Responses to Poverty 2007
The Annual Program Review of World Vision Australia Contents
Contents
Foreword 2 Tim Costello Responses to Poverty – An introduction 3 Paul Ronalds Global Snap-shot: World Vision Australia’s Program 6
Section 1: Reflections on program effectiveness 9 The Machinga HIV & AIDS Project 2003 - 2006 10 Community coalitions for combating HIV and AIDS in Malawi Dr Paul Woods Food in crisis 15 Evaluating the effectiveness of food aid operations in Southern Africa Junus David / Viv Mancusi Refocusing the sponsorship model – Pilahuin and Lamay 20 Reflections on effectiveness from Peru and Ecuador Belinda Pratten / Janet Cruz Granada / Jenny Torres / Brett Pierce Defining success – Begasin Bugati 27 Understanding ‘effective’ development in Papua New Guinea Jonathan Treagust / David Sweeting
Section 2: Sectoral or multi-country interventions 32 Child friendly responses 33 Child rights and child protection issues following the Pakistan Earthquake Claire Beck Reconstructing responses 41 The trials and tribulations of World Vision’s tsunami shelter program Joyati Das Children of Romania 46 Reflecting on 15 years of child protection work in Romania Valentin Sabau / Maria Muzur / Corina Popescu / Roxana Trupina Fair Trade, the Brazilian experience 50 Making markets work for small producers as a pathway out of poverty Roni Oracion Closing the cycle to human trafficking 54 World Vision’s law enforcement collaborations in the Mekong sub-region Susu Thatun Section 3: Reviewing new approaches to our work 58 Why campaign? 59 World Vision’s experience of Make Poverty History in Australia Andrew Hassett / Aneuja Gopalakrishnan / Sue Cant Greening West Africa 65 The West Africa Natural Resource Management Project 2005 – 2007 Tony Rinaudo / Josue Sogoba People power Grassroots demand for good governance in Uganda, Brazil and India 70 Keren Winterford Governance the Wetenngerr way 75 Wetenngerr Leadership and Governance Project 2005-2008 Gabrielle Halcrow / Dr Stuart Phillpot Growing Strong 80 Encouraging ownership of Early Childhood Care and Development in Vietnam Phearak Svay / Leigh Mitchell Health sector development in Aceh 85 Post-tsunami partnerships in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Louise Searle Contributor’s biographies 91 Credits 96
Responses to Poverty 2007 1 Foreword
Foreword
For many years World Vision has excelled at highlighting success stories from the field to demonstrate change. But more recently we have started to embrace the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how our programs work. And whether the solutions we support or implement to address poverty are delivering the best results for children and communities. This publication, Responses To Poverty, our inaugural Annual Program Review, highlights the breadth and diversity of World Vision Australia’s programming through 15 case studies. As you read through these studies, you will be both confronted and enlightened by the complexity and array of issues that unfold in our programs day-in, day-out. But you will also discover recurring themes and shared observations about simple truths. Truths that tell us that real transformation involves stumbling, taking unexpected detours; that it requires imagination and generous thinking; that it involves listening, dialogue and debate; that it demands the constant testing, measuring and adjustment of theories and practice. My hope is that this publication will serve as a window through which our work can be better understood. That it will enable you, the reader, to reflect and respond in light of your own knowledge and experiences. And while there is much here to celebrate in terms of positive outcomes and project milestones, there is also much to learn, particularly from the frustrations, the failures and the things that didn’t go to plan. If we are really serious about transformational outcomes, not just for the communities with whom we work, but for our supporters and friends as well, we need to keep asking questions and challenging assumptions about poverty at the very deepest level. At World Vision, we believe that by pausing and taking a good, hard look at our work in the field, at the very least we can acknowledge the approaches and attitudes we need to discard. At the very best, we can identify conditions for innovation and unearth significant new understandings and opportunities. I am confident that this Annual Program Review will make an important contribution to our ongoing process of discovery.
Tim Costello Chief Executive Officer World Vision Australia
2 Responses to Poverty 2007 Responses to Poverty An introduction
In 2005, at the Make Poverty History rally countries or in the hearts and minds of in London, Nelson Mandela roused the people in the most developed countries, crowd with this statement: is not easy. From a policy perspective, it requires a complex mixture of “Like slavery and apartheid, economics, social insights and politics. poverty is not natural. It is man- From a practical perspective, it requires made and it can be overcome sophisticated development professionals and eradicated by the actions of from many disciplines working with human beings.” empowered people who are all committed Many people in the World Vision Australia to the long, hard transformation journey. office include this quote as an email tag. It The need for non government gets replicated and reinforced thousands of organisations (NGOs) to support and times a day as emails fly around the world. implement innovative programs with It’s a powerful statement. It reminds us that integrity is not new. What is new is a while extreme wealth and extreme poverty growing urgency for them to demonstrate are entrenched in the world as we know it, their effectiveness in more tangible ways. it doesn’t have to be this way. Like African Advances in communication technology slavery, like colonialism, like civil rights in mean that ordinary Australians come America and apartheid in South Africa, we face to face with extreme poverty in their can do something about it. living rooms, if not on their computer However, our good intentions will not screens, often in real time. Thus, both be enough. Effecting change, either awareness and understanding of the in communities in the least developed disparity in wealth between nations and
Responses to Poverty 2007 3 Introduction
the vulnerability of those living in extreme investment. Furthermore, they expect poverty has never been more immediate that this effectiveness, professionalism, than it is today. accountability and return on investment can be demonstrated. In the recent Island Nation or Global Citizen 2007 Report, World Vision World Vision embraces these rising identified that more Australians than ever expectations. Through a range of now believe they have a responsibility publications, systems and tools that are to do what they can to alleviate poverty. currently being developed by World Combined with strong growth in Vision’s Policy and Programs Group, we national, corporate and individual wealth, are working to improve the effectiveness Australians are increasingly able and and quality of all our programs. We believe willing to offer assistance to the poor, that part of the process of improving especially in the Asia Pacific region. program effectiveness is to acknowledge, reflect upon and learn from our mistakes. World Vision and other NGOs are It is all part of the same continuum. recognised as having unique practical knowledge, active on-the-ground In the spirit of improving our effectiveness, relationships, economies of scale and World Vision has decided to pull back the global networks. It is the NGO sector ‘orange curtain’ and provide an honest that most Australians turn to when states insight into the complex realities of our of emergency are announced. The public programming and advocacy activities. expects that we will play a critical role in While it is never easy to admit your facilitating this growing interest in, and approaches or solutions aren’t delivering commitment to, the alleviation of poverty. the best possible outcomes, to not do so significantly increases the risk of repeating However, this growth in desire to support mistakes. poverty alleviation initiatives is being accompanied by rising expectations. For this reason Responses to Poverty, our Supporters are expecting that the programs inaugural Annual Program Review, they invest in will be effective. They includes 15 case studies written by our expect that the agencies they entrust program staff across the various teams. with their resources will be professional, They are not ‘best practice’ examples of accountable and will endeavour to World Vision work – rather they are a provide the best possible return on mix of the good, and the not so great. But what they have in common is that they demonstrate experiences, learnings and insights that we feel are unique, useful and important to share. They are also presented in a way we hope others, who are as concerned with extreme poverty as we are, will find constructive and helpful. Our hope is that by sharing this information we might encourage our colleagues, both within World Vision and the humanitarian and development sector more broadly, to find more, more effective and more sustainable solutions to poverty alleviation. As you’ll see when you start reading, very little in the development sector is clear cut, or straight forward. For this reason it has
4 Responses to Poverty 2007 been difficult to categorise or streamline 3. Reviewing new approaches the presentation of our results or learnings. to our work But for the purposes of providing a general As you would expect, World Vision is overview, it seems that the case studies constantly seeking new approaches to our have fallen into three rough, but clearly work. Health sector development in Aceh overlapping categories. These are: reflects on the use of a ‘facility’ mechanism to increase our responsiveness to community health needs. People power and 1. Reflections on program Governance the Wetenngerr way both review effectiveness different ways that communities can take These case studies consider the quality, more control over government-provided impact and effectiveness of programs based services. People power considers the on comprehensive evaluations. Refocusing strengths and weaknesses of Community the sponsorship model – Pilahuin and Based Performance Monitoring (CBPM) – Lamay, Food in crisis and The Machinga a demand-side good governance tool World HIV and AIDS Project are examples of Vision Australia has been ‘road testing’ in these. And though the program outcomes Uganda, Brazil and India. Governance the bear very little resemblance to those Wetenngerr way examines a similar issue in intended in the beginning, Defining success Indigenous communities here in Australia. – Begasin Bugati provides an insight into Growing strong is a case study that explores both development challenges, and the how investing in a community’s capacity realities of working in Papua New Guinea. to direct its own future can be a powerful force. The Greening West Africa case study outlines some of the challenges associated 2. Sectoral or multi-country with introducing a new development interventions approach to natural resource management As a child-focused agency, protection in five West African countries. Finally, and child rights are critical issues for the Why campaign? case study reflects on World Vision. Closing the cycle to human World Vision’s experience of the Make trafficking and Child friendly responses Poverty History campaign since it began focus on the links between human rights, in Australia in 2005. It chronicles how, child rights in particular, and protection by working together, ordinary people can issues in quite complex, potentially volatile accomplish extraordinary outcomes. situations. The Children of Romania case There is much to celebrate in the following study outlines a program’s evolution based case studies. However, as the case studies on 15 years of work with abandoned also demonstrate, there are many lessons children in post-communist Romania. for us to learn and incorporate into future Reconstructing responses gives an intimate, planning and program design. I commend insider’s view on the program realities of them to you. constructing houses post-tsunami. Finally, Fair trade, the Brazilian experience – while not quite a rags-to-riches tale from Brazil Paul Ronalds – provides some key learnings on market Director, Policy & Programs access initiatives for poor South American World Vision Australia producers.
Responses to Poverty 2007 5 Global Snap-shot
Funding for projects – by funding stream (Financial Year ending 2006)
Funding stream ('000) Total funds No of (‘000) projects Sponsorship 126,580 260 Government 9,659 158 AusAID 2,793 ANCP 6,559 Other 307 Other private funding 79,586 260 Tsunami 49,083 Emergency appeals 6,462 Bounceback 5,802 Multiplying Gift Appeal 3,798 40 Hour famine 2,036 Major donors 3,176 Corporates 1,854 Pledge programs 1,637 Harvest Pack 1,296 Catalogue 691 Other 3,751 Other institutional funding 13,301 Multilateral cash 9,163 Relief - bilaterals 2,483 Gifts in Kind 1,506 Development - bilaterals 149 Total 229,126 678
Funding by region (Financial Year ending 2006)
Region Funds disbursed (‘000) Africa 113 ,127 Asia 97,666 Latin America/ Caribbean 24,173 Middle East/ Eastern Europe 65,088 Overseas sub-total 300,055 Australia 895 Total 300,950
6 Responses to Poverty 2007 Responses to Poverty 2007 7 Global Snap-shot
8 Responses to Poverty 2007
Section 1 Reflections on program effectivness
Responses to Poverty 2007 9 Section 1
The Machinga HIV & AIDS Project 2003–2006
Community coalitions for combating HIV and AIDS in Malawi
Dr Paul Woods But ironically, it was at evaluation stage that the real In 2003, World Vision Australia nature of the challenge became launched a new project in the apparent. That is, underlying Machinga District of southern cultural practices or beliefs that Malawi to address rapidly influence sexual behaviour in rising rates of HIV infection. the first place can be difficult to This project used an extremely identify or address in the cost-effective, advocacy-based short term. approach, and was on many levels enormously successful. The Machinga District has an HIV It promoted voluntary testing, prevalence rate of 16.4 percent, compared helped reduce stigma towards to the Malawi national rate of 14.4 percent. people living with HIV and AIDS, The district is thought to have a higher and it resulted in remarkably than average HIV prevalence rate because positive behavioural changes of the ready movement of people along the among religious and other nearby Nacala Rail Corridor, a transport opinion leaders and within the Volunteer HIV testing, route from Malawi to the seaport of Nacala Machinga area. district more broadly. in Mozambique. In terms of healthcare, Machinga District is served by a district hospital and three health centres offering primary healthcare. Hospital staff estimate that 70 percent of inpatients at the district hospital have AIDS-related illnesses. The district hospital started providing free access to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in 2005, but communities who live up to 70 kilometres from the district hospital have difficulty accessing the vital drugs.
Project approach At the time the project was designed, people with AIDS were generally referred to as chronically ill. Due to high social stigma, the community was unable or unwilling to accept the concept of people living with HIV and AIDS. Exacerbating the problem was the lack of access to voluntary testing, so people were also unable to confirm their status.
