25000 b, narrative summary of accomplishments and - USAID

261 Pages·2010·12.39 MB·English

A. REPORT SUMMARY
1. Project Title and Contract Number:

Quality of Life-Family

Contract Number AID/CM/TA-C-73-29

2. Principal Investigator:

Dr. Cecile H. Edwards, Chairman

Department of Home Economics

Contractor and Mailing Address:

Howard University
2400 6th Street, N. W.

Washington. D. C. 20001

3. Contract Period:
April 16, 1973 to November 30, 1973

4. Period Covered by Report:

April 16 to November 6, 1973

5. Total A.I.D. Funding of Contract to Date:

$25,000

B, NARRATIVE SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND UTILIZATION
The major objective of the Quaiity of Life-Family Project was
to explore the feasibility of developing non-formal education
programs to improve the quality of life in rural and urban family
units, in thoir cultural context.

Five developing nations, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria in

West Africa, and The Bahamas and Trinidad in the Caribbean, were

visited. Information was obtained by personal interview from

university administrators, university faculty, representatives of

professional and voluntary organizations, and urban and rural

people in each country. Public and/or univtersity library

fnC ilitive wi,E, u ti li ',d Lo an err'ithi ge)ovirieim.-,L, polcy ai1d
priorities and to uncoter research and publications which could
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be used to assess the feasibility of a larger project.

From first hand experiences in West Africa and the Caribbean,

we have made the following observations:

(1) There is an overwhelming need for family life programs

in West Africa and the Caribbean. The strong family

system in West Africa and the pride, dignity and aspiraticn

for self-improvement of the grass roots people in the

Caribbean provide the basic foundations on which Quality

of Life programs can be mounted. The structure of such

programs, however, may differ in these countries.

(2) From National Development Plans and the speeches of

Ministers and other government leaders, there appears to

be general agreement at the national level that quality of

life must be improved for the masses in these developing

nations.

(3) University personnel would be interested in participating
in people oriented programs if freedom to do this is
given by the appropriate ministries. Because university

programs exist, there are some well trained professionals

who could provide leadership for family life programs in
West Africa. There is, however, the need to provide
opportunities for advanced training for larger numbers of

such persons. In the Caribbean, where there are no
university level home economics programs, the need for

training family life professionals is greater.
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(4) In general, education is highly valued by the village man

and the grass roots people in these developing nations.

People seemed eager for more knowledge as a vehicle to

live better.

(5) There is great interest in non-formal education, i.e.,

out-of school education, among both rural and urban

people. The respondents identified family life areas as

being those in which they felt information would be of

greatest value in improving their levels of living and

their quality of life.

(6) There was general consensus that family unit education,
i.e., teaching the whole family together, was feasible in
West Africa and the Caribbean, though it would be im­
portant to ascertain the ideal conditions in specific
locations under which this technique for non-formal educa­
tion could be carried out.
(7) The woman, her attitudes and actions, holds the key to
household and family circle access by the outsider. It
will be through the woman that any real progress in
improving quality of life can be made. It becomes impera­
tive to search for ways to ease the burdens of women in
order to make them more effective in the home, in teaching

children, and in community development.

(8) Research is needed to further refine the approach to he

used in family life projects. It is important to obtain

valid information on family life patterns in a specific
region in order to structure messages to the people, to

ascertain teachable moments and teachable subjects.

Thus, from interviews with university and non-university per­
sons, including village people, a strong impression was gained

that West Africa and the Caribbean will respond to qu !ity of life

programs. From the priorities of people interviewed, a set of

Quality of Life indicators has been formulated by the Howard

University team and procedures for measuring progress toward

these have been identified.

C. RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations are made to the Agency for
International Development:
1. That pilot projects to perfect techniques for a broader
Quality of Life effort be carried out in Trinidad and in
Sierra Leone; that the focus of such projects include
study of family life patterns to provide base line data
for development of indicators and procedures to enhance
the quality of life in these countries.
2. That Institutes of Family Life be established in selected
developing nations to mount and carry out programs re­
lated to strengthening the family as a hunman resource in
national development.
3. That a Center of Excellence in Family Life be established
in the United States (a) to conduct pilot projects on
Quality of Life-Family, (b) to provide adwinced training
for country professionals in family life subject matter,
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(c) to serve as an internation; nnd national resource

for family life education, and (d) to facilitate and

link with new Institutes of Family Life in developing

nations.

