girls inspire steering committee progress report...

GIRLS Inspire

Steering Committee Progress Report #3

January 18, 2017

Awareness raising meeting held by the Centre for Mass

Education in Science (CMES), Elaipur, Bangladesh

Table of Contents

I. Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................ 2

II. Introduction ....................................................... 3

III. Creating an enabling environment .............. 4

IV. Highlights on Progress ................................... 11

V. Progress on Project Implementation........... 20

VI. Lessons Learned ............................................. 32

VII. Next Steps ........................................................ 33

GIRLS INSPIRE STEERING COMMITTEE PROGRESS REPORT #3 - JANUARY 18, 2017 2

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADPP Ajuda de Desenvolvimento de Povo para Povo, Mozambique

CEFM Child, early and Forced Marriage (CEFM)

CFP Communications Focal Point

CMES Centre for Mass Education in Science, Bangladesh

COL Commonwealth of Learning

CoP Community of Practice

DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia

GAC Global Affairs Canada

IAE Institute of Adult Education, Tanzania

KIWOHEDE Kiota Women Health and Development, Tanzania

M&E Monitoring & Evaluation

M&E FP Monitoring & Evaluation Focal Point

ODL Open and Distance Learning

RtU Reaching the Unreached

SIDO Small Industries Development Organisation, Tanzania

SPARC Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, Pakistan

SSS Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, Bangladesh


Introduction

It is rewarding to observe the changes in the organisations, the community and the girls as we conclude this

reporting period and reflect on the reports submitted by the various partners and our data in Fluid Survey and

Connect. During the reporting period, the International day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

and the Human Rights Day were observed. These are two very important dates on GIRLS Inspire’s calendar

as women cannot come to their full potential when their rights are violated, and child marriage is one such

violation of their rights which unfortunately also lead to violence against women. In observing these two

dates, we have posted two blogs and launched a documentary “The tale of two marriages”. This

documentary is a very useful tool in raising awareness in ending child marriage.

I would therefore like to introduce this report with the story of Faaria, whose life changed because of the

CEFM project in Pakistan.

During a life skills program, Bedari saw fourteen

year old Faaria (far right on photo) sitting quietly

in a corner. Faaria is the brightest student

amongst all of the girls and she always showed her

full participation in the activities during the

sessions. It was therefore strange to find her

withdrawn from the activities. On enquiring about

her situation, she started crying. After she could

gather up her energy and strength to speak, she

told Bedari’s representatives that her parents are

going to marry her off in few months.

Part of Bedari’s role in the CEFM project is to raise awareness in the community regarding CEFM and its

impact on the life of girls, boys and family as a whole. Faaria was completely aware of the consequences of

child marriage so she was scared to bear this huge responsibility. Like all fourteen years old girls, Faaria was

enthusiastic, motivated and wanted to explore the world and new ideas. She wanted Bedari to visit her home

and convince her family to delay the marriage. She was well aware of the bitter situation her elder sister, Sidra,

was facing with her in-laws.

The Bedari team visited Faaria’s community and held a meeting with her family during which time they also

showed its documentary, “Tale of two marriages”. Watching the documentary and consequences of the two

early marriages, her mother broke down crying. After a long discussion with the parents, they promised to

delay the marriage for four to five years until Faaria completes her studies. Faaria was immensely grateful to

Bedari for saving her future.

We hope that, at the end of the project time, that there will be many more families like Faaria’s who agree to

delay their daughter’s marriage and allow them to get schooling which will provide them with a set of skills to

make a meaningful contribution to their family and the community.

Faaria, as pictured on the far right


Creating an enabling environment

Key highlights

2 Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Focal Point sessions where reflections and

knowledge sharing on data collection processes, specifically on case studies, were held.

2 Communications Focal Point (CFP) sessions were held where partners built each other’s

capacities on social media and blogging on the Community of Practice (CoP)

1 Webinar was held on the topic of Gender and ODL

4,000 more followers on social media are tuning into GIRLS Inspire stories

At least 14,000 members of the social media community were reached from targeted posts

during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which kick-started with

the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

on 25th November and which concluded with Human Rights Day on December 10th.

13 partners attended the GIRLS Inspire pre-conference meeting and the PCF8 conference

in Malaysia to reflect on year 1 of the project and strategise on the way forward

“Knowledge is indeed power. During this period I learned new skills from the other partner

organisations - usage of pictorials to communicate in a gender sensitive manner; innovative

ways of extending education to the "unreachable" in order to leave no-one behind. During this

period, I also got re-affirmation on the importance of staff training before and during project

implementation. When staff are well trained on the project strategy, the project will succeed, if

not the likelihood of failure is high.

COL has consistently provided timely training that have responded to my own shortcomings.

This has been presented in an enabling environment that promoted sharing and

continuous reflection. The benefits have been enormous and I am adopting this same

approach to this project and other projects I am working on. For instance, I shared the

History Wall concept with another project team who welcomed it as an excellent monitoring

tool which also serves as a memory bank.