10 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case Study It is generally agreed that knowing one’s Institutional strengthening – strengthening own HIV status through HIV testing, community-based committees and Southern followed by counselling and support, organisations, strengthening government Africa is a critical influencer in supporting health services and supporting home- behavioural change and reducing the based care committees. likelihood of the virus being passed on. MALAWI Multiple concurrent sexual relationships Outcomes 2003 – 2006 by men and women with low condom A major strength in the project’s approach use is one of the key drivers of the was the use of advocacy and networking HIV epidemic in southern Africa and between community, community-based sexual intercourse is responsible for 85 organisations, World Vision Malawi and percent of HIV infections in Malawi. district level government agencies. Through However, lessons learned from previous these networks, outcomes were achieved that HIV and AIDS projects suggested went far beyond what could be achieved Snap-shot: that achieving significant personal and Machinga District using a direct service provision approach for voluntary behavioural change relies on of Malawi what had been, in truth, a reasonably modest a strong enabling environment, as well Machinga District has a population investment by World Vision. as good awareness. It also requires an of 366,000 people and it shares a border with Mozambique. The understanding of the role of cultural beliefs The Machinga District has a population Shire River, which is the only and norms that strongly influence sexual split of roughly 50/50 - Muslim/Christian. outlet of Lake Malawi, is the practice. As part of this project, both Muslim and district’s main river. Sixty percent of the community is involved in Christian leaders were invited to reflect Improving access to care and support is subsistence farming of crops like together on their stances towards HIV also seen as a way of breaking down social tobacco, rice, groundnuts, cassava, and the epidemic and then reflect on the maize, sorghum and millet, while exclusion and provides an incentive for values and behaviours expounded in their fishing in the lakes is an important people affected by HIV to seek assistance. source of income for some scriptures. Following this, both sets of Other activities, such as training youth in households. The literacy level in leaders requested, and were provided with, the district is estimated at 33.5 positive living, that build awareness and training on basic facts. They acknowledged percent for females and 43 percent self-determination to delay sexual debut that their stance on AIDS to date had been for males. The low socio-economic and boost knowledge of HIV prevention status of women and girls and misleading. measures, are also important. recurring food shortages makes them vulnerable to men who offer Today, religious leaders have a faith-based rewards in the form of money for The Machinga HIV and AIDS Project Caption: approach to the disease, have created their sexual favours. aimed to bring about sexual behaviour own manual, and are at the forefront of the change that would contribute to a HIV and AIDS response. Following the reduction in the spread of HIV and AIDS scripture reflections, they committed to and minimise its impact on individuals, joining the community in the fight against families and communities. The project had AIDS and agreed to work together in a three components, summarised below: multi-faith coalition to strengthen existing Advocacy and networking – working secular committees. They also provide with traditional leaders and opinion guidance to youth clubs and community leaders, nurturing partnerships between activities. district government and community The project’s initial support for organisations and ensuring more government came through using existing condoms were available; structures such as the District AIDS Community education – improving Coordinating Committees (DACC). understanding about the way the virus These were supported through sponsorship is transmitted, training health workers of joint meetings to discuss challenges, in HIV education campaigns and lessons learnt and gaps in HIV and AIDS enabling community leaders to visit other responses. Having supported the existing successful projects in other districts, and; structure, the project was well positioned
Responses to Poverty 2007 11 Section 1
Reflections on program to support a change in government Reflections and learnings effectiveness policy that revolved around community- 2003 – 2006 based organisations (CBOs) rather than Increased awareness and openness around committees. The project thus facilitated HIV and AIDS created strong demand the establishment of several CBOs, the for testing services, condoms, counselling, consequence of which was two-fold: knowledge of HIV treatment options, increased community participation and anti-retroviral treatments and information self-reliance; and increased access to about living positively with HIV. While treatment, care and support. clearly a successful exercise in community The project also cultivated a growing empowerment, the skyrocketing demand willingness by some HIV-positive created by the project was often in excess community members to disclose their of what the government was able to status and engage in increasingly open meet at the time and caused significant discussions on previously taboo subjects disillusionment within the community. such as sex and sexuality and cultural Although the proportion of the practices. This is an indicator of lessening community who had undertaken voluntary stigma around HIV in the community. testing went from less than 5 percent The actions of the group of people who before the project to 33 percent by project openly declared their HIV-positive status end, there was still unfulfilled demand greatly challenged public perceptions of for the service. A lesson learnt from this Above: Malawian AIDS patient. HIV-positive people. These people became project is that development agencies should Main image: HIV and AIDS role models for living positively with awareness gathering of Christian and anticipate and plan for potential increases HIV. This change was a revelation for the Muslim women. in demand that their projects might community as a whole and the project Polaroid: Community AIDS create, and build partnerships with service was able to assist this pioneering group to Coordinating Committee meeting, delivery organisations at an early stage to Machinga District. access ART at the district hospital. meet rising demands. Both existing formal and informal Achieving significant ‘buy-in’ for HIV structures were also bolstered by the and AIDS advocacy from traditional project. Seven CBOs received funding and religious leaders is necessary for from government bodies to provide behavioural change. This has been HIV care and support services to the particularly important in the area of community in an extremely cost effective HIV testing where the involvement of way. The strengthening of relationships community leaders and youth clubs in with the DACC members has, in turn, mobilising the community to undertake helped improve the delivery standards HIV tests has been immeasurable. of HIV-related services, such as HIV Chiefs and youth club leaders have testing, free condom supply and access to been persuaded to lead by example, treatment for people living with HIV. encouraging others to go for testing when The project’s impact has been felt both mobile testing clinics have come to their at Nayuchi community and Machinga area. This has not only encouraged others District level, and also nationally, through to attend testing but has also gone a the sharing of its impact stories through long way to underpin social support and national radio and Malawi National counselling approaches advocated by the Television. It was also identified as a model project. project by the National AIDS Commission Traditional leaders (village heads and (NAC) for its role in developing user- chiefs) are now actively involved in friendly community-based HIV and AIDS advocating for behavioural change to prevention structures. reduce the risk of HIV transmission in the community and devising community- based action plans. However, the reality is
12 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case Study Southern Africa
Snap-shot: HIV and AIDS in Africa HIV and AIDS is a profound human catastrophe that eclipses all previous known human epidemics. More than 20 million people around the that we are unlikely to see the impact of particular social and occupational groups world have died from AIDS and another 41 million are living with this through reduced new infection rates may have strong social norms specific to HIV. There is no prophylaxis and for a number of years. their own peer group. no cure for AIDS. With infection rates still rising, the world is facing On the other hand, the evaluation revealed a catastrophic increase in illness that some cultural practices which lie Moving forward and death that could undermine at the heart of HIV vulnerability are economic and social development The Machinga HIV and AIDS Project for years to come. deeply rooted. Through interviews and suggests that, in order to be effective, HIV can be transmitted through consultations it was clear that the level of projects should take a broad and long- unprotected sexual intercourse personal behavioural change one would with an infected partner, from term approach. Creating or promoting hope to see, especially in sexual practices, an infected mother to her baby an enabling environment for behavioural had been disappointing in light of the in utero, during birth, through change that involves education, addressing breast milk or from infected blood improved enabling environment put in stigma, and advocacy for prevention, care shared through a transfusion or place by the project. The research revealed intravenous drug use. However, and treatment is also crucial. It’s clear that incest, child rape, witchcraft-related inCaption: most parts of Africa the that governments need to, and often most prevalent source of new sexual exploitation, sex for favours, need assistance to, improve the quality of infections in the community is and mothers turning a blind eye to delivery of HIV-related services. In the through unprotected heterosexual their daughters’ sexual exploitation still intercourse. context of Malawi, the absence of a legal continue, and continue to be tolerated to a Therefore, a major focus for framework aimed at mitigating HIV and certain extent in the community. HIV-prevention strategies in AIDS and protecting girls and women countries like Malawi is to work Additionally, some key groups were from sexual exploitation needs to be with communities to bring down the risk of transmission of HIV hard to reach and the project did addressed with some urgency. through personal and voluntary not meaningfully engage with them. The Machinga HIV and AIDS Project sexual behavioural change. Changes Fishermen were one such group. Focus in sexual behaviour patterns also demonstrates that when esteem, groups with fishermen during the final known to have been effective confidence and ownership of the activities in halting the spread of HIV and evaluation were extremely insightful are developed within the community, AIDS in Africa include: increasing and clearly indicated a refusal by these the age of sexual debut, especially community-led approaches to HIV and men to acknowledge that they have any for girls; reducing the number AIDS activities can be extremely effective responsibility for HIV prevention. What of concurrent sexual partners; in reducing stigma, and increasing increasing the use of condoms; and this confirms is that sexual behaviour is proactive community management of minimising skin excisions during indeed strongly determined by cultural traditional initiation ceremonies HIV and AIDS prevention and support norms and beliefs which are not amenable and circumcision. services. to change in the short term; and that
Responses to Poverty 2007 13 Section 1
Reflections on program effectiveness
Program Details Expectations that HIV transmission Findings such as those described above Project partners: were presented to traditional leaders and World Vision Australia, World risk could be reduced through sexual Vision Malawi, various local behavioural change may have been community representatives at the end of NGOs, CBOs, health services and unrealistic in the timeframe, especially the evaluation process. Outcomes were government agencies. given that HIV transmission risk is a used to design Phase II of the project, Project start date: community-wide issue. Complacency and which started in July 2006. Hopefully, the July 2003 uncaring attitudes amongst some people words of one traditional leader in response Project end date: were identified through World Vision’s to the evaluation will ring true: “Our Phase II due for completion June evaluation as a major reason why some community is not there yet; but when you 2009 people don’t change sexual behaviour in come back you will find a difference in our Funding source: response to HIV and AIDS. Research is behaviour.” 75% AusAID NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) with match needed to understand the root cause of funding from despair and malicious sexual practices 15% Corporate and Major Donors aimed at the deliberate transmission of HIV. Legal and human rights frameworks 10% Innovative Quality Initiatives (Child Sponsorship) to protect people against deliberate or negligent HIV infection by others should Funds remitted from Australia by Financial Year (FY): also be strengthened. FY 2003 US$55,000 FY 2004 US$62,551 FY 2005 US$67,663 FY 2006 US$95,483 FY 2007 US$105,000 Total funds remitted from Australia to FY 2007: US$285,797
14 Responses to Poverty 2007 Food in crisis
Evaluating the effectiveness of food aid operations in southern Africa
Junus David, Viv Mancusi Nature of the response
In response to a state of In mid 2002, the national governments emergency in 2002, World of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Vision partnered with the Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho United Nations World Food all declared a state of emergency and Programme (WFP) to provide requested food assistance from the food aid assistance to people international community. In response to the crisis, the United Nations, through affected by food shortages in SOUTHERN Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, the WFP, launched a regional emergency AFRICA Mozambique, Lesotho and operation. The initial plan in July 2002 Swaziland. Food insecurity in was to provide 992,450 tonnes of food for these countries was caused by 10.3 million people at a cost to the WFP of many factors, including drought, US$507 million. high levels of poverty, political When formal assessments were conducted instability, poor governance and in 2004, significant improvements in poor economic and social policy. agricultural production in some countries Southern Africa experiences the were reported. However, they also noted highest levels of HIV and AIDS that critical household food shortages still in the world and the impact of existed. In response, the WFP launched this epidemic exacerbates food a protracted relief and recovery operation insecurity. It also sets this crisis offering more comprehensive programming Food aid beneficiaries, apart from previous states of support for households and individuals Mozambique. emergency since family heads and other traditional ‘bread winners’ are sick and often dying, making communities, households and children in particular even more vulnerable.
Recent evaluations of the food aid programs delivered by World Vision suggest nutritional levels amongst disaster-affected populations were maintained. This undoubtedly resulted in many lives being saved. However, the evaluations also revealed a number of key areas where approaches to food aid programming, both by World Vision and the WFP, could be significantly improved.
Responses to Poverty 2007 15 Section 1
Snap-shot: World Vision and the World Food Programme World Vision International (WVI) represents the global partnership of World Vision offices across almost 100 countries, of which World Vision Australia is a part. WVI is the World Food Programme’s largest International NGO collaborator as measured against a range of indicators, whichinclude: WVI collaborates with the WFP in 29 different countries, in contrast the Catholic Relief Services, which works with WFP in 22 countries. WVI handles almost 300,000 tons of food compared with CARE International’s 250,000 experiencing ongoing food insecurity due “Before receiving food, people were dying of tons. to extreme poverty and HIV and AIDS. AIDS, but now they have something to eat. We WVI partners with the WFP on couldn’t even walk… there was no point asking health programs in 18 countries World Vision partnered with the WFP us about how life is, but now you can ask. We compared with Catholic Relief from the outset to provide assistance to Services, which partners with were not treated as people. Now we are. We people affected by food shortages. In the WFP in 12 countries. could not visit the market, but now we can. We Zambia, support was provided to local WVI partners with the WFP have been receiving medication from WV for on education programs in communities affected by the drought, two years, but we need to eat before taking 18 countries compared with but also to refugees from the Democratic German Agro Action, which them or they cause problems and at times Republic of Congo residing in camps in partners with the WFP in 7 there is insufficient food, so we feel unwell after the north. countries. taking them.” WVI is the largest WFP Programs began with general food partner in general food distribution. As the situation improved distribution, working in 15 Effectiveness countries in contrast with for the majority of beneficiaries, World Catholic Relief Services, which Vision and the WFP were able to From 2004 to 2005, World Vision works with the WFP in 12 countries; and f review the caseload and change focus Australia conducted evaluations in WVI is the largest WFP to concentrate on key vulnerable groups Mozambique, Lesotho and Zambia to partner in the Food–for- including orphans and vulnerable children determine the impact and effectiveness Work program, working in (OVCs), people living with HIV and of the food aid programs on the target 14 countries in contrast with AIDS (PLWHAs), pregnant and lactating communities. These evaluations brought a German Agro Action, which works with the WFP in 11 mothers, and children under the age of new paradigm to the way WV evaluations countries. five. They also introduced Food-for-Work were conducted. In the past, evaluations and Food-for-Assets programs for those would focus on whether activities were Above: Food distribution more able to do physical work. Various implemented and the quantities of supplies preparations, Mozambique. other health, education and agricultural successfully delivered against targets. They initiatives were also eventually added to were less concerned with how the program the project lists. Take-home rations for impacted beneficiaries or resulted in other school children in Lesotho improved consequential outcomes. One of the key school attendance. Similarly, food components in the evaluations conducted assistance provided to PLWHAs under in 2004 to 2005 was to measure the anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment proved to nutritional status of the vulnerable groups be tremendously beneficial, as reflected in and the mortality rate among children this statement by a respondent to the WV under five years of age. Food security at the evaluation in Tete Province, Mozambique household level was also measured. Source: World Food Programme 2006 in 2004: Annual Report
16 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case Study Whilst it was generally found that lives had Further analysis of these issues follows. been saved and nutritional levels amongst Southern the disaster-affected populations had been 1. Beneficiary selection and Africa maintained, anthropometric data collected cultural challenges and analysed for the evaluations revealed Food aid projects did not always that the activities didn’t necessarily improve the nutrition levels of all the result in adequate access, utilisation, and beneficiaries in communities because availability of food (or ‘food security’) at food was not always received by those all social levels. most in need. In the past, projects have All three evaluations identified a similar set often relied on village heads collecting of problems: lists of beneficiaries’ names. However, the evaluation team found that some The programs lacked adequate village heads had misused this trust and mechanisms for the appropriate selection included people on lists who did not meet Snap-shot: and verification of beneficiaries. While the relevant criteria. This misdirection Food Aid these programs were operating in was exacerbated by lack of transportation Each day an estimated 25,000 challenging, often confronting working people die of hunger and poverty for staff to verify beneficiary selection environments, there is evidence to in different parts of the world. and attend actual distributions. WV Millions more are in dire need suggest that some people who were not national offices have responded to this and of sustenance. The World Food entitled to receive food aid received it Programme (WFP) estimates that improved their beneficiary assessment and and others, particularly the extremely 850 million people are chronically review criteria to ensure the right people vulnerable within communities, malnourished worldwide; over 300 are now included in programs. million of these are children. missed out – often as a result of their Food aid is a lifeline to many vulnerability and isolation. The evaluation team also observed and can benefit people suffering wasting among children in the programs. from shortages of food in times The WFP food pipeline was erratic, Wasting is a form of malnutrition and of conflict and natural disasters seriously impacting both the quality sustaining immediate survival weight loss that results from a recent and pace of recovery from malnutrition requirements. Conversely, poorly period of starvation or disease. With a within the beneficiary communities. designed and implemented food aid wasting prevalence rate of 7.7 percent, interventions have the potential These regular pipeline disruptions the study revealed that wasting was still to disrupt local markets and impacted World Vision’s capacity to discourage local food production. In higher in Tete Province (where food deliver enough food adequately. This some instances, a cycle of food aid aid was delivered) than in the general dependence sets in. was a problem faced by all stakeholders, Caption: population of Mozambique, which has WFP is the main multilateral according to the WFP’s own evaluations. a wasting prevalence rate of 4.3 percent. channel for food aid, supporting in The WFP reported that pipeline excess of 30 million beneficiaries The measurement of nutritional status also shortages, logistics challenges and lack of across the globe. WFP is highly suggests that food was not always being capable implementing partners in some dependent on donor governments delivered to the most vulnerable groups. that can sometimes be unreliable, contexts resulted in almost 55 percent of so efforts to make WFP food food pledges remaining undistributed as It is interesting to note that in Lesotho, aid more assured are not always of July 2003. while the project had marginal impact in successful. terms of improving the nutritional status In general, the programs had not of children (especially in indicators such considered how to effectively transition as wasting and underweight), one in three from emergency relief to development adults were categorised as overweight/ programming and thus did not obese regardless of their eligibility to integrate with World Vision’s broader receive food aid. Observations such as national food security strategies. This these raise concerns about access to, and was despite World Vision International utilisation of, food at the household level. encouraging the various World Vision On the assumption that some children’s national offices to integrate the relief rights may have been abused by their program with their development guardians, World Vision outreach teams programming. were encouraged to monitor this more
Responses to Poverty 2007 17 Section 1
Reflections on program closely and implement whatever measures 3. Under funding they could to improve the nutritional effectiveness Budgets for food aid distribution are status of children. The evaluation team negotiated with the WFP, sometimes over also recommended that research be a protracted period. Ultimately the WFP commissioned to determine underlying is a multilateral agency operating under a socio-cultural determinants of feeding restricted charter, their core mandate being practices – for example, men or guests food programming. Contract negotiations being fed first, or food sharing behaviours, with the WFP are challenging because that could illuminate ways to address this there is often disagreement over the cost issue in the future. of operations, particularly costs related to project quality. This often creates a 2. Erratic food pipeline dilemma for WV as internal funding must be juggled to meet essential costs, The erratic food pipeline from the WFP Caption: such as supporting the infrastructure of created significant challenges in the field. warehousing, transport, staffing and post- This included: inconsistent provision of distribution monitoring. food to beneficiaries, especially vulnerable groups; irregular payment of food to In many respects a relationship with the the Food-for-Work/Asset participants; WFP potentially limits the options WV and inconsistent tenure of staff. The can bring to bear to address complex management of food was tied to the cash food security issues. The issues of erratic income that WV needed to manage the pipelines, inadequate budgeting and poor operation. So, when there was no food for reimbursement have all been taken up with References: distribution, there was also no payment the WFP at the local mission level and at Beck C. 2003, What are Some of the Causes of the from the WFP to fund the operation/ its headquarters in Rome. WV and WFP Southern African Food Crisis? overhead cost in between distribution dialogue suggests that a key challenge for (Unpublished paper). FANTA 2002, HIV/AIDS periods. the WFP is its limited resources, combined Mitigation: Using What We with its predicament, as a UN agency, Already Know, Technical Note The shortfalls in tonnage and cash in dealing with its own broad and often No. 5. Food And Nutrition were borne entirely by WV and the Technical Assistance Project unreliable donor base. Academy for Educational communities, thus creating inefficiencies Development, Washington. WFP 2003, Summary Report and ineffectiveness in food aid One outcome of these meetings has of the Real-Time Evaluation programming. In many situations food been an improvement in contractual of WFP’s Response to the Southern Africa Crisis, 2002- distribution had to be cancelled when arrangements between WV and the WFP, 2003 (EMOP 10200.0), WFP, Executive Board Third Regular no food was made available or what was as noted in one World Vision national Session, Agenda Item 6, Rome, made available was significantly less office. Other field offices, however, do not October 2003. WFP 2004, Protracted Relief than anticipated. Many beneficiaries report substantial improvements. and Recovery Operation travelled long distances only to arrive at 10310, WFP Executive Board Third Regular Session, Agenda distribution centres and face heartbreaking Item No. 8, Rome, October 4. Integration 2004. disappointment. Renzaho, A., Mahony, G., Many food aid operations consist of short- For people living with HIV and AIDS, Campbell, D, David.J (2004). term contracts with the WFP (sometimes World Vision Food Aid food is an important adjunct to their Program in Tete Province- these are less than three months). This is Mozambique: Impact medication. The Government of Evaluation and Documentation in stark contrast to World Vision’s child Mozambique even issued a policy that of Lessons Learned. World sponsorship-funded Area Development Vision Australia, Melbourne, beneficiaries of HIV and AIDS projects Australia. Programs (ADPs), which operate according should also be the beneficiaries of the food Renzaho, A., Mahony, G., to a 15-year development cycle. WV (2005). Impact Evaluation aid projects. The inconsistency of food of the World Food southern Africa field staff were often faced Programme/World Vision supply for the PLWHAs compromised the Food Aid Programs in with the dilemma of how to integrate an Lesotho: A Summary full benefit of the drugs they were taking. of Key Achievements, extremely short-term operation within a Lessons Learned and longer-term program, or include it within a Recommendations. World Vision Australia, Melbourne, broader national food security strategy. Australia.
