Progress report of the Rural Youth population education project in Thailand (INT/92/P94)
The implementation of Rural Youth population training programmes in Indonesia (UNFPA/FAO - INT/92/P94)
Country report on integration of population education into programmes of Rural Youth from the people's Republic of China
Report on the implementation of the project INT/92/P94 in Vietnam
Project Background
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Project Title: |
Population Education Programmes for Rural Youth |
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Duration: |
One year and four months |
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Project Site: |
Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand |
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Implementing Agency: |
Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand |
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Executing Agency: |
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |
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Starting Date: |
January 1996-April 1997 |
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Estimated Budget: |
US $ 30,000 |
As an agricultural country, Thailand has a total agricultural land area of 23.7 million hectares out of the total 51.3 million. Most of its population lives in rural area, where the agricultural population accounts for 59 percent of the total. The agriculturally active labor force is approximately 67 percent of the total labor force.
Thailand is considered one of the countries in Asia that has the fastest economic growth rate. In 1995, the Bangkok Bank Research Department projected that the economy would expand by 8.5 percent. The agricultural sector itself is expected to grow by 3.2 percent compared to 2.8 percent in 1994. The trends indicate that the export demand for Thai agricultural products will remain firm due to the economic recovery of major markets such as the USA, Japan and some European countries.
Despite this promising situation, Thailand also faces the classic problems which developing countries are confronted with. One critical problem is land resource destruction. Over the past three decades, land use in agriculture has been tremendously increased through deforestation. However, land productivity remains relatively stagnant with some decline, whereas land quality has been rapidly deteriorating. In addition, the existing agricultural land has partly shifted to non-farm use in response to the expanding industrial zones. Together with the rapid population growth, especially in the rural area, the land problems become a serious challenge to the economic development of the country. Unfortunately, farming as an occupation is considered as a hardship and low paying work as compared to non-agricultural jobs. This has created concern as the agricultural population has declined in rural area. The rural labourer is attracted to work in the industrial sector of urban areas. However, the urbanization creates other social as well as economic problems in the cities, since most farm labourers do not have the skills required by industry.
The above problems are closely linked to the prospects for rural youth and their aspiration in staying in the agricultural sector. Strong motivation, through agricultural and institutional support, in farming is very important. Motivation can be created through both formal and informal learning, as well as by effective extension work.
In view of this, there is a need for project activities to broaden the understanding of rural young people on population issues related to the above-mentioned problems which are useful to rural life.
Objectives
Long term objective:
To improve and upgrade the quality of rural life in both economics, as well as social aspects for rural populations.
Intermediate objectives:
1. To broaden the understanding and provide information to rural youth on population issues which affect the quality of their standards of living.2. To train the extension field staff and volunteer leaders with the adapted population education leaders guides.
3. To encourage youth groups to participate actively in agricultural development for the benefit of their families and community.
Strategy
From the experience in extension, the group approach is an effective means of educating and disseminating information to a large number of young people living in the countryside. In Thailand, rural youth groups have been established since 1967 and are called Thai Yuwa-Kasetkorn. The groups are encouraged to have substantial participation in their community and hence the information can be spread effectively to their families and communities.
Therefore, extension field staff and youth leaders who have already been trained in using the Leader Guides can disseminate the information to rural people through volunteer leaders and the rural youth themselves. The eleven guides, were translated into the Thai language.
Progress of Project Implementation
Site selection and villages study
In November 1995, a meeting with officials from the provincial agricultural extension offices in the Northeastern Region of Thailand was held to select the project site. The rural youth in Tambon Kokgraud, Muang District of Nakhon Ratchasima was selected as the target group. Villages in Tambon Kokgraund were studied by the central, regional, and provincial staff of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE). The situation, problems and potentials of the target groups were analyzed using a participatory approach. The study findings on the villages and target group were used for the workplan preparation.
Financial Administration
The first budget allocation from FAO was received in November 1995. The administrative procedures for the release of funds was finalized in January 1996 when the budget became available to carry out the project activities.
Formation of National Project Implementation Team
The National Project Implementation Team was formed during the second week of January 1996 and included:
(1) Project Coordinator: Mrs. Laksana Disyabutra, January to April 1996 and Mr. Apichai Chingprapa, since April 1996(2) Training/Monitoring and Evaluation: Mr. Thotsaporn Maneeratana and Mr. Suwat Manimont.
(3) Project working group: Chaired by the Director, Agricultural Administrative Development Division. The other working group members consisted of DOAE staff at Headquarters, the Northeastern Regional Office, and Nakhon Ratchasima Agricultural Extension Provincial Office.
Detailed workplan and budget
The detailed workplan and budget utilization were finalized in the second week of February 1996.
Translation of Leaders Guides
All of the eleven leaders guides were translated into Thai during the first week of March 1996. The Thai version of the guides were then reviewed by the National Team, the Advisory Committee, and village and rural youth leaders.
Workshop on FAO Leader Guides
The Workshop on FAO Leader Guides was held on 21-23 March 1996 in Muang District of Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The main objective of the workshop was to discuss and review the Thai version of FAO Leader Guides. The meeting was attended by the National Project Team, Advisory Committee, Provincial and Regional Officers of Agricultural Extension Department, two experts from the Ministry of Education, and youth and village leaders. The eleven Leader Guides (Thai version) were presented to the meeting for review and discussion. The participants identified the most important topics of the Leader Guides which are relevant to the situations and problems faced by the youth in Tambon Kokgruad, namely: (1) Population and Agriculture; (2) Population and Employment and Income; (3) Population and Environment; and (4) Population and Health (especially HIV/AIDS). The other guides were also prepared for the village and youth leaders.
Revision of project workplan
Due to the heavy work schedule of the National Team, limited staff available and the need for time to organize the target group orientation and training, it was necessary to review and revise the project workplan. For this purpose, a meeting of the National Project Team was held in early July 1996. It came up with a revised workplan. The project started in January 1996 and should be completed by December 1996. With the revised workplan, the project is expected to be completed in April 1997. The revised workplan was submitted to FAO in Rome in July 1996 and was approved on 5 August 1996.
Some activities were also adjusted to take into account limited time availability. A youth leader seminar to assess the youth needs was held in August 1996. This was followed by a meeting of the National Project Team and its Advisory Committee during September 1996 to discuss the strategy and role of the various extension offices from Headquarters in Bangkok to the Provincial and District Offices in assisting youth leaders in the implementation of the project.
Village and Youth Leaders Seminar
A seminar was held on 17-18 August 1996 in Muang District of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, and attended by National Team, Advisory Committee, Provincial and Regional Officers of the Agricultural Extension Department, and rural youth and village leaders of Tambon Kokgruad. The participants discussed and assessed the youth needs.
The village and youth leaders informed the group that they faced difficulties in organizing effective group meetings to disseminate the population information. According to their experience, the best way to organize such a meeting would be through the implementation of agricultural or income generating projects for rural youth groups. Furthermore, the leaders needed information and skills on how to improve their ability in facilitating the learning activities, especially on how to create a good atmosphere for meaningful discussions among the group members.
The participants agreed that the agricultural projects would be implemented by to the rural youth groups in Tambon Kokgruad with the budget from the Department of Agricultural Extension and a training for leaders and members to help them prepare for the activities which would increase their communication and leadership skills. The training took place in early October 1996 before the field experience with rural youth groups. The leaders were requested to form two youth groups in two villages of Nong Khon and Nong Kung.
At the end of the seminar, the village and youth leaders agreed to bring their ideas for income-generating activities to discuss with other youth in the above mentioned villages, together with the extension agents. After gaining agreement with the youth of the villages and their parents, the young people brought the proposals for the projects to the next meeting which was held in September 1996.
Analysis and planning of youth groups' projects
Representatives of youth from Nong Khon and Nong Kung villages, together with their parents and village leaders, were invited to meet with the National Team and field extension agents during 16-17 September 1996 at the Horticultural Promotion Centre, Nakhon Ratchasima.
