EMPOWERING AND TRANSFORMING

COMMUNITIES TO DETERMINE AND DRIVE

THEIR OWN DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: CONDUITS FOR COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
Lessons learnt from the Strengthening Community Schools
to provide Education and Other Related Services
(SCORES) Project.

LEARNING
PRODUCT
JUNE 2013

CARE International - Zambia in partnership with Reformed Open

Community Schools

TRANSFORMING
COMMUNITIES
USING
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: LESSONS LEARNT FROM
THE SCORES PROJECT
Providing quality social services such as education and health to
citizens is a responsibility of any government. But in reality this may
not be possible owing to many competing needy areas that the
government has to address. According to the Millennium
Development Goals Progress Report for Zambia, the country has
made steady progress on primary school enrolment which has
increased from 80% percent in 1990 to 93.7% in 2010. However,
concerns remain on the quality of education received as well as the
enrolment and completion rates in secondary school subsequently
(UNDP, 2013). The Report further recommended that in order to
achieve the MDG number 2 which is ensuring that by 2015, children
everywhere, boys and girls alike would be able to complete a full
course of primary schooling, significant reforms and investments will
be needed in the education sector.
In Zambia, not all children attend school in government run schools.
Some children have access to education through community schools.
Community schools have grown in response to the need to provide
education opportunities to disadvantaged families and children and
clearly offer an important complement to public schools. Currently,
community schools provide education to almost 470, 000 children in
the poorest and most vulnerable communities across Zambia. These
schools on the other hand do not just offer educational services to
children but they also serve other purposes.

Overall SCORES objective

To improve access to and quality of
social services in education and
health through the empowerment of
local communities
Outcomes

Strengthened capacity of
ROCS to provide quality
support

to

Community

Schools;

Strengthened capacity of 30
PCSCs to organize and
manage
Schools

Community
which

educational

provide

services

around 6,000 school aged

children and

Thirty

(30)

community-

based HIV/AIDS care and

support

networks

established and led by

PCSCs.

Increasingly, community schools have also become involved in

locally-led responses to health needs especially those arising from the
HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is believed that the integrated focus of
community schools on academics, health and social services and
community development and community engagement can lead to improved child learning, stronger families
and healthier communities.
CAREs Experience in Community Schools and Early Childhood Development
CARE International has been operational in Zambia for over 20 years following an invitation from the
Zambian government to assist in responding to the drought of the early nineties. The programming
emphasis is now long-term, community-based development carried out increasingly through local partners.
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to

CARE has engaged in and supported work with OVC (ECD and basic primary education) and Integrated
Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) for over 10 years. CARE's SCOPE-OVC program (200-2012)
supported over 155 community schools through an approach which integrated health, nutrition, cognitive
development, active learning, child protection, and psychosocial support in order to address the needs of
children and in its later years added an ECD component to its operation.
The project aimed to improve the quality of education and the learning environment in schools; provide
psychosocial support (PSS) to children and their guardians/caregivers; increase influence on policies for
orphans and other vulnerable children; and improve childrens health and nutrition.
With support from ELMA Foundation and building on the SCOPE OVC project and the Moyo wa Bana
(IMCI) project 2002-2013), CARE Zambia implemented the Survive and Thrive - Health and
Development for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zambia (2008-2011) project which aimed to improve
quality of education and health provision for under-fives through strengthening community school
management and integrating community-based IMCI into existing ECD services in 32 community schools
(also ECD centres) in four districts (Kabwe, Masaiti, Ndola and Serenje). Among key activities were teacher
training, training school managers, child health promoters (CHPs), infrastructure development, provision of
teaching and learning materials, provision of play equipment (toys, swings, merry-go-rounds etc) and
facilitation of supervisory visits by MOH and MOE.
The Strengthening Community Schools to provide Education and Other Related Services (SCORES)
project which started in January 2010 was an EU-funded initiative to support a range of educational
development and HIV and AIDS response activities in Lundazi and Chama Districts of Zambias Eastern
Province. The project was implemented by CARE International Zambia in partnership with the Reformed
Open Community Schools (ROCS). This project used the community school as an entry point and worked
to build the capacity of the community school leadership (Parent Community School Committees) to
manage the schools and network effectively with other local responses to HIV and AIDS. In addition,
SCORES also sought to build ROCS capacity to continue providing support and guidance to community
schools post the project period. More specifically, SCORES focused on building the skills and capacity of
community school management structures, the Parent Community School Committee (PCSC), to shoulder
the increased responsibility arising from the dual role of education service provider and HIV/AIDS response
coordinator and facilitator.
Baseline Status, Activities and Achievements/Impact of SCORES
The project took a holistic approach to mitigating the impacts of HIV/AIDS on orphans and vulnerable
children and addressing their diverse needs by strengthening the capacity of communities and using
community schools as centres of care and support. External reviews of the project such as the Baseline Report,
Impact-Outcome Evaluation Report and the Mid-Term Evaluation Report Impact as well as field visits to project
communities, revealed clearly that the project recorded a number of successes.

