NEWSLETTER: Encouraging Reporting through Incentives

The Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund has been active in development work in Burundi since 2011. Through its Student Grants Program, its main business is to provide small, start-up development grants. The Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund has provided 24 start-up grants to 24 development projects and 26 Project Managers. Eighteen (18) or 75% of the projects are active projects and most of the projects have been active for a number years. Some of our development projects have spawned extension projects with additional associations of women (self-replicating).

All of our projects have an association of beneficiaries, usually vulnerable women who engage in self-help with the project and self-help among their members. All of our development projects aim to become self-supporting, self-managing and self-governing. By far, our most common (14 of 18 active projects) and our most successful project model that has evolved has a focus on agriculture. The agriculture development project model involves animal husbandry; breeding and distributing goats or pigs, and crop cultivation; planting, harvesting, sharing and selling various crops. The model includes an internal self-supporting microfinancing function that provides small loans for personal and income-generating purposes.

Progress Reporting

To encourage our volunteer Project Managers to provide regular and satisfactory progress reports, the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund has introduced two related incentive programs; Satisfactory Reporting Rewards and Small Additional Grants. To facilitate, coordinate and monitor reporting, Louise NTIRANIGIRA, our Program Coordinator, provides support services to ensure and enhance reporting. For 2019 and thanks to the Project Managers and our Program Coordinator, the two incentive programs produced reasonable results.

Louise, Program Coordinator

Satisfactory Reporting Rewards

The first incentive program, the Satisfactory Reporting Reward, is a small financial reward for Project Managers who submit at least three satisfactory progress reports in the previous calendar year; January through December. Satisfactory progress reports are written reports describing the project’s functions, activities and results, accompanied by action photographs. For 2019, the following Project Managers received a Satisfactory Reporting Reward; a small financial reward equivalent to $30.00 USD.

Aimé Fidèle NINGEJEJE, Supporting Poor and Vulnerable Women by Raising Pigs and Cultivating Crops at Kajaga in Mutimbuzi Commune

Aimé, Project Manager

Audace MPAWENIMANA, Women Shopkeepers in Buterere Zone, Bujumbura Mairie Province

Audace, Project Manager

Audace MPAWENIMANA, Making Bricks and Cultivating Rice in Mugaruro Quarter, Buterere Commune

Audace, Project Manager

Christine Kamirameya, Goats and Crops for Women at Matara in NYABIRABA District

Christine, Project Manager

Dieudonné IRAMBONA, Breeding Goats and Cultivating Crops for Vulnerable Women from Mihigo Colline, Kayanza Province

Dieudonné, Project Manager

Elise NUWAYO, Supporting Poor Rural Women through Pig Farming in Mutimvuzi Commune, Bujumbura Rural Province

Elise, Project Manager

Ernest MANIRAKIZA, Microfinancing for Poor Women at Mirango in Kamenge Commune

Ernest, Project Manger

Kilongo Banyakwa, Welding Workshop at Buterere

Kilongo, Project Manager

Prosper NIYONGERE, Farming Potatoes and Breeding Goats in Bukirasazi Commune

Prosper, Project Manager

Small Additional Grants

The second incentive program is a Small Additional Grant for Project Associations which have a Project Manager who submitted at least three satisfactory reports during the previous calendar year (this time the grant was for the equivalent of $100.00 USD). The Small Additional Grant is not available until a year after the initial start-up grant was provided. As the beneficiaries learn about the availability of a Small Additional Grant, it is hoped that they will encourage their Project Manager to ensure they are reporting satisfactorily. At the beginning of 2020, Small Additional Grants were provided to support the development work of the associations for the following projects.

Supporting Poor and Vulnerable Women by Raising Pigs and Cultivating Crops at Kajaga in Mutimbuzi Commune, Aimé Fidèle NINGEJEJE

Women Shopkeepers in Buterere Zone, Bujumbura Mairie Province, Audace MPAWENIMANA

Making Bricks and Cultivating Rice in Mugaruro Quarter, Buterere Commune, Audace MPAWENIMANA

Goats and Crops for Women at Matara in NYABIRABA District, Christine Kamirameya

Breeding Goats and Cultivating Crops for Vulnerable Women from Mihigo Colline, Kayanza Province, Dieudonné IRAMBONA

Supporting Poor and Vulnerable Women by Raising Pigs and Cultivating Crops at Kajaga in Mutimbuzi Commune, Elise NUWAYO

Microfinancing for Poor Women at Mirango in Kamenge Commune, Ernest MANIRAKIZA

Welding Workshop at Buterere, Kilongo Banyakwa

Farming Potatoes and Breeding Goats in Bukirasazi Commune, Prosper NIYONGERE

Supporting Batwa Women in Breeding Goats and Cultivating Rice at Rubirizi in Mutimbuzi Commune, Barthelemy MINANI

Working with the associations that no longer have an active Project Manager, our Program Coordinator, Louise NTIRANYIBAGIRA, coordinated the process of developing a proposal for a Small Additional Grant for two of our project locations that each have two original development projects and one location has two extension projects and the other has three extension projects.

Louise, Program Coordinator

Isale Project Location:

• Breeding Goats and Cultivating Crops at Nyambuye Zone in Isale Commune (2014)

• Raising Pigs and Cultivating Crops in Nyamburye Zone, Isale Commune (2017)

Kabezi Project Location:

• Improved Food Security at Kabezi (2012)

• Development of Vegetable Culture for the Self-Financing of IAP Twubake (2013)