The project proposals on commercial aquarium fish raising in Nong Khon Village and commercial plant nursery in Nong Kung Village were presented by representatives of the two youth groups. Comments and suggestions were raised during the meeting in order to strengthen the economic worthiness of the projects and to ensure their practical operations.
During the planning period, the training needs were also assessed. It was found that both groups needed training both in technical and marketing aspects of their respective projects.
Training
Three training sessions were organized in order to strengthen the youth's and parent's ability to improve their skills in the preparation of the implementing of the new projects. The training was as the follows.
Training on "Value Added" aspects for Flower Production. As requested by youth and their parents in Nong Khung Village, where a majority of the farmers earn their living partly from producing flowers, the training was on value-added aspects of flower production. It was carried out during 19-23 August 1996.
A total 30 youth and their parents participated actively in the training which was taught by four experts from Kasetsart University. The trainees had ample opportunity to practice a variety of arrangements with many different kinds of flowers. All of them were satisfied with the training because the skills they acquired could be applied immediately, as they were relevant to their occupation.
Training on Commercial Aquarium Fish Raising. A total of 28 youth in Nong Khon Village who are interested in aquarium fish raising formed a group. They prepared a project proposal during 16-17 September 1996 meeting. The group consists of students, out-of-school youth and factory labourers. The group chose five out-of-school youth to attend the intensive training on how to raise aquarium fish from 11 to 17 October 1996 at the Aquarium Fish Farm, Ban Pong District, Ratchaburi Province. The five trainees practiced all activities regarding aquarium fish raising, and on the last day they had a chance to observe the aquarium fish market in Bangkok.
Training on Plant Nursery. A total of 11 youth members in Nong Kung Village attended the intensive training course on plant nursery management from 29 to 31 October 1996 at the Horticultural Promotion Centre, Nakhon Ratchasima. They were trained on basic skills and special techniques in the commercial production of seedlings. The members are interested in running their own nursery in a three rai area of the village.
Detail of the Youth Projects
Commercial Aquarium Fishes Raising
Objectives:
1. To generate additional income for members apart from the existing jobs.
2. To gain knowledge and skills relating to commercial aquarium fish raising.
3. To prevent migration of out-of-school youth to urban areas by providing jobs in the agricultural sector.
Responsible group
Twenty-eight youth of Nong Khon Village, Kokgraud Sub-District, Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima
Investment: 95,000 Baht for the purchase of: (1) a nursery house; (2) water storage facility; (3) cement ponds; (4) PVC pipe; (5) varieties of fingerlings; and (6) water pump.
Sources of budget
1. Department of Agricultural Extension: 70,000 Baht
2. Contribution from group members: 25,000 Baht
Activities and time frame
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TIME |
ACTIVITIES |
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October 1996 |
Youth group formation and training |
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November 1996 |
Prepare the final project proposal and submit it to village leaders and DOAE |
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December 1996 |
Meeting for making decision on tasks of each member and plan project activities |
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January-March 1997 |
Construct nursery house, water storage and ponds |
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February 1997 |
Refresher training |
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April 1997 |
Purchase varieties of fingerling |
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June-August 1997 |
Reproduction of male and female fish |
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September 1997 |
Start selling young fish, evaluation of project activities and reporting |
Plant nursery and cut flower growing
Objectives
1. To generate additional income for group members
2. To provide sources of plant seedlings in the Sub-District
3. To prevent youth migration to the cities by providing additional jobs to supplement income
Responsible group
Eleven youth in Nong Kung Village, Kok-Graud Sub-District Muang District, Nakhon Ratchasima
Investment: 83,000 Baht for: (1) water pump; (2) irrigation system; and (3) plant varieties.
Sources of budget
1. Department of Agricultural Extension 71,000 Baht
2. Contribution from group members 12,000 Baht
Activities and time frame
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TIME |
ACTIVITIES |
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October 1996 |
Training and study trip for group members |
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November 1996 |
Finalize project proposal and submit it to village leaders and DOAE |
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December 1996 |
Set up group rules and regulations; plan project activities; divide tasks among members; and set up plant and irrigation system |
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January-March 1997 |
Start selling seedlings and cut flowers |
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April-September 1997 |
Replant every week and sell daily cut flowers |
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October 1997 |
Evaluation of group activities and reporting |
Conclusions and recommendations
Annex 1
Annex 2
Annex 3
Annex 4
Annex 5
Annex 6
Annex 7
Annex 8
Introduction
Background and Justification
The human population is the most important resource in determining economic and social progress of a country, but if its growth rate exceeds the capacity of the land and other resources, instead of being a valuable resource, it will become a negative factor in national development.
In rural development, rapid population growth puts heavy pressure on natural resources, where it can cause over use of land and increasing deforestation. This leads to many problems such as soil erosion, floods, and lack of water.
The worsening conditions caused by increasing population growth also affects job opportunities, availability of health and social facilities, and food supply. It also contributes to a heavy out-migration from rural areas to the cities, which is not compatible with sustainable development of an urban environment.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the above mentioned problems. Population education is one strategic mechanism that can help cope with the problems associated with rapid population growth. Population education is most effective when targeted toward rural youth audiences since they will soon begin to make decisions about their future, especially when it comes to careers and family size.
With funding from UNFPA, FAO has developed and published ten modules (Leader Guides) on population education for youth to assist member nations in addressing concerns about relationship between population growth and the achievement of development goals. They become useful after some adjustments in line with local situations and conditions.
Indonesia is a nation with a large population. In 1990, the national census reported the total number of youth, from ages 15 to 39 years, to be about 75 million This represents 42 percent of the total population. The growth rate is 1.9 percent a year. Sixty-eight percent of these youth live in rural areas. These rural youth are the target of the FAO/UNFPA population education country activity under project INT/92/P94.
According to the plan of work, as stated in the Letter of Agreement between FAO and the Center for Agricultural Extension (CAE)-Ministry of Agriculture, the Leader Guides before being field tested were to be adapted to make them more suitable to Indonesian conditions and cultural/religious sensitivities.
The project was implemented from August 1995 to July 1996 with financial support from FAO in the amount of US $27,400 in local currency.
Objectives and Targets
The long term objective is to increase the welfare of communities through the improvement of the human resources in the rural areas of the country.
The short term objective is to improve the skills and knowledge of youth leaders in rural area through the implementation of population education for youth groups.
Specifically, the expected target of the project is to produce a set of prototype FAO/UNFPA Leader Guides in the Bahasa Indonesian language and train village-level volunteer leaders in population education to work with groups of rural youth.
Project Preparation
Consultation with Related Institutions
Considering the activities and the location of the project stated in the Letter of Agreement and project document, the Center for Agricultural Extension (CAE) consulted the government institutions which have interest in the implementation of the project.
At the central level, CAE consulted with the First Assistant for the State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, who is chairman of the project advisory committee. A meeting was also held with the FAO Representative in Jakarta, considering several matters relating to project implementation.
At the provincial level, CAE consulted with the Provincial Agriculture Department offices in Lampung and Yogyakarta Provinces about the mechanism of project implementation, including:
a. The selection of two districts having poor villages, and then choosing three sub-districts form each as project sites.b. The identification of three leaders of young farmer groups from every sub-district, or a total of 18 leaders from the two provinces involved in the project.
c. Appointing three project field staff at the provincial level, consisting of one person from the Provincial Agriculture Services office as a coordinator and two persons from the District Agriculture Service office or Subject Matter Specialist.
Formulation of the Project Operational Plan
To conduct ten activities under the Letter of Agreement, the project work that was carried out is described below.
The project coordinator designed the operational plan, which consisted of a description of the implementation of every aspect of the activities, including the allocation of funds and the time schedule. The project operational plan was approved by the Director of CAE as the executing agency of the project, to be used to guide the National Implementation Team in carrying out the activities.
Project Implementation
One of the main activities of the project was the translation of the FAO Leader Guides (ten modules) for youth population education in rural areas, making adjustments for Indonesian conditions and culture. Next came the fieldwork at the project locations, where the ten modules were adapted and revised to become Bahasa Indonesian prototypes to correspond to the needs of rural youth.
