5 min read Mathew Wahome

Community Project Planning

Meaning

Community Service Learning (CSL) joins classroom knowledge with service that meets real needs. In Senior School, learners complete a project that is planned, carried out and reflected on, with the community as a partner.

Step 1: Identify a need

Use:

Observation (walk around the community)
Interviews with chiefs, elders, health workers
Questionnaires and focus group discussions
Community mapping

Typical Kenyan needs: unsafe water, solid waste, soil erosion, poor sanitation, lack of library resources, drug abuse awareness.

Step 2: Prioritise

Rank needs by urgency, number of people affected, cost and available resources. A simple scoring table (1 to 5 for each criterion) helps the group choose objectively.

Step 3: Set SMART objectives

Objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Example: To clean and unblock 500 metres of drainage in Kibera Ward by 30 June, involving 40 volunteers.

Step 4: Plan

A project plan includes:

Activities and timeline (work plan)
Roles (chairperson, secretary, treasurer, team leaders)
Resources and budget
Partners (county government, NGOs, local leaders)
Risks and solutions (rain, low turnout)

Step 5: Budget

Estimate each item, sum it, and identify funding: contributions, harambee, school funds, donations.

Worked example: clean-up with 40 volunteers

Gloves 40 x 100 = 4,000
Garbage bags = 1,500
Hire of cart = 2,000
Refreshments = 3,500
Total = KES 11,000.

Step 6: Implement

Mobilise members, brief them on safety, assign tasks, keep attendance and take photographs. Respect local culture and seek permission from leaders.

Step 7: Monitor and evaluate

Monitoring tracks progress during the project. Evaluation judges results afterwards: were objectives met, what changed, who benefited? Indicators may include number of trees planted, litres of clean water supplied or people reached.

Step 8: Reflect and report

Reflection questions: What did I do? What did I learn? What skills did I gain (communication, teamwork, leadership)? How will I improve? The final report has title, introduction, objectives, activities, outcomes, challenges, recommendations and appendices.

Values and competencies

CSL builds citizenship, responsibility, collaboration, creativity and digital literacy, in line with CBC core competencies and the value of unity (umoja) and service (huduma).

Sustainability

Train local people to continue the work, use locally available materials, and hand over to a committee.

Try it

Identify three needs in your area and rank them.
Write a SMART objective for a waste-recycling project.
Draft a one-page work plan with five activities and dates.