Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Mama Amka
Women in the Development of
Birambizo
(Mama Amka means Mothers, let’s stand up!)
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Global Objective
To contribute to Congo’s Human Development
by reinforcing local capacity to respond to
and prevent GBV within the framework of
DRC’s Global Strategy to Reduce SGBV.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Intermediate objective
To sustainably reduce vulnerability to GBV and
strengthen community capacities to assist the
socio-economic reinsertion of Most at Risk
Groups (MARG) in 10 health areas in the
Birambizo HZ.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Output #1
Community members and institutions gain
knowledge on GBV, HIV/AIDS, family
planning and tools on how to respond to and
prevent it, thus increasing the well-being and
safety of MARG.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Enhancing the medical referral system
Through coordination and training, CARE assists in widening
and strengthening the medical referral system for survivors of
sexual violence. The system uses psychosocial counselors,
community relays and key community members to link
survivors to local health centers, supported by either MERLIN
or MSF. Mobilization and campaigning work is used to boost
community knowledge on issues surrounding sexual violence
(including gender equality) and services available for
survivors.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Output #2
The vulnerability of MARG to GBV is reduced
through their economic empowerment.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Income generation activities
CARE provides a start-up kit and in-depth training for 40 ‘socioeconomic’ groups. Members encompass a mixture of
community members who include men, heads of households
mainly comprised of women and sexual violence survivors.
Training subjects range from animal rearing to literacy. Groups
select and manage their own income generation activities
using the kit largely comprised of in-kind resources CARE
tailors to their chosen activities.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Output #3
Long-term group psychosocial support is
available and accessible to survivors of GBV,
creating a protective environment and
facilitating social reinsertion.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Long-term, psychosocial support
A psychosocial counselor is identified and trained with CARE’s
support at each of the 10 health centers. They provide
individual counseling to survivors as well as mediation for
families and the larger community. CARE further trains
community relays in techniques to facilitate a confidentially
managed socio-economic reintegration process for survivors
and other acutely vulnerable community members.
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Most Significant Change Observed to Date
• Active participation of women in community
affairs – they have a voice!
• Women learn to save, rather than passively
waiting for external financial support
• Women are accepted by their community – but
still need to promote women’s right
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Program Challenges
• Insecurity in some area
• Customs and values
• One year project – hard to measure changes in
behavior
• Limited funding – can’t cover all the needs
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Funder and Evaluation Challenges
• Funder:
• Limited resources/unlimited needs: working in a
limited area (to increase impact) when there are
needs in many other areas
Peacebuilding Evaluation Project:
Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP)
Funder and evaluation challenges
• Evaluation:
• Hard to evaluate long-term behavior/attitude
changes – one year project
• Staff capacity to understand/explain observed
changes
• Quantitatives vs. qualitatives indicators