The location of the youth groups that were part of the field work as proposed by the Provincial Agricultural Office is shown in Annex 1.
The flowchart showing the implementation of the ten project booklets is shown in Annex 2 are described below.
1. Forming the Project Implementation Team
The project was implemented with coordination and support from an Advisory Committee, a National Implementation Team, and field staff in each of the pilot provinces.
The national guiding structure of the project was stated in the project document, where personnel were already designated to serve on the Advisory Committee, and National Implementation Teams. After the project was approved, only the field staff from pilot provinces of Lampung and Yogyakarta needed to be chosen.
Field personnel were appointed from provincial candidates proposed by respective Provincial Agriculture Department offices. The field staff in each province is composed of one coordinator and two members from each district where the project was located. All personnel involved in the project implementation are listed in Annex 3.
Translation of FAO Leader Guides
Translation of the FAO modules into Bahasa Indonesia was done by the Center for Agricultural Extension. At first, the idea was that only the language would be changed, but some parts of the modules were difficult to understand and unsuitable to Indonesia rural conditions. Thus, revisions needed to be made.
a. The description of the natural resource degradation and population growth in Africa was changed to reflect the Indonesian situation.b. Some pictures of African people were changed to resemble the native Indonesian population.
c. The story about the donkey, which is not familiar to the Indonesian people, was changed to be about a horse.
d. Other matters not familiar to the rural population in Indonesian were changed.
The titles of the ten translated modules and the introduction for the Leader Guides, are listed in Annex 3.
National Workshop to Adapt Leader Guides
The translated FAO Leader Guides were discussed in a national workshop attended by personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Minister of Youth and Sport Affairs, the State Minister of Population/National Family Planning Board, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and young farmers from the National Key Farmer Association.
Minutes of the national workshop reflect that recommendations were made to revise the content of the FAO Leader Guides. The results of the national workshop are listed in Annex 5.
Printing of the Ten Revised Modules
Based on the conclusions and recommendations of the national workshop, the CAE made revisions and modifications in the content, mainly in the illustration, of the rural youth population education Leader Guides.
After the revision, 80 sets were printed and distributed to all youth leaders, project personnel, and relevant institutions at the national and pilot province levels.
Field Staffs Training Workshop
Field work using the translated and revised modules was carried out by volunteer leaders of village youth group. To prepare for this, a train-the-trainer workshop took place to familiarize field staff with the activities in the Leader Guides and help them train and support the local volunteer leaders.
The field staff training workshop was designed to give skills to enable them to handle the training of youth leaders and supervise the fieldwork of implementation using the Leader Guides. The train-the-trainer workshop was carried out in cooperation with the Center for Agricultural Education and Functional Training (CAEFT). The 12 participants in the workshop consisted of six persons form the field and three from the National Implementation Team
This training was integrated with the national workshop to adjust the leader guide modules so the field staff trainers might have a better understanding of the content and methods to be used. The list of subject in the lessons, total hours of instruction and facilitators who helped with the field staff training workshop are listed in Annex 6.
Volunteer Leaders Training
Following the train-the-trainer workshop, field staff planned and implemented training for volunteer leaders. This training aimed to give knowledge about the contents of the ten modules for youth leaders and enable them to train their groups on a regular basis.
In this program, one youth leader was absent in Yogyakarta Province. There were a total of 35 youth leaders who participated in the training; 18 in Lampung Province and 17 in Yogyakarta.
Youth Group Learning Activities
After the training of leaders at the provincial level, these volunteers prepared a schedule to work with their respective youth groups with the ten modules. After several of these session at the youth group level had taken place, field staff carried out monitoring visits to check on progress and offer any assistance needed. It was found that not all the youth groups were implementing the activities properly. The description of training activities by youth group leaders will be explained in detail in the evaluation section of this report.
Mid-Point Participatory Evaluation Workshop and Refresher Training for Volunteer Leaders.
Mid-point evaluation was held simultaneously with refresher training for the volunteer leaders. This evaluation was conducted to examine the impact of the training with the ten modules by the volunteer leaders up to that point so adjustments could be made and further assistance provided.
The mid-point evaluation workshop was conducted in the participatory way involving volunteer leaders; resource persons, who helped the group understand the modules; field staff; CAE staff; and Provincial Agriculture Department office staff in the relevant provinces. The brief result of mid-term evaluation workshop can be seen in Annex 7.
Problems identified and actions to overcome these problems based on the evaluation are as follows:
a. There were some volunteer leaders who did not understand the instructions, the methods to be used, and the content of some of the modules. For this reason, there were many discussions on these matters in the refresher training that followed the evaluation.b. Until the mid-point evaluation, there were only 22 groups (62.9 percent) who finished the target of implementing at least five modules. For this reason, the Director of the Center for Agricultural Extension asked the Provincial Agriculture Department Offices and the field staff coordinator to improve the performance.
Final Participatory Evaluation Workshop
The objectives of Final Evaluation Workshop were: (1) to get information on whether or not the implementation had achieved its target; (2) to know if the method and the content of the modules were effective and suitable for the conditions of rural Indonesia; and (3) to obtain information concerning the problems and to determine the impact of the implementation of the project. The results will be useful for improvement of the modules and in the implementation of similar activities in the future.
The final evaluation results are as follows:
a. The modules are relevant.Almost all participating youth groups thought that the modules were suitable to the problems they faced in rural life. It was concluded that:
(1) There are still many young people who get married below the age of 20;(2) The period between births is still too short;
(3) Many youth think that getting married is a very good alternative if they are not studying;
(4) Soil degradation is continuing because of poor management;
(5) The awareness of re-greening and the benefits of forest conversation in the community is still low;
(6) Many youth migrate to urban areas without means or adequate preparation.
Some parts of the modules are still very hard to accept by rural youth, such as:
(1) Some sexual information is not suitable because the youth think of the negative effects.(2) Some illustrations are considered pornography. This makes youth feel ashamed to discuss the topics.
b. The implementation of the modules.
It was planned that the implementation would take place in two provinces, two districts in each province, and three sub-districts in each district. Actually, not every sub-district had at least three good youth groups that could join the activities. Therefore, a few youth groups were selected from other sub-districts. In addition, one of 36 youth leaders did not attend the youth leader training.
Of 35 youth groups participating in the program, 22 groups (62.9 percent) competed all ten modules. The rest only completed five to none of the modules. In spite of that, three new youth groups joined the program, although their leaders did not enroll in the training. Now there are 38 youth groups participating the program.
The reasons why all modules could not be completed are as follows:
(1) A few youth groups were inactive during the fasting month and/or harvesting season.(2) Some group members temporarily leave their villages to work in urban areas, so that not all members attended all meetings where the rural youth population education activities were used. As the result, groups had to work more than one time on a few of the modules.
(3) A few youth groups were under the District Services guidance or subordinated to village leaders, therefore, the field staff have to ask permission for performing their job.
(4) Some volunteer leaders were not well prepared to perform the task of using the modules with their youth groups. Some read the modules in front of the groups. This is an indication that the five days of training is not enough to deal will all ten modules. In addition, not all the volunteer leaders had the intellectual capacity to study the methods and the content of the modules.
(5) There are many youth leaders who are reluctant to consult resource persons.
(6) Because of lack of money for income-generating projects, the youth groups are reluctant to continue the population education activities.
The Project's Effects and Impacts
Although population education for youth in Indonesia may will not have a direct effect on decreasing population growth, at least after implementing the modules there is now an awareness of the importance of having smaller families and a longer period between births for the mother's health.
Beside that, other positive impacts reported include:
(1) Improvement in group unity and income generating activities, such as poultry, fishery (catfish), and agriculture (banana cultivation).(2) There is an indication that the group cohesiveness and activities improved because of implementing the modules. Some of the young people started income-generating activities and ask for more modules containing practical activities.