COL´s investment in its implementing partners has been an eye opener for me that has

enabled me to be kept up to date, to be well informed and trained in various skills that are

critical in my work. I would like to request COL to keep the meetings and other sharing events

that exposed me to discussions on CEFM, gender, sustainable development goals... These have

kept me up to date on issues while broadening my knowledge. Well done to the COL team.”

– Mzikazi Ntuli, Project Manager, ADPP, Mozambique


Monitoring & Evaluation

Capacity building

The Focal Point sessions (webinars) continued as part

of capacity building as well as monitoring the work

taking place in the field. All the sessions are recorded

and shared with the partners so they can use it to

cascade the training to their teams.

Site Visits

During the reporting period the Senior Advisor had

the opportunity to visit the partner organisations in

Pakistan and India. Visits were made to 11 centres in

Lonand, Mhaswad, Vaduj and Satara in India and to

two centres in Peshawar and Haripur in Pakistan as

part of the monitoring strategy.

Online Data Collection Platform

Transition to Survey Gizmo from FluidSurvey is

underway and one training session took place in

January to support the country teams with the

transition.

Critical Reflection

Critical Reflection events are part of the M&E strategy

and during PCF8 in Malaysia, the partner organisations

had a pre-conference meeting to review the progress of

the project. The History Wall task was used to do an in-

depth review of each partner’s progress.

Senior Advisor’s Site Visit to India

“A history wall can help project managers have

an overview of the process in the project

implementation cycle and to be challenged to

get better results.”

Helvia Momade, Associação Progresso, Mozambique

The Associação Progresso section of the History Wall

“Skills and support mostly came from COL

staff who tirelessly trained every individual

and provided Training Kits and Handouts for

further support.”

KIWOHEDE


Ongoing studies:

Baseline Study

The data collection for the baseline study for the RtU project is close to reaching completion with 87% of

girls’ data collected and targets for organisation, community and employers data completed at 87%, 68% and

77% respectively. Table 1 below presents this breakdown.

Table 2 found on the following page presents the status of the data collection for the CEFM project.

Bangladesh, Pakistan and Tanzania are achieving their targets for girls’ data within this reporting period, and

ADPP in Mozambique has exceeded their overall target. Organisation, Community and Employer data are

also being received on a regular basis.

Table 1: Status of Baseline Data Collection for the Reaching the Unreached (RtU) Project

Country - Partner

Target Population

Target Baseline Baseline Responses Received

Status of Data Collection Completion

Girls and Women

Bangladesh - SSS 7,080 354 306

India – Mann Deshi 6,000 252 245

Pakistan - SPARC 5,000 250 202

Total 856 753 87%

Organisations

Bangladesh - SSS 6 5

India – Mann Deshi 7 5

Pakistan - SPARC 2 3

15 13 87%

Communities




140 96 68%

Employers




56 43 77%


Table 2: Status of Baseline Data Collection for the Child, Early and Forced Marriage Project

Country - Partner

Target Population for 3 year period

Target Baseline Baseline Responses Received

Status of Data Collection Completion

Girls and Women

Bangladesh - CMES 3,000 150 62 40%

Mozambique - ADPP 2,000 100 134 Exceeded

Mozambique - Progresso 2,500 125 2

Pakistan - Bedari 6,000 300 58 20%

Tanzania - IAE, KIWOHEDE 6,000 300 92 30%

Organisations

Bangladesh - CMES 4 4 100%

Mozambique - ADPP 7 9 Exceeded

Mozambique - Progresso 6 5 80%

Pakistan - Bedari 5 5 100%

Tanzania - IAE, KIWOHEDE 12 3 25%

Communities


Mozambique - ADPP 21 26 Exceeded

Mozambique - Progresso 36 27 75%

Pakistan – Bedari 87

Tanzania - IAE, KIWOHEDE 36 41 Exceeded

Employers


Mozambique - ADPP 20 5 20%

Mozambique - Progresso 9 0

Pakistan - Bedari 5 22 Exceeded

Tanzania - IAE, KIWOHEDE 12 20 Exceeded


Update on Monitoring Study:

RtU partners are currently undergoing data collection for

the monitoring phase of the project with data being received

online on a daily basis.

Update on Case studies:

Partners from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are

developing case studies on women and girls and on

communities. Pictured to the right is Sunita (on whom one

of the case studies is focusing) from Dahiwadi in India who

dropped out at 5th standard and has now started a tailoring

business.

Sunita from Mann Deshi, India, who has started a tailoring business


Community of Practice (CoP)

The CoP members engaged in various activities that focus on

strengthening both the community and the practice. Some of the

highlights for this period were:

PCF8:

Six members presented papers at the PCF8 conference and 5

partner organisations participated in the Market Exchange. The

GIRLS Inspire focus session was a huge success with the focus on

‘data matters.’

Capacity Building:

Continuous capacity building for partners was

conducted, specifically focusing on ODL and

Gender in this reporting period. A webinar was

held attended by 24 participants from the five

countries and a face-to-face training component

was also held during the PCF8 Pre Conference.