18 Responses to Poverty 2007 Approaches used in relief operations are Moving forward often quite different to those used in World Vision Australia has circulated development programs, and this can create the evaluation reports to all stakeholders. tension in the field. Relief operations by Presentations have also been made at their nature involve fast responses and WV’s annual Commodity Managers expect staff to make quick, top-down workshops to ensure lessons have been decisions and hand out aid items. This broadly shared. The knowledge about approach is viewed by development people program effectiveness generated through as unsustainable, destroying trust and these evaluations has also proved timely, Program Details creating dependency. given a broader enthusiasm within Programming context: In Mozambique, the evaluation team the World Vision partnership to apply In total World Vision Australia identified that the health team and the learnings in improving program efficacy. worked across World Food Programme funded programs in five food aid team actually worked with the These evaluations also have the potential southern African countries. same beneficiaries on the Home Based to more broadly impact programming Programming start dates: Care (HBC) project. However, far from within the wider NGO sector. Lesotho, October 2003 integrating their working approaches, Malawi, July 2004 The World Vision Regional Office for neither team even understood the other’s Mozambique, April 2003 Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg, Zambia, August 2002 roles and responsibilities. has started promoting more integration Zimbabwe, September 2003 There is no doubt that poorly between relief and development Programming end dates: programmed relief activities – food departments within the various World Lesotho, September 2006 aid in particular – can actually create Vision offices in that region. Malawi, June 2007 Mozambique, June 2007 dependency rather than cultivate self- World Vision Australia continues to Zambia, December 2007 determination and resilience within Zimbabwe, June 2006 follow up on recommendations and issues communities. highlighted in the evaluations with field- Funding source: World Food Programme (WFP) Therefore, to improve integration between based staff. It is committed to providing Gifts in Kind (GIK) program responses, the evaluation team support wherever possible. Early reports Multiplying Gift Appeal recommended that World Vision offices suggest that progress is being made (WVA Match) in each of the target countries include regarding improvements in beneficiary Total value of Australian food aid programs within their national selection. In addition, World Vision staff remittances by country to date: Lesotho food security and nutrition strategies. The continue to work with representatives at WFP US$622,259 national Food Security Manager should the WFP headquarters in Rome and the GIK US$9,574,542 also supervise both food aid programs respective WFP local missions to address WVA Match US$833,322 and ADP food security initiatives within the erratic food pipeline issues, the slow Malawi their country. It was suggested that ADP reimbursement issues and to advocate for WFP US$296,679 staff should be involved in the design of longer-term contracts. GIK US$2,808,742 WVA Match US$195,723 exit strategies from food aid programs, since many food aid programs lack exit Mozambique WFP US$633,546 strategies that prepare communities to be GIK US$6,774,960 self-reliant when the projects phase out. WVA Match US$1,048,724 In Lesotho, integration of food aid into Zambia WFP US$2,643,728 ADPs is now in place. ADP managers are GIK US$18,423,967 responsible for the implementation of all WVA Match US$2,734,000 food aid project activities. In addition, Zimbabwe training in the construction of home WFP US$730,460 gardens (especially designed for people GIK US$1,053,399 with chronic illness) for food aid recipients WVA Match US$252,328 has been introduced successfully. This pilot Total remittances across is being considered for replication in other all 5 countries: emergency areas in an expanded form that US$48,626,379 may include livestock.
Responses to Poverty 2007 19 Section 1
Re-focusing the sponsorship model
Pilahuin & Lamay: Reflections on effectiveness from Peru and Ecuador
Belinda Pratten It was during the Korean War that an Janet Cruz Granada American war correspondent, moved by Jenny Torres the plight of orphaned and abandoned Brett Pierce Korean children, encouraged ordinary Americans to fund Korean orphanages At World Vision Ecuador’s to care for these children. This program, request, World Vision which began in 1953, was both the birth Australia recently conducted of World Vision and the birth of the child a comprehensive evaluation of sponsorship model. the child sponsorship-funded Pilahuin Area Development Child sponsorship is World Vision’s Program. While the findings signature fundraising program and what suggest there are programming World Vision is best known for among areas in need of significant supporters and field beneficiaries. However, attention, they also provide it is true to say that since the 1950s, the some excellent insights on ways nature of programs supported through the to improve program efficacy for sponsorship mechanism have evolved and both World Vision Australia as transformed. This in response to increased the funding office and World understanding of what constitutes effective Vision Ecuador as the delivery poverty alleviation. Prior to the 1970s, the Craft lessons, Pilahuin. agency. majority of programming was welfare- oriented and based on a direct handout model. Since the 1980s, programs have increasingly encouraged dignified self- reliance rather than hand-outs. The Area Development Program (ADP) became World Vision’s new and most standardised approach to child sponsorship in the late 1980s. Under this new model, support to entire communities, rather than just specific children and families, was emphasised through community development. How we understand transformational development, community empowerment, community leadership and sustainability from a practice perspective – like the evolution of the child sponsorship model itself – can often vary enormously. The context is key, as projects are very much works in progress. Over the past few years World Vision Australia, and the World Vision partnership more broadly, has become increasingly committed to the idea
20 Responses to Poverty 2007 of objectively and accurately monitoring in Tungurahua province in Ecuador. The effectiveness in child sponsorship Indigenous communities in both Lamay programs in order to determine whether and Pilahuin struggle to sustain themselves World Vision development approaches in an extremely harsh climate that lacks
are achieving optimal transformational a consistent water supply and experiences PERU & development impacts. high levels of poverty. In both Lamay and ECUADOR Pilahuin, the economy is based on farming Australian sponsors currently support of crops such as corn and potato, and the around 200 World Vision child sale of farming and livestock products. In sponsorship programs in 57 different both communities, health and education countries, across southern, western and services are poor, the environment is eastern Africa, in the Middle East and the deteriorating due to bad environmental Indian subcontinent, in north and south- and farming practices, and the area is east Asia, in the Pacific, the Caribbean and highly susceptible to natural disasters, Latin America. Snap-shot: including droughts, frost and floods. Ecuador World Vision began working in Lamay Ecuador is a country in north- Considering effectiveness western South America, bounded in 1997, when the current ADP was by Colombia on the north, by Peru Quality advisors within World Vision established. The Pilahuin ADP began in on the east and south, and by the Australia’s Program Effectiveness Team 1998, however World Vision had already Pacific Ocean on the west. The have been working on a more intentional operated in the Pilahuin community country, which also includes the Galapagos Islands, is among the framework for surveying the impact of for several decades prior to establishing most biodiversity-rich countries ADPs on target communities. At the the current ADP. These earlier projects in the world. With an ethnically beginning of 2005, World Vision Ecuador aimed to satisfy basic community needs diverse population of 13 million sought to identify key factors (if any) that such as water systems, latrines, irrigation people, Ecuador has a GNI of US$2,630. While Ecuador achieved might be inhibiting their programs from systems and school infrastructure. They positive economic growth and achieving full potential. The National were characterised by a more paternalistic welfare improvements in the early Director of World Vision Ecuador invited welfare-based approach and weren’t 1990s, a succession of external shocks and natural disasters, World Vision Australia’s Quality Advisors substantively designed as community combined with poor economic to evaluate the Australian-funded Pilahuin improvement initiatives. management, led to a severe ADP. While insightful and constructive, economic crisis at the end of 1999. The Lamay ADP began its engagement the results revealed that this program was It is a country that suffers from cycle with a clean slate, focusing on child extreme economic disparity: the achieving only limited community impacts. health and development, agricultural richest 10 percent of the population receives three times more income Around the same time that the Pilahuin production, community capacity-building than the poorest 50 percent and ADP evaluation was being conducted and economic improvement programming. 60 times more than the poorest 10 in Ecuador, emerging research and The Pilahuin ADP, with a desire to percent. monitoring reports from Lamay ADP - in introduce a more sustainable development neighbouring Peru - suggested that it was focus, grappled with an existing influencing more substantial outcomes for community perception of World Vision’s its target community. From a development prior paternalist practices, and initially perspective, it is actually the variability in sought to address rights and food security. impacts in these two similar communities that signals potential for learnings and Positive outcomes future program improvements. The recent evaluation for Pilahuin revealed a number of positive outcomes: Two approaches: Pilahuin ADP and Lamay ADP Access to water points has led to time savings, increased productivity and Lamay ADP and Pilahuin ADP are greater community and family cohesion. based in the Andean highlands of South America. Lamay ADP lies in Calca Increased access to education has made References: province near Cusco in Peru; Pilahuin lies a difference for many young people, World Bank
Responses to Poverty 2007 21 Section 1
Reflections on program and changed parental attitudes to that Pilahuin ADP had the following effectiveness primary school, high school and college performance challenges: attendance. Quality of life has not improved A change in the cultural attitudes of as expected, despite the substantial Indigenous people has resulted in an investment in physical infrastructure increased understanding of education included as part of the initial poverty as an important factor in improving the alleviation strategy. living conditions of their children. The amount of work available within Diversified access to services provided the community has not changed, and by the ADP has helped community some young people are still unable to members save money, which they may find work after school and on weekends. now invest in other activities. The clearest indicators of livelihood Agricultural outputs have increased demonstrate that purchasing power and and the establishment of kindergartens socio-economic status have remained has enabled parents to engage in other static. activities. Reflecting the lack of growth in work Community members have an increased opportunities and lack of improvement awareness of the importance of a clean in livelihoods, there remains an environment, with a resulting decline alarming trend for migration away from in skin infections and transmission of the district. This is a major concern parasites from animals to humans. within the community. Community members are reassessing What also became extremely clear to the their values and considering other life evaluation team was that some Pilahuin opportunities, which demonstrates community members who did not an increase in hope and a sense of have children in sponsorship programs possibility. expressed a particularly negative view of World Vision and its work. Responses Despite the high migration rates suggested that the benefits of World occurring in the district and most Vision operating within the community rural areas throughout Ecuador, the did not extend beyond the sponsored local school is maintaining enrolments, community. This was in spite of the suggesting that school-age children are reality that both sponsored and non- not leaving the district. sponsored children were both directly Top: Lamay town, Peru. It is important to remember that at the or indirectly benefiting from the ADP’s Bottom: Health check-up, Pilahuin. end of the 1990s, Ecuador suffered the various initiatives. worst economic, social and political crisis Clearly, at the core of this perception was in its history. This crisis resulted in a major a deeper issue. That is, both the process demographic shift, as the increased level of of introducing sponsorship and World impoverishment among Ecuador’s poorest Vision’s current community development rural communities triggered a growing approach and philosophy, were still not and continuous migration flow to several well understood within the broader foreign countries. Pilahuin community. In this context, indications of positive programming achievements should not be underestimated. However, while the Two ways of introducing evaluations revealed some indicators sponsorship of success, across a range of key When World Vision began working with transformational development indicators, the Pilahuin community in the 1980s, the evaluation team also discovered
22 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study the staff informed people about the for sponsored children to the exclusion of sponsorship system through workshops, others. One community member recently Peru talks and community meetings. This commented that “it’s always the same & Ecuador was reinforced in the 1990s, using videos program no matter what the name is.” This produced in the local language (Kichwa) to suggests that, even before the ADP started, explain the way the system operates. the community already had preconceived ideas of what would be on offer, based on However, through consultations with non- their experience of World Vision’s approach sponsored families in Pilahuin, it was clear through previous programming. that a majority felt that the selection process of children for sponsorship was not fair. What is clear then is that while some community members self-selected This suggests that the information themselves into the ADP program, other sharing process about sponsorship was community members appear to have neither sustained nor understood by the self-selected themselves out of the ADP community. The way a community is first program, based on assumptions about introduced to child sponsorship and the what its philosophy would be. According development framework from the outset to recent surveys, some non-sponsored can fundamentally shape their view of families believe that there are intrinsic the program, the agency and its integrity. factors in the community which cause a In reality, when World Vision initiates bad perception of the sponsorship practice. a new program it rarely does this in a Therefore, in moving forward, it would vacuum; the World Vision brand is often be essential for field staff to clarify the already associated with particular preset program’s purpose, aims and values and understandings about what it is and how it address any residual suspicion and jealousy works. issues festering within the community. At the time the ADP was being introduced to the community in Lamay, field staff visited each of the target communities with Two approaches to community posters and other visual aids, systematically empowerment describing the vision of the ADP and Program planning documents for Pilahuin what child sponsorship would involve. and Lamay describe the community The posters reinforced the program’s empowerment objectives of both programs Top: Pilahuin ADP board philosophy that children are the future of members. using the same, or similar terms. However society. Lamay’s approach, which is clearly Bottom: Community vision, in the field, the actual activities being understood by the community, is that Lamay. implemented to meet these objectives are while sponsored children benefit directly quite different. from the program, World Vision would take a ‘shared direct benefit’ approach. In Lamay, the ADP committee is well That is, all children (both sponsored and respected. The community feels able non-sponsored) and their families would to participate in the identification of benefit through programming. problems and the prioritisation of needs. Community capacity-building is an True to this, Lamay field staff consistently important component in each element of reinforce a strong child focus at every each part of the program. Virtually all stage and in every interaction, such that outputs contain an activity that addresses the target community is consistently training, or empowerment of community encouraged to think of its future as being members through a workshop – for directly linked to the wellbeing of its example, to help families improve their children. household design in ways that will enhance In Pilahuin, the community perception is hygiene and health outcomes. that the project plan favours direct benefits In Pilahuin, the evaluators found that the
Responses to Poverty 2007 23 Section 1
Reflections on Program Two ways of engaging Effectiveness government Development agencies today are increasingly emphasising and encouraging the building of relationships between communities and governments if at all possible. Increasingly, World Vision Australia is interested in how ADPs can improve the links between community and government to ensure that basic services, often initiated through ADPs, can eventually be transitioned to government agencies. This will ensure that impacts achieved through the program can be sustained beyond the program’s lifecycle. At the time of the evaluation, it was clear that the Pilahuin ADP lacked School students, Pilahuin. ADP committee actually lacked a clear evidence of a permanent dialogue with understanding of the program’s plan and the government. This was despite making intentions. While, like Lamay, there has specific agreements with the municipal been significant and consistent investment hospital to obtain health attention and in leadership development, the committee with civil defence to coordinate actions on members selected for leadership training disaster preparedness. In general, the ADP were invariably young people unlikely had actually taken on the responsibility to command respect from more senior of providing some health and education community members. In addition to this, services that were not provided by the their leadership engagement was based on government. This is a major concern a short tenure of two years, and the time in that, at its core, the ADP was not and investment spent in developing their appropriately equipped or resourced to skills was not generally being realised, or provide these services at an optimal level of benefiting the program in any substantive quality – in either the short or the longer way. The evaluators were also surprised to term. find that even the leaders felt their position enabled them to control the information By providing these services without aiming flow for their own interest, so the tendency for eventual transition to government, was for them to keep information about the ADP has generated the expectation the ADP to themselves. that the provision of these services is the responsibility of World Vision and not the government. In contrast, Lamay ADP has taken a complementary approach to working with the government. Instead of providing services, the ADP works with the government to support service provision, through resources such as the children’s health monitoring tool. This tool has now been integrated into local government monitoring and is also being considered by the provincial government for their monitoring system. World Vision Peru is supporting the government in a way that is