(3) Implementation of the ten modules were attractive to the youth groups, and there are now three new youth groups adapting the modules even though they were not under the supervision of field staff.
(4) There has been a large demand from extension workers from other districts and provinces who want to use the modules. As they are still under pilot testing, there has not yet been widespread distribution.
Preparing the Indonesia Modules Prototype.
After conducting mid-point and final evaluations, CAE revised all modules, as follows:
a. General adaptation(1) Under "important information" on the back page of the cover in each module, there is a message that stresses that volunteer leaders should understand the materials and methods in the modules before using them with their youth groups. In addition, to encourage the use of resource persons, the information also states that the ability to use local experts is a sign of good leadership.(2) Pictures on the cover and inside the modules were changed to more realistically reflect the real life situations and conditions of Indonesia.
(3) Names from the original modules were changed into more familiar names in Indonesia.
(4) The layout of the modules was changed to meet general publication standards of Indonesia. For example, a forward was added to indicate use by agricultural extension workers.
b. Adaptation of the Introduction Booklet.
The forward has been changed from what it was in the original document to show involvement of the Centre for Agricultural Extension.c. Adaptations made in the Population and Agriculture module.
(1) As there are many challenges to suggesting to young people the postponement of marriage and having the first child after they are at least 20 year of age, the team added one new activity to this module titled; Healthy Mothers and Healthy Child are a Family's Hope. This is an activity to stimulate group discussion, using the concept of livestock breeding to highlight the importance of delaying pregnancy. This means that livestock have to breed as they reach physical maturity, not only maturity of their sex organs. In addition, human beings must be different than livestock, they must be mentally mature before marrying and having children. Physical and sexual maturity are not enough.(2) A chart of ideas for group income generating activities has been developed using a list of questions for the group leaders.
d. Adaptations made in the Population, Employment and Income module.
(1) For activity three, where there was a suggestion to look for supplemental books published by FAO, a change was made to add the use of the group work examples included in the publication The Income Generating Projects for Marginal Farmers and Landless (P4K).(2) How is Migration Affecting African Life? as information for group leader has been adapted to include a description of migration effects in general.
e. Adaptations made on the Population and Environment module.
Activity four, on building a solar cooker, has been omitted as it did not seem to work.f. Adaptations made on the Nutrition and Population module.
(1) One of basic concepts used in nutrition extension education in Indonesia was added to this module, which is: there is no one food which provides a complete and balanced diet, therefore we need to eat wide variety of foods.(2) There are a lot of highly nutritious foods in Indonesia such as mangoes which are rich of vitamin A, so in the module this fruit is included as source of vitamin A.
(3) Nutrition extension in Indonesia always suggests eating fresh vegetables. Therefore, drying is suggested only on other foods such as chilly.
g. Adaptations made on the Population and Health module.
In the module, the use of flash cards is mentioned, but they were not provided. Therefore, the new prototype suggests using flash cards.h. Adaptations made on the Family and Family Size module.
(1) Discussing religion is sensitive for rural groups in Indonesia, so it was omitt(2) The definition of family in this module has been adapted to reflect Indonesian Law number 10 of 1992 which describes the development of population and a prosperous family.
i. Adaptations made on the Responsible Parenthood module.
(1) The story about a donkey in activity one was changed to a horse, since Indonesians are not familiar with donkeys.(2) Withdrawal/coitus interuptus as a contraception method is not suitable for discussion with groups of rural youth, therefore it has been omitted. These methods are not suggested for family planning programmes in Indonesia.
(3) Marital law in Indonesia states that the minimum age for a women to be married is 20 and for a man is 21 years of age.
(4) Supplemental family planning information appropriate for Indonesian conditions was added.
(5) Many staff and leaders were concerned that the information in this module may be misused by young people, so in adapting it, footnotes were added to suggest that medical doctors and/or health officer be invited as resources person to explain the topic.
j. Adaptations made on the Human Growth and Development module
(1) As the topic is rather sensitive, the module suggests inviting a resource persons to deal with it.(2) Some felt that many of the pictures in this module were pornographic, so modifications were made on those showing human growth. Where images in the original were nude, the revised version showed them dressed. Where reproductive organs were shown, the people did not have heads in the pictures.
(3) It was felt that the explanation that masturbation is not wrong and does not produce negative effects will make young people do it, so it was omitted.
k. Adaptations made on the How Populations Change module
The explanation of people-growth in Africa was changed to situation in Indonesia.l. Adaptation made on the "Community Involvement" module
The only change is as described in the general adaptation above, point a.
1. Conclusions
From all project activities, the following can be concluded:
a. All the project activities have been implemented according to the work plan attached to the Letter of Agreement, including project management and coordination; preparation, translation and adaptations of the modules; volunteer leader training; field work with the youth groups; and revision and final printing of the Bahasa Indonesian prototype.Some of the strategies suggested in the project document, were in fact not always suitable for field conditions. The project implementors gained information that is very important in the preparation of prototype educational modules for population education with rural youth.
The accomplishments of the project can be described as follows:
(1) From the targeted 36 youth leaders trained in the project, the actual project activity worked with 35 (97.22%).(2) The project targeted 360 youth group members, while 509 actually participated with the ten modules (141.39%).
(3) The project targeted 12 districts to be involved in implementing the modules. A total of 15 actually joined (125%).
(4) The project intended for at least 35 youth farm groups to apply the ten FAO Leader Guides, but actually only 22 groups finished all modules. The rest of 13 groups only worked with from 5 to 9 modules. It can be said that the average use of the training modules among the intended groups was about 89 percent.
b. Generally the volunteer leaders said that the ten modules were very useful for the group member, because the content was relevant to the common problems young people face in the villages. On the other hand, a few activities in the modules were difficult to use by the youth, because they were unsuitable for their local culture. This included some illustration in the Human Growth and Development module (some taboo pictures), ideas that girls are supposed to get married latter, and encouraging the parents not to want a grandchild too soon. All of this was taken into consideration as the final version was revised.
c. At the final evaluation, it was obvious that among those young people who were exposed to the FAO modules, there was an increase of understanding and awareness on population and environmental problems. Beside that, the youth groups are now much more motivated to study and learn more about population. Following the use of the modules, some of the young people practiced the contents in relation to production activities such as poultry raising, catfish breeding, banana cultivation, operating small shops and other farm production activities to generate income.
In the final evaluation, some of field extension workers asked if it would be possible to use the FAO Leader Guides with other youth groups which had not been included in the project. There are three new youth groups preparing to use the ten modules.
d. The project activity gives a social benefit to the youth group members, in terms of improving their leadership skills. Some groups are not active if there is no outside programme.
The modules are intended to be use by volunteer leaders. This method of teaching encourages the members to actively participate in the group discussions and stimulates the development of their own ideas as to how to create appropriate farm activity for the group. The decision of choosing farm activities are based on consensus and the availability of resources. Hopefully, this will produce good results, because the group activity in this way comes from their own intention and decision.
e. A few activities did not achieve the targets as mentioned above in point one of this section. Some of the reasons are:
(1) Some youth only join the activities if there are incentives provided by a project for them, so many were not so interested in getting the benefit from this project.(2) Some of the constraints encountered during the implementation of the project were as follows:
* the needs of some youth to work in the fields during the harvesting season.
* the increase of religious activities during the fasting month, and
* the migration of some youth temporarily to work away from the village.
2. Recommendations
The following recommendations can be made:
(1) Local language prototype modules should be adapted to other provinces as a pilot project, so they can be enriched with more activities that are appropriate for volunteer leaders in their own specific region.(2) Preferably, the ten modules should be used by volunteer leaders who are able to understand and teach the materials using the appropriate active participatory methodology. Some leaders just read the materials to their groups. For this reason, training of youth leaders should be given the highest priority. Training should not only involve learning the subject matter covered in the modules, but also cover topics such as leadership skills, participatory training methods, and group dynamics. The duration of training of youth leaders should be extended to at least seven days, and only leader who pass the training should be permitted to use the Leader Guides.
