Our 100th SMS, received today!

"We congratulate the CDRD and  its staff, we are very happy with the work they do here such as: the construction of the community centre, which has created jobs for some residents who are poor. This project will help strengthen the community’s relations and development."

No beneficiary details provided

Lan-mulaho community,

Odweyne district

  

Original SMS in Somali: "Hadaanu nahay dad waynaha ku dhaqan tuulada lanmulaaxo waxaanu ham balyo sharafeed u diraynaa hay ada D R C .iyo shaqaalaheeda aad iyo aad baanu ugu faraxsanahay waxqabad keeda uu ka mid yahay guriga dad wanaha kaasoo iminkana dad dan yar ahi ay shaqo kaheleen kadibna iskuxidhka bulshada iyo horumarkeeda waxwaykataridoonta"

How a village peacefully voted out a dysfunctional all-male committee

Weeks before I was scheduled to arrive in Bossaso, Puntland, 2 colleagues from the Danish Diming Group, were kidnapped in Galkayo! This unfortunate incident tightened security in the whole of Puntland and affected my planned trip to roll out the SMS beneficiary feedback system. It meant postponing the trip and traveling to Nairobi for a personal security training course. The course was worth it as I felt better prepared in case there were any security threats.

I arrived in Bossaso, Puntland, on the 19^th of December. Security was very tight and I had to have security guards whenever I stepped out of the DRC compound. I had to negotiate hard to be allowed to visit beneficiaries outside Bossaso. The advice was that visiting Galkayo was totally out of the question given the high security risk and after back and forth discussions with both our Nairobi office and staff at the Bossaso office, I was finally allowed to visit beneficiaries in Qardho, 3 hours drive from Bossaso. On the condition that I took 2 body guards.

We arrived in Qardho on the 22^nd, a small sleepy town with friendly people. We went straight to meet beneficiaries of 4 projects: Community market in Shimbiraale; a livelihood project and IDP camp in Qardho town; community health post and 2 wells in Shire village. The first project beneficiaries, a group of women at a community market in Shimbiraale, a village just outside Qardho, had an interesting local governance issue they shared with us. Their project is part of the Community-Driven Recovery and Development (CDRD) and the market was already built and functioning.

Around 30 women were at the market when we visited, they seemed keen to hear the purpose of our visit and about the project. In the middle of my explanations, a woman with a speaker walked in, she looked like she was in charge. She sat at the front and politely asked me to repeat the explanation for her. It turned out she was one of the implementing committee members and a very active member involved in few other local initiatives. She explained she just returned from a local ‘cleaning day’ event. 


I found all the participants engaging, they asked a lot of questions about how the project works and if they could test it by sending SMSes right then. Even though I knew the basics about the project, they insisted on telling me the history. They explained the following:

CDRD projects are typically given $15,000 to implement a project local communities have chosen. The community is then asked to contribute 20% of the fund in any way they can. Most common form of contribution is labour but in the Shimbiraale case, the community contributed the land on which the market was built. The land was valued at $4,000, more than the expected 20% contribution.

As part of the grant, the community is also required to select an implementing committee to manage the day to day management of the funds and the project. The Shimbiraale village residents ended up selecting an all-male committee made of 11 members and they set up a deadline for the completion of the market.

The committee only built the foundation of the market and the project fell behind schedule.  The community, mostly the female members, started pressuring the committee to finish the project as they needed to sell their produce in the market. Impatient with the slow progress and lack of explanation, some of these female community members, called for a village meeting and proposed to vote out the committee! After a village meeting, the committee was found to have:

·        Lack of cooperation - among themselves and with the community members, which has interrupted the project’s implementation.

·        Lack of commitment - most of the elected committees had their personal projects and prioritized them over the work assigned by the community.

This led the community to vote the whole committee out and vote in a new committee entirely made up of female members. The new committee managed to complete the construction of the market within a month of taking over. 

I was amazed with the efficiency of the female members of Shimbiraale village and how determined they were to sort the problem out. We hear a lot about power struggle and mostly male-domination in the decision-making process at this level  in most Somali villages and towns but this is the first time I witnessed the results of a fair and democratic system where a village unanimously voted out a dysfunctional committee and an all-male committee at that, for the benefit of the whole community! This story made it worth all the security hassle I had to go through to visit the beneficiaries. It is the kind of success story of local decision-making and governance I hope to hear more of.