Advocacy Videos:

The GIRLS Inspire video, developed with the

COL Communications team, was launched. The

documentary on child marriage which was

developed with Bedari in Pakistan was also

launched during the International Day for the

Elimination of Violence against Women on 25th

November.

“The Community of Practice has been a wealth of information and great forum for

learning. I was entertained and inspired by stories from SPARC, Mann Deshi, and other

partners who shared freely of their successes and challenges. For example, the

"visualising impact - our approach at Mann Deshi" was valuable in helping us as the

team in Mozambique come up with a clear strategy to get the community to support the

project and have a shared common vision. Stories of success on how SPARC reached the

unreachable and managed to give hope back to vulnerable girls/women who had lost

hope due to being victims of CEFM, helped opened our eyes to possibilities the project

has for our own communities.

I was further equipped with skills for blogging and tweeting, and this has helped me

communicate better with other projects. I appreciated the patience displayed by the

COL team under the leadership of Frances which gave one the confidence to try out new

things. The efficient and professional support gave me confidence every time I was

tempted to quit due to internet connectivity challenges or other pressing work load. I

am committing to be more active and share stories from the project in the next year as

we start full implementation.”

Mzikazi Ntuli, Project Manager, ADPP

“I am amazed how Frances

and COL have weaved us all

into one big spread of trust

and care.”

Sadia Hussain, Executive Director, SPARC

GIRLS Inspire team members at the PCF8 Conference


Social Media

Activities on social media during this reporting period

started to show the outcomes of the capacity building

efforts with partners on communications and social media

since the beginning of the project.

Partners are using Facebook and Twitter on an ongoing

basis to advocate on topics such as CEFM and gender

equality that can be too sensitive to discuss in their

communities and also to feature ongoing activities with

GIRLS Inspire. Mann Deshi, for example, has reported an

increase in traffic on their social media, with 70% more likes

on Facebook and 25% more followers on Twitter.

KIWOHEDE in Tanzania reported 80% more followers on

Twitter and Bedari in Pakistan reported a 39% increase of

followership on Facebook.

GIRLS Inspire online accounts have observed a 20%

increase in followers expanding its reach to 19,000.

Meanwhile, the online CoP has received over 1,500 visitors

who actively engaged with the site’s content since its launch.

Multimedia and GIRLS Inspire activities were

featured to leverage the critical international

observance days and add its voice to the global

conversation on gender equality and CEFM.

A video featuring messages from girls from the

project was developed and launched on 11th

October to celebrate the International Day of the

Girl Child. Social media posts on Facebook and

Twitter reached over 14,000 members of the social

media communtiy during the 16 Days of Activism,

which was marked by the International Day for the

Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25th

November and which ended on Human Rights Day

on 10th December.

“GIRLS Inspire project motivated all staff

to actively participate in online

communities and platforms. The

promotion of [our] project activities on

social media is also encouraging as

they’re getting appreciation from

viewers.”

SPARC Community Mobiliser

“Social Media and other online

platforms are very important in terms

of advocacy and can reach a large

number of people widely with less time

and cost. Also it is easy to get feedback

from the peripheral for evaluation.”

Salim Mpanda, KIWOHEDE

Facebook post featuring GIRLS Inspire activities reaching over 1,800 people


Highlights on Progress

The following section provides the highlights on progress of project implementation by country in the two

projects – RtU and CEFM.

Reaching the Unreached Project

The Reaching the Unreached (RtU) project funded

by the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade

(DFAT) Australia has now completed nine months

since its launch in March 2016.

Cumulatively, 12,356 girls have completed life and

vocational skills training, with another 3,030

registered as of December and are currently

completing their course.

The section that follows provides the highlights of activities by country.

“I would like to share with you that females are

very happy to learn the vocational course in

their community as well as getting knowledge

about the markets and mobile technology. They

requested us to provide the course for longer

and should be more than 3 months as well as it

should be replicated in other villages.”

SPARC Community Mobiliser


Bangladesh

Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha (SSS) in Bangladesh delivers learning through the use of solar-paneled boat

schools to flood-prone villages across Rajshahi. In this reporting period, they expanded their activities to 27

new villages where safe learning environments for life skills and vocational skills training were established for

over 1,900 women and girls.

To raise awareness in communities on women’s rights and entrepreneurship, the training boats arranged

evening shows on big sail-cloths that reached a total of 7,900 people, about 64 percent of whom were girls

and women.

SSS also arranged meetings with the financial organisation and the office of Department of Women Affairs

for helping trained girls and women to obtain micro loans. Along with information sharing meetings on

employment opportunities and financial aid, 800 women and girls are now in income generating

opportunities, with another 379 girls and women who have obtained micro loans. In addition, 120 girls are

also working as interns.

Screen grab from a video of a skills training session in one of the SSS boat schools


India

In this reporting period, Mann Deshi Foundation

expanded their activities to 86 new villages in

Maharashtra where safe learning environments were

established through centres and mobile business

schools. Through these efforts, over 2,700 women

and girls received life skills and vocational skills

training on tailoring, beautician, goat rearing and

candle making.

