in my report the willingness of the Nandurbar-area Bhils to pay fees for their children's education. The Shirpur-area Pawaras still believe that education is not something they should pay for. Whatever they get for free (at the govt schools) should be good enough. - Impact/success of project: I don't really know how you can tangibly measure the "success" of this project. The project is aimed at primary school kids only. They are not formally tested at that level, so you can't use marks, pass percentages etc. as performance measures. Perhaps dropout rates? I don't believe there is any firm data available on that front. There appears to be sufficient anecdotal evidence that suggests that the project has had a positive impact on Pawara children. It does appear that more children stay in school, and that parents are happy to send their kids to these learning centres. - [Ashwini] ... the children's education is part of a larger economic development plan for the region. How is that working? On paper it seems to work well since no development can be done in isolation. But I am curious as to how it unfolds in reality. Do each of the development projects work together or are there any unintended consequences resulting in them hindering one another? [Navin] Well, none of these development projects takes place in isolation. They are all being implemented in the same villages by the same people. So naturally they are all interlinked. The trust that is gained by working with villagers on one project translates to other projects as well. A big part of why the Pawaras are happy about sending their children to the Vishwamandal learning centres is because they see the benefits of working with the Fathers on organic farming methods, tree-planting and so on, and so they trust that their children will benefit from the learning centres that are also managed by the same Fathers. - [Ashwini] Since Father Godfrey is now tasked with leading a new project how does he plan to stay involved with Shirpur? What is your feeling about those that are left in charge? Will Father G. still keep a close eye on Shirpur (especially in the first year)? [Navin] I'm sure Fr. Godfrey is having a tough time leaving behind his work at Shirpur. He still keeps a close eye on it. But he's learning to give up micro-managing that project, so as not to tread on the other Fathers' toes, and to pay due attention to the work at Nandurbar. Frs. Augustin and James are undoubtedly capable people. They do operate differently from Fr. G. It is tough for anyone to match the energy that Fr. G brought to the job. I think Fr. Augustin is also a man who likes to keep things moving and to get the job done. At the same time, he is easy-going, and able to establish a rapport with the farmers. Fr. James tends to be a lot more cautious (I guess it's his legal training), so finds it hard to trust others. He's likely to have trouble making informal alliances and working purely on trust, things that are so essential when doing social work. But then, it appears that the education component of their Shirpur activities will be the responsibility mainly of Fr. Augustin, with Fr. James' role in it being restricted to the management of funds. This division of labour should play to both their strengths and result in a well-managed project.