Contribution to international development report: 2018-2019

Chapter Five: Small Grants Programme

5.1 Introduction

The Scottish Government’s annual Small Grants Programme is funded through the development assistance stream of the IDF. This Programme is administered by Corra Foundation on behalf of the Scottish Government. The Programme, still officially in “pilot” mode, has evolved on an annual basis, through discussion between the Scottish Government with the Alliance and SMP.

It was designed to accommodate funding requests from smaller organisations in Scotland, and currently provides:

• project grants of up to £60,000, over a three year period; and
• feasibility study grants and capacity building grants of up to £10,000, over a one year period.

For this 2018/19 Report we have selected just a few examples and case studies to highlight each type of Small Grant that we support, discussed in this Chapter. All of our current Small Grants, however, are summarised in Annex C, along with links to the End Year Report.

5.2 Friends of Chitambo – three year Project Grant on EMD, Zambia

5.2.1. The Project

This project, entering its 3rd round of Scottish Government Small Grant Funding in 2018/19, works with local health staff to establish a basic Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system in remote, rural Chitambo District, central Zambia.

5.2.2. Contribution to Development 2018-19

3 Good Health and Well-Being

4 Quality Education

The project has:

• established an emergency care resource centre (hub), stocked with print and digital resources (books and tablet pcs), for evidence-based decision-making at Chitambo Hospital and 13 Rural Health Clinics;
• trained eight African librarians/information scientists as Knowledge Brokers to leverage these resources into action for frontline decision-making;
• established an emergency care communications network, using mobile phones and radios to improve emergency communications/management;
• negotiated access to the Zambian national freetoll number for health (992), enabling all Chitambo District to call the hospital free of charge in case of emergency; and
• collaborated with First Aid Africa (see Chapter Three, IDF Case Study 10).

Next steps are to:

• provide In-hospital trauma training, First Aid Responder training, and Emergency Call Handler training to Chitambo Health staff, as requested; and
• extend the African Knowledge Broker network through training six more Knowledge Brokers (3 from Malawi; three from Rwanda), in a face-to-face workshop and 4-month online course.

5.3 Cairdeas – three year Project Grant on Palliative Care, Rwanda

5.3.1. The Project

In Rwanda, it is estimated that each year over 7,000 patients are in need of palliative care due to cancer and HIV/AIDs alone, and 25% of in-patients have unmet palliative care needs. The need for palliative care spans the population, but disproportionately affects women, children, the elderly, and those living in poverty. As a result, families and patients are pushed into poverty as a result of the burden of a chronic illness.

Cairdeas International Palliative Care Trust is working with the leads of the University of Rwanda and associated teaching hospitals to integrate palliative care competencies into their teaching curriculums. The project focuses on curriculums in both medical and nursing schools in Rwanda, training 300 students each year.

This project addresses the inequality and suffering affecting a significant proportion of the Rwandan population as well as offering a platform for mutual learning with Scotland where palliative care has been traditionally strong. By equipping health care workers with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to offer values-based, high quality palliative care, Cairdeas aim to improve the quality of life for those living with chronic illness. Long-term sustainability, and continued capacity building, will be achieved through the training of faculty within the University of Rwanda and linking with a regional lead in Makerere University, Uganda, as well as regional and Scottish partnerships.

5.3.2. Contribution to Development 2018-19

3 Good Health and Well-Being

A major review of the undergraduate medical curriculums at the University of Rwanda has taken place, with the Palliative Care Curriculum Toolkit being accepted as the core tool to develop competency frameworks and curriculum placement within family and community medicine as well as internal medicine and paediatrics. The postgraduate review is ongoing as is the nursing curriculum review. Over the next year Cairdeas will participate in the development and delivery of this programme, including flipped classroom resources and face-to-face teaching. The outcomes of these recent developments will help to improve service delivery in Rwanda as well as promoting the standing of Rwandan palliative care on the international platform.

IDF Case Study 12: Small Grants Programme Cairdeas – Palliative Care project grant, Rwanda

Dr Jean Pierre Sibomana is a clinical lecturer at the University of Rwanda who visited the Makerere and Mulago Palliative Care Unit in Uganda as part of this project to learn from a similar setting and build capacity for training – Dr Sibomana spoke at the MMPCU 10th anniversary conference in 2018 and (Photo below) received a certificate of recognition for Cairdeas’ partnership with Rwanda.

“Dr Cubaka is a bright young doctor who is bringing the speciality of family medicine to life. Without much prior training he agreed to lead on the new palliative care competencies in the medical school curriculum.

‘I welcome help to make this course the best it can be. I know most palliative care happens in the community, but the hospital care is important too… the Palliative Care Curriculum Toolkit was so helpful; you can see we included the domains just as they were described’.

This is especially heartening as this Toolkit was developed at the request of the former Dean and now VC Prof Phil Cotton from the University of Rwanda who had previously asked us for this framework.

Dr Cubaka welcomes us to work together to help equip the next generation of Rwandan doctors to restore dignity, offer improved quality of life and relieve suffering; the core components of palliative care.

5.4 Scotland Malawi Business Group – Aquaculture Project Malawi

14 Life Below Water

5.4.1. The Project

This Small-scale Hatchery Aquaculture Seed Production (SHASP) project was designed to address a major weakness in Malawi’s aquaculture value chain identified during implementation of the Aquaculture Enterprise Malawi project, funded under the Scottish Government’s Malawi Development Programme in 2013/14. Its objective was to support the development of 15 financially viable businesses capable of producing a reliable supply of high quality fingerlings to grow-out fish farmers in Southern Malawi.

