The Women on Farms Project (WFP) NGO has implemented Lotus Notes and Domino at its head office in Stellenbosch in a bid to streamline communications with members and to compile databases on its activities in the region.
Rita Edwards, WFP director, says the organisation`s original aim was to make female farm workers aware of their rights stemming from new legislation and the constitution, as well as social rights, laws on domestic violence and maintenance.
This has since grown, and the organisation is actively participating in discussions with farmers and local government as well as workers from Stellenbosch to Wellington. "We are working on a number of individual farms ensuring that both men and women are aware regarding gender issues," she says.
Nuha Dramat, a consultant at Information Integrity, the company responsible for the implementation of the project, says a need was identified for a reporting system to coordinate the efforts of the NGO. In addition to the network, Lotus Notes and Domino set up, the company has trained staff in the uses of the system.
"We set up a server on a Windows 98 desktop machine running the Lotus Domino 5.0a server application as well as 10 licenses of Lotus Notes. "We have begun to create profiles on farms for community development committees," adds Edwards. These typically include information on farms, organisations, churches and youth groups.
In addition to this profiles are being created on a number of campaigns initiated to support the WFP initiative. Labour-related issues are also documented, as well as housing, health and agricultural trends.
Reports are submitted electronically to donors, and communications between staff members as well as all individuals involved in the monitoring of projects is now done via e-mail.
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