DCA PSS LIBYA

Final Report
January 2013-May 2014

Helen Tanner LLB PGDIP DTH MA

Psychosocial Support Manager
DCA Libya 2013-14
www.dcapss.org

There has been many benefits to our school from working

with DCA PSS Project, and the main benefit has been
to improve the psychological wellbeing for everyone,
students and teachers alike.
We have noticed that everyone in the school has
changed their behaviour.
The PSS Programme has benefitted the teachers; It
positively affected their psychological status and we can
see that through their behaviour inside the school. And
also that they have changed within their personal life.
The childrens behaviour has changed when they are
playing. There was a lot of violence in their playing, but
now they are more peaceful with each other. And the
change of teachers behaviours also was one of the factors
of this change.
The PSS team managed this process so well.
Hassan Elebeid
Fatma Alzahra High School
May 2014

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

INTRODUCTION
This Report is a summary of the DCA School-based Psychosocial Support (PSS)
Project in Libya from January 2013-May 2014. The project was part of the DCA
Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) programme, falling under the pillar of victim
assistance.

Mine
Clearance

Mine Risk
Educaton

Victim
Assistance

Stockpile
Destruction

Advocacy

The PSS Team in Libya is managed by one international staff member, and
five Libyan staff members. A new PSS Project Manager, Helen Tanner, was
appointed in January 2013 and she managed the project up until May 2014.
The Project was funded by Europaid. The base of operations was Misurata,
Libyas third largest city.
Prior to January 2013, the DCA PSS Project operated in Misurata from
November 2011, under the umbrella of the Relief and Development
Department. The project offered teacher trainings, after-school clubs,
childrens clubs, events, sports tournaments, a quiz, and cozy corners.
The project was funded by War Child, Caritas and DCA.

CONTEXT AND PROJECT REMIT

Psychosocial Support seeks to build resilience, and internal and external
resources for children and communities to cope with adversity. It takes a
holistic approach addressing an individuals mental, emotional, social and
spiritual needs. It focusses on enhancing existing support structures within
the community wherever possible.
In the next page the intervention levels of psychosocial support is illustrated.
There are many different acitivites that can be done to support a community
recovering from conflict. In an ideal situation different levels of support would
be available to people with different needs varying from basic first aid right up
through to very specialist support services. However, in most cases support is
usually targeted to specific populations, and services are provded that reflect
the ability of organisations and countries to deliver them effectively, meaning
that certain people within the community will unfortunately have very real but
unmet needs.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

In 2013-2014 we
have been working
on the second level
of intervention;
Community and Family
supports, through
targeted interventions
in schools.

The initial goals set for the PSS project under Europaid was that:

1) 28 new partner schools should be found, including high schools.

2) 5000 children should participate in PSS activities
3) 250 teachers, parents and social workers should receive some training
4) The media should be used to disseminate PSS messages.
5) A small fund was available for applied research and or and external
support.
6) IEC training resources and materials should be produced (no number
specified).
7) A small conference should be organised for key stakeholders at the end of
the project
8) 30 cozy corners established under the previous PSS project should be
upgraded
The budget for the PSS Project was 126,000 Euros (approx. 216,692 Libyan
Dinar (LYD))
From this initial remit it can be seen that the level at which the PSS project
was pitched for 2013-14 was at level two; Community and Family supports.
In addition to this it is focused exclusively onto school-based Psychosocial
Support and did not cover a broader community.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

INITIAL ASSESSMENT
At the beginning of January 2013 the PSS team consisted of four Field officers,
one Teamleader (all Libyan nationals) and a PSS Manager (international).
The twenty eight new partner schools were chosen on the criteria of 1) location
2) gender balance 3) impact of conflict on the school 4) willingness and
commitment of the school to participate with the project.
An initial list was drawn up by the PSS team, and schools were visited to see if
they were interested in being part of the PSS Project. A draft list was given to
the Ministry of Education who approved the selection. Schools were then visited
for a second time by the PSS team, who asked them some basic questions
regarding their school, the challenges they face, and some of the issues with
behaviours with the children that they were working with.
An assessment was carried out into the cozy corners, which were supplied to
twenty-seven schools in the previous PSS project, with a view to upgrading
them, and also providing 30 more to new schools. A brief assessment was
carried out into how these resources were being used by the schools. It was
found that of the twenty-seven schools, only six were using the resources as
they were intended on a regular basis with children, with four working very
well. At this point, it was decided that we would not provde 30 new schools with
cozy corners as was stipulated in the initial project remit, and we submitted an
ammendment to the EU. We went on to give resources to schools in 2013-2014,
but we learnt from the experiences of the cozy corners, and gave resources
only 1)where training was given to teachers and students in how to use them,
2)there was an MOU signed with the school, and 3)follow up monitoring was
carried out by the team to make sure the resources were being used for the
purpose in which they were given.
In addition to initial assessments carried out by the team, we also had
meetings with several individuals, organisations and Government departments
in Misurata to get a sense of what the issues were for young people and the
community at the time, and suggestions as to where we should be focusing our
efforts over the coming year. We met with Mercycorps, UNICEF, the Ministry of
Social Affairs, Department of Psychology at Misurata University, Youth Centres,
the police, the Ministry of Education, and local NGOs in Misurata.
A more in- depth assessment of need in Misurata was not carried out for
several reasons; 1) time, 2) capacity and lack of specialist knowledge in the
local PSS staff 3) not wanting to create an expectation that we could deliver
specialist services to those in greatest need 4) an overall lack of mental health,
PSS and referral systems in place in Misurata 5) the remit of the project being
education rather than health-based.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

SUMMARY OF PSS APPROACH AND PROJECTS 2013-14

An initial plan and budget was in place for the PSS Programme by the end of
February 2013, which took into account both the goals of the project and some
lessons learnt from previous activities. The programme was pitched at a level
which was safe, meaningful, and appropriate for the context and the level of
specialism of the local staff team1.The main activities began being delivered in
April 2013.
The overall PSS Programme was designed in a series of focused projects.
These projects had their own specific aims and objectives, and targeted
specific age groups within the partner schools, and specific teachers.
The following projects were implemented in Misurata by the DCA PSS team
between January 2013 and May 2014:

Leadership Training

Educational Quiz

Sports Project

Mother & Daughter

sessions

Creative Training Films

Creative Activities
Training

Art of Peace
competition

Website &
YouTube channel

Creative
Resources to
schools

Sports field
Project

Our Futures:
My Dream
Film training

Film Equipment
to schools

Mine Risk
Awareness
Events

PSS Roadshow

________________________
1 Please note that although the Project Manager was qualified to offer Psychotherapy to clients, the national staff team were In
their early to mid-twenties, and although they were university graduates, had no specific or specialist training to provide any kind of
treatment or specialized treatment to children or adults.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

