Project assistance completion report : special development fund -- project no. 515-0222.01 : October 27, 1988-December 31, 1994

The project surpassed targets in most cases, approving 1,032 sub-grants for an equal number of community projects, mainly to support the construction of classrooms, health posts, school lunchrooms, water systems, rural bridges, and to support income-generating activities. Seven subprojects could not be finished before the PACD. With one exception, the communities were not at fault for the delay, which was mainly due to the failure of the national water institute to provide its support on time. However, three of these projects were finished by the communities a few months later. All recipient communities contributed materials needed to implement the projects, including land, labor, wood, fuel, design costs, tile floors, chain link fences, and construction tools. These contributions were always equal to the donation received from the SDF and, in at least 75% of the cases, were worth more than amount received. The main lesson learned is that the overall success of the subprojects depended on the community"s level of organization and management capability. Other lessons learned were as follows. (1) The poorer, the smaller, and the more remote the beneficiary community, the greater was the project"s impact, since these communities did not have access to other sources of support. (2) It was desirable and necessary for the subprojects to be coordinated with other public and private institutions, but the latter were not directly responsible for their implementation and maintenance. The communities were at all times in charge of developing and managing the subprojects; this was one of the main reasons for the project"s success. (3) The close partnership between the Mission"s office in charge of the SDF and the Peace Corps and in particular the work done by the volunteers involved in the project were key elements to its integrity and success.