24 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study mutually beneficial, but with the potential long-term poverty alleviation for the to ensure sustainable outcomes in the target communities. Peru longer term. Furthermore, the Lamay ADP In many respects, World Vision Australia & Ecuador has also sought to engage and empower and World Vision Ecuador must share Indigenous knowledge and culture, equal responsibility for the outcomes that reinstating particular traditional laws that have been achieved to date. address issues of violence against children in a way that complements community The challenges and the legacies of prior knowledge. sponsorship programs were underestimated by World Vision Australia, the funding office. Additional support might have been Some reflections offered to Ecuador to assist field staff in refreshing community perceptions about The key reflections and learnings for who World Vision is and how it works. World Vision, both in Australia and Funding offices should allow time for Ecuador, are substantial and extensive. field offices to consult the community For the purposes of this paper, there are during the assessment and design phase, some key considerations: to ensure that communities have a sound i. Clearly the history of World Vision’s understanding of the sponsorship program. relationship with a community will Of course, transformational development have impacts on any new program, indicator (TDI) evaluations and sound particularly if it involves a substantial program monitoring should be conducted shift in methodology as compared during the course of programs to maintain with previous operational approaches. community engagement and avoid In communities where World Vision’s dependency programming. In doing approach and brand is historically this, World Vision must ensure that it is associated with direct-benefit service measuring the appropriate things, both in delivery, refreshing community the baseline and throughout the program. expectations and transitioning to a new Currently, indicators such as malnutrition model or holistic approach is not an and literacy are measured, which could overnight proposition. It will need to be seen as the ‘symptoms’ of poverty. be empathetic, thorough, gentle and However, it’s important to also consider require a substantial investment in time. Irrigation training, Pilahuin. and capture key domains of change ii. Although World Vision might that contribute to poverty reduction in occasionally need to directly provide the longer term, such as community some services at the start of new empowerment. Although challenging to programs, wherever possible these measure, capturing this kind of change need to be provided in dialogue and how it came about will almost with government, to ensure eventual certainly assist in designing more effective transfer of responsibility, and ensure interventions in future. communities will optimally benefit in An opportunity exists for field offices the longer term. (World Vision Ecuador in particular) iii. Though its intentions might have to more comprehensively engage been otherwise at the start, the with communities, in terms of their Pilahuin ADP has positioned itself as understandings and perceptions. Reflecting selectively delivering essential, though on good practice experiences, such as somewhat under-resourced services to Lamay and other successful projects in the community. Having not genuinely Ecuador, where the development focus engaged the hearts and minds of is participative and empowering from the community, the program is not the beginning, will assist greatly. This is realising any sustainable or substantial especially relevant in situations where good
Responses to Poverty 2007 25 Section 1
Reflections on program performance is based on commitment to local and national development plans effectiveness strong community dialogue and constant and working more comprehensively internal and external reflection regarding towards Millennium Development impact and the allocation of resources. Goal targets. Developing and defining a new model for relating to target communities. Moving forward This aims to strengthen community In December 2006, the World Vision participation, involving key partnership began a two-year process of stakeholders in all stages of the reviewing the current child sponsorship implementation cycle from assessment, model more broadly. Increasingly, as design, monitoring and evaluation to Program Details reflected within the interim guideline reflection. document, it is being acknowledged that Project partners: Reconsidering strategies for integrating not all World Vision child sponsorship World Vision Australia / World and contextualising the World Vision Vision Ecuador (Pilahuin ADP) programming has contributed towards sponsorship approach within target World Vision Australia / World the transformational development of Vision Peru (Lamay ADP) communities. It is important to children, families and communities. acknowledge the world view and culture Project start date: Child sponsorship-funded programs Pilahuin ADP – March 1996 of each community. More recently, can be implemented in ways that are Lamay ADP – October 1996 pedagogic mediation techniques have empowering, or paternalistic; promoting Project end date: been employed to ensure communities sustainable development, or dependency Pilahuin ADP – September 2013 better contextualise their own hopes Lamay ADP – September 2011 through welfare handouts; in ways that and aspirations and how they can align promote equity and peace, or that are Funding source: this with what World Vision offers. Pilahuin ADP – Child Sponsorship discriminatory, leading to jealousy and Lamay ADP – Child Sponsorship division in the community. In some Strengthening the monitoring and Funds remitted from Australia to respects the Pilahuin ADP and the Lamay evaluation processes and systems date by Financial Year (FY) ADP illustrate this analysis. which assist and allow improved FY 1998 (P) US$62,330 reflection, knowledge management and FY 1998 (L)US$14,550 For World Vision Australia, undertaking continuous improvement capabilities FY 1999 (P) US$149,323 comprehensive evaluations of the impact FY 1999 (L) US$129,892 across all programs. FY 2000 (P) US$174,668 of ADPs on their target communities FY 2000 (L) US$155,193 will become increasingly commonplace, Finally, one of the most important lessons FY 2001 (P) US$163,880 with several more community impact learnt by World Vision Ecuador is the need FY 2001 (L) US$141,072 FY 2002 (P) US$152,891 assessments already planned. This process to work more closely with funding offices, FY 2002 (L) US$130,786 is imperative in assuring the success of ensuring that all partners – including FY 2003 (P) US$209,365 future programs. supporters – fully understand the social, FY 2003 (L) US$186,415 political, cultural and economic contexts FY 2004 (P) US$358,340 Following the evaluation, Pilahuin ADP of each community. The development FY 2004 (L) US$293,758 staff are now reflecting and learning how FY 2005 (P) US$470,444 path of each community is unique and to face these challenges. While there are no FY 2005 (L) US$386,168 requires the ability to be respectful of, simple solutions, it is clear that the current FY 2006 (P) US$517,110 and engage meaningfully with, the FY 2006 (L) US$412,500 path will not lead to sustainable outcomes. FY 2007 (P) US$526,512 world view of the target communities. It FY 2007 (L) US$420,000 Since 2005, World Vision Ecuador is sometimes possible for these realities Total funds remitted from has taken several steps to re-focus its to be oversimplified, underestimated or Australia to date: intervention approaches and improve misunderstood when expectations are set Pilahuin: US$2,784,863 program impacts more broadly. These according to inappropriate criteria. Lamay: US$2,270,334 include: Improving reflection, evaluation and self-criticism processes within the organisation and re-defining the development strategy. This includes
26 Responses to Poverty 2007 Defining success – Begasin Bugati
Understanding ‘effective’ development in Papua New Guinea
David Sweeting Working in Papua New Guinea Jonathan Treagust Divided by language, customs and PAPUA NEW What defines ‘effective’ tradition, PNG is one of the most GUINEA development? Should it be culturally disparate nations in the the donor’s criteria, a non- world, with several thousand separate government organisation’s communities, most comprising only a (NGO) preferred way of few hundred people. This fragmentation working, or is it simply whether tests not only the political and social communities at the centre unity of the country, but also the ability of the response are satisfied? of government, churches and NGOs to Agreement on effective provide essential services and development development should enable interventions. For World Vision (WV), development organisations, defining success in this context is essential communities and donors to to the development of effective programs. align expectations and set clear A 2003 peer review of Australian NGOs goals to which they can aspire. acknowledged that given the magnitude of Exactly how these expectations the obstacles that agencies contend with, align is a key challenge for NGO undertaking effective development in PNG work in the diverse and often is often extremely difficult (Nichols 2003). difficult contexts of Papua New Success is hampered by isolation, poor Guinea (PNG). infrastructure, government incapacity, lack From 2003 to 2006, World of effective law and order, and the lack of Vision undertook an ambitious resources to ensure sustainable impacts. and multi-faceted development Against this backdrop, WV implemented Ante-natal check-up, PNG. project in the Transgogol, Usino and Astrolabe Bay Local Level Government areas of Madang Province. While the expectations of the donor, project staff and the community were rarely aligned – the Begasin Bugati project provided World Vision with some key insights into what ‘effective’ poverty reduction might look like in PNG.
Responses to Poverty 2007 27 Section 1
Reflections on Program a strength and a weakness. It provided a Effectiveness focused framework to guide the project manager and field staff month by month, but there were difficulties. The imposition of meeting discrete and specific targets imposed limitations on the budget, on the nature of activities, on the duration of the project and in terms of how we perceive and validate ‘positive outcomes’. In essence, the BBRDP tried to strike balance, providing much needed services and infrastructure on the one hand, alongside a program of community strengthening and empowerment activities on the other. In addition to providing physical health services and improved its largest PNG program to date in water/sanitation systems, BBRDP also Madang Province, the multi-sectorial established a network of traditional birth Begasin Bugati Rural Development attendants and sought to increase access to Program (BBRDP). health facilities. Farmer to farmer networks Madang Province is on the northern coast were encouraged to share new ideas, and of the main island. It has been described community-nominated ‘lead’ farmers as ‘PNG in miniature’. The population were trained to extend general community of Madang is around 40,000 people and knowledge. The project also improved predominantly rural, comprising a mixture food security, through both increased crop of coastal people, islanders, mountain yields and better management of cash people and river dwellers. Sixty percent crops. of the population is under the age of 25. Two key project partners exited the project Most people remain small-scale, traditional at an early stage and it became difficult to subsistence gardeners with little or no ensure that both local communities and disposable income. local NGOs could align their objectives following this. BBRDP staff faced a The Begasin-Bugati Rural multitude of programmatic challenges Development Program over the three years. But, in many ways, these challenges and impediments speak of BBRDP was an ambitious poverty- innovations and new community solutions reduction initiative. It sought to influence as much as they do of unfulfilled targets. a range of quality of life improvements for target communities across a number of sectors, including community health, Outcomes and performance water supply, sanitation, food security and The successes of Begasin Bugati are easily economic livelihoods. noted. Forty out of a target of 41 water BBRDP was supported by AusAID systems were commissioned. A program through the Incentive Fund. It was the of traditional birth attendant training first time WV accessed funding through was developed with the Department this fund and donor involvement from the of Health. Partnership links to both outset was both intense and challenging. provincial departments and field extension In line with donor expectations, a rigid and agencies were formalised. More than comprehensive monitoring framework was 90 lead farmers, trained in advanced established to measure project performance cocoa management, formally trained a at regular intervals. This proved to be both further 1,800 cash crop farmers. Where a
28 Responses to Poverty 2007 Snap-shot: gender-specific approach was a conscious to other activities. It became increasingly Papua New Guinea and concerted effort, women benefited difficult to integrate the separate health Papua New Guinea has over 700 from the program through improved project initiatives and improvements into disparate cultural groups which health services. The Water Users Group a comprehensive and cohesive health give it one of the most diverse and most highly fragmented populations educated the community on conservation program as the program progressed. The in the world. Communities are practices. Consequently it has provided food security program failed to actively often extremely isolated, have high a tested and suitable operational model engage women, in spite of this being rates of illiteracy and poor health that has since been replicated by local a clear, well-defined need (see below). indicators, with an increasing prevalence of HIV and AIDS. clinics. The premature departure of two Indeed, the program’s failure to engage With limited resources, its weak local partner NGOs could have been a female participation more broadly meant economy relies on a small number potential disaster, but actually enabled field that community uptake of education of gas and mineral projects and forest logging. staff to refocus the governance strategy. and behavioural change initiatives (such Community capacity-development was as improved hygiene habits) achieved emphasised by empowering the existing, fewer gains than the income generation, legislated, but underutilised mechanism economic development and water/ of the Ward Development Committees. sanitation sectors which are traditionally In turn, this has enabled the committees dominated by men. to manage their own development process The PNG context itself also threw up a and set their own priorities for project range of unexpected delays and challenges: implementation. unanticipated inflation wrought havoc on However, given the three-year project budgets, while a major flood and timeframe, and a strong orientation subsequent landslide did the same with towards meeting targets, the program’s work in the Astrolabe Bay communities. effectiveness – considered against its In addition to this, the sheer geographic original ‘target’ objectives – suggests that dispersement of the target communities, it underperformed. Only a fifth of the combined with the poor road infrastructure latrines originally planned could be built, made it difficult to service the community due to poor interest. Quotes for rebuilding more effectively. Yet in spite of some degree a road far exceeded the budget ceiling, and of economic and geographic chaos, the according to donor criteria, funds allocated community interest and ownership of the to this activity could not be reassigned program did not waiver. Compost making at a demonstration farm.
Responses to Poverty 2007 29 Section 1
Reflections on program effectiveness
New water supply, Mena village.
Program Details Key learnings with community needs and priorities Project partners: proved exceedingly difficult as the project World Vision Australia, World WV has learnt a great deal from BBRDP Vision PNG, Copra and Cocoa progressed. Often donor priorities were about ‘effective’ approaches to poverty Extension Agency, PNG National emphasised even though field staff felt it Department of Health, Provincial alleviation in PNG. From the outset, was both counter-intuitive and counter- Department of Health (Madang), gender engagement activities that productive to do so. Provincial Department of Agriculture meaningfully and constructively focused & Livestock (Madang), Astrolabe Local Government Council, Usino on quality of life improvements for women Any effective development project should Rural Local Government Council, were poorly defined and lacked an overall allow for changes and variations. There Lutheran Health Services and cohesive plan. In the PNG context, will always be unforeseen difficulties Project start date: women are predominantly occupied in impacting on a program: communities are January 2002 meeting daily needs of the family in terms dynamic and geographic environments Project end date: of food, water and health. Women are and are often prone to environmental June 2006 not able to easily change their roles to shocks, especially in PNG. For donors, Target population: participate in project activities or meetings. unpredictable challenges can sometimes 42,000 BBRDP needed a plan that had been be characterised as poor planning, but it Funding source: produced by women, for women – to is both a mistake and unhelpful to equate AusAID Incentive Fund capture their involvement in every activity. difficulties with failure. With BBRDP Sponsorship Reserve Clearly, the BBRDP needed to address for example, relying on local NGOs to Total Australian funds remitted these realities and consciously plan and address governance issues was problematic. overseas: US$1,825,015 promote women’s involvement from the However, this presented an opportunity beginning. to partner more closely with Ward Development Committees, and improve Also, while the Incentive Fund monitoring community management capacity and format established very clear and generally cohesion in unexpected ways. positive lines of dialogue between field staff and the donor, these reports were For World Vision, it was the link to ineffective when it came to communicating both government agencies and the Ward variations in the programming realities. Development Committees that was The format very quickly became too the ultimate success for the BBRDP. rigid, allowing no flexibility for change or Sustainable outcomes occurred when a innovation. Reconciling donor demands chain of key events, which were unplanned
30 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study and unanticipated, aligned to the project’s Clearly ‘effective’ development advantage. Building on the existing Ward programming, especially when it is a large, Papua New Development Committee structure was multi-faceted and ambitious program Guinea an important progression. But at the such as BBRDP, relies heavily on good same time, it was through the resourcing relationships, good planning and flexible and equipping of government staff to designs. Building relationships, reputation, carry out capacity building programs trust and integrity is critical to the success – by accessing provincially developed of any project. But for an NGO such as training materials and ensuring that WV, this needs to be planned for, taking every activity had an element of teaching, into account the context in which the training or capacity building – that the project work is being undertaken. program had the most effect. It is the Strengthening civil society is part of reinforcing of the government’s role, rather the sustainability chain, but this can than underestimating its potential or only occur with focused programs undermining it, that provides a positive of capacity building which build on and sustainable way forward. tangible outcomes. For BBRDP, success finally came through solutions that built Reflections on existing structures, leadership and participation. With this in mind, ‘effective’ As the program progressed, WV learnt development should be defined by the the importance of planning for success community, encouraged by the NGO and with the communities directly. Projects allowed to happen by the donor. should start with the community, and BBRDP could have invested more For PNG, a certain level of understanding time at the beginning, planning and and flexibility from donors is required to communicating what a successful and allow effective development to take place. effective project would look like from the Funding needs to act more as a framework community’s perspective. This would which allows flexibility and accommodates have been the ideal time to convey a new opportunities. It has to allow the greater understanding of the ‘knowledge- community to drive the program and based’ elements of the project, such as NGOs to respond to emerging needs. the importance of toilets because of the Top: Health clinic awareness day. importance of good sanitation. It should Bottom: Food security through have been communicated that these aims fish farming. would require longer than the project’s timeframe to achieve. The project could only start the process of change, rather than complete the work needed to deliver the final impact, and World Vision needed to ensure government counterparts were able to follow up, after the project’s completion.
References:
Nichols, P (2003) Peer Review of three NGOs in PNG (ADRA, Anglican Board of Mission & Caritas). ACFID
Responses to Poverty 2007 31
Section 2 Sectoral or multi-country interventions
32 Responses to Poverty 2007 Child friendly responses
Child rights and child protection issues following the Pakistan Earthquake
Claire Beck were left homeless. An estimated 70 Pakistan’s socio-political percent of homes in the impacted area context is strongly influenced were completely destroyed and the by the Islamic faith. The remaining 30 percent were damaged. provinces most effected by the By 15 November 2005, in addition to PAKISTAN recent Pakistan Earthquake are 73,000 dead, another 70,000 people were remote and have been relatively reported injured. inaccessible to outsiders In response to the Pakistan Earthquake, for a number of years. For World Vision Pakistan (WVP) focused international non-government on non-food and food distribution, organisations (NGOs), especially emergency shelter, child protection and Christian ones like World Vision, emergency education. This is because undertaking effective relief 17,000 of the 73,000 people who died program responses in contexts were children, and the children that such as these are not easy. survived were extremely traumatised by It is crucial to deliver quality the experience. Many had to live with the programming in ways that are memories of seeing family and friends respectful and demonstrate trapped or killed in the rubble; others integrity. It is also crucial expressed fear of entering permanent to commit to effective buildings or being separated from family Child friendly space, North West relationship-building, with and friends. Frontier Province. communities, with other NGOs and officials, in order to ensure that effective, beneficial outcomes for target communities can be sustained over the longer term.
