SAMPLE APPLICATION

McGovern-Dole International Food for Education & Child Nutrition Program

FY 2008

 

 

1.  NAME AND ADDRESS OF APPLICANT:

JKL, Inc. (JKL)

10 Freedom Place

Washington, D.C.  20000

Contact at U.S. Headquarters:                                      Overseas Contact:

Jane Little, Program Officer                                          Henry Dotson, Country Director                      

Telephone:        (202) 111-1111                                   333 Anywhere Street, Suite 3

Fax:                  (202) 111-2222                                   Penn City, Hopestan                            

E-mail:              JaneLittle@jkl.net                             Henry.Dotson@jkl.net.hstn

 

2.      COUNTRY OF DONATION:

Republic of Hopestan

 

3.  KIND, QUANTITY AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE OF COMMODITIES REQUESTED:

 

 

4.  ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES:

Overall Goal of the FFE program in Hopestan:  JKL will implement and conduct a program to improve enrollment, attendance and achievement levels of public school, pre-primary and primary-level students in the states of Brixel, Fonduk, and Huepel in impoverished western Hopestan.  JKL will focus on the following objectives of the program: 

 

·        Increase household security while increasing the importance of the girl-child through take-home rations.

·        Extend student/parent outreach efforts to improve and heighten the importance of education into the culture.

·        Improve the learning environment through teacher training, school supplies, and school construction to increase learning capacity.

·        Provide a school snack to reduce short-term hunger and increase attention in the classroom.

·        Create synergies with various organizations to increase the health of children, particularly through de-worming and beneficial hygiene practices training.

 

5.  PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

(a) Program Implementation:

 

Direct Distribution

Take-home Rations to Students and Teachers

JKL will distribute take-home rations consisting of the following commodities and quantities:

 

 

Monthly Take-home Ration per Student or Teacher
Food	Quantity Every Four Months
Rice	3 kgs
Vegetable Oil	4 liters
Great Northern beans	1.5 kgs

 

JKL will distribute the take-home ration every four months throughout the year for each student and teacher. To receive a take-home ration at the end of the quarter, children enrolled must attend at least 80 percent of the days that school is in session.  When school is not in session, take-home rations will be provided based on parental participation in the CEC and donated labor time to program infrastructure projects. 

 

JKL will provide take-home rations to teachers to encourage implementation of health and nutrition curriculum in the schools.  These rations will only be distributed to teachers upon recorded participation at 75 percent of the teacher training sessions and completion of a survey demonstrating their ability to implement participatory training themes in the classroom, at least twice per quarter.

 

Distribution of take-home rations is intended to supplement, not replace, family food resources.  It serves as an incentive for family involvement in education and support for children’s attendance.  Hopestan teachers’ salaries are insufficient to provide nutritious food for a small family.

 

Barter

Infrastructure Development

JKL will barter oil and rice for small construction projects, e.g. latrines or improved water systems, as approved by the CEC.   This barter program will fund the labor required for the projects.  The Ministry of Public Works will provide funds for the materials.  The funding of the labor will be phased out by the third year of the program with any further construction projects funded locally or by other donors.  Each area will employee the equivalent of 3,000 man-days for small construction projects in the schools.  JKL will provide, for each month’s work, 4 liter of oil and 2 kilograms of rice.

 

School Snacks

Using barter (flour), JKL will contract with local bakeries to produce a fortified, nutritious biscuit, which will be distributed by local recipient agencies as a school snack. By the second and third year of the program, the biscuit will be complemented by local foods purchased by parent committees in the schools with monetization funds.

 

Monetization

JKL will conduct the following activities with monetization funds.  These activities are fully explained in Section 6e. of this plan of operation.

- PTA Formation

- De-worming and Vitamin A supplement campaigns

- Teacher Training

 

Cash Activities

School Supplies, Gardens

JKL will use cash resources to purchase school supplies for students and teachers and seeds for school gardens.  These activities are essential to the success of providing the children and teachers with an adequate learning environment.  In the areas that are targeted for this activity, parents cannot afford to provide these resources to their children.  This activity will help to ensure that the attendance and enrollment levels are improved, particularly for girls.  Other donors will provide technical assistance for the gardens.  By the third year, the CEC or other donors will fund the cost of seeds and school supplies.