In addition, 23 information sharing meetings on

entrepreneurship, financial aid and employment

were held, which resulted in 225 girls joining

internships and subsequently gaining income

generating opportunities. Pictured to the top right is a

market stall where girls sell their own products to

take advantage of the Diwali festival in late October.

To support women and girls’ economic

independence, 334 girls and women from 55 villages

opened their own savings accounts (and a further 257

girls applied) and 100 girls from 21 villages opened

their own fixed-deposit accounts (and a further 53

girls applied).

To further promote market linkages, Mann Deshi has

organized career counselling workshops and a marketplace in Mumbai to showcase the work of Mann Deshi

members’ including the GIRLS Inspire girls’ work in January .

The community radio programme has also been initiated

which focuses on the topics of financial literacy and

health and hygiene awareness delivered in the local dialect.

Over 104 villages have been reached, with an approximate

total listenership of 90,000.

The publication Kavya was launched which features

picture stories designed to transcend language and

geographic divisions to illustrate the barriers to education

that women and girls face. The picture to the left is the

publication promoted in GIRLS Inspire’s Facebook page.

Advanced skill training programme with market linkage development

and employer connect during Diwali festival

Opening of savings account


Pakistan

The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) expanded their activities in 19 new areas

within Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Sindh and Hyderabad where safe learning environments were

established. This allowed for over 1,700 girls to be trained in life and vocational skills training in this reporting

period.

Through 16 information sharing

sessions on employment, market and

financial aid linkages, with local

associations and the Islamic Relief

Fund, 56 internships were established

for girls A further 39 girls applied for

employment – 17 of whom were

successful and started earning an

income.

Women and girls also had the

opportunity to feature the products

they have produced in an exhibition, as

pictured to the right. As a result, over

23,000 PKR was earned by women and

girls.

Providing information on health was

also a focus in the last three months

where the Rawalpindi medical camp

provided services to 60 girls. During

this period new courses on mental

health, street danger and social

protection were delivered. The main

mechanism was lectures on various

topics such as health, hygiene, diet

plans, and women’s family problems.

“In training sessions, students learned a lot. They

said that they haven’t taken life skills education

before but after these sessions, they have been

groomed and are now able take decisions effectively.”

– SPARC Community Mobiliser

Exhibition of products as a result of vocational skills training


Child, Early and Forced Marriage Project

Through the Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) project

funded by the Government of Canada through the Global Affairs

Canada (GAC) office, 2,402 girls have now completed life skills

courses while 1,880 girls have completed vocational skills courses.

The section that follows provides the highlight of activities by

country.

“This is very good initiative by

COL for those who are facing

Child Marriage Issues in the

community. When we delivered

lectures on Life Skills Basic

Education, [the girls] became

very confident to fight against

their problems. Their confidence

level is so high and they were

committed to do so for their

families.”

-SPARC Community Mobiliser

Awareness Rally at Alinagar Unit, CMES

Drama performance on CEFM in Damkura Unit, CMES

Local Support Group Meeting on HIV/AIDS, Damkura Unit, CMES


Bangladesh

For the first phase of the project, the Centre for

Mass Education in Science (CMES) has

strengthened its activities in the five units and

trained over 800 women and girls in life skills

and vocational trades such as vermi-composting,

fashion garments and computer skills.

Extensive community engagement work took

place during the last three months with over 57

community awareness events involving over 2,300

community members (i.e. local government,

community leaders, parents). The activities included

Charol Dol marches (Adolescents Travelling Troup)

and sessions on child and human rights,

reproductive health, CEFM, dowry, repression,

disease prevention, eve teasing and HIV/AIDS.

Local Support Groups were established in each unit

that bring together community volunteers to help

ensure the success of the project activities.

Job fairs were also held after 30 Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) agreements with local

enterprises were signed to link girls with apprenticeships and jobs. To ensure the success of this project

component, employers’ and job counselling committees have been established in each of the five units. As a

result, 233 girls are now in wage employment and another 298 are self-employed, some are through micro-

credit loans.

“We have received a huge response from the

community about the project that the

community people urged to extend the

duration of project in each unit.”

- CMES Project Manager

Girls attending an awareness session in

Elaipur


Mozambique

Since the contracts for Ajuda de

Desenvolvimento de Povo para

Povo (ADPP) and Associação

Progresso were signed in June and

July, respectively, the activities in

this reporting period focused on

establishing an enabling

environment for the project for the

next three years.

ADPP undertook staff and

community facilitator recruitment

and training, establishing

partnerships and equipping safe

learning environments and learner

support centres. An MOU was

signed with the Ministry of Health

to enable the development of training materials on sexual and reproductive health courses and with the

Ministry of Labour to allow the use of mobile training facilities for the project and to link women and girls to

internships and work placements. Community advocacy was undertaken which resulted in agreements being

concluded with key community leaders to provide training to the girls in their respective communities.