The earthquake At 8.52 am on 8 October 2005, when most children were attending school, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale devastated northern Pakistan. The conservative mountainous areas of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier Province were most severely affected. Within the 30,000 square kilometre area of severe impact, 3.5 million people were estimated to be affected, including half a million families. Some 2.8 million
Responses to Poverty 2007 33 Section 2
Sectoral or multi-country Children in Pakistan Children were encouraged to participate as equals in activities that were focused interventions While children in Pakistan are loved and on their needs and the specific issues valued as members of a family and the impacting their lives – such as discussing community, they are not considered to parent and teacher attitudes; be the bearers of human rights. At the time of the earthquake, there was little World Vision and a local NGO, BeFARE, understanding of their need to express worked with children and their families to emotional and psychological concerns, ensure school-age children were enrolled or share their experiences in order to deal in school. They achieved 100 percent re- with the trauma they had faced. It was enrolment of primary-age children among generally understood that as members of the target population; families and communities, their needs Programs were set up to support 12–17 would be met by adults and parents. year old adolescents who were dropping World Vision’s child protection response out, or at risk of dropping out, of school. to the Pakistan Earthquake recognised Students were given catch-up classes a child’s need to work through their and tuition in subjects they were having experiences and sought to proactively difficulties with, and 140 children who enable children to express their grief. It had dropped out of school re-enrolled the also encouraged children to take a more following school year; active role in rebuilding their own lives Another 40 adolescents who did not and assisted them in discovering a renewed wish to return to school were trained in sense of the future. In doing so, World recognised building trades and provided Vision educated the community about with tool kits to assist their communities in the rights of children, in both a social and the rebuilding process; legal sense, through the Convention of the Rights of the Child, which the Pakistani Some 480 older girls learned a range of Government had ratified in 1990. new skills, including sewing, knitting, embroidery, weaving and basic literacy – as well as life skills through the CFS; Some key child protection outcomes Children’s rights were promoted to the broader community through links with In response to the earthquake: local media groups and radio. Around Together with Save the Children, World 30,000 people listened to radio programs Vision encouraged and supported about children’s issues through the local community leaders, religious leaders, BBC station in Mansehra and Balakot teachers, police, the military and other districts. NGOs to become more aware of child In essence, the response actively considered rights, both in the national capital of and emphasised that both boys and girls Islamabad and in the earthquake-affected have needs that should be met. area of Mansehra and Balakot districts;
World Vision established child friendly Background to the emergency spaces (CFS) to respond to the physical response and psycho-social needs of primary and secondary children in camps. Within During the emergency phase that follows the context of the camp communities, it any major disaster, a variety of different provided culturally acceptable alternatives actors respond to the situation. Initially, for all children, especially girls, to meet the local community responds in trying to together in safety, even if they were not save lives and meet immediate needs. Due able to attend school. to the size of this disaster, the initial coping mechanisms were quickly exhausted.
34 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study Within 48 hours, the Government of Too many meetings, and delayed Pakistan declared a state of emergency communication of policy and Pakistan and called for outside assistance. Local implementation decisions between and national government services, the Islamabad and the field; military and outside aid began to pour Lack of involvement of local NGOs in. Local and international NGOs and and government officials in the cluster various United Nations (UN) agencies meetings and decision making (Strand arrived, with support and supplies. In et al 2006). addition to recognised organisations, local communities from all over the country WVP actively participated in clusters that made collections and sent food, clothing related to their sectors of intervention and other urgently needed goods. (such as food and nutrition, logistics, shelter, livelihoods and protection and World Vision Pakistan (WVP), even with education), both at the national level and an extremely limited number of staff on in the local area of operation in Mansehra. the ground, was able to participate in, Though staff were torn between attending and lead one of the initial interagency meetings, liaising with other agencies assessments of the affected area. In the and being in the field with the affected past they had implemented projects communities, attendance and participation through local partners, but due to the in the clusters was crucial. It enabled WVP extent of the disaster and the workload to maintain high standards and share, as of their partners, WVP began building well as keep abreast of, innovative ideas. It their own relationships with the affected also enabled WVP to influence decision communities. Arrangements were made making in all areas of response, especially with local suppliers for emergency supplies protection. and within the first few days, distribution of crucial non-food items began. Due World Vision’s initial response was in three to the size of the disaster, the World key areas: child protection and emergency Vision International partnership deployed education, non-food and food distribution experienced relief specialists though the and emergency shelter. The decision to work Global Rapid Response Team (GRRT), in these sectors (rather than health, water and which included Australian staff. Within sanitation or camp management) was based seven days there were over 12 relief on World Vision’s international expertise in Top: Quake survivors in a remote specialists assisting and strengthening the the areas of child protection, commodities Pakistani village. local response capacity, and this number management, as well as expertise available on Bottom: Earthquake relief continued for the first three months, until the ground at the time. distribution. local staff could be employed and trained. Within the first 10 days of the response, The Pakistan Earthquake response was WVP chose to work in the more remote the first to use the fledgling UN cluster location of the Siran Valley, specifically approach which, while generally positive, Jabori and Sacha Kalan, rather than the had its own teething problems as it was internally displaced camps where many rolled out. Some of the criticisms included: other agencies preferred to work. Though there were logistical difficulties accessing Lack of buy-in by the UN agencies that the more remote communities, WVP was were to take the lead; concerned to meet the needs of the most Limited understanding by those vulnerable who were not being assisted appointed of the role of a cluster lead; by other agencies. At the same time, the child protection sector in Islamabad Rapid turnover of the cluster leads at (which included agencies such as Save the the field level; Children, Oxfam, UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Islamic Relief as well as World Vision) allocated WVP child
Responses to Poverty 2007 35 Section 2
Sectoral or multi-country interventions
Child friendly space, North West Frontier Province. (Photo courtesy ADH/Florian Kopp)
protection activities in the large formal worked at a policy and advocacy level, camps around Balakot, which was in the with government, the UN and NGOs, to opposite direction to the Siran Valley. In raise awareness of child rights issues. At a the initial stages this was less than ideal field level in Balakot and Mansehra, they for WVP, as it led to division of already provided training and raised awareness limited resources, such as transport and among community leaders, religious staffing. As the response matured and leaders, teachers, police and the military, the program expanded, child protection and trained local staff to meet the activities were extended to the settled psychological and social needs of children communities in the Siran Valley, and the and people with disabilities. approaching winter led to the provision The awareness training specifically of warm safe locations for children in the focused on appreciating, understanding higher altitudes. and prioritising the needs of children in camps and communities, from building Child protection activities latrines and washing areas, to ways to speak and interact with children. Local World Vision International child staff based in Islamabad became a crucial protection specialists were some of the link with national level activities. They first response staff to arrive in Pakistan. nurtured partnerships with local agencies Within a very short period of time, these to work with government and human specialists were able to focus government rights groups. This in turn ensured that and other agencies’ attention on the advocacy on child protection and disability importance of addressing children’s needs. issues could be taken up at both the local Within 10 days of the earthquake, staff and national levels. As a consequence of from both World Vision and Save the this excellent work, WVP continues to be Children offered training to any agency engaged in some key advocacy networks on that was interested in working in the area a range of issues around children, orphans of child rights and protection, according and people living with disabilities. to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. From a base in Islamabad, they
36 Responses to Poverty 2007 Snap-shot: Child friendly spaces ensure that all school-age children enrolled Pakistan’s shortage of in the CFS were also enrolled in school. In female teachers The main component of the response, some cases, this involved visiting schools Pakistan’s population of 155 million which also provided the foundation for all and the education department to get is 97 percent Muslim. Purdah, training and advocacy activities, was the which roughly translates as ‘behind approval for children who may have been development of child friendly spaces (CFS) the veil’, is an important institution displaced from other districts, or who were to respond to the physical and psycho- among Muslims in Pakistan and an not already enrolled in a school, to gain a integral part of everyday life for social needs of children in the camps. place and access educational services. The millions of people. Purdah rules These spaces provided social support, are based on a system that ensures program successfully enabled 100 percent outlets for creativity and a chance for the social domains of men and of primary school-age children in the women are kept separate. The children to meet together, play and express target areas to attend school. observance of purdah rules can their feelings. They also provided a place result in a significant gender for parents (especially the mothers) and However, there remained some ongoing disparity in school enrolments, community leaders to come and reflect concerns about the participation rates of particularly in more senior years, given that there are as many as on the needs of the children in their older youths, particularly older girls, in three male teachers to every community. attending school. A key challenge was, female teacher in every Pakistani and remains, in encouraging and enabling province, except Punjab. This During the early stages of the response, the more girls to participate in education national shortage in female community saw the CFS as safe play areas. teachers, particularly in rural areas, generally. One strategy for improving the But, as time passed, and schools resumed, is a major development challenge participation rates of girls is advocacy, and is reflected in adult literacy the CFS were seen by some parents as aimed at increasing the number of female rates - only 46 percent of adult alternative schools, and there was some women in Pakistan are literate, teachers. concern expressed by parents and teachers compared with 72 percent of adult that there was too much ‘play’ and not As a general comment, the engagement men. enough ‘education’ going on, especially of local female staff has consistently in areas where schools had not resumed. posed a challenge for child protection In other areas, parents saw the level of the programming in Pakistan. While many CFS staff’s care and wanted the CFS to communities were enthusiastic about provide all levels of education in preference having a CFS located within their area and to enrolling their children in the local supporting the needs of their children, due school. to the strict purdah, more conservative communities would not allow local In areas where there was no functioning women to be trained as facilitators. These school, WVP encouraged the community communities were happy to have women to use the CFS as schools during school from other communities participate as hours, and as CFS outside school time, facilitators and would send their girls. so the children could benefit from both This cultural expectation meant that educational and social activities. In these activities for girls were both subject to areas WVP partnered with BeFARE, a the availability of facilitators from other local NGO with experience in emergency communities and subject to culturally education activities with Afghan refugees, restricted operational hours for girls. This to set up emergency schools in the consequently means that activities for girls spaces. BeFARE used their experience may not continue beyond the life of the and training program to assist teachers project, unless the community is able to to deal with their own trauma and to fund the transport of female staff from better understand the reasons for changes other areas. in children’s behaviour as a result of the trauma. They also trained them in how to adapt the government curriculum to meet Adolescent program the needs of the children. Being both actively involved in the Statistical source: WVP and BeFARE also worked with the community and regularly visiting homes World Bank Department of Education, community and teachers, CFS staff discovered that Teacher enrolment source: The Daily Times Newspaper, leaders, the children and their families to there was little support for adolescents Pakistan, December 2006
Responses to Poverty 2007 37 Section 2
Sectoral or multi-country interventions
Winter clothing distribution.
within communities. Considered too old problems previously displayed had been to be children but without the status of significantly reduced. adults, often their role within a community Naturally, not all young people wanted was not clear or well defined. They were to attend school. To meet the needs of feeling disenfranchised and had no this particular group, project staff, with purpose; parents were concerned that support from the Pakistan Department of boys especially were becoming discipline Education secured assistance for 40 boys problems. to access vocational training in building This was confirmed when the child trades. protection team was invited to attend a The participants gained a government- prize-giving ceremony at the local high recognised trade certificate. World school in Balakot. They discovered that Vision provided life skills training in many teenagers were not coping with areas of disaster mitigation, community school, either failing or dropping out. participation, child rights, health and Girls, reported to have been harassed on hygiene. The provision of an appropriate their way to and from school, did not want trade tool kit enabled many of these young to continue to attend. people to return to their communities In response, an adolescents’ program was and proactively assist with the rebuilding developed for 12- to 17-year olds. The process. program targeted both those that had Girls who were not able to attend school dropped out and those at risk of dropping or trade classes were organised into home out of school. It included catch-up classes schools and the CFS became a place where for subjects they’d missed, provided 480 girls could meet freely and learn tuition in subjects they were having new skills, with local craftswomen and difficulties with, and provided creative a trainer. Skills taught included sewing, and recreational activities to help them knitting, embroidery, weaving and basic re-assimilate into school life. The program literacy, as well as the life skills taught to successfully reached 140 adolescents who the boys. had dropped out of school and enabled them to rejoin their classes in the new school year. Follow-up comments from teachers suggested that behavioural
38 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study Media and teacher training in teachers to alleviate the fears of these children’s rights religious groups. Along with the local Pakistan community, they were able to explain Another challenge for WVP was the purpose of the CFS and the activities promoting the importance of children’s carried out in the space. This reduced fear rights to the wider community. An initial and concern from the religious groups and strategy involved producing a simple highlighted the support that communities reader in English and Urdu, which was had for the CFS. There is a strong distributed to teachers and community indication that the CFS in some areas leaders. However, some of the Islamic will be able to continue after the end of leaders did not appreciate or want to see the project and ensure that child-focused cartoon pictures of people in the book, activities will be ongoing, under the so it was presented in oral form within supervision of local teachers and parents. communities. The cartoon books were used in schools and were enjoyed by both Accepting female workers in the CFS children and their teachers and made and allowing children to talk about available on a local website in Urdu. child rights on radio suggests that the attitudes of community leaders are slowly The project staff also developed links changing. However, assisting communities with local media groups, who were able to understand the rights of children, to produce and disseminate child rights particularly girls, and the need to respect and child protection messages relevant them, continues to take both time and to the local situation. As a result, some patience. The lack of community trust in print media devoted a weekly space for outside authorities, particularly around children’s issues and one radio station confidentiality issues, can often mean offered airspace for child-focused messages. that violations, particularly against girls The radio programs were produced and teenage women, are not reported for by young people, covering issues that fear that they might bring shame on the were impacting, and relevant to, their families of victims. lives. Through the local BBC station, six programs in total were broadcast to WVP plays an active part as a member approximately 30,000 listeners in the of the Human Rights Working Group Mansehra and Balakot regions. They were (Islamabad) and the Disability Working later broadcast a second time on a local FM Group (Islamabad), and is able to advise Earthquake survivors receive relief supplies. station that covered the whole province. on policy issues around children and other vulnerable groups affected by the earthquake. Given its strong community Reflections relationships, built through the earthquake While WVP is a Christian organisation, response, field staff often learnt first-hand of the activities offered in the CFS were fears and concerns within communities. As sensitive to, and respectful of the Islamic a consequence of these relationships, they faith. All CFS staff were Muslim and were able to assist in the development and children were taught their religious dissemination of information and guidelines songs and stories as part of the activities. to assist government agencies in facilitating However, some local religious leaders, the safe return of families to their places of who did not live in the affected area, were origin. They continue working with local still suspicious of WVP’s intentions as a advocacy groups to lobby the government Christian NGO. This tension escalated to to monitor institutions that house children, the point where this group burned down a and encourage and support children’s CFS one evening. repatriation to their original communities. References: This has resulted in some institutions In response, WVP worked with nationally Strand, A.& Borchgrevink, K. being closed, and others improving their 2006, Review of Norwegian respected Islamic leaders, lawyers and earthquake assistance to conditions. Pakistan, CMI, Norway
Responses to Poverty 2007 39 Section 2
Sectoral or multi-country interventions
Relief distribution, North West Province.
Program Details WVP is committed to long-term support In this context, WVP has a strategy to Project start date: of the affected communities, helping upscale its operations and transition October 2005 to rebuild their lives and livelihoods by from emergency relief to longer-term Project end date: accessing larger grants and increasing the rehabilitation and development projects. March 2006, with transitioning of some programs scale of its work in Pakistan. Between The gains in child protection that WVP 2001 and 2005, WVP was a small office has made after the earthquake have Funding source: AusAID HES Co-Operation that implemented projects through local become the basis on which all other Agreement partners, but with the upsizing of the office activities will be based. Australian funds remitted overseas: after the earthquake response, it is now in US$507,150 the position to implement a program in its own right.
Moving forward The earthquake-affected area is poor and with the increased NGO presence in the area, communities are requesting ongoing development activities, especially for improved livelihoods, education and health services, and reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure. In some of these areas the government simply does not have the capacity to lead this reconstruction; opportunities exist for World Vision to support these communities through piloting programs and strengthening government capacity.
40 Responses to Poverty 2007 Reconstructing responses
The trials and tribulations of World Vision’s tsunami shelter program
Joyati Das Many local and international organisations The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami worked alongside governments to bring was an extraordinary event, relief to the worst affected families. directly affecting millions of Due to the large number of donors people in 12 countries across already active in transitional shelter the Indian Ocean : Indonesia, programs, World Vision (WV) did not Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, focus for any serious length of time on Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, TSUNAMI building transitional shelter. Instead, WV REGION Somalia, Tanzania, Seychelles, focused on building permanent housing, Bangladesh and Kenya. The engaging in, what was to become, an United Nations estimated that extraordinarily massive reconstruction more than 300,000 people and rebuilding process. Some 11,900 perished, one million were houses were constructed through World displaced and five million people Vision programming across India (5,861), were deprived of basic services. Indonesia (3,566), Thailand (402) and Sri On every level the disaster and Lanka (2,066). the tragedy that followed tested everyone involved, as various Governments of tsunami-affected actors tried to coordinate both countries responded differently to the relief and reconstruction phases housing reconstruction challenges. The in areas where poverty and governments of Thailand and India inequalities were deeply and supported the reconstruction activities in historically entrenched. an organised manner, setting standards and guidelines to enable NGOs and agencies to commence work, while the Tsunami destruction, Sri Lanka. The damage to structure and spirit alone led to chaos, bringing unparalleled challenges for governments and non- government organisations (NGOs) alike. At the heart of World Vision’s response to all tsunami programming was a commitment to ensure the beneficiaries’ right to be heard. This commitment occasionally caused complications especially when media “on behalf of donors” pressured the organisation to demonstrate quick results.
Addressing post-tsunami homelessness Following the tsunami, hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless.
