Peace Corps Tanzania/ Huru Re-usable Sanitary Pad Partnership 2014 Volunteer Activity Support and Training (VAST)/ Grant Competition 1) Key VAST Information: Who is eligible to receive the award? Educational institute served by a Peace Corps Volunteer What is the purpose of the VAST To introduce re-usable sanitary pads as a new resource to competition? strengthen PCV work in HIV prevention, health, education and the environment. Huru International will support and facilitate VAST awards by building capacity of PCVs and counterparts, conducting supportive supervision and virtual assistance. VAST Application Due Date COB on Friday, February 21, 2014 What resources are available? For each application between 50 to 2,000 Huru Kits and supportive funding can be requested. Communities must support at least 25% of the expected costs through in-kind or other contributions. Who are the direct beneficiaries of the Jointly Round 1 awards will reach at least 7,500 girls in school VAST award? aged 10 24 years old If awarded, how will the project receive Huru kits will be distributed to PCVs and counterparts at Huru Kits? training. The VAST application must include information on how you will transport kits back to your site and keep them secure. Who are possible in-direct beneficiaries Communities, schools, families, parents, boys and young men of the VAST award? What is the expected implementation 120 days following the required workshop. The grant must be period? closed by September 30, 2014. Where are these funds coming from? PEPFAR Who decides which applications will be PC/Tanzania, working with a team of PCV grant reviewers, Huru awarded? What are the required application components? How is this VAST application different than previous Peace Corps small grants? Why does this VAST application need a signed letter from the head of school and a PCV counterpart? How does competitive scoring work in a VAST application? Are there any other helpful tools to use in developing my VAST application? International staff and PC/T staff. A maximum of 5 pages for the narrative section of the application along with 4 annex sections. Annexes include a workplan, monitoring targets, budget and signed letter of commitment from head of school and a PCV counterpart. This VAST application is the first competitive and scored application. Some sections of the application are expanded for the type of partnership but all existing Peace Corps granting tools can be applied. To improve commitment and understanding about the application from the start, transferring knowledge with regards to the application process and supporting the overall sustainability of the project. At least 1 PCV and 1 application counterpart must attend the entire training to receive Huru kits. Multiple reviewers will read each application and assess provided content in the narrative and annexes. Each reviewer will use a guide to score the VAST application. Scores are discussed, tallied and a decision is made based on available resources. Yes, a guide has been developed relevant to the partnership to assist in thinking through your ideas. In addition to the Peace Corps small grant application tools. 1
2014 HURU/VAST Award Timeline: Below is the VAST Round 1 Award timeline for 2014. Round 1 will support successful awards that focus on in-school beneficiaries and work within the Tanzania school schedule. Training will happen in late April to early May, while implementation is expected between July September. Round 1 final reports are due October 1, 2014. VAST awards who submit their final reports by deadlines will be eligible to be recognized for exceptional implementation in multiple categories. Month Process J F M A M J J A S O HURU/VAST Request For Proposal (RFP) released X Applications reviewed; clarification period X Award announcements & invitation to training X Training of Round 1 Awardees (3 days) X X Project implementation period X X X Quality assurance & monitoring visits X X X Round 1 final reports due X Round 2 RFP will be announced in April 2014 for up to 2,500 Huru kits for girls aged 15-24 years old who are not in school. 2) VAST Resources available: Peace Corps Tanzania through their partnership with Huru International will make 10,000 Huru Re-Usable Sanitary Pad Kits available to PCVs to use in their communities. 7,500 for in school girls aged 10-24 years in Round 1 and 2,500 for out of school young women aged 15-24 years who benefit from VAST grant awardees in Round 2. Each Huru kit includes: 8 re-usable sanitary pads (5 day pads and 3 overnight pads), 3 pairs of girls underwear (smaller sizes packaged for in school beneficiaries) and (larger sizes for out of school beneficiaries), a blue waterproof Ziploc Bag for carrying the pads, a bar of soap for washing pads and an instructional leaflet on how to use and care for Huru pads all packed within a blue backpack branded with partner logos. Should funding be needed to complete your plans for your small project around Huru kit distribution, additional funding can be requested. At least 25% community contribution is required for all projects. Counterparts identified to attend training should cater for their own transportation to and from the training site, lodging during the training and transporting Huru kits from the training to site for use in the project. 2