These projects were focused and targeted specific populations within our
28 partner schools. Each had specific aims and objectives. In addition to,
and underpinning all of the projects were the following principles:
Offering new opportunities for children and their immediate community
Demonstrating non-violent approaches to managing challenging behaviour
Leadership
Hope for the future, inspiration and encouragement
Citizenship
Participation
Teamwork
Capacity & Skill development
Offering new ways for children and young people to have a voice and
express themselves.
Each project was monitored at the time, often with before and after
questionnaires.
As each project targeted different people, it is difficult to quantify impact in
terms of measurable change for individuals over time. However, we know
the immediate impact of each project, and we also circulated a monitoring
questionnaire for schools in April 2014, which has sought to measure the
overall impact for the partner school in working with the DCA PSS project
over the previous 16 months.
A summary of the outcomes of the projects and quotations taken from
monitoring questionnaires are found interspersed throughout this report.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

the projects
The projects are presented generally in chronological order, and include a
summary of what took place, beneficiaries, outcomes where known, and cost.

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TRAINING

January 2013
BENEFICIARIES: MOTHERS 37 GIRLS 17
COST 142 LYD
The PSS Project was invited by Alajyal primary school to facilitate a group
training and informal mediation for mothers and daughters during school
holidays in January 2013. One of the concerns of the school was the high
dropout rate of teenage girls from the school, and subsequent tensions
this caused at home, so relationship building between the generations was
important. The school also said that they found it difficult to engage mothers
in their children education, and they wanted to build knowledge of the role of
the social workers within their school, and trust, so that the adults could work
together to support the children to continue their education.
In response to the request, the PSS team ran a training for mothers and daughters
over three days. Our activities for the mothers in the first day was about the role
of social work in schools, and we explored how mothers could communicate more
effectively with their daughters. Days two and three were about doing joint creative
activities to support the growing trust between the mothers, the social workers,
and the girls and to create a space for safe discussion.
Outcomes: Mothers completed a questionnaire before the three days and
after the three days of training. They were asked to share their views and
knowledge on the role of the social worker before and after the training, on the
activities provided, and how they manage the behaviour of their daughters.
What was clear from the questionnaires was that although mothers knew
about the role of the social worker before the training, their view was not very
positive, and therefore there was not much connection between the parents
and the social workers. After the training the understanding of the role of the
social worker, and a positive attitude towards the role improved. A very positive
result came from the mothers who all said they would like more training, both
creative, language and sports related. The sessions attracted a lot of mothers,
and their participation was strong. There were good discussions between the
mothers, daughters and social workers facilitated by the DCA field officers,
and there was a good atmosphere.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

QUIZ
6-11 APRIL 2013
BENEFICIARIES; STUDENTS 464 PARENTS 43 TEACHERS 120
COST 11,244 LYD
The quiz was very effective. Students who were competing tried to do their best
in participating in the competition. It was a very effective method to encourage
them to focus on their studies. The school won the first place and this created a
nice feeling between our students, and motivation for our students as a whole
regarding their studying.
Omar Mleetan Manager Alsafa Primary School May 2014

The Quiz was organised by the PSS Team from the 6th-11th of April 2013. It
was an educational competition between DCA PSS partner schools, supporting
the young peoples development, combining learning with fun. The aim of the
quiz was to enhance the intellectual and cultural side of the students, increase
their academic and social skills, and promote the value of the team spirit as
well as prepare them for upcoming exams.
The Quiz was designed and organised in close collaboration with the Ministry of
Education, (MOE) and in particular the Inspectors Department. The Inspectors
are all specialists in given subject areas and set the questions and also became
our Quiz Masters adjudicating between the teams.

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Twelve high schools and sixteen primary schools participated in the

competition that included questions in geography, life science, maths, Arabic,
English, and general knowledge. Each school participated with a team that
consisted of four students. Prizes were offered to winning teams ranging from
laptops through to electronic language dictionaries.
The Media was a vital player in the Quiz disseminating PSS messages, as well
as televising the final to a national audience, and showing the talent of the
students and giving them a voice on TV; Misurata TV covered the final day for
one and a half hour and the coverage was shown six times to an audience of
thousands of viewers. Libya Le Kul Alahrar TV covered the final day as a report.
Misurata radio also relayed interviews with DCA team live about the quiz
specifically, but also the PSS Programme in general.
The final of the Quiz was an opportunity to spread some key Psychosocial
messages to the large audience gathered there. After the final competition
finished, a presentation and a lecture was given by Dr. Jebrial Aljarushi from
the University of Architecture, about the role of young people in the future
of Libya, and how civil society can support young people. We followed the
Presentation with a film about DCA and the PSS work in Misurata since 2011.
Outcomes: Young people questioned said that they benefitted from meeting
other schools in Misurata, and felt that the quiz improved their educational
level as they had studied hard and prepared for it. They also said that the quiz
had helped them prepare for final exams, as they were more motivated to read
in preparation. They also noted that they had learnt to communicate better with
others, their self-confidence had improved, and that they had learnt about the
meaning of winning and losing.
Parents said that they felt their children had gained in self-confidence by
participating in the quiz, and were surprised by the courage to participate their
children had shown. One parent said I saw my daughter study really hard, and
she is now trying to be number one.
Teachers noted that the quiz had helped motivate their students, increased
their knowledge, and helped them focus on their future. One teacher said:
The quiz is an important and beautiful competition! I hope that it happens every
year and involves all of the schools in Misurata

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Ministry of Education Inspectors said that the quiz was a good place for
students to discover and improve their skills, and that it was an effective forum
to develop students talents and in helping to improve motivation.
One unexpected occurrence at the quiz was a debate that arose between the
Ministry of Education Inspectors, teachers, and parents. One of the teams
were unable to answer a question asked about geography, a new subject on
the curriculum, due to lack of trained teachers in the school on the subject.
A debate and discussion around school resources and teachers ensued,
temporarily interrupting proceedings. However, the discussion was full of
passion, was heated and felt important. The MOE strongly encouraged the
teachers to take initiative to get the best for their pupils and ask for the
teachers and resources they needed, but also to find ways in the meantime to
help them, and work with them to encourage them the best they can and not to
wait and let the pupils fail in their exams.