Odweyne roll out trip summary: January 29/2012

The second phase roll-out of the Beneficiary SMS Feedback system took place on 24^th January, 2012, in Odweyne district. We have visited beneficiaries with ongoing CDRD projects, including construction of community centres and water tanks (berkat). We carried out mobilization and awareness campaign in Odweine Town and 9 villages: Berato, El-same, Hahi, Haro-sheikh, Qalo’ato, Dabagorayale, Lan Mulaxo, Khatumo and Haji-salah.

We met each community and explained in detail what the Beneficiary SMS Feedback system is and how it works.  The beneficiaries consisted of elders, women, and the Community Implementation Project Unit (CIPU), the locally elected body that is responsible for CDRD project implementation. They were happy to learn that they could directly communicate with the head office in Hargeisa, despite the challenges with the electricity shortage and illiteracy.

To ensure that beneficiaries really understood the system and can send SMS, we asked if some of them could test the feedback system and send messages during the mobilisation. They did and we shared our experiences from previous field trips to El-Afweyn and Qardho. Some beneficiaries in these towns needed help to write their feedback messages and we found that partnering parents with their literate children worked successfully. They seemed happy with the idea and promised to take it onboard.

Challenges

      ·         Poor network coverage.

·         Most of the beneficiaries are nomad, illiterate and in some cases have never sent an SMS.

·         Power shortage to charge phones.

·        Some beneficiaries are resistant to the idea of sending SMS because it is a new concept to them and find it requires a lot of effort.

Lessons learned

·       Almost all beneficiaries tend to be impatient and demand that their SMSes are answered urgently. We explain the process to them and the average time it takes to process a complaint or a request.

·       We learnt about local businessmen such as Hussein Hassan, see picture bellow, who make a living out of charging mobile phones for people with no access to electricity for about 0.5$. Communities are happy with this type of service because they struggle with power shortage.

Trip summary

Odweyne District is about 7 hours drive from Hargeisa on a partly rough road. The 6-day road trip, including daily visits to the villages outside Odweyne town, was intense but very productive.

What made the rolling out of the feedback system to Odweyne a bit easier is that we have put to use lessons learnt from the first pilot field trips to El-Afweyn, Somaliland and Qardho, Puntland. Mainly that we needed to develop simple and easy to understand guides and things like the stickers so beneficiaries can understand the feedback system easier. Also, unlike the first pilot field trip, now the SMS feedback has been properly tested and beneficiaries can send SMSes during the mobilization and if they have problems or questions can directly ask us direct.

Poster with information on how the SMS feedback works

This is part of our communication material that we stick on public spaces in the communities we work with. It says: if you have a suggestion, appreciation, a complaint or ideas you think can help improve how CDRD works with you, kindly send us an SMS to this number.

SMS feedback from a male beneficiary in El-Same Village, Odweine District.

Original SMS received on 28.1.2012:

As the Village Committee of El-Same village, we would like to bring to your attention three issues that need urgent action:

1 - The community building that is under construction needs electricity and lights and also to put desks and chairs and other necessary items in the office.

2 - The sweet-water well that is the main source of drinking water for the village, which has 300 residents, has stopped pumping water a week ago. There was a machine that used to pump water that functioned on solar power and we have called all the people who could help fix it but they haven't managed to. We need help to either find a way to fix it or have it replaced. We rely on this clean drinking water heavily and the dirty muddy water is not healthy to drink, especially for children and elderly people.

3. Women groups who have benefitted from the revolving fund need more support because they have used the past revolving funds effectively and it has been a while since we have had anyone coming to monitor how well this project has worked.

Male member of a Committee
El-Same Village
Odweine District
-----------------------
Follow-up steps, taken on 29.1.2012

1 - Called beneficiary for clarification on point 2 as we could not make sense of the message.
2 - Replied: "Thank you, I have passed on your msg to the team in charge of the project. I am waiting for a reply and when I receive it, will forward it to you."

Frequently Asked Questions

·         How does the SMS feedback work?
Using a mobile phone with a local SIM card, SMSes from beneficiaries will be received and forwarded to a private administration section of the dashboard supported by Ushahidi platform at http://somcdrd.org/geo/dashboard/.

·         What times are best to send messages?
You can send feedback any time that suits you. The SMS feedback line is open 24/7, including weekends and public holidays.

·         Where do my messages go?
The comments you send are only read by 4 people, 2 of whom are responsible for processing feedback messages. Once they have processed, translated to English, and categorized your messages, they will post them on this website: www.somcdrd.org/hif, but your personal details and phone number will not appear in public.

·         How much does it cost me?
Only the cost of one SMS text message at your normal network rate. You will not be charged anything more, nor will you be subscribed to any other services.

