Grants:Project/Rapid/ChabbieCee/She Said/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Rapid Grant approved in FY 2021-22 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/Rapid/ChabbieCee/She Said.
You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email rapidgrants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Goals

Did you meet your goals? Are you happy with how the project went?Goals.

The goals for the project were to increase my own skills as a project leader, create awareness of Wikimedia to my community,to train new editors and photographers and to create and improve content on wikimedia platforms specifically on Wikiquotes. I would proudly say these goals were met, I have sharpened my skills as a project leader though I was gittery in the beginning. Content about Zimbabwean women is on the Wikiquotes platform , editors and photographers were trained and my community is now aware of Wikimedia and its various projects. I am quite happy with the way the project went and wish to hold more campaigns to uplift Zimbabwean women on Wikipedia platforms. As newbies in the Wikimedia world we could not get it all right first time but there is always room for improvement as we get more experienced in future programmes.

Please report on your original project targets. Please be sure to review and provide metrics required for Rapid Grants.

Project metrics

Articles and edits to be created

Project metrics	Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
40 Trainees	59 Trainees	The training was oversubscribed as more people turned up than the earlier targets.
200	41 articles were created,64 articles improved and a total of 357 edits.	Few people contributed Wiki quotes due to a number of reasons, the event was held just before academic examinations began and student participants could not contribute to the campaign as expected, Staff trained at academic institutions were also involved with examinations and could not give full attention to the programme after the training. Data and connectivity issues and others lacked confidence to edit.
3 trainings, 3 edit-a-thons sessions and prize giving ceremony.	2 training sessions, prize giving ceremony and Group WhatsApp and Telegram followup sessions. Edit-a-thons were conducted with individual participants who wanted to create articles and edits.	The training sessions attracted more people than the targeted numbers.There was a variation in the number of events but this was cirmvented by the numbers that superceeded the the target number. Edit-a-thons were not held in groups but individually for the few who showed interest to edit. Refusal by some institutions to open their spaces for the edi-a-thon was another set back but WhatsApp and Telegramme connections helped to keep the lines of communication open. Connectivity remained a big challenge with virtual meetings where invited speakers always had to start late or failed to connect completely. The large training groups also proved difficult to manage and follow up due work and other committments.Participants for Session 1= 19 people; Session 2= 40 people; Session 3 in 2 batches 6 and 5 participants.

Learning

Projects do not always go according to plan. Sharing what you learned can help you and others plan similar projects in the future. Help the movement learn from your experience by answering the following questions:

1.What worked well?

True projects do not come as we always plan but for the awareness of Wikipedia we did very well. A lot of interest was created among the targeted population and a number of Zimbabwean women were viewed on the Wikipedia platforms. More women participants were registered for the events and that was positive. The partnerships created through the events hosting have been very helpful and will take Wikimedia in Zimbabwe to the next level.

2.What did not work so well?

The timing of the project was not so good as it coincided with academic examinations in higher education institutions and it was difficult to be accommodated in the programmes that had already been set. In places where we were accepted, the attendees were trained but they could not not give much time to the contributing aspect of the project as they were busy preparing for their academic examinations hence we had not much contribution from the targeted academic institutions. Covid pandemic was also another setback as some institutions barred us from entering their institutions for the edit-a-thons

3.What would you do differently next time?

The projects need to be planned well in advance to give ample time for the organizers and participants enough preparation time.

The project went according to plan though there were some hitches here and there as it was a first experience. Mistakes were made but we learnt from the mistakes and will avoid such pitfalls.

The reluctance by some institutions to accept our training team into their institutions and giving the Covid excuse was disappointing and also the reluctance by some particpants to volunteer but wanted monetary payments for Wikimedia projects was one of the drawbacks. I would limit my training to small groups and do away with large training groups as I found out later that they are not so productive.

Grant funds spent

Please describe how much grant money you spent for approved expenses, and tell us what you spent it on.

Grant Money Spent = USD 1870
Zwl rate at September 2021 was@ USD1/99

No.	Expenses	Explanation	Amount in (USD)
1.	Internet subscription (organizers)	Internet subscription for 4 months	254
2	Communication Outreach	Airtime for Cellphone, WhatsApp and Telegram between organizers and Participants	$45
3.	T-shirt Printing	Supply and Printing	190
4.	Hygiene & Covid interventions	Sanitisers, masks and handwash	78.00
5.	Campaign Material banners, pens and cake.	Banners, posters, pens, cake and stickers	270
6.	Transport and logistics	Fuel for organizers and venue	190
7.	Prizes	Certificates, awards and calendars for all contributors	269
8.	Food	3 Physical sessions Sessions	524
9.	Miscellaneous	Connectivity dongle airtime during blackout mid session and Room deoorations	50
10.	$80 Balance:	Some money remained and I would requestt to use it for meet-a-thons to further the project work.	80
		Total:	1950

Remaining funds

Do you have any remaining grant funds?

Remaining funds are retained by the grantee with WMF's permission until after the report review has been completed and report has been accepted, at which time the WMF program officer will also provide instructions regarding the grantee's reallocation or return of the unspent grant funds.

Yes, $80.00

I would request to use the money on other meet-a-thon on the project advancement.

Anything else

Our community has organized SHESAID for the first time and everything was through trial and error. We did not know how the community would respond and how they would perform in the project so everything was from a layman's point of view. My team and I were able to learn one or two things to make future events more attractive and beneficial to both participants and Wikipedia by a thorough selection of the best people for the projects. We thank you for affording Zimbabwean people a chance to contribute about their people and have no wonder that we will improve as we go.