 

Administrative, Transportation and Storage Costs

JKL will fund administrative, transportation and storage costs via CCC dollars.

 

(b) Method for Choosing Beneficiaries

JKL assists persons on the basis of need, not religion, race, or nationality. JKL FFE Program activities will benefit 30,000 students and teachers in areas of chronic malnutrition, low literacy and extreme poverty in Western Hopestan. 

 

Target Areas

Implementation of this FFE program will focus on the impoverished and underserved states of Brixel, Fonduk, and Huepel. These states were selected in coordination with other organizations submitting a proposal for this initiative, in order to avoid duplication of coverage.  The MOE has also been consulted and agrees that these are good areas for implementation of the program.  They are all states that JKL has worked in previously and the need for educational development is understood.  In Fonduk, and Huepel, the majority of the population is indigenous and does not speak Hopestuk, the national language.  This contributes to an added difficulty in the educational sector as the MOE material is provided in Hopestuk only.  JKL has targeted these two areas in an effort to assist the MOE in developing educational material in native languages for these schools.

 

School Snacks – direct distribution activities

JKL will provide all students and teachers in participating schools with a daily school snack. The following process is used to select participating schools: municipalities will be selected based on need, as determined by health and nutrition indicators.  All rural communities surrounding the urban area of the selected municipalities will be included, in order to inform the MOE of the geographical areas being covered by this program.  The only schools that may be excluded from participation would be due to a school meal program already being provided by another entity, or due to lack of community commitment to participate in the program.

 

Take-home Rations – barter activities

JKL will provide take-home rations as an incentive for enrollment in pre-school or primary school, on-going satisfactory attendance, and program participation.  The rations will be distributed every four months, one per student and teacher.  In order to qualify for this ration, the children enrolled in school will have to attend at least 80 percent of the time the school is in session.   Take-home rations will also be provided to teachers who attend at least 75 percent of training sessions, incorporate the training into classroom activities, and work 95 percent of each month when school is in session. 

 

JKL will provide take-home rations during the school break period to parents of students who participate in food-for-work activities.  Food-for-work participation will be available to all parents of students in participating FFE schools.  Parents who meet the food-for-work objectives will be provided a take-home ration.

 

Other Components and Beneficiaries – monetization activities

JKL local partner organizations will organize CECs in each participating community.  JKL will conduct a needs assessment for school infrastructure requirements in the target areas.  Proposals for latrines and privacy for girls using latrines will be given priority. Proposals addressing the availability of potable water will also be given priority.  These projects will be funded via barter for oil and rice.  The CECs’ schools will be able to request materials for repairs.  JKL will provide for as many of the most urgent repairs as barter commodities will allow. In cooperation with the German International Aid Organization (GTZ), JKL will carry out a school garden program with outreach to establish nutritious home gardens in the communities.

 

It is expected that this activity will be one full year; local organizations or other donors will fund half the next year and the third year. 

 

(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

 

Title	Percent of Time	Main Responsibilities
Country Director	25%	Responsible for program oversight, direction, monetization, and sales contract negotiations.
Monetization Manager	12%	Responsible for commodity value, sale finalization, and proper receipt and disbursement of proceeds.
Warehouse Supervisor:	100%	One warehouse supervisor will work full time at the CRS/GT main warehouse for food distribution.
Food Supervisors (3)	100%	Responsible for food distribution and implementation as well as local partner activities.
FFE Program Manager	100%	Responsible for FFE program. Will design the teacher-training component; supervise monitoring and other details as well as planning and reporting program progress.
FFE Coordinator:	100%	Local hire responsible for working with local partners, training trainers and supervision of implementation.
2 Education Technicians	100%	Carry out local implementation supervision and direction.
Infrastructure Field Adviser:	100%	Local hire will advise local partner staff on construction activities including labor, materials costs and purchasing methods.
Finance Officer	100%	Responsible for financial management and preparing financial reports.
Logistics Officer	12%	Responsible for monitoring port conditions and importation and discharge of commodity. Two months each year.
Bookkeeper	100%	Responsible for assisting the Finance Officer in project accounting.
Monitoring Assistant	50%	Responsible for compiling evaluation data and assessing the field visits to ensure continued local capacity of NGO’s and effectiveness of PTA’s.