·         What happens after I send the message?
You will receive an automated reply acknowledging your message and thanking you for your feedback. If your message regards a complaint or enquiry, and only if it is directly related to a DRC project, we will pass it to the relevant department and let you know what actions are to be taken. If you do not wish to be contacted by anyone, simply ignore the reply message and no further contact will be made.

·         What is the different between the existing complaint mechanism and the beneficiary feedback system?
 Feedback messages are vital to ensure DRC is in direct contact with beneficiaries and hear their voices in order to monitor projects better and improve on delivery. Feedback messages do not need to be followed up beyond the automated response. Complaints and suggestions directly affecting DRC projects, on the other hand, will be dealt with by the relevant department and outcomes relayed to the beneficiary. Complaints and suggestions regarding third party and other humanitarian agencies, DRC will not be able to address but we will forward to the relevant agency for you.

·         Can I trust you not to use my mobile phone number or pass it on to anyone else?
Yes.  DRC’s Beneficiary Feedback will not use your phone number or make it available to anyone else unless you specifically give permission. Even when you do, you will only be contacted if necessary to help the relevant person deal with your complaint or query.

·         What if I want something sorting out quickly?

The Beneficiary Feedback is a convenient feedback service designed to help beneficiaries have their say, express opinions, etc. If you have an issue that needs sorting out immediately and that is part of an ongoing project, we will forward your message to a field officer near you. But if it concerns a service provided by a third party, we can only forward them your message and urge them to follow up.

Su’aalaha uguu badan ee layska waydiiyo qaabka habkani u shaqeeyo: 

·         Siduu habkani u shaqeeyaa?

Iyadoo la adeegsanaayo moobilka, kuwaas oo ku xidhan Sistam la yidhaahdo Daashboodh oo uu taageeraayo soo bandhige layidhaahdo “Platform”, ayaa maasayjkii gaabnayd ee ay soo direen ka faa’iidaystayaashu waxaa la dhigayaa mareegta hay’adda ee http://somcdrd.org/geo/dashboard/.

    ·         Xilligee ugu fiican ee maasayj la diri karaa?

Sistamku wuxuu shaqaynayaa 24 saacadoodba, xataa maalmaha fasaxa la yahay, waxaanad diri kartaa fariintaada xillikasta oo kuu haboon in aad dirto.

·         Maasayjkaygu xaguu tagayaa?

Fariinta aad dirto waxaa akhrinaaya 4 qof oo qudha, 2 ka midihi waa cidda habaynaysa ee turjumaysa ka dibna dhigi doonta mareegta hay’adda. Laakiin magacaaga, telefankaaga iyo faahfaahintaada lama dhigaayo, kana muuqanmaayaan mareegta hay’adda ee www.somcdrd.org/hif.

·         Maxaa karash igu kacaya?

Kaa qaadan mayso kharash aanka ahayn inta maasayjka caadiga ah lagu diro, ma jiro wax dheer oo ay kaa goosanaysaa.

·         Maxaa dhacaya markaan diro maasayjka ka dib?

Isla marka aad dirto masayjkaaga waxaad helaysaa fariin degdega ah, oo lagaaga mahadcelinaayo fikrada aad soo dirtay.  Haddii fariintaadu la xidhiidho cabasho ama dalab war dheeri ah, oo si toosa u khusaysa Hay’adda DRC mashaariicdeeda, waxaa si toosa loogu gudbindoonaa cidday khusayso, waana kula soo socodsiin doonaa talaabada la qaadi doono. Hadaadan rabin in lagula soo xiriiro, lagulama soo xiriiri doono.

·         Ma idinku aamin karaa in aydaan isticmaalin nambarkeyga,  ama inaydaan cid kale u gudbin?

Waa sax, DRC habkeedani awood uma laha in uu numberkaaga isticmaalo ama uu cid kala siiyo, haddaanu adiga ogolaansho kaa haysan, waxaa kaliya oo kula soo xidhiidhi karaa waa cidda cabashadaada iyo warkaad rabtay jawaabtiisa ku siinaysa. 

·         Haddaan rabo in arrin si degdeg ah in la iigu qabtana?

Habkani waa mid loo abuuray in uu kuu adeego  kaana caawiyo in aad soo gudbiso arragtidaada iyo fikradaadaba si xor ah, sidaas awgeed haddaad rabto in arrin si degdega wax lagaaga qabto taas oo la xidhiidha mashaariicaha hadda socda, waxaanu fariintaada kuugu gudbin doonaa masuuliyiinta goobaha kuugu dhow. Laakiin hadday arrintaadu khusayso hay’addaha kale een wadda shaqayno, waxaanu karnaa oo qudha in aanu kuugu tabino howshaada, kuna boorino in ay si degdeg ah wax uga qabtaan.

