January 13th project managers report projects updates

It is the beginning of the year and KiliTech is up to a good start. Kilitech’s Project manager, Mr. Nashon Chacha prepared a project update report which was released on Friday 13th last week revealing the progress made by Kilitech so far and where more emphasis is to be made to succeed.

From the report, a lot has been planned and implemented in the ongoing projects despite the fact that some of the projects are not at their regular pace. At Soko for instance, the construction is on hold until next week because the constructors are still on holiday.

However, things are not stagnant in Majengo. A meeting was held in Majengo which was convened by Maua group. The meeting was to evaluate their activities for the past year and make plans for the current year. On the other hand Mwadu group made plans to clean the bee hives on 15th as one of their primary goals this year. Moreover, Nyota njema are also working on making students uniform whereby they have made 12 shots so far. They requested for extra materials (bolts) which will be delivered by Nashon and Thadei on Sunday this week.

Back at the office, the main activity was tracking the expenses incurred in all the projects as well as preparing the end year report which according to Mr. Nashon, it is in the final stages to compile a project final book with details of every Kilitech project in the past year all the way to 20th of January this year.

From the Project update report, a meeting was held in the Kilitech office in Kilimanjaro which was about internal operations and project management model for all projects associated with construction. The meeting was attended by Thadei Msumanje, Nashon Chacha and Ezra Wango. A model was prepared as agreed upon and will be used for the kitchen and toilet construction in the coming construction projects.

SOKO VILLAGE

From the report, the construction in Soko is still on hold until next week when constructors get back from their vocation therefore progress on the project and expences will be reported once the construction activities resume. On Sunday Nashon and Daniel will make a follow up to make sure that what the head of school reported relay with the information held in the office.

KiliTech advocate Mr. Sandi is working on the recommendations sent to him by the KiliTech president through Thadei. When completed he will pass them to the District Medical Officer, Mr. Wonanji and the Moshi District Council advocate for further review where by until then, the KiliTech president is expected to be around as the understanding is finalized to move forward with the construction.

WARD OFFICE RENOVATION (7,700,000/= TSH)

From the report, the renovation of the village office is on course and this week they will be painting the walls of the office and the ceiling board.

 

 

The bathroom of the office however is without plastering and paint. Water has also not being brought by. They use the water from the dispensary which is about 300m away or from the SACCOS which is about 200m away.

 

 

In case water is to be made available for the bathroom and the office, the following will be needed;

• 200/3000m pipes

• Water tapes

• Pay connection fee

• Pay for plumbing costs

Mr. Nashon and Mr. Thadei are working to determine the actual costs for the pipes, tapes and plumbing costs. When determined, the price and costs will be fitted on the current budget. Or not.

From the report, no additional expenses we incurred hence the balance remains to be; TSH 5,509,000/=

Moreover, the office furniture and computer are yet to be bought.

MAJENGO VILLAGE

MAUA GROUP

Maua group had the annual general meeting last week. The meeting was specifically for evaluation of the group’s operations and activities for the year 2016. The meeting reviewed the income and expenditure for the past year and also set new goals to be achieved in this year. One of the goals set by the group is to expand their horizon, the group feel that they have mastered their skills in cooking and decorating. This year, together with expanding their cooking and decorating activities, the group has resolved to start training other people how to do similar activities.

Mr. Nashon points out Maua group’s efforts to be “the trickledown effect” where he explains saying that Maua’s efforts proves to the community how it greatly benefits from what KiliTech has done.

MWADU GROUP

From the report, Mwadu group is also getting ready for the operations of the year 2017. The group has planned to clean the bee hives and set up the annual harvesting time table. This activity was scheduled to be done on 15th of this month.

Mwadu group has brought forward an appeal, asking for a workshop. They said their goals in the year 2016 were not met because they didn’t have a workshop. Making bee hives, selling them and having a beekeeping farm were among the plans that they made for last year. Unfortunately, all these were plans were not met. Mwadu group is determined to meet all these plans this year.