 

(d) Activity Budgets

JKL does not anticipate any program income, however, should there be any program income it would be used to further the goals of the JKL school-feeding program. The local governments of the three states in which the FFE program will be operating have committed to transporting the commodities to the schools. JKL/Denver will make an in-cash contribution of $229,840 to the JKL FFE program, which includes pre-program expenses. In addition, JKL has a commitment from the MaxiFlourex Company to provide toothbrushes and toothpaste for the 30,000 project beneficiaries for a dental hygiene campaign.  JKL will encourage community donations of surplus fruit, vegetables, and other locally produced food to the school meal program. 

 

ACTIVITY	AMOUNT USDA/FAS $ REQUESTED
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Total
School supplies	$ 30,000	$ 30,000		$ 60,000
Seeds	$ 15,000			$ 15,000
Administration***	$330,000	$330,000	$330,000	$990,000
Transportation and Storage***	$100,000	$100,000	$100,000	$300,000
TOTAL	$475,000	$460,000	$430,000	$1,365,000

 

(e) Recipient Agency

The program is structured around the operation of three local partner NGOs, which will receive disbursements from and be coordinated by JKL.  JKL is committed to the development of local capacity among national groups, especially local church-related organizations. 

 

The JKL local partner organizations listed below will implement components of JKL FFE program, and JKL will enter into formal agreements with each, ensuring that they will carry out all activities in accordance with the objectives of this agreement.  These organizations may change over the duration of this agreement if necessary.  However, JKL will ensure that the local organization has the ability to carry out the program elements and that a formal recipient agency agreement exists with the organization prior to the provision of commodities or funds.

 

·        Education Committee of Bleika

·        Community Foundation of Pleito in Fonduk

·        Action Group of Huepel

 

Responsibilities of Local Partners (Recipient Agencies (RAs)) and Community Education Committees (CECs)

 

Local partner NGO’s and their staff will directly implement the program in accordance with this agreement and the recipient agency agreement.  They will conduct the teacher trainings each quarter and their technical staff will be on-hand to guide the technical aspects of infrastructure projects, provision of school snacks, distribution of take-home rations.  They will provide monitoring information that JKL will verify on an on-going basis and an independent external consultant will examine/verify at the end of the year.  Local partners will deliver small disbursements to community education committees for the local purchase of food for the school meal program.

 

During the first year of the program, the RAs will provide training to the CECs on financial record keeping, internal audit practices, and accounting.  Beginning in the second year of the program, CECs will receive small disbursements on a monthly basis according to the number of students currently attending school and the exact number of school days in the month.  The committees will purchase food for the meals and deliver it to the schools on a timely basis.  The committees will keep simple financial records for food purchases that will be monitored by the local partner organization and by JKL. The director, or other staff member of the school will be required to sign for food received and local partner staff will validate the correlation of food received with food purchased by the committees.

 

Schools will provide information, verified by education committees, on number of snacks served and the content of those snacks for local partner organizations and, ultimately, JKL to monitor. Student representatives will take attendance daily and teachers will provide this information to community education committees on a monthly basis.

 

Food Distribution

Local partner organizations will maintain a warehouse for the take-home ration food in each of the three main target areas.  They will provide security for the take-home ration food and transport it to the communities every four months.  They will supervise the CEC in the repackaging and final distribution to families.  Local partner organizations will arrange for the delivery of school snack biscuits on a monthly basis and the CEC will see that it is brought to the school and stored appropriately in containers.

 

Other Development Activities

The local partner organizations will work in the target areas of the states of Brixel, Fonduk, and Huepel.  Promoters with these organizations will organize Community Education Committees and meet with them on a regular basis to elicit parent and community support for the JKL FFE Program, implement infrastructure improvements to schools and the provision of a daily school snack.  Trainers from the local partner organizations, trained by JKL and working in conjunction with the World Bank SUCCESS project, will implement teacher training at the local level.

 

The Education Committee of Bleika will implement the JKL FFE Program in the state of Brixel.  JKL has worked with this organization in the implementation of agriculture, micro-finance, disaster preparedness and other programs over the past two years.  They also have experience in formal education and have expressed an interest in working with JKL in educational programs. 