Responses to Poverty 2007 41 Section 2
Snap-shot: The tsunami in Aceh About 60 kilometres southwest of Aceh’s provincial capital of Banda Indonesian Government announced a mushroom to respond to the disaster. Aceh lies the coastal village of blueprint for Aceh reconstruction within Unusually buoyed with funds, large NGOs Saney. Most of this village today is weeks of the disaster. This plan included a as well as new smaller ones were often submerged several metres under the sea as a result of the 2004 two-kilometre buffer zone along the coast, competing with each other to stake a claim on Asian tsunami, which was unleashed which meant all communities within that beneficiary communities. At the same time, by an earthquake measuring 9.0 zone were to be relocated. governments of tsunami-affected nations on the Richter scale off the coast struggled to coordinate the relief response, of northern Sumatra. Only eight However, the two-kilometre buffer zone incapacitated, at times, by the destruction children in the village of Saney policy was abandoned when communities survived its wrath. of infrastructure and loss of staff. They and development agencies protested and The official number of people looked to external agencies for support, often lobbied for stakeholder consultation with listed as dead in Aceh is 260,000 demanding immediate relief responses. people with one third of all, or affected communities before drawing up a 1,000 villages and towns, totally mutually agreeable plan. A people-driven Amid the outpouring of funds and destroyed or washed away. rehabilitation process commenced in April resources, NGO leaders, under intense Approximately 280,000 houses were destroyed leaving 547,509 2005 with the overall coordination of media scrutiny and demand for people homeless. Twenty- tsunami reconstruction activities in Aceh accountability to donors, often ‘played-to- five percent of Aceh’s entire facilitated by the government. the-crowd’, making public commitments workforce died in the tsunami. It during the early emergency phase is reported that 10,000 kilometres In Sri Lanka, the government initially about the services that could or would of roads, seven bus terminals, imposed a setback or buffer zone from 100 28,000 hectares of irrigation and be delivered in the long term. These metres up to 500 metres along the coast to 100 kilometres of canals were commitments were mostly made well destroyed as well as innumerable restrict people from returning to their land. before concrete assessments had been public buildings. The scale of A reconstruction body was established to conducted regarding beneficiary needs housing reconstruction required coordinate the rebuilding process. The was massive, larger even than the and delivery within realistic timeframes. Urban Development Authority (UDA) annual housing program for the This naturally resulted in untenable, whole of Indonesia. of Sri Lanka eventually agreed that this unwarranted pressure on NGO field policy was unsuitable. However, its reversal staff, already under immense, unforeseen then affected the housing plans for those pressure to provide quality assistance to who were relocated to sites other than those most acutely affected. their original land (refer to the Sri Lankan shelter response). Key challenges NGO response The reconstruction exercise was undertaken amidst many entangled and The uniqueness and depth of the tsunami’s often competing interests. These included impact generated unprecedented donor extraordinary political complexities; often generosity, which saw many new NGOs
42 Responses to Poverty 2007 Snap-shot imprecise government policies concerning allocation to WV meant that activities Beneficiary training land tenure/land ownership and buffer and commitments in other sectors had program for construction zones; incorrect beneficiary lists that reached their capacity by the time the of houses in Sri Lanka demanded scrutiny to ensure integrity so shelter program was finalised. This resulted To address quality assurance issues, that the right people were prioritised for in other agencies making commitments to at selected sites the Sri Lanka Human housing; the often inappropriate selection provide complementary infrastructure in Accountability Team (HAT) engaged an effective method to inform non- of relocation sites by officials; and the need areas where WV agreed to provide shelter technical supervisors and beneficiaries to ensure provision of essential services and other public buildings. about methods to be used in the to newly built houses. It thus demanded construction of their houses. This Though the Sri Lanka response was in-depth community consultation, training plan was devised to give smaller than the Aceh response, it was just communities a general idea about negotiation with local governments as complex and provides real insight into the essentials of good construction, and high-level lobbying of national and including quantities and quality of the challenges faced by programming staff. regional governments in partnership with materials to be used for concrete, the quality and condition of steel other NGOs to expedite the process of bars, usage of clean river sand, depth reconstruction. The Sri Lanka shelter response of excavation in foundations, types of filling materials for foundations, At the heart of World Vision’s response An evolving and changing socio-political uniformity of cement blocks and to all tsunami programming was a context in Sri Lanka offered several plastering. These basics were taught commitment to ensure the beneficiary’s challenges for World Vision field staff to all beneficiaries involved, including men, women and children. right to be heard and to be a driver of during post-tsunami reconstruction. The Empowered with some basic the decision-making process. To achieve decades-old civil conflict, which had construction knowledge, the this, World Vision drew on the Code defused after the signing of the 2002 peace beneficiaries were able to monitor of Conduct for the ICRC and NGOs agreement between the Tamil Tigers and quality of construction and bring in Disaster Relief as well as the Sphere the Government of Sri Lanka, threatened any perceived deficiencies to the attention of WV technical Humanitarian Charter and Minimum to erupt again. The north and the eastern supervisors. World Vision’s Standards in Disaster. While these generic Sri Lankan states with large Tamil commitment to bottom up guidelines and procedures assisted in populations and other ethnic minorities accountability is cited in an developing the overall response, World accused the Sinhalese-dominated interview with a fisherman from Galle who said: Vision lacked a succinct policy position government of discrimination with the “This was the first time in generations on shelter and land tenure issues to inform claim that little or no assistance was that the knowledge of house construction a shelter strategy. This created several offered to the Tamil communities affected was shared with us. Having lived in substantial challenges for field staff, who by the tsunami. Communities, originally mud huts, the transfer of knowledge from father to son stopped at this basic could not operate according to a pre-agreed divided and embittered by past differences, style. My young son now has first- organisational standard. resorted to blaming each other and NGOs hand knowledge of the construction for neglecting certain ethnic groups. process and will be able to transfer this World Vision was often in direct knowledge to the next generation.” competition with other agencies to secure The destruction of documentation This progressive development projects and under pressure from the caused by the tsunami also fuelled delays approach to shelter reconstruction media to demonstrate commencement of and provided a major challenge for ensured community capacity building, leading to sustainability rebuilding activities. This pressure resulted rebuilding. With an absence of accurate and poverty reduction in the in WV building transitional housing for records, the government struggled to long term. Beneficiaries became some communities and then moving on process beneficiary registrations quickly, program partners and contributed to build permanent housing for others. so the allocation of land to appropriate to their own development. This inconsistency created tensions beneficiaries took longer than anticipated. between field staff and communities Fluid government policies also affected the at the beginning, with neither able to program severely and impacted delivery establish relationships with the other for timeframes. For example, the government long enough to ensure the commencement introduced a coastal buffer zone after the of sound, longer-term or more holistic tsunami, which created a land shortage development. in many areas. Land allocations and the In Aceh, where some integrated programs appropriation of relocated sites, as well as were possible initially, a delay in housing livelihood issues created by the buffer zones
Responses to Poverty 2007 43 Section 2
Snap-shot: The Hambantota apartment building, Sri Lanka
To accelerate the rebuilding process, World Vision Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Sri Lanka to construct a 416 unit high-density apartment building in a complex in the district of Hambantota. However, due to the absence of a beneficiary list, no assessments or beneficiary consultations regarding this project were commissioned before this MOU was signed. After much lobbying with national and local governments, WV was finally given the list of beneficiaries to occupy these flats with the promise (for fishermen, for example) became a major to provide beneficiary-identified services. that all community issues that had issue of contention and required lengthy been highlighted by WV would be Due to the large number of housing units negotiations with the local governments. addressed. World Vision conducted to be constructed, WV opted to engage community consultations through forums and household surveys and Controversy about the intentions of the contractors for rebuilding, rather than received some quality feedback on buffer zone policy drew international use the alternative community-driven the impact of this program. Those attention. The Sri Lankan Government model. Under the contractor-driven model, who were allocated to move into the later revised this policy, reducing the buffer centralised from the capital, Colombo, new units clearly indicated that they would not move into a multi-storey zone substantially. When the buffer zones the contractor was responsible for the building; and fishermen particularly were reopened to dwellings, the prior procurement and supply of all construction said this move into an apartment inhabitants of sites within those zones materials, implementation of the project would have serious consequences for could once again claim their original sites in accordance with technical specifications their livelihoods. and many naturally preferred to do this. and design prepared and issued by In addition to the lack of consultation with the families, the absence of a This resulted in chaos for field staff, as the World Vision (or its agent), and to meet long-term plan for maintenance of previously verified beneficiary lists became nominated standards of quality. Local the building and the special needs of redundant overnight. communities and beneficiaries had the the vulnerable had clearly not been opportunity to gain employment with the thought through. World Vision Sri Lanka established a contractor if they were keen to contribute After more lobbying, the local stakeholder liaison group, later renamed government relented. It agreed to labour to build their own houses. hold in-depth consultation with the Human Accountability Team (HAT), beneficiaries with the intention of to ensure beneficiary participation in As conflict in north and east Sri Lanka obtaining written consent from those all phases of construction. Trained escalated, there was criticism that the who were prepared to move into community mobilisers facilitated ongoing contracting model, managed from the apartments upon completion. In July 2005, after a six-month advocacy outreach to communities, undertaking Colombo, was becoming less effective. process, the Sri Lankan Government beneficiary surveys and in-depth The construction industry also became sent a letter requesting World Vision consultation to gather feedback and overloaded under the massive tsunami build 40 flats as opposed to 416, as redesign the shelter approaches if required. workload. Building materials became agreed in the MOU. These flats have increasingly difficult to procure, resulting been built and beneficiaries have now A step-by-step guidelines and training plan moved in. in rapid cost increases as demand far was prepared for community members, outstripped supply. The movement of and the development of a beneficiary Above: Hambantota apartment materials through various parts of Sri database (that managed beneficiary- building. Lanka also required various security specific information) was established to Opposite: Rebuilt homes, Sri Lanka. checks, which added additional constraints reduce confusion and corruption. The and contributed to increased costs. It also household surveys of shelter beneficiaries resulted in reluctance by contractors to were the foundation of this database, where venture outside their ‘comfort’ zones. household needs were documented and used
44 Responses to Poverty 2007 In response to these growing obvious lack of organisational skills and complications, an alternative approach competency in the shelter sector and an was devised. This involved breaking down absence of an agreed shelter framework for the construction process into a number World Vision. Some people argue that the of defined sub-contract packages, eg. scale of this permanent shelter rebuilding masonry, roofing, windows, electrical, etc. initiative is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, for a nominated group of houses. Then, and typically the territory of government based on a community or sub-community, planners rather than international NGOs a construction committee was appointed like World Vision. In many respects, this is with the task of identifying a group of sub- true, however it is still crucial that World contractors. World Vision staff supervised Vision’s comprehensive shelter and housing construction to completion, and signed off policy includes our position on temporary on work quality before payment was made. shelter and permanent housing. Even if it is This model worked well and overcame to say we will do one, but not the other. Program Details some of the problems associated with the Lessons from the tsunami experience Project partners (Sri Lanka only): general shortage of commercial contractors. are already being adopted. Plans are in In addition to support from World Vision Australia, the Sri Lanka place to build shelter expertise within the shelter program received resources, World Vision Global Rapid Response governance and implementation Reflections Team. Upgrading World Vision’s financial support from various World Vision partners including World Vision A strength in World Vision’s programming systems and business processes is on the International, World Vision UK, was its rights-based approach to shelter, agenda. Tighter human resource policies World Vision US, World Vision and its commitment from the beginning relevant to emergencies and appropriate Germany and other World Vision of the program to sort out complex land communication plans are areas that offices, the Lanka Asian Tsunami Response Team, as well as local tenure and entitlement issues. have been highlighted as priorities for partners, such as the World Vision revision. World Vision has also revised its Sri Lanka National Office and local Another strength was the way field staff emergency response categories. NGOs. maintained professionalism and adhered to Project start date: minimum standards. The project successfully The Asian tsunami highlighted various 26 December 2005 engaged the community and ensured that gaps in the current implementation plans of Project end date: participation took place through a mutual aid all NGOs. Ultimately it was institutional Continuing as at August 2007 approach of self-help groups and construction standards and the commitment of World Funding source: committees, modelled around the principles Vision staff, local and international, in the Tsunami Appeal of appreciative inquiry. field – negotiating with governments and Funds remitted to date for tsunami working with communities to implement Another key element in the program’s shelter and housing in Sri Lanka: a holistic program within a reasonable US$6,536,516 success was the use of local skills and timeframe – that achieved results. This materials, creating livelihoods for Number of houses in Sri Lanka: commitment enabled around 11,900 houses 2,066 (construction underway or beneficiaries through cash-for-work (different stages of completion at present) completed as of June 2007) programs and revival of small businesses to be built across four tsunami-affected Funds remitted to date for all during the reconstruction period. countries, each with their own set of unique tsunami shelter and housing: US$13,490,988 These positives sit in contrast with the circumstances and building models. Number of houses, other tsunami affected countries: India: 5,861 (5,861 construction underway or completed as of June 2007) Indonesia: 3,566 (3,206 construction underway or completed as of June 2007) Thailand: 402 (construction underway or completed as of June 2007) Across all four countries: 11,895 (11,535 construction underway or completed as of June 2007).
Responses to Poverty 2007 45 Section 12
Sectoral or Multi-Country Children of Romania Interventions Reflecting on 15 years of child protection work in Romania
Valentin Sabau World Vision Romania started the Maria Muzur Children of Romania (CoR) project in Corina Popescu 1992, with support from World Vision Roxana Trupina Australia and World Vision US, as a A key to the Children of response to the bleak institutionalisation Romania (CoR) project’s success of more than 100,000 children under the has been its consistent and previous communist regime. Born of a constructive engagement with, silent tragedy, the CoR project has evolved and support of, government over the past 15 years from a welfare agencies, such as the Child response into an adaptive and innovative Protection Department. This program, piloting models of care in NGO/government relationship response to the protection needs of poor has ensured that service models, and abandoned Romanian children. originally developed and piloted For decades preceding 1989, millions of through the CoR project, have Romanians suffered under an oppressive been regularly integrated and notoriously brutal communist regime. into government policies and When the Romanian economy took a practices over the years. downturn during the communist period, the quality of social services available to children and families fell, along with other quality of life indicators. As poor families and single parents struggled to meet the most basic of needs, tens of thousands of babies and children were abandoned to institutions under the guise of ‘child protection’. As institutions struggled to find adequate levels of financial and human resources, these children experienced significant levels of neglect. Romania’s shame was hidden from the public eye until the fall of the communist regime, when television crews released shocking footage of children in overcrowded dormitories to the world. Global attention was drawn to the plight of these children and their overworked and under-resourced carers. World Vision Romania’s primary objective at the time was to support caregivers from institutions through training, explicitly intended to improve the levels of individual and professional care given to these children. Food, medicines and educational
46 Responses to Poverty 2007 materials were also provided through and child shelters, to women facing family the project, which focused its work in crises, or with no financial or family Timisoara, Cluj, Alexandria, Bucharest support. Several of these services have since and Craiova. been taken over by local governments in ROMANIA Cluj and Valcea. In Bucharest, this service continues to be financially supported by An evolving response World Vision. However, the CoR project During the mid 1990s the program’s focus is focused on transferring responsibility evolved, as World Vision partnered with for the District One shelter to the Child institutions to develop more holistic ‘care’ Protection Department and ensuring the frameworks and services. Early Education, service is replicated in District Five where for example, was a new service framework there is clear need, but currently no shelter. whereby care for institutionalised children A number of day care centres were also was individually focused and sought to established by World Vision. These Snap-shot: blend the provision of basic needs with aimed to provide care and education Romania emotional and social support, using opportunities for children aged six months Romania is a middle income volunteer networks. This enabled the country with a GNI per capita of to five years old, considered to be ‘at risk’ children to have far more comprehensive $3,830 in 2005. With a population of abandonment. In addition to support developmental and socialising experiences of 21.6 million, it is the second for the children, opportunities were created largest country in Central and as they grew up. This model was eventually for parents to receive job counselling and Eastern Europe (CEE). Despite mainstreamed by the Preschool State Child robust economic growth over support for social reintegration. Institutions across Romania, and became the past five years and its recent European Community (EU) the standard approach to child protection Between 1992 and 2006, more than integration, over 30 percent of in the years that followed. 40,000 Romanian children and adults were Romanians continue to live in supported through CoR project initiatives. poverty. By 1997, the Romanian Government Improved partnerships with institutions, signalled its intent to begin the process of families and government agencies also de-institutionalising care by promoting, resulted in a significant decrease in the through a new policy strategy, community- rate of child abandonment in maternity and family-based solutions to child and paediatric hospitals. Parents were abandonment. In response and in close supported to increase their understanding dialogue with policy makers, World Vision of their rights and obligations, and also piloted a number of alternative child care assisted in accessing services aimed at models and methodologies, including addressing crisis conditions which typically foster care, mother and child shelters and resulted in child abandonment. day care centres. World Vision’s foster care models aimed Project breakthroughs to keep children in safe, secure and loving family environments while, when possible, Over the 15-year period there have been encouraging and enabling relationships several significant breakthroughs. A with natural parents. A foster care network watershed moment occurred in 1996 for children with disabilities and one when World Vision commissioned the for children in emergency situations very first child abuse research in Romania. which included abused children, were Conducted by World Vision social workers also developed and piloted. Since 2000, in Cluj County, written in partnership the Child Protection Department has with Babes-Boylai, the University of gradually assumed responsibility for Cluj and the Department of Sociology funding and running various foster care and Social Services, the study examined models initiated by World Vision. and reviewed the types and causes of child abuse and neglect occurring in that In the late 1990s, World Vision provided region. This knowledge was then used to social support services, through mother directly inform advocacy responses such as
Responses to Poverty 2007 47 Section 2
Sectoral or Multi-Country the Child Protection Department assumed Interventions responsibility for service delivery. In that same year, a new regulation covering foster care for emergency situations was included in child protection law.