3) Partner Background: Huru is a not-for-profit charity registered in Kenya and the USA in 2009. Huru produces reusable sanitary pads from locally procured cotton materials at a workshop in Mukuru slums of Nairobi, 30 staff are employed to produce pads. Huru kits are made available for donation through various partners, NGOs, private sector companies, foundations and individual giving. Our website has more information about kits and our work. www.huruinternational.org Huru s mission is to empower girls and young women living in poverty to become self-sufficient through education and critical life skills for health, hygiene and self-development. Huru staff work in collaboration with partners, communities and youth to respond to the needs of girls and young women aged 10-24 years. There are many potential results that Huru Kits can achieve in combination with well-designed health promotion and education activities for girls, young women and communities. Possible results include: Reduced absenteeism for girls in-school (related to periods) Reduced economic burden on families and young women out of school (related to period care) Improved attitudes of girl s towards periods, empowering girls and boys to support each other s development during puberty Increased knowledge on menstruation and health information, such as HIV and AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and periods Improved skills for life, such as decision-making, communication and future planning Healthier behaviors linked to sexual and reproductive health, menstruation and uptake of relevant health services Increased community support for girls and young women s needs in menstruation, empowerment, success in school and out of school 4) Key rules related to the VAST award: Applicants can compete for a VAST award with or without additional funding depending on the intended plans at community level. Each VAST application must request a minimum of 50 kits with or without additional funding. PCVs and their counterparts must confirm their commitment to jointly attend the planned 3- day training. VAST applications must include at least 1 letter of commitment from the head of school authorizing the project during in-school time, and another letter from a chosen counterpart describing their role in planning, views on how the potential award meets local needs, can be completed successfully and will be supported beyond 2014. The counterpart letter should be witnessed by two other community members (not including the PCV). Up to 2 more letters of commitments can be included in the application if relevant and ensure that 1 counterpart will be available to attend the training. VAST awardees will only be given Huru kits if both the PCV and at least 1 counterpart submitting the application attend the entire training. Absence will forfeit the award and 3
resources will be re-distributed. Should additional training spots be available for larger sized awardees, these additional counterparts may be invited to attend the specific training. 5) Scoring Sections: All VAST applications will be reviewed and scored through a transparent process with PC/T (staff and volunteers) and Huru International. As this is a competition, scoring will guide resource distribution. Category Points Area assessed Need 5 What is the need of girls and young women in the project? What could happen if this need is not met? Beneficiary Audience Proposed Intervention 5 Who are direct and in-direct beneficiaries of the project? How many of each will be targeted? What selection criteria will the project use to identify beneficiaries? Who will take part in this process? Why? 30 What are the goals and objectives of the project? How will beneficiaries be reached through your project? With what? How will these objectives be completed? List key activities and refer to annex as relevant. Community Contribution 10 How will the community contribute to the project? Who are key local partners in the project? Why? Monitoring Plan 20 What indicators will be used to monitor your project? How will monitoring ensure quality and verify project outputs? Who is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the project? How will this be done? Counterpart commitment & sustainability plan 20 Who is your community counterpart and why has this person been chosen for the project? What is this counterpart s role in your community? Has your counterpart written and signed a letter of commitment to the project as witnessed by other community members? How will this project be sustainable in your community? What is your counterpart s role in this sustainability and does he/she understand this role? Timeline 5 When will each component of your project happen? Who is responsible for each activity? Will your project be completed in 120 days or less? Resource request and security plan 5 Does your project appear feasible based on the resource request? How will the kits be transported and secured at the project site? What is your plan to reduce the chance of resources being mismanaged? 6) Application Narrative: All VAST applications should be typed and no more than 5 pages in length, 12 point Times New Roman font for text and 11 point font for tables. Applications should answer the questions within the scoring categories using the existing Peace Corps Tanzania small grant guidelines. The narrative section should include the following: Executive Summary, Need Statement, Goals & Objectives, Monitoring and Evaluation, Organizational Capacity and Budget Narrative (or 4