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Prior to the full implementation of the SCORES project in 2010 (May), a study was conducted by CARE
International-Zambia aimed at providing baseline information on the projects key indicators and ultimately
to be used in assessing the project outcomes falling within three expected results. This section provides
information about the status at baseline, the activities undertaken to address the issues identified and the
achievements as well as impact of the project. The information is presented under each expected result.
Strengthened capacity of ROCS to provide quality support to community schools
The baseline study results revealed that ROCS as an organisation was well established with sound
management planning and implementation strategies; functional fiscal and administrative policies and
practices. However and in reference to ROCS specific role as an implementing partner for CARE on the
SCORES project, the organizational capacity in some areas needed to be strengthened and in some cases
re-organized to ensure success and sustainability of the project interventions and outcomes. Other findings
under this outcome pointed to the need to build the capacity of ROCS to provide mentoring and supervision
to the school committees, help ROCS with transport logistics, resource mobilization and allocation and
build capacity of ROCS in psychosocial support, monitoring and evaluation (SCORES/CARE-Zambia
Baseline Report, 2010).
The SCORES project
has really helped us to
improve our community.
After each meeting with
people from the project,
we always proceed to
have another meeting
with all the members of
the community to share
what we have learnt. As I
speak
now,
our
community is more united
and organized and we all
practice what we have
been taught. We are
happy to see all these
positive changes in our
community.

According to the Annual Narrative Report for the period

April 2012 to March 2013 (CARE 2013), in order to ensure
ROCSs capacity to implement the SCORES project,
CARE conducted the following activities for ROCS staff:
1. Organization Self Assessment (OSA) for seven (7)
ROCS staff (4 females and 3 males). Upon
completion of this training ROCS staff were able to
develop the Organisation Strategic Plan for the period
of one year.

2. HIV/AIDS and Gender training in August 2012 in

Chipata involving 3 female and 4 male participants
from ROCS and two male participants from CARE.
The training enabled ROCS staff to incorporate
HIV/AIDS during mentoring of PCSC members. It was
observed that during community meetings in Lundazi
and Chama PCSC members were more articulate in
explaining HIV/AIDS issues than before.
Member of the PCSC at
3. People Management training for eight (8) ROCS
Tema Tema Community
personnel and 2 from CARE. Similar training was
School
offered to an intern attached to ROCS and an HR/administration staff from the RCZ synod office that
supports ROCS. The training focused on issues that relate to HR and Administration. As a result of
this training ROCS management requested staff to come up with suggestions on how human resource
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4.

5.

6.

7.

issues could be improved in ROCS. And during the strategic planning, committees were formed that
were perceived to have had potential of resolving internal conflicts. A recommendation was also made
to introduce a human resource department within ROCS to deal with the growing need for HR services
in the organization.
A Finance workshop facilitated by CARE Zambia finance staff took place concurrently with the
peoples management workshop in Lusaka. The finance training enabled staff to appreciate and learn
about allowable and disallowable costs. After the training, finance staff visited the field office three
times to work with them on financial matters. Another significant result is that ROCS finance staff
especially the accountant was now able to generate donors reports for other ROCS projects such as
EU for the ENGINE project, WATSAN, a TEAR Australia funded project and Zambia Governance
foundation.
Income Generating Activity training was conducted in Lusaka in October, 2012 and facilitated by a
hired consultant from Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) with 11 participants. The project staff
conducted meetings in nearly all the community schools supported by the SCORES project to revive
and strengthen the IGA committees. Training of the IGA committees was organized as part of an exit
strategy for the schools to develop plans on how they would generate resources to assist with teacher
payments and other school requirements.
Advocacy training was conducted in Lusaka in October November 2012 and facilitated by CARE
Zambia staff from the Country office. This training was timely for ROCS because the organisation had
just been awarded funding from Zambia Governance Foundation (ZGF) project that promoted lobbying
and advocacy for Childrens rights. As a result of skills and knowledge gained from advocacy training,
there had been a marked improvement in project management by SCORES staff.
CARE Zambia facilitated the proposal writing training for ROCS staff. The trainers were hired from
Zambia Youth Empowerment and from the Ministry of Community Development. This training resulted
in staff developing proposals in response to calls for proposals from donors. Four proposals were
submitted of which two were successful (WATSAN project proposal which was submitted to the
Ensemble, Education support proposal submitted to TEAR Australia, Participation School Governance
and policy advocacy proposal submitted to ZGF, and the ENGINE proposal that was submitted to the
EU) The two that were successful included the Participation School Governance and Policy Advocacy
and the ENGINE proposal.

