GABLE SMC was designed to change people's attitudes and behaviours about girls' primary education. As access to primary education became less of an issue following the success story of the project, the Malawi Government and USAID saw the need to shift the focus beyond access to move towards quality. Recognizing the strength of the SMC Team, the same local staff were once again employed to carry out the GABLE SMC-EQ initiative for a pilot. The arrangement provided a unique opportunity for the Malawian staff to lead the implementation process, and with the technical guidance of CAII, to develop themselves into a Government of Malawi registered NGO, and USAID PVO under the name: Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM) in November, 1999. The follow-on SMC-EQ National Phase Project was and continues to be directly contracted to CRECCOM by USAID/Malawi.

CRECCOM "visions" a future Malawi with highly self-motivated citizens responsive to ever-changing socio-economic and political pressures for the betterment of their own welfare. It exists to provide for the prevailing acute constraint of lack of effective community involvement and participation (ownership), which most communities face in addressing their own and the country's development needs. In practical terms CRECCOM is for the sensitization, motivation and mobilization of communities to identify and change their own attitudes, behaviours and practices that negatively impact upon a particular social/development issue.

CRECCOM's Board of Trustees is the ultimate advisory body responsible for the management and administration of CRECCOM and exercises control and supervision over its affairs. The professional staff comprises an experienced, diverse group of individuals with the skills and experience to organize and implement social mobilization initiatives at community level.

Mr. N. Kaperemera      Chairperson
Dr. M.D. Nowa-Phiri    Vice chairperson
Mr. R.G Chonzin        Member
Ms. E. Kadzamira       Member
Mr. L. Muhara          Member
Dr. J.G.M. Wilson      Member

Simeon Mawindo         Executive Director
Zikani kaunda          Assistant Executive Director (Projects)
McForster Chingayipe   Assistant Executive Director (Finance)
Earnest Pemba          Field Director
George Jobe            Training,Assessment & Communications Director
Madalo Samati          Projects Coordinator
Suzgo Mwanza           Monitoring & Assessment Coordinator

 SMC-EQ Pilot Project	 	:   1998 - 1999
 SMC-EQ National Phase I       	:   1999 - 2002
 SMC-EQ National Phase II      	:   2002 - 2004

 SMC-AA (AIDS Awareness) Pilot          :   1999
 SMC-COP (Community Outreach Project)	:   2000 - 2001

 With CARE (US) in Atlanta : Development of a Field Manual on Community
 Mobilization regarding Quality Basic Education : 2001
 With Nancy Kendall on "Democratizing Educational Reforms in Malawi - A research consultancy(2001-2002)
 With Zambian Ministry of Education: Community-based Interventions in Basic Education (2001)
 

GABLE SMC (1994 - 1998)

GABLE SMC is viewed as one of USAID's most successful education projects, worldwide. It was designed to change people's attitudes and behaviours regarding girls' primary education and it did just that. As a five-year project it was able to get parents, teachers, children, initiation counselors, religious leaders and others, dialoguing about and taking action to improve girls' attendance, persistence and completion in primary school.

This was an evolution of GABLE SMC. The "impact and sustainability" of the initiative was aptly put by the Minister Without Portfolio, Hon. Uladi Mussa when he, after attending a School's Open Day in one of the districts said,

"although CRECCOM pulled out of the district two years ago, the spirit of self-reliance and commitment is still evident as reflected by the open day organized by teachers."

GABLE SMC-EQ National Phase I (1999 - 2002)

This is a scaling up of the GABLE SMC-EQ Pilot initiative above. One national paper had this to say about the Project:

"communities in all districts where CRECCOM has been operating are now taking a leading role in fighting for quality education with government only following in the communities' footsteps" (The Nation, 23 November, 2000)