Reflections Clearly a key strength of the CoR project has been its relationship with, and support of the Child Protection departments of Valcea, Cluj County and Bucharest. While they were the primary government departments providing child protection services in these regions, at key moments they clearly lacked the capacity and resources to provide the necessary services required. awareness campaigns, and to improve the While new care models were introduced tailoring of services for abused children. and piloted by World Vision, various Another notable moment occurred in government representatives were trained October 2002 when, in response to the and supported to take them over. Through serious and increasing need for emergency working groups, CoR project staff child placement assistance, the CoR project assisted with the development of program Program Details developed the emergency foster care pilot documents and standards including Project partners: model. methodology, instruments and regulatory World Vision Australia, World compliance requirements (such as number This proved to be a particularly Vision Romania, various local NGOs of staff required) which were to be observed and other agencies challenging initiative for a number of by all child protection service providers. Program start date: reasons. World Vision found it difficult November 1992 to identify foster parents for children Another key success factor was the CoR Project end date: requiring emergency assistance. Existing project’s capacity to evolve strategically, and Ongoing foster parents were uncomfortable about remain responsive to a changing context. Target population: accepting children into their homes Though initially a welfare service, the real 165,928 people when the ‘matching’ process they were need emerged over time. It was to model Funding source: accustomed to didn’t take place prior to support strategies for local communities Children of Romania appeal the arrival of a child. Also, under existing and government to develop, integrate Funds remitted from Australia legislation, since emergency placements and sustain a continuum of services by Financial Year (FY) since 1998: were invariably for periods of less than one appropriate to the reality of Romanian child FY1998 US$303,702 month, emergency care foster parents were abandonment and protection. FY1999 US$277,540 not initially eligible to receive financial FY2000 US$230,000 The CoR project deliberately targeted support from the state. At the time, foster FY2001 US$184,477 capacity building for individuals, FY2002 US$90,000 care needed to be provided for at least governments and NGOs , based on FY2003 US$101,000 two months in order for the child’s file to FY2004 US$139,968 quality standard social service delivery. be processed by local authorities and for FY2005 US$200,000 Crucially, World Vision worked with a FY2006 US$150,000 payments to be made available to carers. FY2007 US$100,000 breadth of partners (hospitals, government In addition to piloting the model itself, departments, local governments and other Total funds remitted from World Vision engaged in considerable Australia since 1998: NGOs) at all stages in the cycle of project US$1,776,687 lobbying to ensure that the child management − design, implementation, protection legislation was modified monitoring and evaluation − in order appropriately. The emergency foster care to ensure sustainable ownership of the pilot was mainstreamed in 2004, when initiatives. By maintaining constructive
48 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study and collaborative relationships at the Moving forward program level, World Vision became Romania For various reasons, the Australian recognised as a trusted and committed Government has not allowed donations to partner and was able to advocate for, Romanian programs to be tax-deductible. influence and agitate legislative and In spite of this, thanks to a group of systemic changes around child protection dedicated Australian donors, World policies more broadly. Vision Australia has been able to maintain ongoing support for Children of Romania New era, new opportunities over a 15-year period. As a consequence, CoR offers some interesting insights into Romania’s accession to the European the relationship between development Union largely coincided with the CoR practice and responsive, but proactive project timeframe. In response to a reform advocacy initiatives, where NGOs agenda being imposed as part of accession might empower new or under-resourced to the EU, the government has almost governments to engage in quality care- certainly been more open to dialogue, and focused structural reform on key sector willing to engage with key child protection issues. issues. This unique situation enabled World Vision’s advocacy expectations, Certainly the learnings from this program across many key issues, to be exceeded. can be applied to other World Vision child However, without doubt, the CoR project’s rescue programs that deal with a range of work in the field enabled World Vision complex child rights and protection issues. to advocate with authority for quality For example, World Vision Australia is standards in child protection. currently involved in addressing child labour practices in India and juvenile Over the past four years, CoR has focused justice responses in Mongolia. its work on preventing child abandonment through prevention, care and advocacy. With little doubt, the agility and re- As Romania enters the EU, many expect sponsiveness of the CoR project staff to its lack of market competitiveness, identify opportunities at key moments particularly in agriculture, to result in a was a strength. Their ability to review the significant drop in the standard of living project’s focus, while nurturing and em- for rural Romanians. Moving forward powering strategic partners in the process, then, World Vision Romania will focus on ensured that advancements and learnings the following: were shared and built on. And clearly, the recognition that they were committed to advocacy, ensuring that appropriate child long-term sustainability of support pro- protection services are replicated and made grams for the target communities made the available in regions where community world of difference in achieving substantial assessments have identified needs; outcomes. creating Community Information Centres to ensure child rights information, and programs about family and child welfare and protection services are more accessible to parents, families and carers; commissioning research that explores and investigates the link between pre- natal and post-natal depression and the incidence of child abandonment.
Responses to Poverty 2007 49 Section 2
Fair trade, the Brazilian experience
Making markets work for small producers as a pathway out of poverty
Roni Oracion World Vision Australia began supporting World Vision Brazil’s Fair Trade World Vision Brazil’s FTAM in 2000, and Access to Markets (FTAM) when funds were initially used to enhance program has certainly grown the food security of local farmers, mainly up. From humble beginnings melon growers. The program was then exporting melons to European ‘graduated’ to enhance community markets, through innovation, development linkages and establish the ambition, willingness to take Northeast Brazil Fair Trade Program. risks and learn from its (not Currently, World Vision Australia is insignificant) mistakes, the working with World Vision national project has successfully scaled offices in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and up. It now provides business Columbia, as well as Brazil, to build on the development services to success of this and other micro-enterprise over 6,000 small producers development and trade access programs. in northeast Brazil. As the program enters a new scaling-up Fair trade phase in the second half of 2007, involving coordinated World The European-centred Fair Trade Vision trade programs across Labelling Organisation estimates that its six South American countries, sales in Europe, which represent 60 – 70 a whole new set of learning percent of the fair trade market, have experiences is emerging. been growing at an average of 20 percent per year since 2000. The annual net retail value of fair trade products sold in Europe now exceeds EUR660 million (Hulm 2006). Although just over 0.01 percent of all global trade, fair trade is setting standards to enable inclusion of small producers in the market economy. Fair trade is a concept that challenges the growing inequities and environmental degradation that has accompanied the growth in world trade more broadly. In general, small agricultural producers in Brazil live in areas where there is little or no infrastructure to support the productive process. They have very limited access to communication services. As a result, they are kept at the fringes of, or excluded from, the market economy. In many respects this is one of the root causes of the massive inequality that exists between South America’s rich and poor populations.
50 Responses to Poverty 2007 There are three key constraints that Comercio Solidario forged an alliance perpetuate the market isolation of small with Boticario, an ethical corporation with producers in Brazil, and other Latin over 2,500 shops in Brazil and market BRAZIL American countries more broadly: relationships in 25 other countries. While Boticario has excellent market reach, it is Small producers are resource-poor, lack equally well known for promoting quality, market information and are poorly innovation, environmental protection, organised for collective marketing; consumer’s rights and social responsibility. Appropriate technology that would Through FTAM, World Vision Brazil has allow a regular supply of quality been active in campaigns to promote fair produce, that meets the standards of trade, in setting up producers’ networks specialised local and international in the northeast in partnership with the markets and skills, is lacking; and Brazilian Fair Trade Forum (Forum de Relations between small producers Articulacao de Comercio Ético e Solidario Snap-shot: About Brazil and traders are usually exploitative, do Brasil, or FACES), and in negotiating Despite significant economic such that small producers receive an with the Brazilian Government for support development in recent years, the inequitable share of the proceeds from to small producers. poorest one-fifth of Brazil’s 182 the final sale to the consumer. million people share 2.4 percent The program has influenced the Brazilian of its national income according to Government’s decision to allocate US$18 the World Bank. Brazil is second How the FTAM works million to projects supporting access to only to South Africa in a world ranking of income inequality. markets for small producers. More recently, World Vision Brazil has assisted small According to 2003 data, about World Vision Brazil has been involved in producers’ access to markets as one one-fifth of the population live the formulation of a national fair trade on less than US$2 a day and 8 approach to fight poverty and its causes in public policy. Brazil is expected to be the percent live on less than US$1 a a way that promises to deliver long-term day. Brazil’s northeast contains first developing country to adopt such a benefits. This approach is characterised by the single largest concentration specific policy, enabling small producers to of rural poverty in Latin America. promoting an alternative system of trade, access markets. While education indicators show and ensuring that when new markets are primary school attendance nearing accessed, small producers maximise their 100 percent, pre-primary and profit share from sales to consumers. The Lessons learned secondary school attendance remains low compared with other FTAM operates according to a three- As outlined above, World Vision Australia middle-income countries. Infant pronged approach: and maternal mortality rates are is currently working with World Vision improving; however, the national offering support to small producers and national offices in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, indicators mask significant regional micro-entrepreneurs; Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia to expand differences, with the northeast and this initiative. As part of this process, it is north lagging behind other regions. facilitating the development of a timely to reflect on some of the challenges commercial market; and and lessons learned from the FTAM over advocating for a consistent, fair and the past seven years. ethical market. Support services provided to small Lesson 1 producers include technical assistance and It is crucial to understand the relationship consultancy services, capacity building, between livelihoods, value chains, microcredit, marketing linkages and profitability and sustainability. The global advocacy. trade environment is complex. Given To provide market linkages and strengthen the need to improve quality (in terms FTAM in 2005, the program established of produce and packaging for example) Ética: Comercio Solidario, a joint venture and the time taken for small producers partnership between World Vision and to revise their work practices accordingly, small producers associations that operates it is actually a lot less risky and more as a trading agent. Recently Ética: sustainable for commercial trading
Annual Program Review:Responses Operation to Poverty Report 2007 51 Section 12
Sectoral or Multi-Country activities to develop gradually. Programs government level is also important, as is Interventions benefit from improving produce quality advocacy in end markets, both in country and diversity, building links with local and abroad. Little or no infrastructure and regional markets, then moving on to support to the production and marketing national and finally, international markets. process in rural areas already contributes Aiming prematurely for export sales can to higher costs and the erosion of prove costly, particularly if expectations whatever competitive advantages small are not aligned to the sometimes harsh producers might have over big businesses. realities of the export environment. This is In addition, global trade is increasingly the case even more so if small producers do concentrated in the hands of a small not have diverse outlets for their products number of large-scale corporations, capable to balance out the boom and bust nature of edging small businesses out of the of the global market context, especially for market through cost cutting measures. primary products. And while trade agreements, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement Lesson 2 (NAFTA), offer considerable protection Large trading companies can count on for intellectual and property rights, small insurance, hedging mechanisms and easy producers will always lack reasonable Program Details access to cheap credit to strengthen their access and capacity to assert their interests Support outline: competitive advantages. Small producers against global corporations. World Vision Australia’s most recent support for the FTAM project are, without protection of a buffer fund, ended in 2005. World Vision Brazil vulnerable to seasonal price fluctuations, Lesson 4 then successfully engaged a range of currency variations and swings in global other donors and partners in order to graduate the project. trade. When pro-poor trade programs are Although the FTAM was successful in ready to go global, it is important to set up forging strategic alliances between small In the second half of 2007, World Vision Australia will support a fair a buffer fund to provide small producers producers, NGOs and the Brazilian trade and access to market initiative with protection against occasional trade government at local and national levels, it for small South American producers swings. When it came to setting up a was weak in developing alliances with the across six South American trade program, FTAM aimed ambitiously private sector. As the private sector is a key countries. high and went straight into the export actor in local, national and international Funding sources 2002 - 2005: market. Without the protection of Fair trade, this is an area that needs to be AusAID NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) Trade certification and labelling processes, strengthened for the program to develop its Corporate and Major Donors it was immediately vulnerable. This was global competitiveness. The importance of Funds remitted from Australia by a costly lesson for the program when, in large-scale collective bargaining by groups Financial Year (FY) since 2002: the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 of small producers, and the importance FY2002 US$90,652 terrorist attacks, a big drop in the price of of quality product development to enable FY2003 US$90,000 FY2004 US$112,500 melons in Europe required World Vision small producers to negotiate better prices FY2005 US$67,500 and small producers to cover the losses. for their goods, are also key factors that Naturally losses of this nature run the will influence success. risk of creating considerable devastation amongst poor farmers and their families Moving forward if expectations go unmet and alternative buffer or response mechanisms are not Fair trade in international markets has already in place. grown exponentially over the last three decades. Expansion into mainstream distribution channels means it is Lesson 3 increasingly being recognised by consumers, Proactive advocacy and promotional public authorities and even private assistance is crucial to create space for companies as an efficient tool for poverty small producers to confidently access new eradication and sustainable development. markets. Advocacy at regional and national Certainly, World Vision Brazil’s FTAM
52 Responses to Poverty 2007 Farmers co-op, Brazil.
suggests that fair trade has significant at a different stage, and has a different level potential for bringing the benefits of trade of understanding about its development into the hands of communities that need it regarding access to market projects. So, for most. However, it is a strategy not without example, the concept of fair trade is both risks for NGOs such as World Vision. well known and understood in Chile where a solidarity trading program has already Incorporating lessons from the Brazil and been developed, but it is not well known in other South American trade programming Bolivia. experiences, the expanded six country FTAM project, which is scheduled for The viability of using a Brazil-based Ética: roll out in the second half of 2007, will Commercio Solidario as a trading facility develop a coordinated Latin America in other countries is also in question, in ‘market access advocacy strategy’. This will spite of much success having been achieved be implemented at local, national, regional in the Brazilian domestic market. These and international levels and also carry out challenges have led to ongoing and robust a regional fair trade and market access debates between the respective World capacity building program in the five new Vision national offices during the design countries. and redesign phase. Perhaps unsurprisingly due to the variety in understandings and Another priority is to establish and experiences, it has already taken a year maintain a market information system, to ensure that all six countries are able initially in Chile. This system aims to to fully participate in the design process. link producers and buyers, providing Nevertheless, the stakes are high and the information on prices, price movements, opportunities are considerable, so each producers and quantities produced and country is keen to face these challenges other market-related information. Ética: and reach the goal of small producers Comercio Solidario will be scaled up as References: generating high quality goods, gaining a regional trade facility with a market Diniz, J and Nunes, E Pro-poor access to markets and receiving a fair price. Market Access: constraints access capacity building centre that will and challenges for a World Vision programs model (a case utilise face-to-face and virtual educational study about the WV Brazilian methods. experience of melon exports), 2004. Hulm, Peter Fair Trade The FTAM rollout process is already presentation, International uncovering its own set of new challenges. Trade Forum, 2006. Ética: Commercio Solidario For example, each participating country is http://www.eticabrasil.com.br
Responses to Poverty 2007 53 Section 12
Closing the cycle to human trafficking
Frameworks for effective law enforcement collaborations in the Mekong sub-region
Susu Thatun number of these countries is actively improving prosecutorial Recent World Vision conditions for victims of human partnerships in the Greater trafficking. These improvements Mekong sub-region challenge are enabling and empowering a cynical, and often held victims to come forward and misconception that testify against their abusers, strengthening law enforcement thereby also improving the rate MEKONG while also improving human SUB-REGION of effective prosecutions. rights is contradictory. The Greater Mekong sub- region (GMS) covers about 2.3 The rise of human trafficking million square kilometres, has in the GMS a combined population of 240 In the early 1990s, a shift from socialist to million people and comprises six more open-market economies, combined countries that share the Mekong with the Asian Development Bank’s River, running through Yunan (ADB) program for greater economic Province in China, Myanmar, Lao integration, created a major enhancement in PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and connectivity amongst the various countries Vietnam. of the GMS. This has resulted in a much Productive and unique greater flow of goods, trade, commerce and collaborations between World communication between the countries. Vision (WV) and police in a However, this economic progress has not as yet dramatically eased the economic disparity experienced between and within the various countries. Thailand’s GDP per capita, for example, is eight times more than the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia (UNDP 2005). Legal opportunities to work and migrate within the region have been limited by the various governments’ slow development of labour agreements. But the demand to capitalise on new business opportunities has resulted in extreme impatience with formal and legal migration procedures for workers. A consequence of this market impatience has been the growth in what we call human trafficking, the modern form of slavery. Opportunists have moved into this labour policy void and brought the supply and demand sides of the labour market together
54 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study illegally. The recent US State Department These efforts, in part, help reduce the Report suggests that of the 600,000 to potency of the pull environment but more Mekong 800,000 people trafficked globally, some needs to be done to shift the focus from sub-region 250,000 of them are from South-East Asia. victim care and case management to working proactively with police on prosecutions. World Vision – an integrated Until recently, direct partnerships between strategy international NGOs and law enforcement authorities were often marked with tension. Many initial attempts by non-government The notable exception has been Thailand, organisations (NGOs) including World and to a lesser degree Cambodia, Vision to address the consequences of this where government-NGO partnerships growing phenomenon, were predominantly collaborating on criminal justice issues welfare oriented. Interventions largely focused and processes have been relatively stronger on prevention and protection of trafficked compared to other countries in the region. persons. World Vision’s anti-trafficking For World Vision, Thailand has provided initiatives also focused on prevention opportunities where projects operate through intensive community engagement at the community level to connect and in education, health and micro-enterprise empower authorities, rather than isolate development. These initiatives are primarily them, in a bid to ensure a better protective aimed at district level and align with environment for migrant workers as well community development programming. as victims of trafficking, thereby reducing However, World Vision’s significant incidences of trafficking. presence in all countries in the GMS gives The diagram below highlights the dynamics it solid community-level relationships and of an integrated approach in a push and pull presence on both sides of borders. Within environment. It should be noted that the the anti-trafficking field this is an extremely elements stated under these environments useful comparative advantage since the same as well as key components stated under agency can work in places of origin and in each category of intervention – prevention, a cross-border or point-to-point manner. It protection and prosecution – are meant to also provides working links with some of be indicative and not comprehensive. the poorest and most isolated areas where communities may have few options other Top: Police training session, than to embark on unsafe migration. An integrated approach Cambodia. to trafficking: Bottom: Children’s centre, Cambodia. Since 2002, WV has leveraged its relationships and presence to develop Goal: Reduce incidence initiatives aimed at strengthening the of traf cking in GMS Focused on Prevention stabilising prosecutorial mechanisms of anti-trafficking. of unsafe migration communities PUSH ENVIRONMENT or traf cking A ‘prosecution’ approach operates CHARACTERISED BY: • LABOUR SURPLUS KEY COMPONENTS: • CONFLICT • AWARENESS predominately in the ‘pull environment’, • LACK OF LAND • EDUCATION • FEWER ECONOMIC • LIVELIHOODS/MED the environment where money and markets OPPORTUNITIES • COMMUNITY STRENGTH • INEQUALITY, ESPECIALLY GENDER • RIGHTS combine to con, coerce or convince migrants • COERCION • REPORTING OF INCIDENTS to take risks. By assisting local authorities PULL ENVIRONMENT Policy CHARACTERISED BY: just & enabling to build their capacity to address the rising • AVAILABLE MONEY • LABOUR DEFICIT & POLICIES policies for all crime of human trafficking, World Vision has • MORE ALTERNATIVES • ATTRACTIONS worked directly with and alongside the law • PEACE OR STABILITY • ATTITUDE TO MIGRANTS Prosecution Protection enforcement authorities at the community of perpetrators from exploitation level. These efforts work to preserve the KEY COMPONENTS: KEY COMPONENTS: • VICTIM ASSISTANCE • PROVISION OF SAFE ALTERNATIVES dignity and rights of migrants by providing • LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT • PROMOTION OF RIGHTS • JUDICIAL SYSTEMS Focused on Focused on • SUPPORT SERVICES/REINTEGRATION • ADDRESSING CORRUPTION • LEGAL MIGRATION POLICIES victim care and case management allowing • REGIONAL RESPONSES perpetrators mobile populations • LABOUR LAWS police to gather evidence for successful • TREATIES, CONVENTIONS • INDUSTRY REGULATION prosecutions.