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SPORTS TRAINING
9-13TH JUNE 2013
BENEFICIARIES 29 TEACHERS 264 CHILDREN
COST 12,503 LYD
The sports project was so useful, because the activities and games have been
applied in the sports class.
Salem Abuslayla Shohada Assabt Primary school May 2014

The Sports Project involved participation from our sixteen partner primary
schools in Misurata. Each school brought twenty two children, and two
teachers to participate in the Project. As with all of our PSS Projects, we
worked in close collaboration and with the full support of the Libya Ministry of
Education (MOE).
The Project took place over five days; Our first day was dedicated exclusively
to training the teachers from the primary schools, and also our Sport Support
Workers, who were employed to help on the Project. The following four days
were focussed onto the children. We worked with children from four primary
schools on each day. The children ranged in age from six up to fourteen.
The purpose of the Sports Project was to engage children in sporting activity,
particularly those who would not normally participate, either due to lack
of confidence, or through lack of opportunity. All of the children got the

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opportunity to experience all of the activities on offer, and the emphasis was on
participation and teamwork rather than winning. Children and teachers from
different schools were mixed together into groups, and encouraged to play
together and mix with each other.
We were given a large grassy field for the Project at the Iron and Steel resort
next to the sea in Misurata. The field was divided into different areas, and
each area had a Sports Coach positioned there. The children were put into
one of four groups. Each group had around 22 children in it. The four groups
participated in all of the four activities for between thirty-forty minutes.
One of the challenges of the project was that several of the children had
health issues, and the girls that participated were on the whole dressed
inappropriately for sports e.g in high heels and dresses! We had to adapt our
exercises for them accordingly to make sure they were able to participate
safely. Another challenge was finding a sports field in Misurata, which was
grassed over, where the owner would allow children to play on it. Sports fields
are few and far between, and public play areas virtually non-existent.
The media was a vital player in promoting and distributing the idea of the
Sports Project across Misurata, and also in showing the talent of the children
participating in sports activities.All children and teachers were given a booklet
that explained about DCA and the Psychosocial Support Project, and also
contained an explanation on how to play the sports games and activities.
Outcomes: We were delighted to have 57 girls participate in the sports event
and so many female teachers, as sports are not usually practiced by girls or
women in Misurata, leading to health issues.
Feedback from teachers and children was extremely positive about the
Sports Project, and smiles on childrens faces and the sounds of laughter was
certainly confirmation for the team that participants were enjoying themselves.
Teachers expressed how enjoyable and helpful the training was, and that they
were planning on running these activities at their schools, because it made
them feel closer to their students. They also expressed how the games helped
the children to develop leadership and teamwork skills.
An unexpected and fantastic outcome to our sports project was how it inspired
a new initiative in one of our partner schools to create their own sports field on
school grounds. Please see the next section Sports Field Project for details.

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SPORTS FIELD PROJECT

AUGUST-DECEMBER 2013
BENEFICIARIES 575
COST 8250 LYD
We worked really hard as a team to prepare the sports field and now the result
with the grass is perfect, and the results are excellent! I am very glad that my
school now has this grassy playground that will keep our children safe during play
time. The area now makes the school ground looks very beautiful.
Ben Gharbya Sports Teacher Abu Bakr School May 2014

Abu Bakr Primary School, Misurata, has 575 students and is one of the PSS
Projects partner schools and has joined us in our Quiz, Sports and Creative
Project. During the revolution the school suffered major damage from the
fighting in the local area, and the interior of the school and its resources were
badly affected. The school was cleared by the DCA EOD team in 2011 from the
remnants of the conflict.
Once the building was repaired, the school then prioritised the playground
as one of the important things that needed to be fixed and enhanced to help
maintain the health and wellbeing of the children recovering from the effects
of the conflict. In August 2013 a team of teachers, and local volunteers began
preparing the ground for the sports field after raising donations. In addition to
money they raised from local people, they received a grant from the Ministry of
Education to help get the project underway.
By the end of September the ground was ready for grass, with preparation
complete and an irrigation system laid. At this point, the Manager of Abu Bakr
approached us at DCA PSS to see if we could help with the final stage of the

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project; the grass. The DCA PSS project was very excited to be asked to support
the school with their sports field. There are very few large grassy play areas
for children in Misurata, as we found out when we tried to hold the sports
project in June, and it was a great opportunity to support such a good cause
and support the motivation of the teachers and local people who had taken the
initiative on behalf of the children.
The PSS project agreed to donate 8250 LYD which would pay for the grass to
be delivered and laid on the prepared area. The grass was delivered on 19th
of December 2013 and the Grass Company started to work on laying it. Some
teachers and children joined to help. Laying the grass only took three days to
complete!1

1 In May 2014 we attended the opening of the sports field. I was approached by some of the
older girls at the school who said they did not believe they would be allowed to use the field. In
the Memorandum of understanding with the school, it was agreed it was for use by all of the
children at the school, and be open to other students from the neighbourhood. This issue will
be taken up with the Manager to try and clarify the truth of the situation.

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LEADERSHIP TRAINING
24-25TH JUNE 2013
BENEFICIARIES 17
COST 2290 LYD

The Leadership Training was for High School students aged 15- 17. The
Leadership Training was organised in close collaboration with the Ministry of
Education (MOE). Seventeen young people from twelve High Schools attended
the training; Twelve of these were girls, and five were boys. Schools chose
who would participate, and the young males and females were chosen due to
their natural leadership qualities that had been demonstrated in their school
environments.
The aim of the Leadership Training was for the young people to learn skills
for positive leadership, develop a positive identity, identify talents and ideas
for their future, and develop communication skills.The training was delivered
by PSS Manager Helen Tanner, and interpreted by Teamleader for the PSS
team, Fatma Eljoroushi. We employed four Leadership Ambassadors, three
male and one female, all considered to be good role models, to assist us in
the training. The two-day training consisted of discussions, drama exercises,
learning games, and communication exercises. We used exercises that gave
the young people chances to practice at being a leader in a small groups and
get feedback from the others in their team.
The young people also did some personal exercises exploring their hopes for
the future which included being a Businesswoman, Photographer, Dentist,
Lawyer, Surgeon, Engineer, Pediatrician, Computer Engineer, Oncologist,
Psychologist, Designer, and Media Worker. Some of the trainees also added
that they want to be an effective member of society, and be a very important
person that gives help wherever its needed.