4. That the training of paraprofessionals who would work

with non-formal education programs in rural and urban

family units be an integral part of subsequent pilot

projects and quality of life programs; that this training

be provided by provincial institutions through LDC
government and private institution support; that rhe
Center of Excellence in Family Life provide the base for
training the teachers of paraprofessionalr; that AID pro­
vide funding for this training in its broad programs and
specific projects developed to improve quality of life.
The projects recommended in the section, Alternative Designs
for a Larger Effort, are innovative in that they evolve from the
concept that there must be an intersectoral approach to improvement
of the quality of life, i.e., that nutrition, health, family
planning, better roads, etc. as separate approaches have achieved
limited success and that these must be included in a broader
spectrum of approaches which touches family needs in a more
intimate way to make a more substantial Impact toward the goal of
improving quality of life. Thus, our view is that one Must
consider a program in population control, for examlple, not as a
separate input, but ritthr al og witlh al] Inpltfs in dig tlo;e
of the people in developing nations tLhemusc lves , joined together
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Institutions and Villages
Visited by the Howard

University Team
West Africa
Sierra Leone
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simultaneously and functionally toward this goal.

It is for this reason that the alternative projects are

primarily designed from a human ecology base, a base which keeps

the family as a center, one which focuses on improving coping

behavior in relation to the realities which families face from (lay
to day, and one which will lead to strengthening human resources as

a force in community and national development.

Family Life Education -- Increased coping skills

in family life

Family Strength

Greater sensitivity to,

awareness of, concern for and

participation in solving problems

of others

Community progress

National development

Though Human Ecology, the interaction of man with his near
environment, is an interdisciplinary approach in which many skills
and expertise impinging on family life are brought to bear on the
solution of problems faced by families, inputs from other disciplines

such as psychology, agriculture, and health would be utilized in
the planning and implementation of people-oriented programs such as

those recommended in this report.
PREFACE
The Report of the Preproject Reconnaissance Study Quality of
Life-Family is divided into three parts:
Part 1 : Summary of Data and Recommendations for West
Africa and the Caribbean.
Part 2: Data for West Africa and the Caribbean.
Part 3: Interview Records.
Though the Study was conducted over a four month period by a
two-woman team, the project has focused sixty-six combinied nai yenri' of
foreign service at Howard University on Qualiby of Life factors. Tho
Howard Team and the Department of Home Economics express appreciabion
to the Agency for International Development for the grant which funded
this project and provided the opportunity to design a larger Quality
of Life Program.
Cecile H. Edwards
Project Director
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
REPORT SUMMARY

PREFACE
i
LIST OF TABLES
I. THE PROJECT 1

A. Purpose 1

B. Inplementation and Design 1

6

C. Problems and Constraints
II. THE FEASIBILITY STUDY 7

A. Statement of the Problem 7

B. Methodology 8
C. Review of Literature 11

D. Findings from First Hand Contact 21

1. Quality of Life 21

2. The Family Unit as a Learning Station 31

3. Non-formal Education 37

4. Results of Experiences in Five LDCs 42

5. Summary 48

E. Conclusions
49

III. ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS FOR A LARGER PROJECT 55

A. The Pilot Project - Center of Excellence 56

B. Institutes of Family Life - Center of Excellence 62

C. Quality of Life Project 68

D. Other Designs 69

ii
LIST CF TABLES

Table Page

1. First Priority Needs of Families in Developing Nations

for Improving their Quality of Life
22
2. Responses by People in Selected Developing Nations to

the Question "What is Most Important to Improve the
Quality of Life of your Family?" 23
3. Quality of Life Indicators and Procedures for
Attaining Goals Based on Them 26
4. Feasibility of Family Unit Education in Selected

Developing Nations 32
5. Feasibility of Mass Media for Non-formal Education in
Selected Developing Nations 38

6. Types of Subject Matter Desired by People in Developing

Nations Through Non-formal Education Programs 40

7. Traditional Roles of Women in West Africa as Still
Performed in 1973 52
iii
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substantial support through the UN system; WHO, UNESCO, FAO, and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the United

Nation's Children's Fund have incorporated population and family
planning activities into their programs. Through the International

Planned Parenthood Federation greatly increased support has been given

to affiliated programs in over 85 countries. Exemplary progress has

been made in programs in the Phillipines, Indonesia, India, Ghana,
"We must educate the whole man to
fulfill his role:
1. as a worker

2. as a family person

3. to be a healthy individual
4. as a citizen
5. as a self-fulfilling individual.

I am what I am!

Give people ego!

Help a man to feel that he is a person

with dignity!

Give them education to cope with life."
Dr. J. T. Okedara
Lecturer

Department of Adult Education
University of Ibadan
Ibadan, Nigeria