‘ Translating hope, empowering generations.’
Project Daya envisions the building of a community with programmes that are firmly rooted in the principles of education, prevention, ownership and multiplication.
Prior to the actual expedition, focus group discussions and surveys were done to better understand the needs of the community. Situated in a valley, there is poor access to healthcare facilities such as clinics and hospitals. Noticing that drink cans and plastic bags were littered along the streets, the team also felt that there was poor hygiene and high potential for breeding sites of vector-borne diseases. They then decided to focus on issues such as health education, basic first aid and sanitation. Additionally, they also looked at sharing simple financial literacy information.
Noting the limitations of direct education to villagers, the team decided on a ‘Train-the-Trainer’ approach. Workshops were conducted to teach the importance of good health, working together and the differences between relief aid and community development, among others. Activities were planned not only to increase awareness, but to encourage ownership and community empowerment.
This is my first attempt at community building in an overseas outreach. I feel that training the trainers (locals) such as key leaders within an NGO or an educational institution might be a more sustainable approach in the long run. In doing so , the locals are able to reach out to many other villages even after our team returns to Singapore.
Tan Xuan Hao, Student Volunteer
About Project Daya
Project Daya (strength or power in Indonesian) is a 7D7N Overseas Community Involvement Project (OCIP) from 19th to 26th July 2015. 11 LKCMedicine students embarked on this effort to bring community health development and education to the slums of Piayu, Batam.