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Participants and Ambassadors were provided with a t-shirt which was specially
designed and printed which says I am a Leader for Change. The logo was
designed by the PSS team. Ambassadors and young people also received a
Training Certificate by the end of the training. It was given by Mr. Mohammed
Alsweh, the Head of Misurata Free Zone who gave a very interesting talk about
the role of the civil society in the building of the new Libya. He stressed the
importance of the role of young people in participating and having an active
voice and role in creating a positive future.
Outcomes: All students were asked to complete a questionnaire about the
training. All Students reported enjoyed the training. In addition they reported
skills they had learned including:
Qualities of a great leader
Communication skills
Confidence
Empathy
Desire to develop themselves further as leaders
All students said they wanted to attend more DCA trainings
Scoring for the leader, workers, and content of training scored on average
between 90 and 95%.
At the end of the training young people were asked to commit to taking a
leadership role in some way in their home, community or school environment
to put into practice some of their skills.
The training demonstrated to the PSS team that the whole theme of leadership
is both relevant and of deep interest to young people in Libya today as it
makes its transition to democracy. The leader has led similar trainings in two
other countries, and it was really interesting to note the level of passion with
which the young people in Libya engaged with the whole theme of leadership
compared to young people in other countries. It felt like it was a theme that
could be harnessed and developed as a start point to a broader focus of the
young people onto themes such as participation, citizenship and development
of civil society.

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CREATIVE PROJECT
JULY2013-JANUARY 2014
COST 43,252 LYD
The Creative Project has been a very exciting project for the PSS team in
Misurata. The aim of the Project was to promote creativity, to encourage adults
and children to have fun and be creative together, help teachers, children and
mothers to develop their creative skills, and to provide art resources to schools
to help enable further creativity to grow.
The Creative Project was without doubt our biggest PSS project, with a number
of different components to it.
1) Training resources; Creative Training Film, Creative Activities Booklet,
Website and You Tube
2) Teacher Training
3) Childrens Workshops
4) Mothers Training
5) Creative Resources to schools
6) Art of Peace Competition

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CREATIVE TRAINING FILM & BOOKLET

JulY 2013
The Creative Training Film is a DVD made by the
PSS team, in collaboration with international
artists and film-makers. The Film is over two
hours long and is a series of short films in how
to make a diverse range of creative activities.
The aim of the film was to provide an accessible,
informative and fun resource to teachers, families,
children and young people and was used primarily
in the Creative Project which took place in Misurata
in the autumn 2013.
The creative training film was made in the UK. Eleven people were employed to
work on the film; Two film makers, musical producer, six artists and two sports
people. Filming took place at the artists homes, and a film studio was created
and dismantled every day. Filming took two weeks to complete. Forty three
short films were made in total.
The theme of the whole series of films and for the artwork is The Seaside. The
films mainly focus onto the visual elements and the music, so that watching
them is both enjoyable and instructional. Any subtitles that have been added to
films are in English and Arabic. The films have an original musical soundtrack
based on an Arabic theme.
The film was made in the UK for two main reasons. The first reason was that
we were looking as a team of who could facilitate creative sessions in our
creative project in the autumn. The team under the previous PSS project had
run creative workshops, and the team felt that most people who had creative
skills in Misruata had already been employed and that new skills would be
necessary for the new project. Creativity and the arts were very suppressed
under the previous regime and in the schools, hence varied creative skills were
not so well developed within the community. The second reason to make the
films outside of Libya, was that July was the holy month of Ramadan, and most
of the PSS team were on extended leave, so it came down largely to the PSS
manager to organise and produce the films.

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Once the films were made and initial edits done by the Film-makers there was
a long process of adding subtitles and participation of the whole PSS team in
terms of overall design and final results. The final DVD is over over two hours
long, but divided up into 36 short films.(the whole 43 films made couldnt all fit
on!) The viewer can click onto a slideshow About DCA, the creative short film,
or the how to films. So far we have 950 copies of the DVD in Misurata, being
distributed to schools, teachers, parents and other interested parties.

Creative Activities Booklet

To accompany the Creative Training Film we created
written instruction sheets with photographs and step by
step instructions, and turned it into a Creative Activities
Booklet; The Creative Activities Booklet is a compilation
of all of the Arabic instructions and templates which
accompany the DVD. We printed two thousand copies
which were, and continue to be distributed in Misurata
and beyond. The booklet was designed and created by
the PSS team, which was a huge amount of work!

WEBSITE & YOUTUBE

We created a website which gives information about all of our projects, and has
photos, and a news section. The website is available in English and in Arabic.
Numerous resources are available for free download from the Arabic site
including instructions from the creative project and films.
www.dcapss.org
total website views to date: (Feb 9 2014-May 2 2014)
english 376 site visits

arabic 167 site visits

total: 543

The website is linked directly to our YouTube channel which currently shows
our 43 short films which we made for the Creative Training Film DVD.
www.youtube.com/user/DCapSS1
numbers viewed to date Youtube channel (nov 26 2013-May 2 2014)
963 views from 72 countries

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TEACHER TRAINING
BENEFICIARIES 54 TEACHERS
TheDCA PSS project was very significant for the school. The school did a lot of
creative activities with the children during the last year and it has a great effect
on our children and teachers. A lot of students and teachers would like to improve
their creative skills and would like to innovate and create new things. For the
teachers attending training there was anticipation and excitement. Teachers
left learning new and simple ways to implement some activities that involved
team work. They also explored some new methods that they can now use in the
process of teaching to get better results. We were really surprised how much the
children liked and enjoyed the activities. They were simple and easily understood.
A lot of children have started to do creative activities in their homes using other
materials.
Salem Abuslayla May 2014 Shohada Assabt Primary school

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All twenty eight of our partner schools were invited to send two Teachers to
attend our three day Creative Teacher Training. Teachers who attended came
from a variety of subject disciplines. Teachers were shown how to use the DVD
with the children as an aid to learning, and also how to make several of the
creative items shown in the film.
Outcomes: Fascinating discussions took place about the importance of
creativity for childrens learning and development. There was also discussions
about the use of physical punishment in disciplining children. The PSS team
offered some alternative ideas for how children can be engaged in class
through creative techniques, and also the PSS manager shared experiences
and ideas of how to manage challenging behavior in a non-violent way.
It was apparent that teachers from different specialisms already implement
different creative and artistic activities to help students explore and understand
their subject in schools. However, many teachers dont, and those that do
implement activities are restricted. The most common reasons are; Lack of
resources, lack of support from the management, or the belief that creative
activities are for arts teachers only.Due to lack of resources, some schools
have to raise donation from teachers together with parents to support the art
activities financially. Some teachers buy art materials using their personal
money and resources.All of the teachers expressed about the importance of
creativity especially for children and young people. One of the teachers said:
I think creativity and arts are a very important elements to be focused on for
children, because it improves their capacities and takes the school stress away.
It allows children to express about their inner pain and desires.
Another two said that after the three days workshop:
I realised the beauty and pleasure of teamwork and also that art is not limited to
a specific category or community of people. Human creativity is unlimited. As long
as humans have feelings, there must be creativity.
I learned new useful ideas that would help us in performing our jobs as teachers.
Besides that, creative work helps gaining self-confidence and discovering
childrens abilities. I would like to participate in any other activity with you in the
future. May god bless you work and thank you for the good hospitality.
Teachers expressed that the training was useful on a personal and professional level. It
improved their artistic skills, and some said that the experience of implementing the teamwork
in the workshop was a new experience for them. Also it taught them about the importance of
positive contribution in the team and respect for other peoples efforts. All of the teachers said
they gained new or additional experience and knowledge in dealing with children, and how to
have more patience. r