In addition, in August 2012 ROCS staff held their strategic planning meeting that was facilitated by CARE
M&E staff from STEPS OVC Lusaka office. After this interaction, ROCS Staff were more confident as they
conducted training and provided mentoring support to the PCSC members and community volunteer
teachers.
Another activity under expected result number one (1) was mentoring of ROCS field staff by CARE in Multi
sector responses to HIV/AIDS including provision of psychosocial support. This activity yielded positive
results in that ROCS was able to mentor PCSCs during community meetings and monitoring visits which
resulted in PCSCs sensitizing community members on issues of HIV/AIDS, gender, child abuse and early
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marriages. The PCSCs continued conducting counseling sessions to pupils. As a result school attendance
improved in many schools as most pupils who had stopped attending classes had gone back to school. In
the project areas, sensitization was evident as PCSCs conducted voluntary counselling and testing.
According to the Annual Narrative Report (April 2012 to March 2013), the PCSC and Neighbourhood
Health Committee (NHC) in conjunction with the local health centres conducted VCT services once a
month at many project schools. The project had captured 750 people in the communities in both districts,
Chama (276) and Lundazi (474) that were reported to have been tested and knew their HIV status.
With reference to expected result number one (1) which was about strengthening capacity of ROCS to
provide quality support to community schools, it was obvious that ROCS capacity had been built in the key
areas of supportive supervision, monitoring and evaluation, psychosocial support as well as report writing.
According to Mr Marlon Phiri, the Executive Director of ROCS, the SCORES project helped his organisation
to better support community schools because of the training his staff received at national, sub-national and
district levels. He added that the capacity building had had a significant impact on the overall
implementation of the project. The positive attainments of the project were highly valued by ROCS and
CAREs support in this respect was highly appreciated
Strengthened capacity of 30 PCSC to organize and manage community schools which provide
educational services to around 6,000 school aged children (many who are OVCs)
Under this expected result and in measuring the capacity of the PCSCs, the findings from a baseline study
demonstrated the varying degrees at which the school committees were in reference to the key
competencies required for them to adequately manage community schools. Overall, few committees were
represented by at least one member trained in a management skill (38%) and these were mostly in Lundazi
and this could be partially attributed to the presence of ROCS and other NGOs in Lundazi. The other issue
was frequency of committee elections which was not uniform across committees, with 64% of the
committees reporting holding elections on an annual basis (SCORES/CARE-Zambia Baseline Report,
2010).
Under expected result number two (2) which was strengthening the capacity of 30 PCSC to organize and
manage community schools which provided educational services to around 6,000 school aged children, a
number of capacity building activities were undertaken. Training in leadership, management and
organization was conducted for 205 PCSC members. PCSCs utilized the knowledge gained from the
training. This was evident in the number of resource mobilization activities and management processes
happening in the community schools such as mobilizing of upfront building materials, organizing funds for
teacher support and teaching materials from DEBS offices. For example, the Annual Narrative Report
(CARE, 2013) reported that about KR24, 000 was released by the DEBS office and over 490 desks had
been distributed to 15 community schools. Further, community members capacity in resource mobilization
had been enhanced especially with regard to accessing support from Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
As a result of community participation to improve the school infrastructure, some community schools have
been earmarked for upgrading into public schools. According to Mr Leonard Ngoma, DEBS Chama, eleven
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(11) community schools have been recommended for upgrading and four (4) have new and modern
classroom infrastructure and staff houses were being built. He added that through the SCORES project, all
the fifteen (15) project community schools in Chama District had boreholes and members of the community
were also benefiting by accessing clean drinking water.
The SCORES project under expected result number two (2) also incorporated mentoring 30 PCSC in
community and resource mobilization and long-range action planning. This activity had impact because all
the 30 schools had already started implementing mobilization activities. These ranged from construction of
classroom blocks, VIP latrine construction, brick molding, construction of teachers houses, sourcing
teaching and building materials, capital contribution for borehole drilling and actual borehole drilling and
income generating activities such as farming. The project also included training PCSC members in
psychosocial support. The topics covered included child counseling, childrens rights, child abuse, stress
and trauma, child development and HIV/AIDS. This training helped the PCSCs to effectively understand the
psychosocial needs of children at schools and the community at large. The Annual Narrative Report (CARE
2013) captured a case of a mother at Kamatete who acted upon hearing that her 14 year old daughter was
to be forced into marriage with a 25 years old man. The mother reported the matter to the PCSC and the
school authorities took action and the pupil was back in school. Another example is in Zibambale
