Project Charter: Building a School for Children in Kenya

As I was reflecting on my 'Advanced Project Management' certification at University of Toronto, there was one team project that I enjoyed being part of. This project is a fictitious one, however, it is close to my heart. My main journey's purposes are related to children and education, and this project is a solid example of it. This blog contains the project charter for the initiative of building a school for the children in the town of Meru, Kenya.

 

 

PROJECT NAME

The project name is “Education for All - The Kenya Initiative”. For the World Education organization, this "Education for All" name represents the larger portfolio and mission of providing education to everyone globally. Kenya is one of the project initiatives under this portfolio. The start date for the project is April 1, 2019 and its estimated end date is March 31, 2020.

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION / SUMMARY

Due to the shortage of public schools in Kenya, 2 angel investors are working with the World Education organization to build a low-cost high-quality primary school in the town of Meru, Kenya. This school will have several classrooms, a computer laboratory and supplies so that the children of Meru can receive a quality education in a satisfactory facility as a result of this project. Funds of $275,000 CAD have been allocated for this project, and the school must be developed 12 months from the kick-off of the project.

 

PROBLEM STATEMENT / ISSUE

Due to the Kenyan population having an illiteracy rate of more than 90% and an average family income of less than $1.25 per day, Kenya’s government made primary education free in 2002. However, public schooling in Kenya is often under-funded and lacking buildings and resources. The Kenyan government recognizes that it needs help from outside organizations and people.

Two angel investors, who originally from Kenya but now live in North America, believe that every child deserves a good quality education, which will lead to better social and confidence skills for the children. Therefore, these investors express their desire to build a primary school in their birth town of Meru, Kenya. There is only 1 overcrowded public school with 100 students, 2 teachers, and poor facilities in this town. The Meru community strongly supports the creation of more public schools since they value education for the betterment of their children’s future. Thus, these investors have reached out to the World Education organization to help fulfill their and Meru community’s dream.

 

PROJECT TEAM

World Education is a non-profit organization that has a mission to make education accessible in a safe environment to children around the world. This organization employs over 250 people globally and is headquartered in Canada.

The following table contains the talented team members from the renowned World Education organization along with their role and the country that they operate from.

Name	Role	Country
Anju Sharma	Project Sponsor	India
Sameena Ahmed	Project Manager	Spain
Abiola Abraham	Project Member	Canada
Zerihun Teshome Feyessa	Project Member	Kenya
Rana Farah	Project Member	UAE

 

PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

The key project stakeholders (internal and external) for this project is found in the table below.

Organization	Name	Role	Country
Royal Bank of Canada	Akinyi Sawa	Angel Investor/Sponsor	Canada
Google	Makena Wabhua	Angel Investor/Sponsor	USA
Nyoro Construction Company Ltd	Ikeno Kamau	Construction Manager	Kenya
Government of Kenya	William Ruto	Minister of Education	Kenya
World Education Organization	Osaki Kondo	Steering Committee	Japan
World Education Organization	Pierre Laframboise	Steering Committee	France
World Education Organization	Juan Santiago	Steering Committee	Ecuador
World Education Organization	Anju Sharma	Project Sponsor	India
World Education Organization	Sameena Ahmed	Project Manager	Spain
World Education Organization	Abiola Abraham	Project Member	Canada
World Education Organization	Rana Farah	Project Member	UAE
World Education Organization	Zerihun Teshome Feyessa	Project Member	Kenya
Meru Children	N/A	Learners	Kenya
Meru School Staff	N/A	Teachers and Admins	Kenya
Meru Community	N/A	Members of Community	Kenya

 

 

HIGH LEVEL GOALS / OBJECTIVES / SUCCESS CRITERIA

The World Education team has established the following high-level goals, objectives, and measures of success for this project.

High-Level Goals

• Deliver the Kenya school project objectives within time, resource and budget constraints.

• Build a low-cost high-quality primary school in Meru, Kenya within 1 year. This school will offer high-quality education based on the Ministry of Education’s curriculum in Kenya.

• Ensure that technology‐based curriculum opportunities are supported by the building infrastructure, such as providing sufficient bandwidth, outlets, and charging stations. 

• Provide flexible spaces to ensure that the existing curriculum can further develop and provide for additional course options for student and staff collaboration.

Objectives

• Improve access to excellent education in a safe environment for all school-aged children in Meru, Kenya.

• Promote learning to ensure younger generations of Meru are sufficiently equipped to become contributing members of society.

• Ensure the Kenya school project is successful during its first academic year after launch by covering expenses for all material resources (e.g. as computers, desks, chalkboards, classroom supplies, etc).

 

Success Criteria

• Goal commitment, establishment of smooth communications and creation of a collaborative project culture by the World Education project team.
• Project objectives are delivered within allocated time, budget and scope constraints.
• Full enrollment of primary school aged students within the first academic year in this Meru school.