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

23

CHILDRENS WORKSHOPS
BENEFICIARIES 605 CHILDREN 86 TEACHERS PARTICIPATING
There was a great benefit for our school in working with DCA PSS, especially
from the Creative project. The children were so happy to use this new refreshing
way to play with materials. It was their opportunity to show their creativity.
Alsafa Primary School Omar Mleetan
The training you provided in the
creative project and film project
strengthened the communication
and teamwork between students and
teachers socially and professionally
Salah Emsheheit Manager
May 2014
Ahmed Albahlol
High School for boys

In November, we had so much fun as a team! We visited fifteen primary

schools with our nine Creative Workers and four Field Officers to run creative
workshops with groups of children aged between nine and thirteen. Schools
were offered two two-hour workshops. We chose different activities to make
with the children from the Creative Training Film. The films proved really
popular and both we and the children has a great time!
Outcomes: Children expressed their admiration of the workshop.
One child said:
I had so much fun today and I like the films so much! The most exciting part is
that we were under the exams pressure and while doing the activities we were
only thinking about having fun. And I felt that the pressure is less now.
We asked 102 children for their feedback about the workshops. 39 of these
were male, and 63 were female; All participating children said that they
enjoyed the Creative Training Film, and enjoyed the creative session provided
by the DCAPSS team. Even the boys who thought it would be a boring thing
to do, expressed how much they liked participating. They also said that

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

24

creative workers were helpful and nice to them. Children expressed a wish
to have some creative activities in their schools on a regular basis. Only
talented children or the ones who are very good in arts are generally invited
to participate in the schools arts exhibitions. Therefore, it was an important
outcome of the Creative Project for the children to have had the opportunity to
be creative.
The most popular activities in the film evaluated by the children were; Sand
sculpture, 3D Fish and Plastic Models. The children seemed to like to try crafts
and activities that involve physical movement. When asked about the activities
they like to do, most of the children mentioned drawing and handicrafts,
sports, and reading. Some said that they were very happy to try creative
activities for the first time in the workshops.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

25

MOTHERS TRAINING
76 MOTHERS TRAINED
Immediately following the creative workshops for children we held two hour
workshops for mothers of children who attended the school. We showed the
mums our Creative Training Film. We did one or two of the creative activities
with them, and really encouraged the mums to do some of the activities at
home with their children.

Snapshot
We took the opportunity in the workshops to
ask the mothers about the effects of the
conflict on their children; When asked
about their children and the effects of
the conflict, some mothers said they
noticed a change in their childrens
behavior after the 2011 conflict
like; becoming violent, nervous and
susceptible to fear, but others said
that the main people who changed
were the adults. They thought
that some families are still in need
of special therapy or consultants
from psychological expertise. 75% of
them thought that psychosocial support
is needed for children. They expressed the
opinion quite strongly that schools need to change their methods
of teaching. Some said they thought that families require awareness about
social issues like; how to deal with and punish their children. However, there
was a common belief that even badly psychologically effected children are not
considered a threat to the society, because in time they will forget everything
when they become adults.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

26

Outcomes of the mothers creative training

Many of the mothers considered creativity and art activities a useful
entertainment for their children and themselves. However, only a few mothers
said that they do art work by themselves, or with their children. And those who
have done some handicrafts, tended to do it as a job, not for recreation. As well
as children not generally being exposed to creative activities at home, some
mothers said that they thought that such activities were not an essential or
important thing for children, and that children should focus on their studies
and exams only. There was also quite a pervading attitude among the mothers
that creativity is for girls and not at all important for boys. (we also found this
attitude amongst the teachers) All the mothers enjoyed the creative workshops
and doing the handicrafts and art activities. They said they would like to use the
Creative film and booklet with their children. A lot of mothers said they didnt
know how to use the computer to navigate the internet, but most of them said
they will ask for help to visit and check our website.
Following the training one mother said:
Handicrafts, drawing and all arts are very important for children and you chose
those things to offer children some entertainment and quality time. That what
schools should give children and what I really like about arts is that they are easy,
simple and useful.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

27

CREATIVE RESOURCES
JANUARY 2014
BENEFICIARIES; CHILDREN 3475 TEACHERS 693

Immediately following our creative workshops we gave 23 schools a large

black bag of creative resources which contained everything they needed to
implement the activities on the Creative Training film and within the Creative
Activity Booklet. Each school was given a minimum of 40 booklets containing
the DVDs.
We monitored the use of the resources in 11 of the schools for four weeks.
We were very pleased with the fact that all of the schools were using the
resources.
A further six bags ofresources were given out after the Art of Peace
competition.
___________________
These figures are calculated following a monitoring of 11 schools over a four weeks period to
see how they were using their resources. We made an average per school and then multiplied
by 23.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

28

ART OF PEACE COMPETITION

FEBRUARY-MARCH 2014
BENEFICIARIES OF PARTICIPATION 471 CHILDREN 55 TEACHERS
WINNING SCHOOLS RECEIVED SIX FURTHER CREATIVE BOXES OF RESOURCES

The Art of Peace Competition was important, because the school won the first
place and the children were very happy and their psychological status was
improved. We would like to thank DCA for all the efforts you do and we wish to
take a part in any activities/projects that targets the psycho-social support for our
students.
Salem Abuslayla Shohada Assabt Primary School May 2014
The Art of Peace competition was a very good project that allowed students to
show their talents and be creative. The teachers have had a new experience and
the activities helped them break the ice between teachers and the students.
Fatima Elsiwi ALkhansa high School May 2014
The Art of Peace competition was of great benefit to our school, because the
country needs peace. Thank you for everything you gave our students in the
leadership training, the creative project, the film training and the Art of Peace
competition. Your programmes have benefitted our school very much.
Musbah Shredi Algheran High School May 2014
The Art of Peace competition grew out of the Creative Project, and had a dual
purpose; To encourage the schools to use that art materials provided to them
in the creative resource bags, and the new skills learnt, and also to explore
together the theme of Peace, and what that means to them as young people,
and what peace might look like. Schools were given around six weeks to
submit entries for the competition.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