community in Chama where a grade 7 pupil was impregnated by a 21 year old man and the matter was
reported to the SCORES office by the PCSC and the community members. The matter was taken up by the
Police Victim Support Unit (VSU). This demonstrated the impact of training in psychosocial support. Over
54 PCSC Members were trained in psychosocial support and 92 members of the PCSC received refresher
courses in the same area/subject.
Another important aspect under expected result two (2) was training of volunteer teachers. Baseline
information indicated the need to train all the teachers in the intervention school both in Chama and
Lundazi in the 12 Basic Teaching Skills and psychosocial counseling and support. This training for the
teachers was very important as it resulted in a rise in pupil performance, retention and enrolment. There
was an increase in the enrolment of pupils in most of the community schools. In the second quarter of the
first semester, pupil enrolment stood at 6,079 (3,315 and 2,764 girls) from 5,986 (3263 boys and 2,723
girls) in the first quarter. As at December 2012, the figure for enrolment was 6,123 (3,216 boys and 2,907
girls) and by the 31st of January 2013 enrolment rose to 6,299 of which 3,320 were boys and 2,979 were
girls. This increase can be attributed to teacher training and sensitization activities that had happened in the
various communities on childrens rights. Training helped to improve effectiveness on the part of teachers
in that they were able to plan their lessons better, clarify their objectives, praise the pupils more, set up
better group activities, organize their classrooms more effectively and create more interactive classes.
Furthermore, their lessons showed greater variety and their classrooms were more friendly. On the other
hand, pupils also benefitted from this training indirectly. The pupils were able to respond to the questions
better. They were more on task, more motivated and participated more in the lessons (SCORES/CARE,
Annual Narrative Report, 2013).
Another achievement of the SCORES project under expected outcome number 2 was raised awareness
about gender in the project communities. But in order to effectively incorporate the subject of gender, some
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baseline information was to be established so the project conducted a mini survey using focus group
discussions (FGDs). According to the report on Gender Awareness and Sensitivity in SCORES Community
Schools (SCORES/CARE) women were still undervalued in both Chama and Lundazi districts by men and
society at large in terms of participation and decision making due to cultural beliefs and tradition. But as a
result of the SCORES project, more women were seen taking up positions of authority in the PCSCs and
other development committees. During the visits to capture best practices in various community schools in
both Chama and Lundazi districts, many women turned up and they participated actively in the discussions.
This was not the case before the SCORES project was implemented in the two areas. The women were
also articulate as they told about the impact of the project.
30 community-based HIV/AIDS care and support networks established and led by PCSC
For this expected result, baseline information indicated that the PCSCs rarely implemented activities on
health with only 27% of the assessed PCSCs reported having implemented health related activities within
the schools as well as within their communities. Part of the explanation to this was the inadequacy,
inaccessible and sometimes the absence of health related services within the communities with 64%
reporting not having or having inadequate HIV and AIDS support services. However, the baseline
information indicated that the majority of the communities reported having trained health volunteers in their
midst including neighbourhood health committees, community health workers, HIV/AIDS and TB treatment
support groups, traditional birth attendants and others. Therefore, the gap was more to do with integrating
these into the activities of the PCSCs (SCORES/CARE-Zambia Baseline Report, 2010).
Under expected result number three (3) the project aimed at establishing 30 community-based HIV/AIDS
care and support networks led by PCSCs. One of the activities was to map other service providers such as
VCT, under-5 care (IMCI), TB, HBC, PMTCT, and psycho-social support, Income Generating, VSL etc, in
or near the community in which the 30 community schools were located. The Annual Narrative Report
(SCORES/CARE, 2013) indicated that in Lundazi, Kachizutu, Kaluwe, Nthakalavu, Tematema and
Kadamsana community schools, voluntary counselling and testing services were being conducted every
month at their schools. Kachizutu, Tematema, Mutu wa Njovu, Changozi and Kajimomo also started linking
the orphans at the school for support to the STEPS OVC project. The community schools under SCORES
were being used as centres of care and support by the communities who conducted activities such as
growth monitoring, youth friendly corner and other developmental meetings. Health related and other
activities took place in these schools with the leadership from within their communities. The activities
include HIV/AIDS sensitization, distribution of power-nets, measles campaign, child health and growth
monitoring and NHC nutrition group which supported the well being of children.
Another activity of the SCORES project under expected result three was to guide 30 PCSC in establishing
and coordinating an active provider network of local response to HIV/AIDS. Through the mapping exercise
for available services in their various communities almost every school had under- five activities taking
place every month. Other services taking place in the schools included Safe Motherhood Group meetings
(SMAG), MAMAS literacy lessons, womens clubs, distribution of power-net insecticide treated bed nets,