(3) In many cases, the groups which used the Leader Guides in most cases took the initiative to develop farm related activities, using existing natural resources in the village. Under proper guidance, this led to the use of appropriate technology, capital investment, and infrastructure development. Therefore, leaders of rural youth should include this responsibility as part of their effort to support youth activities.
If there is another pilot project on population education, it should be formulated with a package of credit and technology for the youth groups.
(4) Based on 1995 data, the total number of agriculture extension worker in Indonesia is about 39,000 person. They are spread out over 27 provinces. This provides an excellent network for distributing and further developing the FAO Leader Guides.
The agriculture extension workers were able to use the modules effectively, because they know well the groups in their working area. In addition to the population education information, they can also advise the youth group on appropriate agricultural production technology.
The Location and Youth Groups for Fieldwork Implementation of the FAO Leader Guides in Indonesia, 1995-96
Flowchart of the Project Planning Activities
UNFPA/FAO - INT/92/P94 Project Implementation Teams
Advisory committee
1. Chairman: First Assistance of The State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs,2. Secretary: Mr. Mas'ud Panjaitan, Associate Assistance for the State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs.
3. Members:
(1) Director of Centre for Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture.
(2) Director of Rural Development, Ministry of Home Affairs.
(3) FAO Representative.
(4) UNFPA Representative
National Implementation Teams
1. Project Coordinator:
Mr. Luhut Hutabarat, Head of Institution Development Division, Centre for Agricultural Extension.
2. Training Volunteer Leadership Development Specialist:
Ms. Djembarsah, Head of Farmers' Skill Development Sub-Division, Centre for Agricultural Extension.
3. Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist:
Ms. Dedeh Krisdhiani, Head of Extension Professional Administration Sub-Division, Centre for Agricultural Extension.
Field Staff
1. Yogyakarta Province
(1) Ms. Hendartuti, Head of Human Resource Division, Regional Agricultural Office; as coordinator.(2) Mr. Mugiman GKW, Chief of Extension Sub-Division, Agricultural District Services, Gunung Kidul District, as a member.
(3) Mr. Sai'in, Chief of Extension Sub-Division, Agricultural District Services, Kulon Progo District; as a member.
2. Lampung Province
(1) Mr. Arizona, Staff of Provincial Agriculture Department Office; as coordinator.(2) Mr. Fiman Burhansyah, Subject Matter Specialist at Agricultural District Services, Lampung Selatan District; as a member.
(3) Mr. Bambang Purwoto, Subject Matter Specialist at Agricultural District Services, Lampung Tengah District; as a member.
Leader Guide Titles in English and Bahasa Indonesia
|
ENGLISH |
BAHASA INDONESIA |
|
Introduction |
Buku Panduan |
|
The Population Education Leader Guides |
Petunjuk Penggunaan Modul Pendidikan Kependudukan bagi Pemuda/Tarunatani |
|
Group One |
Kelompok Pertama |
|
* Population and Agriculture |
* Kependudukan dan Pertanian |
|
* Population, Employment and Income |
* Kependudukan, lapangan Pekerjaan dan Pendapatan |
|
* Population and the Environment |
* Kependudukan dan Lingkungan Hidup |
|
Group Two |
Kelompok Kedua |
|
* Population and Nutrition |
* Kependudukan dan Gizi |
|
* Population and Health |
* Kependudukan dan Kesehatan |
|
* Family and Family Size |
* Keluarga dan Warganya |
|
Group Three |
Kelompok Ketiga |
|
* Responsible Parenthood |
* Menjadi Orangtua yang Bertanggung Jawab |
|
* Human Growth and Development |
* Pertumbuhan dan Perkembangan Manusia |
|
Group Four |
Kelompok Keempat |
|
* How the Population Changes |
* Bagaimana Jumlah Penduduk Bertambah |
|
* Community Involvement |
* Peranserta Masyarakat |
The Main Result in Brief of the National Workshop on Leader Guide Modification for Indonesian Rural Conditions
The issues which are considered unsuitable in Indonesia.
1. The religion issues are sensitive to discuss in the group meetings, so they were omitted in the "Family and Family Size" module.2. Coitus interuptus as a contraception method in the "Responsible Parenthood" module is also not suitable, so it was excluded.
3. The solar dryer and cooker in "Population and the Environment" have been tested and they did not function well. Therefore they were taken out.
Some topics which are fundamental to government policy and should be included in the modules.
1. The minimum age permitted to get married by Indonesian marital law is 20 years for women and 21 for men. Therefore, the recommended age for getting married in the Responsible Parenthood module was revised.2. Family planning services information in the "Responsible Parenthood" module should include the existing institutions in Indonesia, such as: Family Welfare Information Centre, rural nurses, Rural Health Centres, Rural Centre for Integrated Services, etc.
3. The basic concepts in the "Population and Nutrition" module should include that there is no one food which has complete and balanced nutrition, so we need to diversify menus.
4. There are a lot of good, nutritious food widely available in Indonesia, which should be included in the "Population and Nutrition" module, such as mangos which should be consumed as a fresh fruit.
5. Drying vegetable activity in "Population and Nutrition" module should be discussed in the group only if it is necessary, because government recommends people to consume fresh fruits and vegetables.
Some figures and illustrations should be adjusted.
1. Illustration on the covers and in all modules should be adjusted to fit Indonesian conditions, such as body shapes, house design and background.2. In like manner, the height of children should fit the periods of recommended sequential births.
Others.
In the implementation of the modules, the officials and the group leaders should pay attention to the roles of resource persons, especially for the Responsible Parenthood and Human Growth and Development modules.
Subject of Lessons, Teaching Hours and Facilitators/Lecturers of Field Staff Training
|
No. |
SUBJECT OF LESSON |
NUMBER OF TEACHING HOUR |
LECTURER/FASILITOR |
|
1. |
Group Dynamic |
3 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara 1) |
|
2. |
Training Method |
8 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
3. |
Principle of Androgogy |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
4. |
Technical Training Facilitation |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
5. |
Teaching Tools Guide |
6 |
Hardi Suhardi |
|
6. |
Teaching Practice |
5 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
7. |
Teaching Evaluation |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
8. |
Leadership |
2 |
Hardi Suhardi |
|
9. |
Training Plan |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
10 |
Leader Group Training Plan |
1 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
11 |
Modules Explanation |
2 |
Yusuf Bunyamin |
|
12 |
Activities of the Project |
2 |
Luhut Hutabarat |
|
13 |
Monitoring and Evaluation Project |
2 |
Dedeh Krisdhiani |
|
|
Total |
39 |
|
1) Lecturer, at Centre for Agriculture Education and Profesional Training-Agency for Agricultural Education and Training Ministry of agriculture.2) Subject Matter Specialist, at CAE
3) CAE's Staff who was trained in Philippine
4) CAE's Staff
The Main Result in Brief of the Mid-Point Participatory Evaluation Workshop in Yogyakarta April 7,1996 and in Lampung April 12,1996
I. The Modules Relevance.
1. The volunteer leaders and their groups generally felt that the content of the modules was interesting and useful.2. Some of the elements of the modules that were of special interest to the youth were such things as problems with living and working in cities and the effects of cutting down the trees without re-greening.
3. The third group of modules, "Responsible Parenthood" and "Human Growth and Development", were the most interesting for youth, because the content had never been discussed directly with them before.
II. The Implementation of The Modules.
1. It was expected that five modules would be field tested by volunteer leaders. The actual number was:* twenty-two group (62.9 percent) implemented five or more Leader Guides.
* thirteen group (37 percent) implemented less than five Leader Guides.The main reason is that some of the groups stopped the activities during the fasting month, when they spent their time with religions activities.
2. Although, in every leader guide there is a note to the volunteer leaders asking them to read the instructions in the "Introduction to The Population Education" booklet, some of them did not fully understand the massages. This can be observed by the following:
* Most of the volunteer leader did not use resource person for developing technical information applicable to their environment.* The Volunteer Leader did not follow the teaching methods stated in the Leader Guides. Some copied the modules and read the contents to their youth groups.