 

The Community Foundation of Pleito in Fonduk has worked with JKL for the past five years.  This organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life in rural and indigenous communities.  It has collaborated with JKL on food for work programs, agriculture, micro-credit and water and sanitation projects.  This organization has several programs with educational components and would like to work with JKL and expand their education activities through JKL FFE program.

 

The Action Group of Huepel will implement the JKL FFE program in Huepel.  This organization has worked with JKL since 1996.  This organization has several years of experience in health education and food distribution programs.

 

(f) Governmental or Non/Governmental Entities

JKL has planned and coordinated extensively with Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and its Special Food Security Project, GTZ and its Soil Conservation Project, and the World Bank Girls Education Project to extend and stretch resources as well as to avoid duplication. The World Bank project will provide $5.5 million in textbooks to all schools in Hopestan for grades K-7, eliminating a significant barrier to improved educational performance. GTZ technicians will provide $100,000 in technical training in school gardens, composting and the use of green manures. The FAO Special Food security Project will work with the local schools to ensure that water for irrigation systems is also adequate for school needs. The WHO will provide start-up funds for the establishment of a Potters for Peace ceramic water filter factory, which will provide filters at low cost to the school committees.

 

The GOH will provide $350,000 in de-worming medications and Vitamin A supplements to be used in conjunction with the FFE school snack component. The Ministry of Public Works has undertaken a $6.0 Million school infrastructure repair program to replace leaky roofs, broken heating systems, and inadequate school kitchens. 

 

The Hopestan Chamber of Commerce has begun to support a campaign to include a tax-deductible (small) percentage of the value of all export products to be directed to school feeding programs in order to ensure its sustainability after the FFE program ends in 2006.

 

(g) Method of Educating Consumers

JKL will assure, in the offering of the goods for monetization or distribution, that the USDA donor source is highlighted. Repackaging bags and cans will be printed with both USDA and JKL logos.  In addition, project beneficiaries will be informed of the source of the support for project activities. Signs or banners will be posted at all schools indicating USDA participation. At the community level, the USDA-JKL collaboration will be made known as part of the project information process. All forms and written materials generated under the FFE project will carry the USDA and JKL logos.  USDA officials will be invited to all program events.

 

(h) Criteria for Measuring Progress

JKL participated in the Global Food for Education (GFE) pilot project and will continue its program in the original GFE schools. JKL will utilize baseline data developed with the USDA monitor during the pilot project to measure changes in enrollment, attendance and performance. Because this is a multi-year project, JKL will carry out a cohort study in 20 sample schools. JKL will utilize the matrix construction process used by USDA to select the 20 sample schools and use a random number scheme to choose the actual schools from each cell.

 

If JKL is able to reach new schools through the FFE project, it will utilize the baseline survey from the USDA website. The matrix construction and sample school selection process outlined above will be utilized. JKL will utilize official United Nations (UN) figures for enrollment data and base progress indicators on them. However, if in the collection of the baseline data JKL identifies a significant divergence between UN and by-school data, the quantitative indicator targets will be modified to reflect the updated information.

 

Activity	Beneficiaries		# of Meals Served annually	Timeframe for Implementation	Region	Food Tonnage (MT) annually
	Type	Number
School snacks	Students & teachers	10,000	1,800,000	Daily, 3years	Brixel	3,000
School snacks	Students & teachers	10,000	1,800,000	Daily, 3years	Fonduk	3,000
School snacks	Students & teachers	10,000	1,800,000	Daily, 3years	Huepel	3,000
Take home rations	Students & teachers	10,000	30,000	3 times, 3 years	Brixel	287
Take home rations	Students & teachers	10,000	30,000	3 times, 3 years	Fonduk	287
Take home rations	Students & teachers	10,000	30,000	3 times, 3 years	Huepel	288
Barter	Laborers	300	3,000	As needed	Brixel	53
Barter	Laborers	300	3,000	As needed	Fonduk	53
Barter	Laborers	300	3,000	As needed	Huepel	54

 

The evaluation and monitoring method for JKL FFE program will include the incorporation of progress indicators with a quantitative target goal. These target goal numbers are also dispersed on a time line for implementation that indicates the goals by program year.