 

PROJECT BENEFITS

The benefits of the project have been captured in the table below. 

Benefits	Priority	KPI/Metric	Measurement Tool	Target Date of Completion	Responsible
Realize a new school with better facilities and standards in Kenya	1	Per the KPIs defined in the project quality management plan	Tools defined in the project quality management plan and stakeholder satisfaction	12 months from project kick-off	Project Manager
Achieve World Education’s strategic objective of building a school globally every year	1	Number of schools built	Survey and inspection	12 months from project kick-off	Project Manager and Project Sponsor
Access to high-quality education for Meru community	1	Percentage of students enrolled	Survey	24 months from project kick-off	School Head and Meru Town Administration
Increase child literacy rate in Kenya	2	Percentage increased from baseline	Survey	36 months from project kick-off	School Head and Kenyan Government
Create job opportunities for locals	3	Number of direct and indirect jobs created	Survey	12 months from project kick-off to 36 months	Project Manager, School and Town Administration
Expansion and recognition of World Education’s global position in this industry	3	Being one of the top 10 organizations in the world	Survey	24 months from project kick-off	Project Manager and Project Sponsor

 

 

PROJECT SCOPE / DELIVERABLES

The scope and deliverables for this project include designing, building and transferring of classrooms, offices, staff quarters, library, computer laboratory, children playgrounds, school kitchen, fences, electric systems, and school LAN including Wi-Fi system in the office area. Providing furniture, teaching materials for the first school year, 40 computers for the computer lab and office, books and outdoor children playing materials is also part of the project. The school is expected to have the capacity of accommodating 400 students. What is in scope and out of scope of the project are provided as follows.  

In Scope

Design and Build

• 5 sections with 4 classrooms each 
• A section with 5 rooms for administration office and staff quarter
• A section with male and female toilets and washrooms
• A section with 2 large rooms for library and computer laboratory
• A section for school kitchen and cafeteria 
• An outdoor garden and multi-purpose playground
• Walkways 
• Flag stand and pole
• Fence

Design and Install

• Electric systems
• Local area network (LAN) in the classroom, library, computer laboratory and offices
• Wi-Fi system around the office area
• Water pipe system

Provide

• Furniture for classrooms, computer laboratory, library and offices
• Teaching materials and aids for one school year
• 40 computers for the computer laboratory and offices
• Reference books for the library
• Outdoor children playing materials
• Project Management

 

Out of Scope

Land provisioning 

• It is assumed Kenyan government will provide the required land to build the school.
• Any right-of-way issue will be handled by the government.

Utilities

• It is assumed that water, electricity and internet service will be provided by the government of Kenya.

Staffing and curriculum

• Teachers, other support staffs and curriculum for the school are not included in this project. 

Maintenance and operations

• The maintenance and operation of the school facilities after the handover is not part of this project.

 

KEY MILESTONES

The key milestones for this project are found in the table below. The major milestones for this project are highlighted in blue.

Date	Item
April 1, 2019	Project kick-off meeting
April 5, 2019	Issue RFP and RFQ to companies to submit proposals and quotations for design, construction and maintenance
April 30, 2019	Sponsor, team and community approval for design, construction, maintenance and school equipment proposals
May 6, 2019	Contract awarded to selected design, construction, maintenance and school equipment companies
May 10, 2019	Groundbreaking ceremony
June 11, 2019	1st Phase - Foundation complete
June 18, 2019	1st Phase - Inspection sign-off
August 19, 2019	2nd Phase - Ground floor complete
August 26, 2019	2nd Phase - Inspection sign-off
October 15, 2019	3rd Phase - First floor, external painting, roofing complete
October 22, 2019	3rd Phase - Inspection sign-off
December 31, 2019	4th Phase - Landscaping, HVAC, fire alarm, energy systems complete
January 10, 2020	4th Phase - Inspection sign-off
February 28, 2020	5th Phase - Interior design and school equipment installed
March 5, 2020	5th Phase - Inspection sign-off
March 20, 2020	Certificate of inspection and final sign-off
March 31, 2020	Official handover of the new school

 

 

ESTIMATED HIGH-LEVEL COSTS

The total project funds allocated is $275,000 CAD: 

1. The angel investors have funded $200,000 CAD for this project. 
2. The World Education organization has provided an additional $75,000 CAD to this project. 

The breakdown of the estimated high-level costs for this project is found in the table below.

Item	Amount
Construction permits and approvals from National Construction Authority, Kenya	$10,000 CAD
Cost of contracts awarded to design, construction, energy, school equipment, maintenance companies - responsible for materials and labour during the term of their contract (Contract term is from May 6, 2019 - March 5, 2020)	$150,000 CAD
Cost of the project team and support	$65,000 CAD
Cost of building insurance	$25,000 CAD
Contingency funds	$25,000 CAD
TOTAL	$275,000 CAD

 

 

ASSUMPTIONS / CONSTRAINTS / DEPENDENCIES

Assumptions, constraints and dependencies associated with this project have been documented below.