29

Schools could submit three individual entries, and one group entry. Two age
categories were adopted; 6-14 and 15-18.
Twenty two of the twenty eight partner schools participated. Judging took
place over four days, with six judges, two from DCA and four from the Ministry
of Education. First and second prize were offered for each age category, and
prizes for first, second and third for individuals in each age category. On top
of these, two special prizes were offered to schools for outstanding creativity
demonstrated in their group exhibitions of their work.
We will upload a gallery of photos in due course demonstrating the artwork of
the young people on our website and winning schools also exhibited their work
on the 4th of April at the Mine Risk Awareness day in Misurata.
Outcomes: As an observation, what was so heartening to see in the
competition was a sense of real transition of the way the young people are
shifting focus away from violence and conflict, which was so apparent in art
work created after the revolution, to artwork reflecting hope for the future,
collaboration and a sense of participation in building that future. We observed
there is still reference to the revolution, and in particular the honouring of the
sacrifices made, and blood spilt, but there is also a focus on a new future.
Another nice thing to notice in the competition was how many of the schools
had clearly used the techniques we had taught them in the Creative Project,
and the resources we shared.
Finally, what was remarkable was how few schools that participated in the
competition have no art teachers, or designated art classes. We truly hope that
it has been demonstrated through the competition how talented the children
and teachers are at these schools, and how it is worth investing in the arts to
promote teamwork but also to give the young people a voice, and to explore
important subject areas.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

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MINE RISK AWARENESS EVENT

APRIL 4TH 2014
BENEFICIARIES 125 CHILDREN 125 ADULTS
The PSS team participated in the Mine Risk Awareness Day on the 4th April
2014. We took part in co-ordination meetings in preparation for the event, and
offered three different things on the day with a team of 12 staff:
Firstly, we exhibited winning entries from eight schools who took part in the
Art of Peace competition.
Secondly, we had our films on show from the creative Project, and we offered
for free to parents a copy of the Creative Activities Booklet and Creative
Training film so that they could be creative with their children.
Thirdly, we set up four areas for animation, where children and adults could
make models and also make short animation films, under the advice and
support of our Film experts which we have been using to teach the Our
Futures; My Dream film project.

__________________
4 We do not have exact figures from the day. It is estimated that between 4-500 people attended
the event. Based on how many creative Activity booklets we distributed, and attendees at our
exhibition and animation area, we estimated the numbers of people visiting our area of the
event.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

31

OUR FUTURES MY DREAM FILM TRAINING

& RESOURCES
BENEFICIARIES 303 YOUNG PEOPLE 17 DCA STAFF 69 TEACHERS
COST 72,250 LYD (INCLUDING EUIPMENT)
The school benefitted from the film-making training. We had an exhibition
about Libyan traditions and artifacts, and we made a film with a slide show of
old photographs for Libya. We now know how to make short films and how to use
and set some scenes and using Windows Movie Maker program. We will train the
children on how to make short films and how to use some film making computer
programs. There has been a great positive effect from working with DCA PSS ,
especially on our students. This support is what the school was looking for. Thank
you for entertaining and training our students; You made them enjoy the team
work and treat each other like they are brothers and sisters. Thanks for creating
this atmosphere in our school.
Annedal High School
The Our Futures My Dream Film Project was aimed at raising skills in 1) editing
2) using a movie camera 3) animation 4) making a short film
5) exploring the theme of our future and my dream 6)
working together in a team 7) giving young people a
voice using fun and interactive media 8)
Inspiring teachers to use the equipment
as a teaching aid both to support
their own motivation but also to
encourage them to use new methods
to inspire young people in terms of
engaging in their education and their
future vocations.
The project consisted of:
1) A three day training for teachers
2) D
 elivery of three day training
packages to high school students
3) Books of information and
interactive exercises accompanying
the training
4) Media suites and resources to
schools.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

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We faced a number of very difficult challenges with this Project:

Recruitment proved difficult: An international Film Tutor was initially
considered to lead the Our Futures Project but unfortunatelyshe was not able
to take part at the last minute. We then held meetings with a Film tutor with
a background in working with Aljazeera, who was requesting fees outside of
our budget. In the end, the team did a lot of research into film and animation
and came up with a draft plan for film and animation training. At this stage,
we started the recruitment process all over again, this time focusing on local
people with some knowledge of film, editing and animation but not necessarily
full time professionals. Eventually we found four young men from Misurata
able to deliver the project, however, it was labour intensive trying to make sure
they were able to deliver material that was also in line with the PSS approach
and broader goals.
The second biggest problem we faced on the project was delays caused by
equipment not arriving on time. We had to change the start date of training
three times, and began the project a month late. The knock on effect was a
more rushed training schedule than we would have liked, and the inability to
complete the whole project which would have involved a screening of films
made by young people on the theme.
Nevertheless, with all things considered the feedback from students and
schools has been very positive.
Outcomes: Young People;
After the training most of the participants expressed they enjoyed the training
because it was fun and entertaining, and trained them in new skills; They
learnt how to use animation program (ZU3D) and windows movie maker to edit
images and videos by adding some effects to them. They learnt how to use the
equipment and how to create their storyboards. The training motivated young
people to continue learning and searching in the field of film making. They
also expressed how the DCA PSSs team were very good and helpful during the
training. They said the team work was a new experience that made them feel
more confident with people, and they realised the advantages of it.
Although some of the young people had used a film making program before,
there were a lot who hadnt. Most of them were very excited to learn about
animation programs and movie making.
Young Peoples dreams varied from being an interior designer, an architect,
a computer engineer, to being a lawyer, a doctor, a writer, an artist and a
journalist. Besides their future careers, they had other dreams like; being a
billionaire, a famous person and a well-known member of their community.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

33

They thought making a film is a good way of getting messages across to an

audience, as it brought the message to life in a globally understood way to a
wide audience, using imagination, creativity and technology combined.