To launch the project to the community, as pictured above, ADPP leveraged on the International Day of the

Girl Child celebrations on 11th October 2016 where over 400 community members (i.e. district

administrators, prosecutors, community leaders and media representatives) were reached.

Meanwhile, Progresso undertook regional and community consultations, staff training on gender issues and

mainstreaming, and also successfully provided upgrading classes to 220 girls for grade 10 level, which allowed

the girls to be accepted into school in their districts.

ADPP Project Launch


Pakistan

The joint efforts of the Society for the

Protection of the Rights of the Child

(SPARC) and Bedari resulted in the training

of over 1,000 girls in life skills training across

nine new areas in Muzaffargarh.

Bedari worked to build the foundation in

communities by hosting sessions with

opinion makers, men and boys, parents and

community leaders on CEFM and girls’

education through 32 events across 16

communities. 11 theatre performances were

also held – one is pictured to the right. It is

estimated that 1,600 people were directly

reached and nearly 4,800 were indirectly

influenced.

The Tale of Two Marriages was launched by COL’s President and CEO, Professor Kanwar on November 25,

2016 as part of the activities to observe the

International day for Elimination of

Violence against Women. This

documentary compares the lives of two

girls – one girl was married and didn’t

attend school and the other girl attended

school.

Meanwhile, 1,031 girls completed life

skills training and 911 girls completed

vocational skills training through

SPARC’s CEFM project. This reporting

period also focused on orientation

training on technology, smart phones

and social media to staff and to women

and girls. As a result, 100 girls are

exploring social media for online buying

and selling of their products which they learned how to produce as a result of the vocational training. More

demand is seen by SPARC staff among the girls, where they want to acquire mobile phones and computers as

an investment as soon as they have received earnings.

SPARC also hosted five information sharing events on financial aid and employment linkages resulting in 75

internships established for women and girls, and another 80 girls have applied for employment.

“More than 120 community members saw the Tale

of Two Marriages documentary in five different

sessions. One of the families changed their mind

about marrying their 14 year old daughter.”

-Project Manager, Bedari

“Mothers of girls were invited to the sessions so they

can observe what is going on. Mothers were happy

that their daughters are getting knowledge about the

sensitive topics of sexual harassment and their rights.

Bedari arranged sessions in community members’

homes, so girls can easily come to sessions.”

-Project Manager, Bedari

Theatre performance by Bedari in Basti Arynwala


Tanzania

In this reporting period, the focus was on building capacity and resources across the three partner

organisations – IAE, KIWOHEDE and SIDO.

Gender equality policy development workshops and consultation were held which resulted in the

development of gender equality policies for IAE and KIWOHEDE.

The teams also conducted workshops on developing multimedia materials and community sensitisation

materials. Since then, script writing, audio and video recording are underway. To develop effective

community awareness raising materials, KIWOHEDE conducted workshops and involved women and

children to grasp the messaging that would resonate with community members.

Pictured below is the community awareness raising event held by KIWOHEDE to commemorate the

International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October.

KIWOHEDE Community Awareness Raising Event on International Day of the Girl Child


Progress on Project Implementation

Overall Summary of Targets Achieved

The following provides the cumulative and the July – September progress against the three Intermediate

Outcomes of the Performance Measurement Framework (PMF).

Intermediate Outcome 1100:

INCREASED ACCESS TO SAFE, QUALITY GENDER SENSITIVE OPEN, DISTANCE AND

TECHNOLOGY-BASED LEARNING (ODL) OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN IN

RURAL AREAS

Immediate

Outcome

1100: Improved

institutional capacity

to design and

delivery quality

gender sensitive skills

oriented learning

programs for girls

and women

1120: Increased technical skills to leverage ODL which address the barriers girls

and women experience, among local partners

Indicators/T

argets

11 institutions in 5

countries adopted

new models to

deliver gender

sensitive skills

oriented training

500 faculty and community based resource persons trained and have the capacity

to develop gender sensitive learning resources for ODL and technology mediated

learning as evidenced by the learning resources

IM Targets

Achieved to

Date

In progress In progress

Outputs 1111: Training to

develop relevant and

appropriate policies

to provide gender

sensitive education

and training of staff

of partners

1121: Capacity building in

the use and integration of

technology to staff

members of partners

1122: Capacity building

in the development of

gender sensitive

materials for staff of

partners

1123: Various networking

on CEFM skills and

gender issues with various

other development

agencies and partners


Indicators/T

argets

10 gender policies

developed

250 staff members

trained in the use and

integration of technology

250 staff members

trained to develop 30

gender-sensitive

courses/learning

materials

5 exchanges with other

development agencies;

3 social platforms

established;

3 attendances to

international events such

as conferences by

advocates of CEFM

Outputs

Achieved

(Cumulative)

6 gender policies 164 staff members

trained

76 staff members

trained

21 online platforms

established

4 exchanges with

development agencies

3 international events

attended

Outputs

Achieved (Oct

– Dec)

2 gender equality

policies

62 staff members trained 8 staff members trained 1 online platform

established

2 international events

attended

1 exchange with

development agency

Outputs

Achieved (Jul

– Sep)

N/A 7 staff trained 18 staff trained 9 online platforms

established

Up to June

2016

4 gender policies 95 staff members trained 50 staff members

trained

5 online platforms

established and 6 new

platforms established by

partners

COL team M&E FP sessions were

held where 3 new team

members were trained

GIRLS Inspire Meeting

was held in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia.


