Assessing Needs in the Community

As we get Honest Aid started in Jambiani, Zanzibar we have begun the process of assessing the needs in the local community where we operate. The approach of beginning the work of an NGO with a field office in the community is in some ways novel, but we find it a great way to begin work by actually doing work "in the field". For Honest Aid's team in Zanzibar "the field" literally begins in the space around our office and spreads thoughout the community.

In Jambiani we've developed the following work plan:

Honest Aid Workplan - How Can We Help Our Community?

1. Understand the Community and Build Our Own Capacity to Help

- Review written documentation and studies related to the community and our activities;

- Get to know community stake holders and local people;

- Assess NGOs in the community and projects that have been implemented in the past;

- Conduct our own assessment of the community, starting with the environment;

- Begin pilot projects that we think can help the community.

2. Take Action to Help the Community

- Share information that we gather in our work with stakeholders and the general public through written media, photographs, and video, utilizing old and new technology;

- Turn successful pilot projects into demonstration projects to assess interest, potential challenges, costs, and opportunities;

- Seek funding to expand and improve demonstration projects;

- Advise and advocate with stakeholders for community improvement.

We're working on different ways to share the findings of our assessment work with each other and the public.

If you'd like to learn more about the Environmental Impact Assessment work we've done please visit what we call "The Temple of Artemis" to learn about the environment.

To date we've begun 5 pilot projects:

1. Work to make our base of operations, Dhow Beach Village, a model of responsible tourism;

2. Begin developing a model garden with beneficial and appropriate plants and animals;

3. Develop a "wood saving" Justa stove using local materials;

4. Develop a system of integrated waste management;

5. Work on finishing a home to understand best practices in home construction and improvement and prepare the home to be used for demonstration.

We'll post content on each of these five pilot projects in the coming days.

Rob

Overview for Potential Founders and Supporters

A. Mission

HONEST AID works to create opportunity, hope, and an improved quality of life for people in every country in which it operates.

B. Core Values

1. HONEST AID believes that the problems of the "First World" are often as great as the problems of the "Third World" and that the paradigms of "First, Second, and Third Worlds" or "Developed, Less-Developed, and Under-Developed Countries" offer very little to any intellectual consideration of how we can achieve our mission.

2. HONEST AID views relief (alleviating suffering) and development (improving quality of life) as the beginning and end points on a continuum of human need.

3. In helping people improve their quality of life, HONEST AID contributes to achieving their freedom from want, which we believe is essential to achieving happiness.

4. We consciously do not seek to foster materialism and greed and recognize that even the poorest of the poor are often happier than the richest of the rich.

C. Guiding Principles

1. HONEST AID seeks to build long-term positive relationships with people and organizations that are mutually beneficial and which contribute to our mission.

2. HONEST AID values cooperation above competition. We view competition between non-profit organizations as something that has done more harm than good in the past.

3. HONEST AID has a strict policy of 100% transparency. Anything and everything produced by HONEST AID will be available to the public so that other individuals and organizations might benefit from our knowledge and experience, and offer their own honest input, advice, and criticism. We see criticism as important for self-improvement and therefore welcome it - but of course positive input and advice is
generally a more appealing side of the same coin.

4. It is of utmost importance that HONEST AID is viewed as a trusted and respected organization. In order to ensure that we remain trusted and respected, HONEST AID has a strict transparency policy concerning founders, volunteers, employees, and other persons associated with the organization. Any act of dishonesty will be grounds for dismissal, subject to review of the Founders concerned.

5. HONEST AID must remain flexible and agile to meet changing conditions. HA is currently wholly committed to development work but recognizes that circumstances may at some point mandate that we engage in relief work.

6. HA is committed to long-term equitable and just solutions to the world's problems. HA seeks support from a wide range of donors; however, we currently will not accept any donations from donor governments, UN bodies, or the various agencies they manage. HA will accept donations from corporations, foundations, and other for-profit or non-profit organizations which meet our strict standards (these standards will be set by the Founders).

7. HA will only work with legitimate and capable organizations. Basic requirements include: a functioning board or oversight body, legal registration, by-laws that are clear and conform to our standards, annual audited statements which are available to the public and show that the organization is indeed a non-profit or not-for-profit body.

8. HA is committed to implementing projects and programs in partnership with local organizations. Only in rare cases will we implement projects and programs directly without a local partner.

9. HA is committed to strengthening local organizations whenever possible. We are committed to the principles of fair trade and require our employees to continually review suppliers and service providers by fair trade criteria.

10. We are committed to the use of open source software as part of our ethos of development by collaborative partnership.

11. We are environmentally conscious and strive to administer programs and operations in a sustainable manner.

12. Do no harm.

13. Committed to abiding by local, state, and international law.

14. Justice (anti-exploitation)

15. Anti-discrimination

16. Anti-violence (physical, non-physical, and sexual violence all included)

17. Finally we encourage our staff and stakeholders to be vocal advocates for the causes they believe in and place no limits on their desire to be active in seeking positive change.

D. Planning Assumption

HONEST AID works in an ever-changing environment that is effected by politics and events which are unpredictable and beyond the organization's control. While our planning process will take into account current global political, economic, and environmental conditions, we do not want to be distracted in the planning process by debating various scenarios about the future of the planet (in other words, let's agree on a document that will be acceptable to people who have different world views, priorities, and concerns by not trying to prioritize between issues we face today but remaining focused on larger principles and ambitions.)