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Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), Women for Change meetings, Child Health Week
activities, cooperative meetings and other services.
The SCORES project further facilitated linkages and synergies between the 30 PCSCS and other projects
supported by other donors and with health related services as well as zonal governmental schools.
According to the Second Interim Narrative Report (SCORES/CARE, 2012), all the 30 community schools
under SCORES had been linked to zonal government schools. These rendered support in different ways;
for instance permitting volunteer teachers from community schools to attend teacher group meetings, by
providing the school syllabus and by inviting community schools to take part in school games and
competitions and by mentoring of community school teachers as they interacted with trained government
school teachers.

A vital component of the SCORES project which perhaps accounted for its success was the
approach that aimed at transforming the mind set of communities to desist from looking out for
hand-outs and instead look within and unlocking the local resources through working together and
being assertive in demanding services from authorities. People learnt to negotiate for their rights.

PCSC and sub-committee members in front of their Community School at Kadamsana (Lundazi district)

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UNVEILING SUCCESS FACTORS OF THE SCORES PROJECT AND LESSONS LEARNT

The approach CARE International Zambia used was

different from what ROCS was used to but it yielded
positive outcomes. Capacity building of ROCS staff was
vital in successfully implementing the SCORES project. The
members of staff at national, sub-national and district
levels were all empowered.
Mr Marlon Phiri
Executive Director - ROCS

Success factors
Participatory approach
Successful implementation of any project is largely dependent on a number of factors ranging from project
design down to the people on the ground. The SCORES project recorded its successes principally as a
result of a carefully chosen participatory approach. Working closely with the initiators of community schools
(the PCSCs) the project ensured acceptability and buy in from the local people. Members of the community
in the intervention community schools strongly supported the project by building skills that enabled them to
negotiate with other sources of support, without being dependent on CARE or ROCS.
Strategic partnership and synergistic approach
Another success factor embedded in the project design was the involvement of strategic partners from
inception. Participation of stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education, Health and Local Government
guaranteed government support for the project. Often times, projects fail to succeed because of
antagonism among different stakeholders. However, the opposite seemed to be the case for the SCORES
project. It was designed in such a way that all relevant stakeholders and partners were actively involved
from the start and so everyone moved at the same pace and everyone knew their mandate and
responsibilities.
Government endorsement
In addition, the project achieved its objectives partly because government has created a favourable
environment in which civil society organisations can work freely and also partner with the government to
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deliver much needed development in different sectors. Such a harmonious and symbiotic relationship has
the potential of catapulting development for disadvantaged people.
Working with reputable partner
The other dynamic to the SCORES project that contributed to its success was the tactical choice of ROCS
as the organisation to implement the project. The option of ROCS was ideal in the sense that the
organisation was already on the ground and so it was not a stranger to the communities. This enhanced
acceptability since ROCS was a reputable organisation working with community schools. On the other
hand, ROCS considered CARE a useful and worthwhile partner who would add value to their efforts and so
mutual trust existed between the two entities.
Using new approaches
Like the saying goes, do not
give a man a fish but show
him how to fish, indeed the
SCORES project has
empowered many
communities to fend for
themselves and where they
cannot manage, they have the
ability to approach institutions
and organisations that can
render support to them.
This proves that hand-outs
may not always be the
solution. More sustainable
approaches must be
exploited.