·         Waa maxay farqiga u dhexeeya habkii cabasho tabinta ee horey u jirey iyo habkan fikrad dhiibashada ee cusub?

§  Fariintan toos ka ah ee ka faa’iidaystayaashu waxay muhiim u tahay in la maqlo codka ka faa’iidaystayaasha, taas oo u sahlaysa habka kormeerka howlaha oo horumarin iyo degdegsiinyo siinaysa.

§  Haabkan fikrad celinta ka faa’iidaystayaashu uma baahna in laga jawaabo madaama ay tahay fariin.

§  Cabashooyinka iyo soo jeedimaha ku saabsan DRC mashaariicdeeda, waxaa loo gudbinayaa masuuliyiinta mashruuca laga cabanayo, iyadoo jawaabta soo baxdana loo gudbin doono ka faa’iidaystayaashii soo diray.

§  Cabasha iyo soo jeedimaha khuseeya hay’addaha  kale ee ku lug leh gargaarka bini-aadannimo, DRC awood umalaha in ay ka jawaabto laakiin waxay kaa caawindoontaa in ay ayaga u gudbiso fariintaadii.

Guide on the use of the Danish Refugee Council’s Beneficiary SMS Feedback System

Beneficiary Guide: About iFeedback

Beneficiary Feedback is a quick and convenient way for you to give feedback about projects funded or services provided by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) using the SMS Beneficiary Feedback system.  The SMS feedback system enables beneficiaries to have a direct access to DRC and a voice in the decision-making process to allocate funds to local projects. It also helps DRC better monitor the effects of the projects on the ground.

Habkani waa mid kuu sahlaaya in aad soo gudbiso fikradaada ku saabsan mashaariicda aad ka faa’iidaysato ee hay’adda  DRC kuugu deeqday, adigoo adeegsanaaya in aad maasayj ku soo dirto moobilkaaga gacanta. Habkan isticmaalka fariinta gaaban ee moobilku wuxuu kuu suurto galinayaa in aad si toos ah  fariin ama codkaaga ugu dirto go aan qaateyaasha Hay’adda DRC, si ay qorshaha ugu darsadaan talladda iyo tusaalaha aad siisay ee la xidhiidha mashaariicda gudaha ee DRC. Habkani wuxuu ka caawinayaa DRC in ay si fiican u kormeeraan mashaariicda socota.

Benefits of the SMS beneficiary system:

·         Simple to use — just send your comment from your mobile phone by texting to +252 2 4000919.

·         Immediate — no waiting around, you can say what you want while it’s on your mind. Time flexible, send messages anytime convenient for you.

·         Anonymous — no hassle, safe and if it’s a bad comment, there’s no confrontation and nobody to upset.

·         Result! — Be heard and be part of the decision-making, if you don’t tell us, we won’t know. You can make a difference!

·         Voice option — Sending an SMS is strongly recommended. However, if that is not possible, you can leave a voice message using the complaint hotline: +252 2 4038322, during office hours, 8am to 4pm, Thursday to Sunday.

Haggaha sida loo isticmaalaayo fikrad dhiibashada ku saabsan mashaariicda Hay’adda Danish Refugee Council (DRC) ayadoo la adeegsanayo moobiladda 

Faa’iidada habkani dirista maasayjku u leeyahay ka faa’iidaysta yaasha

·         Si fufud u isticmaalid — fariintaada u dir numberkan +252 2 4000919, adigoo isticmaalyaaya moobilkaaga gacanta meelkastood joogto.

·         Degdegsiinyo — ha sugin cidkale ee dir waxaad rabto in aad tabiso ee maskaxdaada ku jira, dir xiligkasta oo aad jaanis u hesho in aad maasayj dirto. 

·         Kalsoonidda warkaaga — ha dhibsan in aad gudbiso ceeb iyo cillo nuxurka  ay leedahay fariintaadu, cidna waxba kuu raaci mayso. 

·         Natiijada fariintada — Codkaaga dhiibo oo fikradaada ha la maqlo, haddaadan wax noo sheegin, ma ogaan karno ra’yigaag. Ka qaybqaado isbedelka horumarka socdo. 

·         Fariin Codd ah – Waa muhiim in aad fariin qoraal ah soo dirtaa laakiin hadday kuu suurto gali waydo waxaad fariin cod ah ku duubi kartaa lambarka cabashadda oo +252 2 4038322, maalmaha shaqadda oo ah ee Axadda ilaa iyo Khamiista, saacadaha u dhexeeya 8da iyo 4ta galabnimo.