1 No Poverty

2 Zero Hunger

3 Good Health and Well-Being

8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

5.4.2. Contribution to Development 2018-19

Key outcomes include:

(a) 15 HOs produced and sold 96,000 fingerlings to 120 grow-out fish farmers.

(b) estimated total weight of fish grown-out to market size – 5,376kg.

(c) estimated total value of fish sold by grow-out fish farmers – £12,490 equivalent.

(d) of the fifteen HOs selected to participate in the project, six made significant net annual profits from fingerling sales equivalent to between £150 and a maximum of £460, with an average profit of £283. Each of them now has the commitment, experience and infrastructure in place to continue to develop post-project as standalone, financially viable businesses without further external support.

(e) 15 other HOs managed to cover their costs and make profits of up to £50 per year. They have the potential to become financially viable in hatchery production, but may require more technical support in order to develop to the next level.

(f) in terms of comparative performance and productive use of land, the six best performing HOs demonstrated that fingerling production is capable of generating more than twice as much annual profit from 1m² of pond/land as can be earned from growing maize and more than three times as much as can be earned from cultivating tomatoes or beans.

(g) the return on the final year Small Grant investment of £20,000, in terms of income generated by HOs and grow-out fish farmers, was over £14,000. In addition, the £7,000 capital investment element of the grant has created infrastructure capable of enabling HOs to expand output and, therefore, increase earnings in future years, in response to growing, unmet consumer demand for fresh fish.

(h) the University of Stirling, a SHASP implementing partner, has secured funding from GiZ, the German development agency, for a new three year project to develop and scale-up the SHASP business model in Malawi.

(i) all members of the SHASP sin-country technical team moved on to further their careers in aquaculture in new projects funded by international agencies.

IDF Case Study 13: Willy making waves in southern Malawi

Willy Ntangaleya is an entrepreneurial, 40 year old smallholder farmer growing maize, rice and vegetables on his family plot located in Makunganya village, Chingale, southern Malawi. He became involved in aquaculture six years ago as a further income earning opportunity through the Scottish government-funded Aquaculture Enterprise Malawi project, prior to being selected for inclusion in SHASP.

Willy has progressed from originally having just two small earth ponds for growing-out two local species of tilapia to sell in local food markets, to now being a major fingerling (small juvenile fish) producer in his locality, with six ponds of over 1,200m², eight hapa net enclosures and two concrete hatchery tanks.

In the past year he has sold over 35,000 fingerlings of now three species to both the Malawi Fisheries Department and other local fish farmers within a 50km radius of Chingale. From his fish farming profits, he has built a new house in his village and reinvested in his business, by constructing three additional earth ponds. He has also employed a local teenager, Owen Kamada, to help with his fish ponds and hatchery management.

What of the future? Well, Willy says he is blessed with plenty of water all year round on his land, as well as a burgeoning local demand for both his fingerlings and market-sized fish, and now must make the most of it!

5.5 International Voluntary Service – one year Capacity Building Grant

5.5.1. The Project

This project aims to support the development of long-term strategic overseas partners with International Voluntary Service (IVS). IVS has a long history of working with grassroots charities and organisations, which has resulted in it steering away from ‘volunteer tourism’ and instead, focussing on the SDGs and on projects identified by communities themselves.

5.5.2. Contribution to Development 2018-19

This project has built capacity in IVS by:

• enabling IVS to create a new IVS partnership pack to ensure all overseas partners carry out required due diligence before working with volunteers;
• supporting them to carry out research into impact measurement methodologies for international volunteering;
• creating a Monitoring and Evaluation framework;
• training IVS staff on Monitoring and Evaluation; and
• helping them to develop new partnerships therefore supporting many more people and local communities.

17 Partnerships for the Goals

IDF Case Study 14: International Volunteer Service

The Capacity Building grant has allowed IVS to develop a framework for Monitoring and Evaluation and to deliver training to staff and volunteers to ensure projects deliver maximum impact. With these resources, IVS are able to work with partners identified who aligning with IVS values as well as contribute to the sustainable development goals.

IVS have announced new partnerships in Kenya, Thailand, Nagaland and Nepal as a result of this grant. All new partners have been through the process of due diligence required as per the partnership materials.

Key findings are that partnership development takes time, patience and understanding in order to ensure quality, long-term lasting relationships.

5.6 Global Concerns Trust: one year feasibility study grant, Kenya

5.6.1. The Project

This project conducted a feasibility study looking at the ‘Creation of a Business Incubator that uses arts and culture for social change’ in rural Kenya.

5.6.1. Contribution to Development 2018-19

This project helped determine feasibility through strong monitoring and evaluation, which determined that:

• there is significant scope to create a cultural and artistic Heritage Trail in the community, attracting visitors who will engage in responsible, authentic, quality cultural experiences.
• Mbegani Rising CBO (business incubator) would be an umbrella body for the larger aims of the social, artistic and environmental regeneration of the entire Mbegani community.
• 15 community members were shown how other communities and businesses used their natural surroundings and resources for economic gain.
• Representatives from the local women’s groups received training in marketing and branding as well as how to enhance the quality of their handmade, locally sourced products – virgin coconut oil, aloe vera soap, organic honey for a wider market.
• Partnerships were made with local companies such as Base Titanium that have already enabled the purchase of 25 biogas units to combat deforestation due to cutting trees for firewood as well as a commitment to plant 2000 indigenous trees.

5 Gender Equality

8 Decent Work and Economic Growth

Global Concerns Trust will use the results of this Scottish Government funded feasibility study to attract funding for this unusual and ambitious community tourism project.