community contribution if no funds are requested). Do not repeat detailed information within any annexes but present broader ideas and refer to Annexes where possible. Please use a guide that will help further define these 6 areas related to the partnership. This is called Tips for Preparing Your VAST Application: PC/T and Huru Partnership. 7) Application Annex 1: Workplan Please provide a chart showing key activities that will illustrate how the project will achieve its objectives. List key activities, responsible people/partners, and the time frame. Please use the example within the small grant application form that looks like this chart below. Activity Responsible Person Timeframe 8) Application Annex 2: Monitoring Indicators and Targets This annex will compile the application s expected contribution to the Peace Corps Tanzania Project Frameworks. Projects are encouraged to set ambitious and achievable targets that contribute to education, health and environment indicators regardless of their title as a PCV. Please complete the table below listing projected targets for each relevant indicator. Where no target will be set, please mark a 0. Note: The narrative M&E portion of your application should detail indicators for how your project will be monitored beyond this larger framework, be specific to the project to measure outputs and track success. Project Target Peace Corps Tanzania Framework indicators Students: Class, Club, or Camp Achievement/ Mastery of Content - Number of students, out of the total number of students the Volunteer/partner worked with, who demonstrated improved achievement in the content of the class, club, or camp, as determined by a formal or informal assessment. Students: Confidence and Motivation Number of students, out of the total number of students the Volunteer/partner worked with, who demonstrated increased confidence or motivation in a class, club, or camp. Teachers: Science/Math Teaching Techniques - Number of teachers, out of the total number of teachers the Volunteer worked with, who improved math or science instruction by using new or improved teaching techniques. Individual or Small Group, Excluding PLHIV, Reached with an HIV Prevention Intervention: # of general population (NOT including MARPs/Key populations and PLHIV) reached with individual and/or small group level HIV prevention interventions that are based on evidence and/or meet the minimum standards required # of individuals who received Testing and Counseling (HTC) services for HIV and received their test results (Short-term Outcome) Can Identify Ways of Preventing HIV and Can Reject Major Misconceptions - # of young women and men aged 15 24 who both correctly identify ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and who reject major misconceptions about HIV transmission Youth trained in sexual reproductive health and modern contraceptive methods: 5
# of target population reached with individual or small group level training on sexual and reproductive health and modern contraceptive methods Adopted One Healthy Sexual Behavior to Reduce STI and Prevent Pregnancy: # of youth who report adopting at least one of the following healthy behaviors (delay sexual debut, consistent use of condoms, correct use of condoms, reduction of sexual partners, secondary abstinence) Able to identify 3 or more times when hand washing is critical #people who can identify 3 or more critical times when they must wash their hands Water resources-access # of new water wells or other water capture or distribution system installed with assistance of the volunteer/partner. Community environmental knowledge #of individual who attended educational/training sessions, meeting or public gatherings, the purpose of which was to teach new environmental knowledge and skills 9) Application Annex 3: Budget Please provide a detailed budget for the project, including requested resources and how specific resources will be used. In-kind, cash and community contributions should be detailed here and represent at least 25% of the total budget. The excel file from the small grant application should be used. Please do not create your own budget. 10) Application Annex 4: Counterpart Letter of Commitment All project must identity at least 1 and up to 3 local counterparts to endorse and contribute to the project application. To receive resources, the PCV and 1 counterpart must attend the 3-day training. If either the PCV or counterpart is absent during the training, resources will be reallocated. This letter must be written or typed in English or Swahili, signed by the counterpart with his/her name, title and contact information. It should then be witnessed by 2 community members (who are not a PCV). Each witness should include their signature, printed name and contact information, such as a mobile phone number. 11) Submission Deadline: No later than COB on Friday, February 21, 2014 Completed VAST applications should be emailed to small grants coordinator - Yovitha Mrina (ymrina@peacecorps.gov), with scanned letters no later than COB on Friday, February 21, 2014 to be eligible for award. 6