The school participation in the Our Futures film project has positively
affected our teachers and students. It gave them a new perception about film
making and it also motivated them to look forward to educate themselves
more in this field. We would like to thank the DCA management, and we hope
that you continue running such activities.
Manager Ali Belhaj Ibn Sina high School May 2014

OUR FUTURES: MY DREAM FILM EQUIPMENT

TO SCHOOLS
(ANTICIPATED BENEFICIARIES5 28 SCHOOLS 56 TEACHERS 3332 STUDENTS)
 e have purchased enough equipment to provide each of our 28 partner
W
schools with a small media suite. Each Media suite will consist of:
2 movie cameras (Sony CX280)
1 stills camera
2 tripods 1 microphone 2 webcams
1x Zu 3D software licence
Our Futures My Dream Booklet 20 pages (which we have designed and
accompanies the training)
Memory cards for the cameras 4gb & 32gb
Eight schools will also be provided with a laptop for editing.
IN order to receive a Media Suite, schools must have provided two teachers
to be trained for three days, complete an application form which outlines
how they will pass on training learnt to young people, how equipment will be
stored, and how young people will be able to access it etc. A DCA committee
(PSS team members) will assess the applications and decide which schools
will receive the media suites. Further training will be supplied to schools which
did not initially send teachers to be trained. An MOU will be done with each
school to try and ensure that equipment is used for the intended purpose of the
project.
____________________________________
5 Figures are estimated on the same basis as for the Creative Resources. They are not going to
be included in figures for this year, as we are still in the process of delivering equipment, but
we hope to monitor the use of the equipment at a later date.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

34

PSS ROADSHOW
APRIL & MAY 2014
BENEFICIARIES 6 1438 CHILDREN 261 TEACHERS
At the end of April 2014 we visited 8
schools, four primary and four high
schools. The purpose was 1) to distribute
prizes from the Art of Peace competition,
2) to inspire the young people and teachers
to continue to be creative and think about
their role in the future of Libya, and 3)to
spread PSS messages via our DCAPSS
website and encourage the use of the free
resources available there.

STAFFING
In my time as PSS Project Manager, I have been blessed in general with highly
motivated staff, who have been willing to give their all to the project. None of
them had any specialist training before working for DCA, and all ranged in age
from 21-26. Their levels of English were variable.
After initial changes when I first began as Project Manager, the team stayed
stable and without change for ten months. This is unusual in Libya, and I think
helped contribute to what we were able to achieve there. There has been some
changes in staff in recent months, but the level of motivation and dedication
has remained high.
It should be noted that the level of training, support and capacity building
both for the core staff team, and also for the facilitators and trainers we have
employed on the team to aid delivery of big projects is very high. Professional
approaches to paperwork, documentation, presentation, and training is
all quite poor and has to be developed. That said, I am please to say it has
been one of the most satisfying aspects of the job to see real growth and
development of both attitudes towards work, and the project, and development
of skills.
_______________
6 We do not have attendance records. However, figures are based and recorded based on what
Headteachers told us as to who was present at the assemblies which we spoke at, and also,
where possible, where we actually counted ourselves. We have photos from all of the eight
schools as evidence.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

35

In the case of the PSS team, the most common reason for staff to leave the
project was due to getting Government jobs which are very secure, long-term,
reasonably paid, with low hours. However, having a government job in Libya
means that officially staff are not allowed to have other jobs at the same time,
therefore, over time various staff left the team to go to a Government job.
The biggest challenge with the staff team has been in the area of cultural
restrictions on what the female staff can and cannot do. This shows itself
particularly in travel. i.e who they can and cannot travel in a car with, where
they can travel to, what activities they can or cannot participate in. It has taken
a while to understand the rules and to be able to plan effectively to live within
them.

CHALLENGES THE PSS TEAM FACED

We have faced many challenges over the past sixteen months;
Internet connection; for many months this was extremely slow and intermiitent
Issues with vehicles; initially a lack of, with staff driving their own and
accidents happening, also for female staff who can drive with who, lack
of ability to hire female drivers, vehicles getting damaged, going for
maintenance
Power cuts
Security concerns, and the impact of the robbery, where the team lost all of
its computers,
Information; In the early stages of the project, the previous PSS Manager
removed all of the files making continuity initially difficult, and there was no
information on the laptop given the the project manager, so all paperwork
had to be created from scratch
Time pressures; the shortness of school days, very long holidays from school
and the lack of connection between schools and parents and children to
organize things outside of school time, number of national holidays and last
minute declaration of national holidays,
Language difficulties; of national staff to speak English, and of international
staff to speak any Arabic without structured classes beng offered by DCA.
Initially a lack of desk space in Misurata office as it was combined as living
accommodation

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

36

Money arriving late from Tripoli, holding up activities

Lack of logistics support in Misurata for several months putting massive
pressure on a small team, for lots of purchasing
Practical challenges e.g transport for people to and from activities, and
venues to hold activities
Noisy open plan office environment making it very hard to focus and
concentrate
Good members of the team leaving for government jobs
The degree of input required for staff team, lots of capacity development
Fuel shortages
Communication systems between Misurata and Tripoli not always being very
effective
Delays in delivery of equipment and resources for projects, which then have a
knock on effects for start dates to projects which are on a tight time scale
Labour intensive nature of the projects, on a small team
Lack of cohesion and understanding between the different DCA departmentslack of a sense of joint culture
Restrictions on things to do in Misurata, so the sense of never getting a break
from the office.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

37

TABLE OF BENEFICIARIES
Project

Type of
activity

Mother &
Daughter
Creative
Project

Creative
Training
3 day Teacher
Training
1 day Mothers
Training
day
Childrens
workshops
Tameena
Centre

Sports
Project

Details

9 days of
training in total
7 training days
in total in 7
schools
23 training
sessions in 15
schools
8 workers
trained

1 day Childrens 4 training days

workshops
in total

Number of
beneficiaries
(Male=M / Female=F)
17 young people
37 mothers
54 Teachers Trained (48F /
6M)
76 Mothers Trained

605 Children Trained (214M

/ 391F)
86 Teachers Participating
8 volunteer workers
264 Children Trained
(207M / 57F)

1 day Teacher
training

1 training day in 29 Teachers (15M / 14F)

total
Grassing a
575 children benefitting
sports field at
(school estimate)
Abu Bakr School

Quiz

Six Day
Tournament

Six days of
events

Leadership

Two day
Leadership
Training
Sports,
creative, and
Film Projects

Two day total

training

Sports Field
Project

IEC
Materials
produced

1000 sporting
booklets
2000 Creative
Booklets
950 DVDs
2260 booklets
Our Future film
project
1000 leaflets
about PSS

464 Young people

participating in the Quiz
163 parents and teachers
participating in the quiz
17 young people trained
(12F / 5M)
7210 IEC resources created
in different topics