13 GIRLS Inspire partners

attended the PCF 8

Conference

WhatsApp group

established in

Mozambique

Bangladesh

RtU (SSS)

Staff training on project

design and monitoring &

evaluation

Pakistan

(CEFM and

RtU) SPARC

40 new staff members

participated in training on

ODL, Impact Monitoring

and e-Commerce

Pakistan

(CEFM and

RtU) (Bedari

& SPARC)

Led by SPARC, Gender

Studies professors from

Universities attended a

seminar on the importance

of gender mainstreaming,

educating girls and boys

without discrimination,

volunteer community

work for inclusion in

university curriculum. A

video presentation from

COL Senior Advisor was

featured.

Mozambique

(ADPP)

WhatsApp group created

and used between staff

and community facilitators

Tanzania

CEFM (IAE )

Gender policy

developed

A workshop on

Educational Media

Content Development

where 19 staff members

were trained

A workshop on

developing community

sensitization materials

was conducted for 28

staff – 8 staff members

were new to COL’s

institutional training.

Tanzania

CEFM

(KIWOHEDE

)

Gender policy

developed



INCREASED EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION IN QUALITY ODL BY DISADVANTAGED WOMEN

AND GIRLS IN RURAL AREAS OF SELECTED COUNTRIES AND REDUCED INCIDENCE OF

CEFM

Immediate

Outcome

1210 Increased Awareness of benefits of girls education and the use of open, distance and

technology based learning among parents and community leaders, as well as increased awareness

of negative consequences on development

Indicators/Targets Increased community support for girls’ education as evidenced by 10,000 women and girls’

participation in schooling and skills training

IM Targets

Achieved to Date

In progress

Outputs 1211: Awareness raising on the

benefits of education and training

using ODL conducted with the

whole community (parents and

community leaders and girls &

women)

1212: Establish safe learning

environment for teaching and

learning of the women and

girls

1213: Agreements

concluded on support to

the women and girls

between the community

and the project teams in

countries

Indicators/Targets 8 awareness raising meetings

conducted per community; 80

workshops, 40 radio programs, 40

DVDs and 40 theatre performances

as awareness building activities on

the benefits of education for women

and girls

1 safe learning environment

established per community (75

safe learning environments in

total)

1 agreement concluded

per community for

supporting girls

Outputs Achieved

(Cumulative)

220 community awareness raising

events were held including 175

meetings, 20 workshops, 14 DVD

and Radio programs, and 11

theatre performances. These were

held across 86 communities

reaching at least 13,000

community members

205 safe learning

environments established

205 agreements

concluded

Outputs Achieved (Oct – Dec)

At least 144 community awareness raising events were held which includes 15 workshops, 14 DVD and radio programs and 11 theatre performances

138 safe learning environments

(See safe learning environment count to the right)


Outputs Achieved (Jul – Sep)

25 community awareness raising events were held with parents, boys & men and community leaders, which includes 5 workshops

26 safe learning environments In progress

Outputs Achieved up to June 2016

Over 51 community awareness raising events were held across 33 communities in 3 countries

8 safe learning environments have been established in India and Pakistan and 34 boat schools are in operation to host girls’ training in Bangladesh

In progress

Bangladesh

CEFM (CMES)

57 community events were held in

five active regions where at least

2,386 community members were

reached. These events include 15

workshops on child & human rights,

HIV/AIDS, CEFM job counselling,

enterprise and employment and also

includes meetings and rallies with

Advanced Adolescent Young

Women Organization, Local Support

Groups and finally the Charol Dol

(Adolescents Travelling Troup)

Performance on CEFM, Dowry,

Repression and Eve Teasing.

Bangladesh RtU (SSS)

Evening boat shows reached 7,900 community members, and 64% were women and girls. In addition, 15 stakeholders meetings with 336 union council members, community leaders and potential employers were arranged.

27 new villages within Pabna reached

India RtU (Mann

Deshi)

5 community awareness raising

events were held by Mann Deshi in 5

different communities reaching at

least 130 community members on

topics such as educating community

members about the negative impact

of child marriage on the health of

young girls and promoting girls’

education, gender equality and health

and hygiene. 14 radio programs were

initiated covering topics such as

personal health, girls’ education,

HIV/AIDs, diet for pregnant

86 new villages reached within

Satara districts and mobile

business schools (Lonand,

Satara, Mhaswad, Vaduj,

Dahiwadi)


women, maternal safety, children’s

diet, importance of exercise, etc.

