We've decided on a region and raised a little cash, it's time to find the particular village in which to work. We're looking for somewhere in need, with poor educational facilities and where the community is motivated to work for change.

Immersion

We start by making contact with local NGOs and education authorities, to establish precise villages that are worth visiting. Then we visit these villages and cement our links with the most reliable NGOs. This period is massively labour intensive, sometimes travelling 400miles a day on terrible roads in order to totally immerse ourselves in the poorest communities and come to understand their needs.

Probing

At each village we find out the population statistics, number of kids, where the nearest schools are and whether the schools actually run. We walk around the village to understand its layout and visit houses and local schools to see first hand the situation of the people. We ask about the positives and negatives of their lives and ask them what they think the most useful single intervention in their community would be. Some say schools, others health care, many have no idea. We ask how they think these interventions might help and how they feel they could contribute to the success of such projects.

Decision

Having visited 10's of potential villages, all in desperate need, over a few weeks we have an idea of the most appropriate and motivated communities. We revisit these do more research, get a better feel for the place hold a village meeting and talk about the potential to build a school and visit land they may be able to contribute to this end. Over these visits we try to come to a conclusion about the most appropriate village and inform the villagers of our plans!