* There is one group who discussed "How Population Changes" module first. Actually this module should be discussed in the last lesson.
The conclusion is that the volunteer leaders needed more training than was provided.
3. Often the volunteer leaders lacked knowledge and skills in how to invite local resource persons to help them with the activities. Many thought that requesting a resource persons would incur cost.
Subject of Lessons, Teaching Hours and Facilitators/Lecturers of Field Staff Training
|
No |
Subject |
Teaching Hours |
Lecturer/Facilitator |
|
1. |
Group Dynamic |
3 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara 1 |
|
2. |
Training Method |
8 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
3. |
Principle of Androgogy |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
4. |
Technical Training Facilitation |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
5. |
Teaching Tools Guide |
6 |
Hardi Suhardi 1 |
|
6. |
Teaching Practice |
5 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
7. |
Teaching Evaluation |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
8. |
Leadership |
2 |
Hardi Suhardi |
|
9. |
Training Plan |
2 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
10. |
Leader Group Training Plan |
1 |
Dr. Monty S. Padmanegara |
|
11. |
Modules Explanation |
2 |
Yusuf Bunyamin |
|
12. |
Activities of the Project |
2 |
Luhut Hutabarat |
|
13. |
Monitoring and Evaluation Project |
2 |
Dedeh Krisdhiani |
|
|
Total |
39 |
|
1) Lecturer, at Centre for Agriculture Education and Professional Training-Agency for Agricultural Education and Training Ministry of agriculture.2) Subject Matter Specialist, CAE
3) CAE's Staff who was trained at the FAO Rural Youth Population Education Workshop in the Philippines
4) CAE Staff
Integration Population Education Programs of Rural Youth in China (pilot activity), aided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, was started at the beginning of 1994 in Dingxi County, Gansu Province, and finished by the end of 1995. Thanks to the joint efforts and cooperation of the departments concerned, the project's objectives were achieved in time. The revised population education leaders guides, according to the local reality and the experiences from the pilot activity, have being adopted and extended in the whole country.
A Brief Introduction to Dingxi County
Dingxi County, located in the central part of Gansu Province in northwestern China, is between east longitude 104-105 and north latitude 35-36. The total area of Dingxi Country is 3638.7 square kilometer. In Dingxi Country, there are 2 towns, 24 townships, and 305 villages. There are eight nationalities in Dingxi County, such as Han, Hui, Tibetan. The total population of Dingxi County is 442,200,97 percent of them are Hans. The increasing population has impeded the economic development and the raising of the people's living standards.
Dingxi County, located in western part of the Loess Plateau, with many high mountains and deep valleys, is 1700-2580 meters above sea level. The rivers within the County are seasonal. The subsurface water is scarce and salty, not good for drinking and irrigation. The land is poor and barren because of lack of vegetation and soil erosion. Dingxi County has a continental monsoon climate. The annual rainfall is 425 mm, and the evaporation 1550 mm. The annual hours of sunshine is about 2,500. The annual average temperature is 6.3 degrees centigrade.
Dingxi is an agricultural county. The agricultural output value amounts to 48 percent of the county's total industrial and agricultural output value. The county's total rural population is 383,000, 86.6 percent of the total. The total cultivated land area is 1,777,200 mu, of that, 1,533,000 mu is non-irrigated land. The per capita cultivated land area is 4.64 mu. More people and less land has caused serious problems. The grain output is low and unstable because of constant drought, low temperatures and hailstones. The net income per capita of the rural population in 1996 was 1,050 yuan (125 US dollar). Rural people still have a hard life.
The backward economy has hindered the development of education and public health. Among the 383,000 people who make up the rural population, 21,995 or 5.7 percent are illiterate or half-illiterate. Owning to poverty, people have low awareness of hygiene and health care. Besides, there are not enough medical facilities, and the medical staffs' professional quality is poor.
Dingxi County is one of the earliest developed areas in Northwest China In this frontier region, wars occurred frequently throughout history. Chaos caused by war, low productivity of the land and a harsh natural environment made population grow very slowly. By 1949, the population of Dingxi County was 191,000. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, local productivity has developed considerably. Great progress has been made in the economy and public health care. People's living situations have improved. This has resulted in a sharp decline in mortality. In 1949, the mortality was 20 percent, by 1995, the mortality dropped to 6.6 percent. At the same time, the natural growth rate has increased dramatically, and surpassed 40 percent in 1962 and in 1969. The County's population increased to 442,000 by 1995 from 191,000 in 1949. The rapid growth of population has put heavy pressure on natural resources. Agricultural land has been over-used, and land which was not really suited for cropping has been reclaimed for agricultural use, resulting in erosion and depletion of the soil. Drought and desertification have become worse year by year. Many areas have become bare, without grass and tree. The rapid growth of rural population has also resulted in large surpluses of labor owning to the limited land. Social services, such as education and health facilities, have become over-burdened and can not satisfy the demand of the ever increasing population.
Since 1972, the Government has come to have a clear understanding of the role that population plays in social and economic development and have made many policies and programmes to slow down the population growth rate. Dingxi County at that time started family planning education programmes. At the same time, some effective population control policies were adopted. The population growth trend is now under control. The natural growth rate has dropped to 14.47 percent in 1995.
But many rural people still have traditional ideas concerning having children, such as more children, more happiness, and sons are more valuable than daughter. These thoughts interfere with implementing family planning programmes often becoming a real obstacle. The ideas have profound historical and social reasons. The first is that in the past, due to many epidemic diseases, natural disasters and the shortage of living materials, a family usually had many children, but only a few would survive and grow up. The second reason is that in an agricultural society with low productivity, labor, especially male labor, was the main production force. The third reason is that in rural area, when a girl grows up, she has to get married and live with her husband's family. Therefore, only sons are considered to provide for one's old age, and they are the only ones to inherit the family land, business and name. Although some of these reasons for having many children are no longer valid, people continue to have large number of children. Many rural people's traditional thought of having children, such as early childbirth, having many children, and that at least there should be one son, have not changed, as a result of the County's low productivity, undeveloped market economy and lack of knowledge on science, technology and culture. The social, economic and cultural conditions for change, which affect productivity have not appeared, therefore, we have to implement population education programmes and family planning programmes to make the changes realized.
Integration Population Education Programs of Rural Youth in Dingxi County (Pilot Activity)
Integration of Population Education into Programs of Rural Youth in Dingxi County, executed by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO), began in January 1994. FAO Population and Rural Development Adviser, Ms. Felicidad L. Villareal, and the Department of Foreign Technical and Economic Cooperation of Gansu Province were responsible for project. The implementing agencies were the Department of Foreign Technical and Economic Cooperation of Dingxi Prefecture, and the Culture Department of Dingxi Prefecture. The project objectives are to increase rural youth's level of knowledge about population-related factors as these impact on their lives and to increase the level of insights about their role within the community and enable them to make informed choices in family life development; to revise the leaders guide booklets through the programs so that they will be applicable in the County.
In January 1994, Cankou Township and Neiguan Township in Dingxi County were chosen as the project townships. Six youth groups for the project were formed in six villages. Group leaders were also elected. There were a total of 60 group members, each about 20 years of age. Half were female.
In February 1994, after translating the booklets into Chinese, the illustration were revised accordingly by the Dingxi County Culture Station. Eighty copies of the revised Chinese version were made and distributed among group members, project management personnel, and resource persons, such as population teacher, agricultural technicians, family planning workers, maternal and child care doctors and micro-enterprises managers. A workshop was held later in the month to study the project's long-term and immediate objectives; the project strategy; and the booklets.
In March 1994, group members, project management personnel and resource persons were divided into six groups to do population-related investigation in selected villages on ten aspects of the booklets The real strength of the booklets are the relationships developed among population and land, water, the environment. Of special interest is the connection between family size, employment, living standard and educational opportunity. Also of importance is the link established in the materials among living standard and awareness of hygiene, health care, and the thought and practice of having children; and suggestions on family planning policy and services. The result of the review served to guide the population education activities, and also served as a basis for revising the leaders guide booklets.