 

The timeline with target goals is a monitoring tool.  Progress is observed during regular monitoring visits.  Actual yearly accomplishments will be compared to the target.  Actual accomplishments that approximate or exceed the projected target goals indicate that the program is progressing satisfactorily.

 

PROGRESS INDICATORS	CURRENT BASELINE	TARGET GOALS
Objective 1: Access, entry and continuation --Achieve higher enrollment and attendance rates, with an emphasis on girls, through monthly take-home rations, (or breakfast, snacks, lunch daily)
hello world
1.1 Percent increase in enrollment boys	80	10
1.2 Percent increase in enrollment girls	75	15
1.3 Percent increase in attendance boys	70	10
1.4 Percent increase in attendance girls	65	15
Objective 2: Educational Progress--Improve student achievement levels through improvements in the learning environment/conditions including teacher training, school infrastructure and community support for education.
2.1 Cohort survival to grade 5: The percentage of boys and girls entering grade 1 of primary school who reach grade 5 (survival to grade 3 will be measurable over the life of this agreement)	55	80
2.2 Promotion rate.  The percentage of children enrolled in a given year that is promoted to the next grade at the end of the year.	75	90
2.3 Continuation rate.  The percentage of children enrolled in a given year that continues to enroll in the next year, whether they are promoted or not.	70-80	95
2.4 Percent of targeted schools with adequate school supplies literacy and numeric instruction.	35	100
2.5 Percent of targeted schools with print materials to support literacy and numeric instruction.	50	100
2.6 Percent of teachers receiving training each year	15	100
Objective 3: Nutrition and Maternal Child Health Progress--Improve maternal, child and student health and nutrition
3.1 Number of take-home rations distributed to students and teachers every three months	0	26,700
3.2 Number of daily meals (breakfast, snacks, lunch) provided	0	30,000
3.3 Percent of participating schools implementing health and nutrition education for students	1	100
3.4 Percent of participating schools with established prophylactic programs - de-worming and vitamin A supplements	0	100
3.5	N/A	N/A
3.6	N/A	N/A
3.7 Height and weight for age recorded twice a year	N/A	N/A
Objective 4: Other donor support--Partner relations--Linkages to other development activities
4.1 Number of other donor contributing to ancillary projects or complimentary activities	2	7
4.2 Dollar amount of donor contributions
4.3 Percent cost sharing
4.4 Percent of donor support	0	25
4.5 Organization's independent contribution	$0	$229,840
Objective 5: Community Development
5.1 Percent of schools where parents provide a defined level of input (e.g. fuel, cooking implements; condiment; ingredients; fresh fruits and vegetables in stipulated quantity, labor for school repairs, storage and transportation, cooking places, contribute funds for school supplies, etc.)	20	95
5.2 Percent of schools with parent groups (associations or councils) that play a defined role in program management (e.g. provision of local transportation, management of incentive structure etc.)	10	100
5.3 Number of complimentary programs e.g. develop school gardens, reforestation, energy-fuel, animal production	1 existing garden, 2 existing animal pens, and 1 kitchen w/ fuel economy stove	35 school gardens - 20 in yr. 1 and 15 in yr.2
5.4 Number of potable water treatment and sanitation projects - build/repair community water systems	5 existing, 10 in need of extensive repair and 15 schools with no water system	30 wells - @ 10/yr.  Additionally, every school will be provided with a water filtration system in the interim.
5.5 Number of latrine and/or kitchen repairs and constructions	10 existing latrines, 1 existing and 7 in need of major repair kitchens	85 latrines with privacy walls - @ 30/yr.  30 kitchens built - either with pre-approval donated funds or built within the first 6 months of activity.
5.6 Number of nutrition and health education classes in community for adults	0	50
Objective 6: Sustainability
6.1 Percent of schools transitioning into PTA/Govt supported feeding program	0	100
6.2 Number of training sessions for capacity building of indigenous organizations to assist in the establishment of school feeding or education programs )e.g. teaching workshops in facilitation, fundraising, organizing etc.)	2	9
6.3 Percent of government increased support to education sector		1
6.4 Percent of donor support vs. percent indigenous support	75	25

 

6. USE OF FUNDS OR GOODS AND SERVICES GENERATED:  Prior to the call forward of subsequent years commodities and upon the notification from USDA that the program will continue, JKL will provide a new schedule to USDA for Section 6 (Use of Funds or Goods and Services Generated).