NOTE FROM LAUREL TO THE PM TEAM: The reason the workshop was not built is because it was too elaborate and too expensive. It is not feasible to build a $20,000 USD workshop, plus the expense of the tools, for an unproven business. It has been requested that the village provide a scaled down workshop design, which has not been provided. Building the Langstroth hives is not an easy task and requires specific skills and tools and there is concern that Mwadu group does not possess the skill set yet, but with training they may in time. Mwadu needs a business plan detailing how much they will sell the hives for and compare to the cost of the tools and materials needed to build the hives. Laurel has proposed that the group continue to grow their honey business (additional hives can be provided by KiliTech) and improve their skill and knowledge in the bee business (honey processing, sales, and distribution). Mwadu needs to provide some of the funding needed to build the workshop and demonstrate their dedication to the business. KiliTech has proposed that the village groups, known collectively as Tunakua, open a shop in Njiapanda, an active area of trade and commerce about 10km distance from Majengo Village. This will be of benefit to all groups. KiliTech will pay for the store rent for a minimum of one year to assist the groups. The groups can sell their services and products including decorating and catering jobs, clothing and tailoring, maize from the mill, and honey and by-products from the beehives.

NYOTA NJEMA

Nyota njema sewing group are also moving on though their pace is too slow, so far they have made 12 shorts for the school uniforms of children of Soko Primary school. This is the uniform tender of 62 Soko students which was entrusted to them. They have ordered bolt of clothes for blue skirts, white shirts and khaki for shots, these will be delivered on Sunday when Thadei and Nashon will be visiting the place.

However the head teacher of Soko primary School, Ms. Msangi has collected money from parents to pay for these school uniforms and she believes children will be wearing new school uniforms come Monday the 23rd of January. We want to make this expectation a reality and we will push the group and to make it delivers according the promise it has made.

Lastly, the report provided answers to questions which were asked by the KiliTech President as follows:

Qn1. Where are we with the maize mill bags?

The maize mill bags are ready to be printed, we are waiting for the conformation for the store in Njia Panda and from there we will be ready to print them. We will be printing them in at Harsho mills located on your to Arusha right after crossing the Kikavu bridge. They have good printing prices.

• 50 kg – 630 TSH per bag

• 25 kg – 530 TSH per bag

• 10 kg – 520 TSH per bag

• 5 kg – 470 TSH per bag

Qn2. Have they worked on their business plan so they can sell more bags of maize by taking bags to sell along the road, or in nearby towns, using the truck?

They are working on it and they are yet to decide whether they should just wait for the shop or go on selling using the village truck. If they use the village truck it seems they will have to spend the entire day selling or moving around like a mobile shop. On the other hand if they have a shop they will have a permanent station and can make deliveries from there. According to Rashidi they are yet to decide.

Qn3. Update on Ghona school expenses. Which school does Kamili want to address next and what needs to be done?

We are preparing a modal for construction projects and from this we will send it to Kamili which will help him to decide where next to go. The modal will also have simple building sketches for the kitchen and the toilet.

Qn4. Any luck with finding roadside store options in Njia panda?

Yes found one shop which is has an extra room and the rent is TSH 100,000/= per month, but the location is hidden it is not at the center of Njia Panda. We are still looking for other options and we tasked Rashidi with this. He has done a good job so far, but we need another location to make further comparisons.

Qn5. Are there any photos of the project management office improvements and how is it going?

Yes we have photos this week and I will upload them today we will have more after the Sunday visit.

Qn6. How is the 2016 report coming along?

The report is coming along fine. We have finished documenting it and we are now preparing the KiliTech project report book. After the financials are reconciled by the 16th this month, we will complete the book and print.

Qn7. Thadei, did you pass along my edits to the health center contract to Mr. Sandi and have you received any feedback?

Yes he passed the edits along and we are waiting for the feedback from Mr. Sandi and we will update the information as soon as we have it.