Pakistan RtU

(SPARC)

2 awareness session events were

conducted in Multan reaching 50

community members

16 new areas within Multan,

Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Sindh,

Hyderabad including the

SPARC HQ in Islamabad

Pakistan CEFM

(SPARC)

30 community awareness events were

conducted in 9 communities reaching

at least 1,600 community members

directly, and 4,800 members

indirectly. The events varied from

community awareness meetings,

parents meetings and stakeholders

meetings.

6 areas (including 2 vocational

centres) within Bhutttapur,

Jatoi, Shehr Sultan and Taleri

Pakistan CEFM (Bedari)

32 community events in 16 communities reaching at least 766 community members were conducted. The events varied from sessions with opinion makers, sessions with boys and men, sessions with parents and also includes 11 theatre performances.

3 new villages within Bhuttapur reached

Tanzania (IAE, KIWOHEDE, SIDO)

3 community events were held in Rukwa, Dodoma, Lindi and Dar es Salaam reaching at least 30 community members focusing on information sharing and dialogue, radio broadcasting on the introduction and the need/importance for the CEFM project.



ENHANCED ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP AND FAMILY DECISION MAKING, INCLUDING

FAMILY PLANNING, FOR DISADVANTAGED WOMEN AND GIRLS IN RURAL AREAS OF

SELECTED COUNTRIES

Immediate

Outcomes

1310: Increased

knowledge among

girls about their

health, social

rights and

consequences of

CEFM

1320: Increased skills among women 1330: Increased awareness of

and aspirations for employment

opportunities among women

and girls

Indicators/Targets 45,000 girls and

women

successfully

complete the life

skills course

35,000 women and girls successfully

complete skills courses

11,250 women and girls apply

for employment

IM Targets Achieved (Cumulative)

14,758 girls and women successfully complete life skills training

14,236 girls and women successfully complete vocational skills training

2,066 girls applied for employment 1,281 girls successfully acquired employment 697 girls self-employed (some through microloans) 476 girls joined internships At least 100 girls using social media and exploring online buying/selling 334 girls and women from 55 villages opened their own savings accounts (and a further 257 more girls applied) and 100 girls from 21 villages opened their own fixed-deposit accounts (and a further 53 more girls applied

IM Targets Achieved (Oct – Dec)

11,626 women and girls successfully completed life skills training (not including 3,030

11,162 women and girls successfully completed vocational skills training (not including 3,030 girls currently completing)

2,054 girls applied for employment 1,275 girls successfully acquired employment


girls currently completing)

697 girls self-employed (some through microloans) 476 girls joined internships At least 100 girls using social media and exploring online buying/selling 334 girls and women from 55 villages opened their own savings accounts (with and a further 257 more girls applied) and 100 girls from 21 villages opened their own fixed-deposit accounts (with and a further 53 more girls applied

IM Targets Achieved (July – Sep)

1,933 women and girls (and 190 additional girls commenced life skills training)

2,102 women and girls (and 1,268 additional girls commenced vocational training)

IM Targets

Achieved up to June

2016

1,199 women and

girls

972 women and girls 12 girls apply for employment

(6 were successful)

Outputs 1311: Courses

developed and

tested in life skills,

financial literacy

and

entrepreneurship

for offering to the

girls

1321:

Locally

relevant

technical

skills

courses

developed

and tested

by partners

1322:

Technical

skills courses

validated by

local market

1323:

Internships

for skills

courses

established

for women

and girls

1331:

Information

on

employment

opportunities

and financial

support for

entrepreneurs

shared with

women and

girls

1332:

Employment

awareness and

placement

camps

conducted for

women and

girls

Indicators/Targets 15 life skills,

financial literacy

and

entrepreneurship

courses developed

(3 per country)

15 TVE

courses of

locally

relevant

technical

skills

developed

and tested

(3 per

country)

15 skills

courses

validated by

the labour

market

8,000

internships

established

10 information

sharing

meetings

conducted

12

employment

awareness and

placement

camps

arranged

11,250

women and


girls apply for

employment

Outputs Achieved

(Cumulative)

39 life skills

courses

developed

26

vocational

skills

courses

developed

26

vocational

skills

courses

validated

491

internships

established

67

information

sharing

events on

employment

opportunities,

market

linkages and

financial aid

held across

Pakistan,

India and

Bangladesh

2,066 girls applied for employment

Outputs Achieved (Oct-Dec)

33 life skills courses developed

18 vocational skills courses developed

18 vocational skills courses validated

476 internships established

61 information sharing events

2,054 girls applied for employment

Outputs Achieved (Jul – Sep)

5 developed 2 developed 2 developed

Outputs Achieved up to June 2016

1 developed 6 developed 6 developed 15 girls join internships

6 info sharing sessions held in Pakistan and a series of meetings held over 2 months in Bangladesh on job opportunities and financial support

At least 1,300 girls attended info sharing sessions on employment opportunities 12 girls applied for employment

Bangladesh RtU

(SSS)