Assumptions

• The assumption that management from all international sites will ensure that project team members are available as needed to complete project tasks and objectives.

• The assumption that the Steering Committee will participate in the execution of the project plan, including reviewing and approving project documentation in a timely manner, along with attending meetings when required.

• The assumption that the Kenyan government is going to provide the electricity, internet, maintenance, water, teachers and curriculum for this project.

• The assumption that the land where the school is going to be built has been already approved by the Kenyan government.

 

Constraints

• Time constraints as project teams will require a work permit to travel to Kenya to complete this project; work permits are provided for a limited time before having to be renewed.

• Resource constraints as the construction team will be required to work within available resources in Kenya.

• Resource constraints as the project budget allow for a limit of 5 site engineers available for this project.

• Budget constraints as project funding sources are limited, resulting in only $25,000 in contingency funds. As well, project costs will remain the same as initially budgeted.

• The constraint that all construction materials will arrive as planned within the project schedule and will be readily available to be utilized.
• The constraints of working with a project team from different time zones. This may lead to limitations in conducting real-time team meetings and delays in getting documents and processes approved.
• The constraint that English is a second language for several of our international stakeholders. This may lead to miscommunication of project requirements decisions. For example, the contracted construction workers speak Swahili, so translation may not be accurate or entirely understood.
• The constraint of not being able to observe non-verbal communication and the unspoken concerns, as the project team and key stakeholders are scattered across the globe and in-person communication is rare. 
• The constraint of cultural differences; some international project team members may have a different work ethic (e.g. our project manager from Spain may have more of a relaxed approach in comparison to a more direct approach from other project team members).

 

Dependencies

• The design phase needs to be complete and the project team needs to obtain approval from the Project Executives and Steering Committee before developing a request for proposal to open the bidding process to interested vendors and contractors.

• The start of construction as scheduled is dependent on sufficient construction materials (e.g. concrete slab floors, concrete post and beam/concrete block infill walls, wood roof framing, sheet metal roofing, metal framed windows, solid wood doors and frames and plaster and wood finishes) being available on a timely manner.

• The opening of the primary school is dependent on the building passing all safety requirements in accordance with the Government of Kenya.

 

HIGH-LEVEL RISKS

The high-level risks have been captured below.

• The risk that project budget and the allocation of resources will be either insufficient or allocated inappropriately, resulting in a negative effect on the success of the project in terms of quality, safety, and functionality.

• The risk of possible delay in initial project phases, jeopardizing the ability to meet the proposed completion date.

• The risk of not having direct control of the remote construction team’s other potential work priorities during this project that may cause its delay.

• The risk of unexpected increases in project material costs due to market forces.

• The risk that since all the key stakeholders are located in various countries, there are different national and/or religious holidays that can impact the project schedule.

• The risk of internal “red tape”, resulting in delays in obtaining approvals and making decisions.

• The risk of insufficient defined scope, resulting in misunderstood requirements by construction vendors. 

• The risk that all official documentation will need to be produced in English and then translated into foreign languages for the international partners. This leads to the possibility of there being inaccurate translation which may be confusing for the international partners.

• The risk of extended wet weather during construction, resulting in both construction delays and potential overtime work for the construction team.

• The risk of underestimated support resources or an overly optimistic delivery schedule.

• The risk that permits or agency actions delayed or take longer than expected.

• The risk of the project team not having sufficient or right cultural awareness or social sensitivity of Kenya to make this project successful.
• The risk that some of our international stakeholders may have differing cultures/work ethics (some team members may be more direct and strict with schedules and others may take a more relaxed approach). This may lead to the risk of negative team dynamics and may impact the overall project timeline.

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

The work breakdown structure for this project is illustrated below. 

 

PROJECT SIGN-OFF

The World Education executive management has to formally approve the optimized international project before moving to the next step. The sign-off is required from all project team members. Following the approval of this project charter, funds shall be allocated to the project members so that they may execute the project.  

Name	Role	Date
Anju Sharma	Project Sponsor	March 30, 2019
Sameena Ahmed	Project Manager	March 30, 2019
Abiola Abraham	Project Member	March 30, 2019
Zerihun Teshome Feyessa	Project Member	March 30, 2019
Rana Farah	Project Member	March 30, 2019
Osaki Kondo	Steering Committee	March 30, 2019
Pierre Laframboise	Steering Committee	March 30, 2019
Juan Santiago	Steering Committee	March 30, 2019
Akinyi Sawa	Angel Investor/Sponsor	March 30, 2019
Makena Wabhua	Angel Investor/Sponsor	March 30, 2019
Ikeno Kamau	Construction Manager	March 30, 2019
William Ruto	Minister of Education	March 30, 2019