Impact
"CorpsAfrica took me out of my comfort zone, taught me a lot of new skills, and gave me hope that if people come together, we can accomplish anything. It made me appreciate things I took for granted."
- Lusekelo Simwela, Malawi Group 1
- Lusekelo Simwela, Malawi Group 1
CorpsAfrica has committed to a program of specifically measuring the growth of Volunteers and the outcomes of each individual project. We are constantly working to improve our monitoring and evaluation methods and we have made significant strides in developing surveys and instruments to benchmark and measure our impact at our current level, equally focused on the Volunteer experience, growth, and project impact.
We work with a Peace Corps Response Volunteer who has developed an evaluation system and trains CorpsAfrica Volunteers in different ways to assess their individual projects. Impact evaluation is a critical aspect of our model. Because of the large number and diversity of our projects, we see enormous potential for sharing lessons learned with the international development community.
We work with a Peace Corps Response Volunteer who has developed an evaluation system and trains CorpsAfrica Volunteers in different ways to assess their individual projects. Impact evaluation is a critical aspect of our model. Because of the large number and diversity of our projects, we see enormous potential for sharing lessons learned with the international development community.
CorpsAfrica's Goals
Promote the professional and personal development of young Africans.
Inspire a strong pan-African community and network of public service.
Connect rural areas to the vast resources and innovations of diverse NGO partners.
Build the capacity of rural villages to create self-sufficiency in every sector.
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CorpsAfrica Volunteers do not go into a community with a preconceived agenda. Each project responds to a need identified by the local community and requires community buy-in and participation.
Volunteers are trained first and foremost in listening skills – learning to listen to their community and how to work collaboratively to create a lasting impact on the communities they serve. Starting with Group 1 in Malawi and Group 2 in Senegal, Volunteers are trained on how to use professional-level tools to specifically measure the goals and actual achievements they demonstrate with each project.
Volunteers are trained first and foremost in listening skills – learning to listen to their community and how to work collaboratively to create a lasting impact on the communities they serve. Starting with Group 1 in Malawi and Group 2 in Senegal, Volunteers are trained on how to use professional-level tools to specifically measure the goals and actual achievements they demonstrate with each project.
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CorpsAfrica's Impact
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200+ Community Projects
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60% of Staff are Former Volunteers
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500+ People Impacted on Average by 1 Volunteer
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99% of Communities Request More Volunteers
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In Morocco, Hiba helped her village construct a preschool to better prepare the village's children for Kindergarten by teaching numbers, letters, and basic social skills. In its first year, 35 children attended the new preschool.
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In Senegal, Ndeye Awa worked with her community to construct and equip a large space that serves as the local primary school's cafeteria. Many of the children travel far distances to get to school and aren't able to commute home for lunch. This project helped increased attendance at school, while providing an extra meal for students whose families often have many children to feed.
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In Malawi, Emas trained a group of women on making improved stoves that are more efficient and effective. The women now not only make the stoves for themselves, but sell them locally as well, generating an additional income stream for themselves and their families.
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"The thing I am most proud of from my CorpsAfrica experience is having been able to get out of my comfort zone and live/work in a rural community for one whole year. This has broadened my horizon on the views I had about development and helped me learn how other people live. I'm also proud of the lasting friendships and relationships which I have established with the CorpsAfrica family as well as the people in the community where I was placed. I have learnt what it is like to associate with people from different backgrounds and with different personal beliefs and values. All these experiences have shaped me into a much better person."
- Deborah Kamanga, Malawi Group 1
- Deborah Kamanga, Malawi Group 1
"CorpsAfrica provided me with an incredible training that helped me integrate into my community. The training gave me the skills to identify needs in the village, and to address these needs through a project."
- Badr Khouzima, Maroc Group 2
- Badr Khouzima, Maroc Group 2
"Development is about the people and addressing their true needs. Mostly, we come up with projects that we think will help the people, but through observation of the community needs, we discover what may work and what may not. Sustainability is another thing that has to characterize community development. If people are not empowered to make decisions, then sustainability is at risk."
- Emas Potolani, Malawi Group 1
- Emas Potolani, Malawi Group 1
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NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service Analysis
Soufian (second from left), CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Morocco,
facilitating a community meeting in his village
CorpsAfrica was delighted to work with a team of five graduate students from NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service for the 2013/2014 academic year.
The purpose of this project was to take an academic approach to demonstrating the impact of the Volunteers' projects in addition to the program itself and the impact on the Volunteers' lives. The capstone group worked closely with CorpsAfrica staff, Board, and Volunteers during training and in the field to develop tools for measuring impact as well as a system for collecting and recording results.
Read their report here.
The purpose of this project was to take an academic approach to demonstrating the impact of the Volunteers' projects in addition to the program itself and the impact on the Volunteers' lives. The capstone group worked closely with CorpsAfrica staff, Board, and Volunteers during training and in the field to develop tools for measuring impact as well as a system for collecting and recording results.
Read their report here.