(a)     Quantity and Type of Commodities

 

(b)     Impact on Other Sales

Hopestan produces a small amount of corn.  The majority of the corn produced in Hopestan is white corn for the production of the corncakes.  Imported corn is primarily purchased for the animal (particularly poultry) feed industry.  The 5,000 MT to be imported in FY2002 represents 2% of annual imports.  This amount should have no impact on local production or commercial sales. The sale of corn will lead to increased production of animal protein while stimulating the trading system within the country.  Cash would not have this beneficial effect on the feed or trade sectors.  Flour will be bartered to provide a nutritious biscuit to students daily while at the same time generating employment in small food processing factories.  Food will be used to barter for the construction of facilities deemed needed by the local CECs.  Again, the food will stimulate employment in the rural areas that have a high incidence of unemployment and underemployment. 

(c)    Amount of Sales Proceeds Anticipated – FIRST YEAR ONLY

 

Barter Activities – FIRST YEAR ONLY

 

 

 (d) Private Sector Participation in the Sale of the Commodities

 

JKL will advertise the availability of the commodity in local newspapers and radio stations. Buyers will need to submit written bids for the soybean oil. JKL will review the bids and select those bids with the highest prices, if the bids meet the requirements in JKL's tenders.  If the bids are below the pre-set floor price of JKL, a second bidding process will take place, with possibly smaller lot sizes. The private sector owns 90 percent of the vegetable oil distribution capacity in Hopestan. The bidding process will be open to private and public sector buyers.  JKL anticipates receiving bids from at least 6 of the more than 10 potential buyers.

 

JKL’s monetization personnel will sell the commodities through bids.  JKL will select the final purchaser on the basis of price, management capacity, references, experience in this type of transaction and demonstrated capacity to pay.

 (e) Uses of Sale Proceeds: 

Administrative Expenses and Internal Transportation, Storage and Handling (ITSH)

Expense Categories	Equivalent Dollar Amount of Proceeds
Administrative Expenses	$68,000
ITSH	$32,000
Subtotal	$100,000
Internal Cost Recovery (ICR) on Administrative and ITSH only	$6,800
TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE/ITSH EXPENSES	$106,800

 

Activities

 

Project	Estimated Dollar Amount of Proceeds
Teacher Training & Educational Materials	$200,400
PTA and CEC Formation	$122,550
De-worming/Vit. A Supplements	$50,000
Subtotal	$372,950
ICR on allowable program activity expenses	$0
TOTAL PROGRAM ACTIVITY EXPENSES	$479,750

 

If actual proceeds are less than expected, the shortfall in proceeds will be proportionately allocated among program activities.  If proceeds are more than expected, the additional proceeds will be allocated solely to the educational materials category.

 

Teacher Training

JKL’s Partner Organizations will conduct teacher-training sessions every three months.  These sessions will include a broad range of topics and the intention is to enhance the teacher’s awareness of different learning styles, pedagogical options and considerations and, thereby, create an environment that will respond to the needs of the children, leading to better attendance.  Topics that may be covered in addition to health and nutrition include:

¨       Classroom management for multi-grade schools

¨       Improving teacher’s pedagogical skills and methodology

¨       Teaching with an emphasis on development of analytical and creative skills instead of rote memorization

¨       Learning/teaching materials generated by teachers and children using low-cost or no-cost local resources

¨       Techniques and strategies for teaching in multi-ethnic and bilingual classrooms

¨       Children’s rights and classroom democracy

¨       Student government, organization and participatory decision-making processes

 

To implement the teacher-training component, JKL and World Bank staff will train a team of trainers from local partner organizations.  This team will work full-time in planning and implementing teacher training in the target areas. JKL, through local recipient agencies, will carry out teacher training programs with four modules on hygiene, nutrition, participatory methodologies and safe food handling practices. This training will be in coordination with the World Bank Girls’ Education SUCCESS Project being carried out by the MOE.

 

Health and Nutrition Education in the Classroom

JKL will train teachers in health and nutrition practices and give teaching materials created to implement a similar component within the curriculum.  Improved health and nutrition practices will be integrated into daily classroom activities.  Students will participate in simple hygiene activities such as hand washing and brushing their teeth at school. MaxiFlourex will donate the toothbrushes and toothpaste. The sustained effect of this program will include increased community knowledge of basic sanitation.