It was also evident that the project worked because it

endeavoured to depart from the usual approach of providing
hand-outs to communities. It instead tried to change peoples
mind set to take initiatives in mobilizing resources for their
own communities. As stated earlier, nearly all schools under
SCORES had embarked on activities to improve the school
infrastructure in readiness for upgrading as per government
policy on community schools. The starting point of capacity
building through training proved effective because
communities were able to mobilize local resources and also
approach other organizations including the government to
assist them develop their areas. Training assisted community
members to understand and appreciate the project. Training
of some members of the community also had a domino effect
because trained individuals in turn passed on the message to
other members in the community.
Dedicated staff

Another aspect that can be cited for the positive outcome of

the project was the evident dedication and commitment of implementers on the ground. Many members of
the community attested to the fact that they got encouraged and inspired by the hard work put in by staff
from both ROCS and CARE. They testified that the officers exhibited care and concern for the communities
and this was evidenced through their regular visits.
Community support
Members of the community can also be credited for their cooperation. The project was well received and
supported by members of the community. They responded well by putting into practice what they were
taught. Interacting with members of the various project communities shows clearly that people are more
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assertive and development oriented. More women are taking up positions of influence in the PCSCs and
other development committees than was the case before the SCORES project.
In a nut shell, the major reason why this project tried to make a difference was teamwork. It appeared that
the various stakeholders cooperated well resulting in effective implementation of the project and ultimately
noticeable impact on the ground.

Lessons learnt (Best Practice for replication)

The manner in which the SCORES project was designed and later implemented provides a number of
lessons for future projects by CARE and other organizations.
Schools as centres for other social services
It is clear that community schools and indeed regular schools
can be used as centres for accessing certain services
especially in rural areas as well as other disadvantaged areas
where social amenities and services are non-existent. Schools
are usually regarded as neutral venues for community
activities and so unnecessary tensions are avoided. In
addition to being neutral venues, schools are places where
many people congregate for other community development
activities and also it is easy to reach out to communities
through the pupils in the school.
It is also true that school led initiatives have the potential to
succeed. People still consider school structures to be credible
therefore they are likely to support initiatives that appear to
have the blessing of the government. Schools can be used as
entry points for a number of projects.

The SCORES project answered

the needs of many people. As you
are aware, the Ministry of
Education has a lot of challenges.
The DEBS office cannot reach all
the places because we have limited
capacity and resources but
SCORES managed to reach many
places. I also liked the approach of
involving the community because it
was the community which spear
headed the process. It was not
imposed on them and in that sense
the project interacted with the
community.

In addition, the management model of community schools

promotes inclusiveness and community participation. Mr Mwiinga
Community members who are in the PCSCs are usually
DEBS - Lundazi
influential members of such communities and so working with
them increases the chances of reaching the majority of people
in a particular area. Capacity building of community leaders
and other members of the community before execution of the
project was critical to enhancing understanding and support for the initiative.
Community participation and capacity building

The SCORES project demonstrated that projects with a high degree of community involvement or
participation stand greater chances of succeeding because members of the community understand and
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appreciate the initiative. However, for the community to support any initiative, they need to be informed or
educated on the issue. In this regard, capacity building is vital. It is often said knowledge is power and
therefore educating people and strengthening capacities to take their own actions has lead to positive
outcomes. The SCORES project excelled in changing peoples mentality toward development by disproving
a long held notion that people can only appreciate hand-outs. Provision of hand-outs is not sustainable and
it is not desirable over time. Changing or transforming peoples attitudes is an essential prerequisite for
development requiring building peoples knowledge on how to obtain their entitlements and negotiate their
rights.
Strategic partnerships
Forging strategic partnerships is another way that leads to desired project outcomes. CARE and ROCS
managed to bring on board all relevant stakeholders that could contribute to the success of the
undertaking. These included line ministries such as Education, Health and Local Government and local
community and traditional leaders. The lesson learnt here is that early involvement or engagement of vital
stakeholders leads to project endorsement and effective management of the project because everyone
gets the chance to understand the intentions or objectives of the project and their assigned roles and
responsibilities.

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole
responsibility of CARE International Zambia and can under no circumstance be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
To learn more about the SCORES project please contact:
CARE International Zambia
9 Chitemwiko Close, Kabulonga
P.O. Box 36238
Lusaka
Zambia
Or
Reformed Open Community Schools (ROCS)
P.O. Box 38255
Olympia Park
Lusaka
Zambia

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