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

Project

Type of
activity

Media Slots

Creative
Resources

29 boxes
distributed to
schools, and
an outreach
centre for
disabled
children and
adults

Art of Peace 22 schools

took part in the
competition
Our Future;
My Dream
Film
Training

4th April
event

Art of Peace
Exhibition
Handing
out creative
booklets, and
showing films
Animation
workshops for
children and
adults

38

Details

Number of
beneficiaries
(Male=M / Female=F)

Website & you

tube channel

6 TV spots and 93 radio

spots about our activities
Total YouTube views;
(Nov 26 2013-2 may 2014)
963 views from 72
countries
Total Website views
(February 9 2014-May 2
2014)
English site; 376 website
visits Arabic site; 167 visits
For 29 schools receiving
resources, over a Four
week period;
3475 students participating
in art session s using
Creative Resources
69 teachers participating
in sessions using Creative
Resources
471 children participated
55 teachers Participated

We monitored
11 schools over
four weeks;98
sessions
1318 students
benefitted
26 teachers

2 day DCA
training 3 day
teacher training
3x3 day training
for High School
Students
250 people
attending
exhibition
stands, receiving
booklets and
trying out
animations

389 Trained for three days

each; 17 staff(6 M / 11F)
69 teachers(8M / 61F) 303
children(57M / 246 F)

250 Participants; 125

children 125 parents

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

Project

Type of
activity

Details

PSS
Roadshow

8 schools
8 schools
Share about 1438 pupils
DCA, give
261 teachers
information
about
PSS, out
projects and
resources
tell about
website
reources and
YouTube

1438 pupils participating 261

teachers participating

Film
equipment

Media suites 28 schools

distributed to
28 schools

Estimate, based on average

uses calculated from use of
creative resources;
For 28 schools, over a four
week period, we would expect;
56 teachers(trained by us) to
use the equipment
3332 students to benefit
252 sessions to take place in
schools over four weeks**
)As these figures are purely
an estimate at this point,
they will not be included in
the our figures of current
beneficiaries.)

39

Number of beneficiaries
(Male=M / Female=F)

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

40

Total beneficiaries during reporting period

7754

Total number of children participating in activities

290

Total number of teachers parents and social workers trained

759

Total number of adults participating in activities in addition to those trained

7210

Total IEC materials produced

Media Slots

93

Radio

TV

963
543
29

YouTube

Website:

Resources to schools:

Plus

28

views from

72

countries

visits to the site

creative boxes delivered to schools

media suites being delivered May 2014

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

41

SUMMARY OF COSTS
Initial Budget 126,000 Euro approximately 216,692 LYD
Expenditure
Mother & Daughter sessions
Quiz
Sports
Leaders for change training
Creative Training Film Production
Website
Consultant advice
Monitoring trip to Church of Sweden, Stockholm
Grass sports field
Church of Sweden fact finding mission to Libya
Creative Project
Our Futures; My Dream film project
Media
Total spent January 2013-May 2014

Amount in
Libyan Dinar
142
11,244
12,503
2290
21,840
5,774
517
1,622
8,250
9,299
43,252
72,250
5,150
194, 133

Money remaining from the original budget7 for use up until the end of
August 2014 in 22, 559 LYD
8000 approximately designated for a final event / conference for
stakeholders
4000 for upgrades to cozy corners initiated in 2012
10,559 for best research practices / Monitoring and evaluation
_________________________
7 Please note that in addition to the original budget, several ammendments have been made to
the budget over the 18 month Europaid period. So there are some small additional sums to be
spent by the PSS programme up to the end of August 2014.

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

42

MONITORING
Monitoring and evaluation really is a new thing within Libya. Two PSS staff
members have been developed and capacity- built over time in how to design
questionnaires for training participants, link monitoring to the aims of the
project, how to summarise results and write brief reports. As the project has
progressed, so monitoring of training and events has improved as knowledge
and skill levels has improved.

Monitoring and Evaluation activities

1) On-going monitoring of projects
Skill based training-before and after questionnaires , and attendance records
have been kept wherever possible
2) Final Monitoring
All 28 schools were asked to fill in a simple monitoring form in May 2014. They
were asked to note which projects they participated in and then to say if they
felt that by working with DCAPSS there had been any benefits to the school,
teachers, and the children. They were then asked if there was a specific project
which gave any higher benefit for their school. Finally they were asked for their
overall comments.
3) Advice on an M &E strategy
Skype meetings and advice was received from Ole Dahl Rasmussen, an M&E
consultant in Denmark for development of the M&E strategy for the PSS
project.
4) Monitoring Visit Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden came on a fact finding mission, made observations and
recommendations particularly in the area of how PSS can be more integrated
into the broader HMA programme culminating in a report in October 2013.
All students that participated in different activities and projects with DCA were
positively affected. It motivated them and other students to participate in school
activities. A lot of students are now showing their abilities and talents; they are
also showing their creativity by using different activities and using their energies
in positive ways. Participating in DCA PSS projects was a great and beautiful
experience and very helpful. It has positively changed our students psychological
status.
Fatima Elsiwi , Alkhansa High School

DCA PSS LIBYA | Final Report | January 2013-May 2014

43

OUTCOMES AND FINAL NOTE

Monitoring and evaluation from January 2013 to May 2014 shows that the PSS
programme in Libya has achieved the following outcomes in its 28 partner schools:

Psycho Social Support

1) Improves psychological wellbeing
Increases motivation
Improves self-confidence
2) Changes behaviour
Alters childrens play from being violent to more peaceful
Increases participation; not just in the activities on offer but more
broadly in school
Inspires innovation and creativity for new projects in schools by
teachers and young people
3) Builds bridges between the generations, and between children, schools
and parents
Improves teamwork and leadership skills
Develops feelings of empathy
Teachers learn to be more patient with children
4) Develops skills and talents
Improves educational attainment
Improves communication skills
Provides new opportunities for positive expression
5) Aids recovery and reduces risks of future conflict
Helps focus attention onto the future, whilst honouring the past
Provides opportunities for discussions and debates on meaningful
topics in the community
Challenges restrictive cultural norms
Explores important themes such as peace, democracy and leadership
All in all it has been an amazing 17 months for the PSS team in Libya. We have
tried many activities in schools and have been grateful for the goodwill and
openness of our partners schools in joining with us in our programmes. We have
been successful in gaining required permissions and collaborated closely with the
Ministry of Education. We are proud of our achievements and hope that PSS will
over time, find its more established place in the HMA programme within DCA.
Helen Tanner LLB PGDIPDTH MA
Psychosocial Support Manager
DCA Libya 2013-14
www.dcapss.org