 

PTA and Community Education Committees (CEC) Formation

JKL will facilitate the organization of a CEC in each community.  Parents and community leaders will have a role in program activities such as infrastructure improvements to the schools and food distribution. A yearly participatory evaluation of the program will be conducted with the community and the results of this evaluation would influence program implementation details in subsequent years.

 

JKL FFE Program will incorporate women in all levels of implementation.  Staff members will be chosen without discrimination based on qualifications and an effort will be made to incorporate female candidates for all positions.  Local partners will also make an effort to seek qualified female candidates for positions with JKL FFE program. Particular preference will also be placed on Hopestuk language skills, which is necessary for communication with most women in the rural areas and many of the men.

 

Community Organizations are more effective when they are representative of the community. Therefore, CECs will be required to include at least two female members.

 

Interventions to be financed through the CECs can be organized under the following categories:

¨       Construction of school canteens or food preparation areas, and basic utensils for food and water, serving and storage.

¨       Training material on committees’ access to public services available to communities.

¨       Procurement of additional reference books for participating schools and other teaching materials.

¨       Procurement of additional school and classroom supplies.  Supplies may include posters, notebooks, pens, pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser, crayons or colored pencils, markers, blackboards, chalk, desks, chairs, and scissors.

¨       Establish a school garden in schools that are interested and have land available.

           

 

De-worming and Vitamin A Supplements

JKL, working with the Ministry of Health, will ensure all students in worm-prone areas are provided with de-worming medication 2 times per year.  The first dose of medication will be provided prior to the onset of the feeding activities.  The World Health Organization will provide the de-worming medication.  If there is insufficient de-worming medication, JKL will purchase additional medication with monetization proceeds.  Vitamin A supplements will be provided to school-age children in local clinics.  JKL will purchase the Vitamin A supplements and deliver them to the local clinics.  All school-age children will be provided with a notice of the availability of the vitamin supplement and where they may obtain it.  This notice will be provided by JKL and will encourage parent to take their children to the local clinic for a check-up.  Additionally, JKL may provide for a registered nurse to visit each participating school once through the year to provide essential health information to the community.

 

Administrative Activities

A total of $106,800 corresponds to the administrative and ITSH related expenses of JKL FFE program.  These expenses are detailed in the USDA Administrative Budget that accompanies this Plan of Operation.  These expenses include storage and distribution of food, transportation of food to the main JKL warehouse and regional warehouses as well as program staff, benefits and other expenses

 

(f) Procedures for Assuring Receipt and Deposit of Sale Proceeds

 

Payment in full is made by irrevocable letter of credit upon delivery of the shipment documents to the bank.  The total amount of the agreement is set in US dollars to be paid in local currency.  The currency conversion will be made at the official exchange rate established by the Hopestani National Bank System on the date of receipt of the shipping documents.  The Buyer is responsible for paying all taxes, expenses and services needed to transport the product from the port.  These expenses include, but may not be limited to unloading, import duties, port and handling costs, inland transport and taxes.

 

7.  DISTRIBUTION METHODS:

 

(a) Description of Transportation and Storage System

Commodity for Monetization

JKL requests that the shipment of 5,000 MT of corn to be monetized be sent to Port Framat located in the southern part of the Republic of Hopestan.

 

The commodities will be passed from JKL to the buyer as soon as the original shipping documents are received and endorsed to the buyer.  The buyer will be responsible for all port costs, import taxes, storage and transport from the port to Hopestan City.  Therefore, JKL will not incur any storage or transportation costs for the commodity that will be sold.

 

Commodities for Distribution

For the commodities that will be distributed or bartered, JKL requests the use of sealed containers to assure that the products will be received in sound condition.   The commodities should arrive at the Port of Honcha located in the northeastern part of the Republic of Hopestan. The food will be temporarily stored in JKL’s warehouse, and then distributed to local partner organization’s warehouses in the states of Brixel, Fonduk, and Huepel.