From April to December 1994, with the help from the project management personnel, the group leaders conducted population education activities according to the booklets, namely, Population and Agriculture, Population and the Environment; Population, Employment and Income; Population and Nutrition; Population and Health; Family and Family Size; Responsible Parenthood; Human Growth and Development; How Population Changes; and Community Involvement. At the same time, resource persons were invited to give lectures on special topics High school population teachers on world population, the thought and practice of having children in other countries; and elder villagers ideas on the changes of land, water, environment and climate over the past 50 years; medical workers on MACH knowledge; family planning workers on the country's family planning policy and birth control methods; micro-enterprise managers on how to utilize local resources to set up income-generation activities, micro-enterprise production and management; and agricultural personnel on scientific farming, pig and chicken raising, and green house vegetable planting. These special topics have enriched the booklets, increased rural youths' practical knowledge, and promoted their skills, which was very helpful in self-employment.
One evaluation workshop on population education activities was held in August 1994; one in December, and another during May 1995. With the final evaluation session in August 1995, the revision of the booklets were finished. Some changes in the booklets were made because the original booklets were written based one some countries in Africa. The information and arranged activities were not applicable in China. After field testing, additional changes were made. Therefore, the finished booklets are the joint achievement of youth members, project management personnel, high school population teachers, micro-enterprise managers, family planning workers, MACH doctors and agricultural technical personnel.
Achievement of Integration Population Education Programmes of Rural Youth in Dingxi County
Through the population education activities, rural youth have come to know the pressure made by too rapid population growth on natural resources, environment, employment, education and public health facilities. They also become aware of the importance of population control. Rural youth begin to understand how the family size affects their quality of life or standard of living. They are able to make responsible decision about the number of children in a way that is personally meaningful and socially relevant. For the group of 60 youth leaders, nine of every twelve say they will delay marriage; until 25 years of age from males and 23 years for females. Many youth member say they will have one only child.
Through the population education activities, rural youth learned the knowledge about reproductive physiology, protection from venereal disease and AIDS, maternal and child health, and birth control methods. Young couples now know how to use contraceptives, and pay more attention to AIDS and venereal disease. Pre-marriage examination, hereditary disease consultation, having children at the right age, pre-birth diagnosis, pregnancy health, new-methods of delivery, child vaccination and other good practices are all now considered important. These practices will all contribute to improved quality of life.
Through the population education activities, rural youth are no longer in a hurry to get married and have children. They are now eager to get more technical training in order to establish their own micro-enterprises, such as dressing making, grocery shop merchandising, transportation, green house production, and pig and chicken raising. Among the 60 group members, six have opened dress-shops, four now have their own grocery shops, three members have barber shops, five work in transportation, three in green house production, three in chicken raising and two in pig raising. Many members go out of the villages to do construction work in urban area during the slack season. These activities have increased their income, and given an impetus for them to change their traditional thoughts and practices concerning having children.
Through Implementing Integration Population Education
Programs of rural youth in Dingxi County. We have realized that population is a prerequisite of effective family planning. Population education must be combined with family planning, therefore, by using the existing network of family planning systems, Dingxi County has decided to start an extensive population education program to enhance the gradual change of family planning from governmental action to individual voluntary action.
It is not an easy task to change the traditional thoughts and practices of having many children in rural areas. For this reason, perseverance and diligence is needed for population education. While using these leaders guide booklets, more attention should be paid to each village and the reality of each household. Population education is a learning process that enables people to understand how rapid population growth affects their quality of life. The goal of population education is to give people enough information to enable them to make responsible decisions about family size in a way that is good both to the family and society. In this way, the thoughts and practices of having children will change from the old ideas such as the desire for earlier child-birth, many children, and a son. When birth control methods are applied, birth rates will decrease, thus the coordinated development among population, society and the economy can be achieved.
Population education, family planning and economic development are mutually affected, therefore, family planning agencies should expand their services. While explaining population-related knowledge and birth-control methods to rural population, education on science, technology and culture is also necessary. Preferential policies should be given to those households with small family size by providing pesticides, chemical fertilizers, seeds and technology, to help those families prosper as soon as possible. This will encourage other families to adopt family planning policy.
Implementing rural women development programmes. The rural women development programme is designed to organize rural poor women through functional literacy, technical skill training, education and services of maternal and child health, and family planning they also work to help set up income-generating activities with poverty alleviation funds. Through participation in the program, rural women have increased their quality of life both physically and mentally. Their income has increased. Their social and economic status have been enhanced and their traditional thinking about having children will change in due course.
Establishing a population education and family planning network at the village level, and providing the following services:
· Consultancy service: launching consultancy activities to explain to rural people about population-related issues, birth-control methods, the country's family planning policy, maternal and child health, and the use of contraceptives.· Health Services: Making regular physical examinations and treatment to children, women and elder; vaccinating all children between zero and seven years of age.
· Technical Services: Helping young couples choose safe and reliable contraceptives.
Having sons for one's old age is one of the reasons why a rural family has many children. This is not a ideological issue. Family provision for the old age is the main trend at the present, owning to the low productivity in rural area. When a daughter grows up, she gets married and lives with her husband's family. An old couple really has difficulty without a son. Therefore, the bridegroom is encouraged to live with his parents-in-law. But with the development of the rural economy, provision for one's old age by society can be gradually realized. At present, local governments help some villages to build homes for elderly. The insurance and saving programs for one's old age are being implemented. Surely, the provision for one's old age by society can be realized in the future. Having sons for one's old age will no longer be a valid argument.
At the same time, we hope that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations can introduce other countries' successful methods and experiences to China on population education and family planning. This could be accomplished through further pilot activities which provide funds, equipment and technical assistance to continue to expand and improve population education programmes for rural youth.
We also hope to share experiences on population education and family planning with population experts and project officers from other countries who are participating in this seminar, so they can learn from our experiences to promote population education programmes and family planning programs in China.
Let us strengthen cooperation and make a greater contribution to the healthy progress among populations, society and the economy to help realize human being's development in a all-around way, by controlling population growth, promoting population quality and raising peoples' living standards.
Project Implementation
After the signing of the Letter of Agreement LA-INT/92/P94 FAO-UNESCO, the implementation of the project Integration of Population Education into Rural Youth Programs was carried out by the Vietnam Youth Federation without delay.
The three project pilot sites chosen were in Son La Province (in northern Vietnam), Thua Thien-Hue Province (in central Vietnam) and the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City (in southern Vietnam). Activities were carried out with rural youth groups in: (1) Son La Province in Mo Cong and Nam Giat Communes, Thuan Chau District; (2) Thua Thien-Hue Province in North Thuy District, Thuy Duong and Thuy Phuong Communes of Huong Thuy District; and (3) the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City at Phong Phuhamlet, Tang Nhon Phu Commune and Ich Thanh Hamlet, Long Truong Commune, Thu Due District.
The first steps of the project were to establish a Project Steering Committee and appoint the National Project Coordinator.
After being translated into Vietnamese and H'mong languages, the 12 volumes of the FAO-UNESCO rural youth population Leader Guides were printed and made into 60 sets (or 720 copies) for the Vietnamese version and 40 sets (or 480 copies) of the H'mong version. This allowed the sufficient distribution of working materials to the training participants as well as to youth cadres and youth group leaders involved in the field testing activities at the six pilot sites selected in the three parts of the country.
The main part of the project-field testing operation-was carried out through workshops at the national and provincial/city levels; educational sessions among youth at community level, and evaluation workshop. It included four activities as follows:
Training-the-Trainer Workshop of Field Staff
The workshop was organized from 12 to 16 October, 1994 in Hanoi with the participation of 30 people including: 18 youth leaders/trainers from three chosen provinces (Son La, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City); 12 representatives/resource persons from the ministries/agencies involved, the Vietnam Youth Federation and the Vietnam Youth Committee; representatives from UNESCO Vietnam, UNFPA and FAO Hanoi; and Dr. William Seiders-FAO consultant, attending the workshop as advisor and key-note speaker.