1,976 girls

successfully

completed life

skills training

1,648 girls successfully

completed vocational

training on repairing mobile

phones, on poultry rearing

and on flood resistant

crops, carpentry and

various stitcheries

120

internships

established

12

employment

and financial

aid info

sharing events

held

800 girls are in

income

generating

opportunities

and another

379 girls who

accessed

microloans

for their own

business


Bangladesh CEFM

(CMES)

401 girls

successfully

completed life

skills training

3 courses were

developed on

Gender, Human

Rights and

Reproductive

health

148 girls successfully

completed computer skills

training, garments skills and

vermicomposting

3 courses developed on

computer skills, vermi

compost and garments

training

5 job fairs

conducted

531 girls

applied for

employment,

which

includes 233

girls who are

now doing

wage

employment

and 298 girls

who are now

self employed,

some are

through

microcredits)

India RtU (Mann Deshi)

6,464 girls received life skills training 2 modules developed for legal provision awareness and gender equality 24 radio programme segments have been developed on health and hygiene and financial literacy. Topics include Save Girls, personal health HIV/AIDS testing, diet for pregnant women, defect of eyesight and basic nutrition, AIDS and women, maternal safety, mouth and teeth care, breast cancer, children's diet, importance of exercise, common fever, flu and home

6,708 girls received training on goat rearing, beautician, tailoring and candle making 8 course modules developed on tailoring, beautician training, goat rearing and insemination, fashion designing, microne show piece, bull/goat suit nylong jewellry, candle making


23 info sharing events held on financial aid and employment awareness

225 girls have sought and successfully gained income generating opportunities


remedies, cough and cold, saving joint liability group, loan financial management, repayment of loan, etc.

Pakistan RtU

(SPARC)

1,706 girls

received life skills

training

4 modules

developed for

psycho-social

sessions, social

protection, life

saving and street

danger and

financial literacy

1,747 girls received training

on various trades such as

dress making, tailoring and

stitching, embroidery,

candle making, and

beautician

7 courses developed on

candle making, fabric paint,

sewing and cutting,

audoCAD (computer aided

design), cooking, basic tie &

dye and Ikebana making

56

internships

established

16 info sharing

events held on

financial aid

and

employment

awareness

39 girls have

applied for

employment –

17 were

successful

334 girls and

women from

55 villages

opened their

own savings

accounts (with

and a further

257 more girls

applied) and

100 girls from

21 villages

opened their

own fixed-

deposit

accounts (with

and a further

53 more girls

applied

Pakistan CEFM (SPARC)

1,031 girls received life skills training

911 girls received training on stitching, tailoring and beautician courses


5 info sharing events held on financial aid and employment awareness

80 girls have applied for employment At least 100 girls are using social media to explore training, employment and business promotion – 40 females are trained to use Social Media


to explore training and employment business promotion opportunities

Pakistan CEFM (Bedari)

48 girls received skills training through self-growth sessions


Lessons Learned

As we reflect on the past three months, we would like to focus on what we valued most and use it as lessons

learned as we continue to make a difference in the various organisations, communities and women and girls’

lives.

The value of having the data to show the evidence

For the GIRLS Inspire team to illustrate the outcome statement “improved sustainable livelihoods

for disadvantaged women and girls in priority communities in selected countries” we have to have

solid data. I am pleased with the progress partners have made in submitting the data, and while there

are still outstanding data, the progress from partners have been outstanding. This data will assist us to

follow the thread of specific girls, staff members and community members from when they started

the project to where they finished and beyond.

The value of ownership

It is important for partners to understand the value of the project, and its different sections/layers,

for the organisation, the girls and the community and to get their full buy-in so that they can take

ownership. When the ownership is with them, it also makes it easier for them to sustain it afterwards

and or to source funding to scale up.

The value of the community of practice

Over the past nine months we had to build the capacity of partners in various issues as well as

sharing information, motivate and support them. GIRLS Inspire created a community of practice

using various platforms and technology for members to share information and problems collectively

shared by all members. During regular meetings members are requested to share their own

experiences and ask questions about issues which concerns them in a protected environment, while

COL introduces new items where everybody is on the same level, irrespective of their position and

culture. This created excitement and enthusiasm and motivated the individuals to go higher and to do

better. The CoP greatly enhanced the capacity of individuals and organisations and it is definitely

value for money.


Next Steps

Monitoring & Evaluation

We are in the final phase of the RtU project and monitoring is underway. The planning for the

evaluation workshop for the RtU partners is underway and we envisage for it to take place in May

2016.

DFAT Australia Project Conclusion

Since the project did not start in January 2015 in the various countries, consideration is given to

request an extension from DFAT Australia for April 30, 2016.

Submission to GEC DFID

The DFID Girls Education Challenge (GEC) Fund provides funding to projects that help overcome

obstacles to girls enrolling in school, staying in school and learning. A new window of funding

opened late November and concept notes could be submitted until December 20th, and was later

extended to December 27th. GIRLS Inspire submitted a concept note on the DFID template for the

value of 10 million GBP for 20,000 girls in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. We will know by

February 2017 if we are going to the next round of writing full proposals.

girls inspire steering committee progress report...

Documents