 

At this moment, JKL has a warehouse in Port of Honcha, Port of entry for commodities for regular distribution.  It is 800 square meters and it holds approximately 1,500 MT of commodities.  JKL also has a warehouse in Hopestan City that measures 2025 square meters and holds about 2,400 MT of commodities. From one of these JKL warehouses food will be distributed to the three local partners for the FFE, and from the local partners to the communities under this program. 

 

JKL has developed, refined and installed proper controls to prevent theft and losses.  Both warehouses are solidly constructed out of cement and blocks, equipped with fire extinguishers and JKL security personnel.  

 

Local partners will maintain a warehouse in each of the three regions to receive food until it is transported to the communities. These warehouses will be smaller, but will have the same general characteristics as the JKL Warehouse.

 

(b) Description of Reprocessing or Repackaging of the Commodities

 

Commodity for Monetization

JKL will not re-process or package the commodity for monetization.

 

Commodities for Distribution

Parents and CECs will repackage the food for distribution with technical assistance from food distribution supervisors and local partner organizations’ staff, according to the established ration per student and teacher.

 

Commodities for Barter

JKL will not re-process or package the commodities for barter.

 

(c) Logistics Plan

 

Commodity for Monetization

The commodity for monetization (corn) should arrive at Port Framat, on the south coast of Hopestan, about 100 kilometers from Hopestan City.  This port is equipped with the facilities to receive bulk cargo.

 

Payment in full is made by irrevocable letter of credit upon delivery of the shipment documents to the bank.  Due to the fact that the buyer will take possession of the product the moment it arrives in port, all cost related to storage and transportation will be the buyer’s responsibility.

Commodities for Distribution

Commodities to be distributed should arrive at Port Honcha, which is equipped to manage containers.  JKL will manage the transfer of the food to the JKL warehouse located five kilometers from this port or to the JKL Hopestan City warehouse.  The food will then be transported to warehouses of local partner organizations in the states of Brixel, Huepel and Fonduk for subsequent transport to distribution centers, from which it will be delivered to beneficiaries every three months.

 

The JKL warehouses meet certain security and safety standards.  The doors are made of iron, windows have bars and the roof is solid.  There is 24-hour presence with a daytime supervisor and nighttime security guard.  No smoking is allowed inside the warehouses.  JKL has provided a pressure water pump, fire extinguishers and a medical kit.  Care is taken to store commodities on proper pallets.  JKL local partner organizations will be held to these same standards in the selection and operation of food storage facilities in target areas.

 

Ultimately, the PTAs, assisted by local partner organizations’ staff, will facilitate distribution.  Each of these local partner organizations will hire a warehouse supervisor who will maintain a record of food coming in and going out of the warehouse.  JKL Food Supervisors will provide technical support and verification of these records.

8.  DUTY FREE ENTRY:

The Government of Hopestan passed Legislative decrees 1770 and 1771-95 in 1995 that provide duty- and tax-free entry for all commodities to be distributed and used for humanitarian purposes. This provides JKL with an exemption from import taxes, storage and port service fees. JKL will clear the commodities through customs, for distribution without paying duty taxes or port service fees.

Commodities used for direct feeding or barter activities with residents who receive assistance from the Ministry of Welfare are also duty-free. JKL has discussed its program with relevant ministries and confirmed that any donated food used in barter activities will be exempt from duties and taxes.

Article I, (A) of the July 23, 1995 Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hopestan Regarding Cooperation to Facilitate Humanitarian and Technical Economic Assistance states the following:

"Commodities, supplies, and other property provided or utilized in connection with United States assistance programs may be imported free from any tariffs, dues, customs duties, import taxes, and other similar taxes or charges imposed by Hopestan, or any subdivision thereof."

The Government of Hopestan will apply a 20 percent VAT on the monetized corn. JKL will arrange for the buyer to pay this tax before receiving the commodities at JKL's warehouse or directly into the buyer’s warehouse.

 

9. Economic Impact

 

Information compiled on the national market indicates that the importation of corn will not have a negative impact on local sales.  Corn production in Hopestan is minimal and does not meet the local demand. The corn requested represents only 6% of the local market in FY2002.

Job creation is an expected side-benefit to the FFE program because the three bakeries (one per region) chosen to make the nutritious biscuits will each have to employ approximately 15 new employees. If the biscuit is introduced onto the commercial snack food market, obviously production will increase as will the number of employees needed.