At the workshop, the Project Steering Committee discussed with the participants the methodology to be adopted in the field testing, the plan and schedule of activities which were then discussed by the participants. The case studies and the role-playing rehearsal of youth group sessions for Leader Guide field testing were also conducted to assess and pick out good experience for further improvement, to provide a better guide to the trainers for their retraining and to help youth group leaders during the field testing sessions.
Output:
· 18 provincial/city level youth cadres were trained on the comprehensive content of population education through the Leader Guide method They were therefore well prepared for the training of field staff and the monitoring of field testing activities as expected;· Proper methodology, skills, appropriate messages, plans and orientation of the field testing activities were established, discussed and adopted while field testing sessions were practiced through role playing and improved;
· The workshop was considered successful, having attained the expected results. It was a well-prepared, with helpful support from the FAO consultant and local resource persons. It therefore created a favorable start and strong impulse to the sequence steps of action to follow.
Training of Community-Level Volunteer Leaders
Following the national train-the-trainers workshop mentioned above, the training of grassroots youth group leaders was shortly deployed as scheduled through three provincial/city training workshop. Each was for 12 days, as follows:
· In Hue City: from 20 Oct. to 2 Nov. 1994;
· In Son La Province: from 25 Oct. to 7 Nov. 1994;
· In Ho Chi Minh City: from 28 Oct. to 10 Nov. 1994
Participants at each of these three local workshop comprised 18 persons, including:
· 12 trainees who are commune-level group leaders or youth activists;
· 3 trainers who are provincial/city-level youth cadres already trained through Hanoi workshop;
· 3 person task force team selected from project staffs, assigned by Project Steering Committee to local workshops to advise, monitor, supervise and evaluate the retraining performances.
At these local workshops, apart from the messages and information discussed at the national workshop, information was also provided on the FAO and UNESCO organizations, INT/92/P94 Project, the content of the 12 volumes of the FAO/UNESCO Leader Guides, and the instructions given by the FAO consultant. The trainees' attention was also focused on other issues, such as the study of the typical conditions of rural youth and the specific situation of the locations selected as pilot sites for the field testing. The use of all the different messages found in the Leader Guides, the way to organize and conduct youth sessions, following the model formulated by the youth group leaders, was also presented.
Role playing of model sessions was again used so the leaders could practice the new methodology of working with groups of rural youth. The exercises on planning of the field test activities were all repeated and evaluated to see that the group leaders were fully aware of their role and competent enough to meet the requirements of their duties.
Output:
From these three local workshops, 36 commune-level trainees received sufficient training in guiding field testing activities;
Analysis of the workshop report, evaluation sheets and questionnaires completed by every trainee showed that all increased knowledge and awareness of the training subjects, their grasp of working methods, their application of working skills was improved and they were obviously well prepared for the role as group leaders for the field testing sessions at their local village bases.
At the Son La workshop, out of 22 participants 9 were judged as excellent trainees, 13 good and no one considered just fair. The Hue workshop had 100 percent of the trainees recognized as the best learners of new things; and most of the reports of the Ho Chi Minh City workshop participants confirmed that their knowledge, awareness and sense about the whole 12 training Issues, and the approach and methodology was clearly upgraded.
Local Leaders Using Materials with Youth Groups
Immediately after the training of community-level youth group leaders, three sets of field testing using the Leader Guides started at the six pilot sites selected in three provinces/city, in three different parts of the country, as mentioned above. All carried out a series of educational sessions with each of their respective youth groups.
A task force team of three project officers was assigned by the Project Steering Committee to go to each field testing site to participate in a typical sessions for monitoring, advising and evaluating in time and on the spot.
Output:
· Within one month's time, from early November to early December, 1994, in selected communes in the six pilot sites, three waves of field testing using the FAO/UNESCO educational materials was carried out by local youth group leaders with their youth groups. The educational sessions were successfully completed by a total number of 94 youth group including 168 youth. The total number of contact participation for sessions was around 2,500, calculated as the number of sessions by total number of participants.· 150 copies of the evaluation sheet and questionnaires were completed by youth participants and leaders, providing fact-and figures used for analysis and evaluation at the final workshop.
Evaluation Workshop
The evaluation workshop was held in Hanoi from 26 to 28 December, 1994 with the participation of 36 persons, including 18 provincial/city youth leaders or experts, 12 youth group leaders who guided the field testing at the six pilot sites; six resource persons/ representatives from the Vietnam Youth Federation, UNESCO Vietnam and the other agencies involved. Representatives from FAO and UNFPA were invited.
In three working days, the workshop has processed and evaluated the feedback data and information collected from the trainees' and field testing participants' Evaluation Sheets and completed Questionnaires. The performance reports delivered by city/province workshops organizers and field testing conductors were then put up for group discussion. Based on the objective feedback, the judgment and suggestions by the field testing groups, the views exchanged at group discussions, the workshop eventually adopted the following conclusions:
· The waves of field testing using the FAO/UNESCO Leader Guides at the six pilot sites in selected communes in the north, central and southern Vietnam, the last stage and final goal of the previous workshops and a series of actions, have successfully been completed with fine, faithful and significant results, thanks to the enthusiastic response and cooperation by the local youth and youth leaders. There was especially positive support and assistance from the authorities at all levels; the chiefs of local ethnic groups and communities; and particularly, the effective assistance and financial aid from FAO and UNESCO.· The overall good quality of the Leader Guides is asserted by our readers and users through their useful content, interesting method, easy-to understand way of presentation and popular wording style. They were also considered to be realistic in conforming to the actual situations and needs of rural youth and the present situation of our countryside;
· The widespread application and use of the Leader Guides throughout our country as an indication of a good set of educational materials for rural youth group leaders, which include activities that indeed benefit young people in the countryside.
· A particular shortcoming noted by the H'mong youth is the difficulty of using the materials where there are high rates of illiteracy. Therefore the Leader Guides could be more useable to them if they were more visual with abundant illustrations, drawings, pictures and photographs instead of too may words.
· Some recommendations were also generated from the various waves of Leader Guide use. FAO and UNESCO should develop more Leader Guides on other topics, for example, Youth and Reforestation, Population and Forest/Land Protection, or some special kind of periodic newsletter or leaflets for rural, mountainous young readers. These ideas show the acceptance and admiration among the target group concerning the Leader Guide series.
· All the practical recommendations for revision of the Leader Guides include further adaptation, supplementation and upgrading of information/data with a view to making the original messages either more understandable, reasonable and suitable to our rural youth and situations more persuasive and impressive to the youth audience.
After the Evaluation Workshop, the revision of the 12 volumes of the Leader Guides were finalized by three experts in one week's time.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Based on the results of the project activities, as well as the feedback from staff and target groups, the conclusions are as follows:
· The FAO-UNESCO Leader Guides are considered by our specialists of mass education and motivation to be an effective technical instrument that can provide helpful service for the youth cadres in carrying out the social tasks in compliance with their function of mass mobilization through communication and motivation in different localities under peculiar conditions;· The leader guide series has also produced an echo effect in that they have created a favorable impression among other professional circles and the authorities at all levels once they become familiar with them.
These findings have been confirmed by our rural youth, youth group leaders and youth cadres across the six pilot sites of field testing. They have sincerely like the Leader Guides and regard them as valuable tools to help improve and enrich the content, methods and the forms of activities for the various rural youth groups. The materials and methodology can help promote an active role and participation of the rural youth and youth cadres in the anti-poverty, anti-underdevelopment and anti-ignorance front in our countryside.
With such a clear effectiveness of the project, we very much hope to receive further assistance and support from FAO and other international organizations to make the guidebook series available to more Vietnamese rural youth leaders and youth cadres. This is also the hope and the wish of our youth leaders and the authorities at various levels.