Responses to Poverty 2007 55 Section 2
Sectoral or multi-country World Vision’s approach It has played a significant role in developing interventions to prosecution trust among vulnerable communities (such as undocumented migrants in Thailand, World Vision’s initial collaboration with ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia, etc). Staff law enforcement, and in particular the have assisted community members to seek police, took place in Cambodia in 2000, assistance and redress when relatives, friends with the implementation of a project or associates go missing and/or are believed called the Law Enforcement Against to have been trafficked. Case management Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of approaches such as these, that try to minimise Children (LEASECT). World Vision gaps and create links between police and the strategically partnered with UNICEF community, invariably only work when there and the International Organisation is complete trust in the agency working on for Migration (IOM) to build the the case. capacity of the Ministry of Interior’s Program Details Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile By developing a close working partnership, Programming overview: Protection Department to undertake WV Vietnam has been able to increase the Since 2003, World Vision Australia better investigation and more effective skills and confidence of the police – while has supported 16 different prosecutions. Other key components of also increasing their understanding of programs aimed at addressing child and human trafficking within, but this initiative included: trafficking and its impacts. Furthermore, World Vision’s extensive experience not limited to Thailand, Myanmar, community peer educators – which Cambodia and Vietnam. in repatriation work and its close include police officers and cadets. Project start date: collaboration with the police has also World Vision Australia’s first child support to set up a hotline – now annually helped in linking trafficked victims with trafficking initiatives started in reporting over 800 cases of trafficking the judicial system. Police have reported Thailand and Myanmar in July 2003. and sexual exploitation. improved understanding and capacity to Current project portfolio: identify early problems as a consequence of As of June 2007 World Vision counselling training – for those in this collaborative work. Australia was supporting eight authority including police and local separate child trafficking programs in the Greater Mekong sub-region. authorities. In its Mekong Delta Regional Trafficking Strategy project, World Vision is also Since 2003 funding for GMS police training – specialised police units, developing its capacity to collect and programming has come from the at both national and provincial levels, manage data on missing persons, following sources: trained in the legal and technical issues AusAID NGO Cooperation particularly in Laos. WV Laos has concerning law enforcement and the Program (ANCP) been sharing information with the Lao Child Sponsorship sexual exploitation of women and specialist police unit to assist in tracing UNICEF children. Child Rescue missing persons and in providing crucial Bounceback a national Sex Crimes Database - information in high risk cases. With its Corporate and Major Donors established to record all information multinational community networks, World Wills and Bequests on child sexual exploitation and Vision is not only developing the potential Funds remitted to GMS programs trafficking cases. to track individuals at risk of trafficking, from Australia by Financial Years (FY): but has also started mapping patterns of FY 2003 US$24,477 Provincial databases were also established FY 2004 US$211,941 movement and behaviour for use in future in four Cambodian provinces: Siem Reap, FY 2005 US$528,260 responses. FY 2006 US$790,845 Banteay Meanchey, Battambang and FY 2007 US$566,305 Sihanoukville. The database is proving Total funds remitted from Australia to be extremely useful in monitoring Key reflections to GMS programs over 5 years: cases of child sexual exploitation and US$2,121,828 There are some insights to be gained from human trafficking, following trends and World Vision’s experience in working with Other information: illustrating the project’s impact on police In addition to field program support, law enforcement and contribution to a capacity. an essential part of World Vision more effective criminal justice response to Australia’s response to child and human trafficking has been through In recent years, World Vision has continued human trafficking. to expand its partnerships with law high level advocacy and campaigning i. Collaborating with authorities while over several years. enforcement authorities in other countries.
56 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study keeping the best interests of the victims Moving forward and the communities in mind is Mekong In many respects, World Vision’s partnership proving indispensable in World Vision’s approach to law enforcement agencies sub-region work to fight trafficking in all spheres, disproves the common misconception that from prevention and protection to strengthening law enforcement and protecting prosecution. human rights are contradictory. ii. As an agency with a strong community The expansion of World Vision’s activities presence in the region, World Vision’s to assist with law enforcement moves the local, regional and cross-national agency’s efforts to combat trafficking onto networks and relationships with a new arena. Increasingly, all aspects of the authorities are resulting in proactive crime are now being addressed as part of a victim identification as well as carefully single package, which includes prevention, assessed rescue strategies. protection and prosecution across several iii. The nature of collaborations between regions and several countries. The rising World Vision and the police to rate of prosecution and witness cooperation date have demonstrated significant attests to these achievements. potential for expansion, both within World Vision’s support through the the organisation and by other NGOs. LEASECT for the first specialist law For example, by addressing the enforcement response to trafficking has challenges and protection requirements been the precursor to the establishment of of trafficked people seeking to take similar units under the auspices of the Asia action through the criminal justice Regional Trafficking in Persons Project system. It is extremely important (ARTIP) in four of the six GMS countries. that more enabling conditions are Such units are now recommended by created, to encourage and allow more ASEAN as a regional standard. It is victims to come forward as survivors outcomes such as these that highlight the and testify against their abusers. important role NGOs can take in creating This would lead to more effective a more effective law enforcement response prosecutions and act as a deterrent to to trafficking while undertaking their other traffickers. primary responsibilities to serve those that iv. There are still constraints to working have been victimised by various forms of Top: Family reunion, Cambodia. further up the judicial ladder. exploitation. Bottom: Rescued from exploitation, World Vision’s short timeframes for Cambodia. trafficking projects, usually two to three years, don’t facilitate a greater depth of work beyond local and district level policing. Prosecution also remains a ‘specialised’ area of work, requiring a high capacity and calibre of staff. Sufficient numbers of skilled prosecutors are also needed to oversee the cases which can be quite complex in nature.
Responses to Poverty 2007 57 Section 1
Section 3 Reviewing new approaches to our work
58 Responses to Poverty 2007 Why campaign?
World Vision’s experience of Make Poverty History in Australia
Andrew Hassett Campaigns can deliver results Anueja Gopalakrishnan Sue Cant There are several clear examples of what can be achieved when international There’s little doubt that a policies are challenged. The International strong, vocal constituency can Campaign to Ban Landmines resulted in influence policy change. Clearly, an entire class of weapons being banned public attitudes, behaviour for the first time in history. Jubilee 2000 and opinion matter to decision mobilised over 24 million people from makers in government and, 166 countries to ask leaders of the richest increasingly, in the business AUSTRALIA countries to cancel the debts of the community. world’s poorest countries. To date this has Campaigns are generally only resulted in at least US$35 billion of debt one component of a broader service relief for highly indebted countries advocacy strategy, and they (Alonso-Gamo, 2007). are usually only launched when The investment in advocacy by the non- other forms of more direct government sector is tiny by contrast to the lobbying fail to get any traction. potential impact that can flow to the world’s As all but a few developed poor from increased funding and pro-poor world governments have failed international and national policy change. to meet targets for reducing global inequalities, the past If effective lobbying by NGOs was to few decades has seen a rapid result in an increase in the Australian growth in both the number and Government’s Overseas Development sophistication of international Assistance (ODA) of more than A$2 development campaigns. With 60 coalition members, the Make Poverty History campaign in Australia is unprecedented in scale and organisation. It has gained prominence with the public through widespread exposure in the media and achieved considerable recognition and influence within the political, policy and business communities. The following review of its role and achievements provides insights into the benefits and challenges of advocacy campaigns.
Responses to Poverty 2007 59 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to billion annually, the outcomes for poor Brown, showed the early impact of the our work people in developing countries would easily campaign. The G8 was attended by be more than the output of at least seven 250,000 MPH demonstrators and there new World Visions. was a host of other events in 80 countries over the course of 2005. For these reasons, World Vision Australia (WVA) has played a key role in numerous MPH Australia used the momentum social justice campaigns formed around provided by the Gleneagles summit to national and international coalitions. organise a number of campaign initiatives at local, regional and national level. The most high profile event was a major concert with Make Poverty History U2 lead singer and anti-poverty campaigner The Make Poverty History campaign Bono to coincide with the G20 meeting name originated in Britain as part of in Melbourne in 2006. The concert was the international Global Call to Action attended by 15,000 Australians. Against Poverty (GCAP) movement which In 2007, more than 35,000 Australians was founded in 2003 and operates in more participated in the FACE UP to poverty than 100 countries. The principal aim campaign by providing their photographs of the coalition is a call on world leaders which were projected onto the Sydney to take urgent action to address global Opera House. poverty through achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. These key targets for poverty Has the campaign worked? reduction, include greater aid funding While it has been three years since the and the provision of better health and MPH campaign was launched in Australia, education. there has been no written review of the One of the main goals of the UK campaign’s achievements. Nor has an campaign was to mobilise non-government independent evaluation of the campaign’s organisations around key events including impact in Australia been conducted. the G8 meeting in Gleneagles and the Nevertheless, internal WVA research, UN World Summit held in 2005. Within the growth of an MPH supporter base, 10 months of its founding, the coalition increased media references to the campaign grew from 40 members to more than and anecdotal feedback suggest that 500 and included a broad cross-section of Make Poverty History has resonated in development organisations, trade unions the community, policy circles, media and and faith groups. The founding UK government. movement continues under the auspices of the GCAP but has continued in Australia There were two objectives when the under the Make Poverty History brand. campaign began: Since 2004, WVA has played a key role To mobilise Australian civil society and in Make Poverty History (MPH). The the public in support of the MDGs and Australian coalition is made up of more the Make Poverty History campaign; than 60 aid agencies, community groups and and churches. Tim Costello, Chief Executive of WVA, is co-chair of MPH To influence policy change to achieve together with Andrew Hewitt, Executive more and better aid, based on the MDG Director of Oxfam Australia. framework, fair trade and debt relief. The high priority given to poverty in In terms of the first goal, hundreds of Africa at the 2005 G8 summit by former thousands of Australians have participated British Prime Minister Tony Blair and in MPH events across the country and then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon there is a strong network of several hundred
60 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study MPH volunteers nationwide. More than health and education. In addition, more 45,000 Australians have formally joined than A$600 million has been provided to Make Poverty the campaign, receiving regular campaign Iraq in debt relief although this has been History updates, and more than 800,000 white driven by political, rather than poverty- bands (the campaign symbol) have been reduction imperatives. distributed. There were 1.5 million Australians reached through various concert- Aid quantity and quality related activities during the G20 last year. The aid increase sought by the MPH One request by MPH for supporters campaign is based on an international to email the Federal Leader of the commitment made in 1975 that countries Opposition, Kevin Rudd, led to more than should give 0.7 percent of their Gross 1,000 emails being sent to Mr Rudd in the National Income (GNI) in foreign aid. space of just 24 hours. Various Australian governments have While in general these surveys and reiterated their intentions to meet this supporter numbers suggest that the target, but an explicit funding timetable campaign’s objective of mobilising civil has never been outlined. society and the public has been successful, In fact in Australia, ODA has actually there is still a need to reach a broader cross- suffered a continued decline as a section of Australians. percentage of our GNI over the past 30 The second goal of MPH is about years. Since the campaign began the influencing policy change to increase aid following announcements to increase the volumes, ensure fair trade and provide debt aid budget have been made: relief. These are summarised briefly below. The announcement in September 2005 that the government would increase Fair Trade the aid budget to around A$4 billion per year (up to 0.34 percent of GNI) Effectively, there has been no progress on by 2010 and the subsequent release fair trade since the Australian campaign in 2006 of the Federal Government’s began in 2004. That said, it is important White Paper on Australia’s Overseas Aid to acknowledge both the limitations in Program which provides the framework impacting complex international trade for this increased spending; and Top: MPH Concert, negotiations and also the progressive November 2006. approach of the Australian Government, The 2007/08 Budget confirmed the Bottom: MPH 070707 event, particularly through the Cairns Group, government is on track to meet this Sydney. and the abolition of tariffs on goods commitment, with the announcement imported from developing countries. of a A$3.15 billion aid budget in 2006/07 and timetabled commitments to achieve A$4.3 billion by 2010. Debt Relief It is difficult to measure the impact of the There has been a significant policy campaign on these announcements given announcement on debt relief that can the complexity of the policy environment be directly attributed to the impact of and without a proper evaluation that the campaign and the concerted private includes interviews with the key policy lobbying efforts of MPH member, Jubilee. makers involved. Broader feedback The ALP has committed in government provided by senior Australian politicians to seek negotiations with the Indonesian across parties indicates that MPH Government on a debt swap agreement campaigning has created an environment References: which would allow existing payments made where development aid is seen to have to service debt to be used for mutually ‘arrived’ on the mainstream political Source: Make Poverty History, agreed poverty reduction activities like 2005, Campaign Evaluation. agenda, which is consistent with interviews Martin Culey et al.
Responses to Poverty 2007 61 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to conducted during the UK evaluation. Increased focus on the poor countries of South-East Asia as a share of total aid. our work The most significant policy change which can be directly attributed to the impact of A commitment to untie aid program the MPH campaign in Australia was the funding. July 2007 announcement by the Australian Increased emphasis on harmonising and Labor Party that it would increase aid coordinating aid around developing funding to 0.5 percent of GNI by 2015. country development plans. Anecdotal feedback from the ALP and public comments made by ALP leaders at Improved transparency and more the time of the announcement suggest that emphasis on effectiveness. the combination of public MPH events, Increased funding for the delivery of in particular the G20 concert, and private aid through the NGO sector and for lobbying has directly influenced the ALP research and initiatives to promote decision (Rudd, 2007). demand-led governance through civil If a Labor Government were to enact society. this promise it would be the greatest Changing attitudes and influencing achievement of the Australian campaign political change take time and require thus far and would go a substantial way long-term campaigning. In three years, to fulfilling a major objective – to achieve the MPH campaign has not achieved all the MDG target of reaching 0.7 percent of of its objectives, but on balance it has been GNI by 2015. Irrespective of who wins the successful in mobilising public support, next federal election, both major parties promoting political debate and has made have publicly committed to increasing the important progress on at least one of its aid budget. major policy objectives – the quantity and Nevertheless, even with these hard won quality of aid. commitments, the major policy objective of the campaign will not be achieved by Campaign lessons the 2015 deadline.
For World Vision Australia, participating There has also been significant movement in the MPH coalition has been an on policy related to the quality of aid extremely positive experience. However, delivery and its effectiveness that reflect working within a broader coalition of 60 persistent lobbying by MPH agencies. partners has provided some interesting Comments made by key policy makers reflections for us as an organisation. The acknowledging the views of the NGO following observations correspond to sector suggest that MPH has made some, research conducted in the UK about the although not measurable, contribution to coalition’s effectiveness in that country, several policy positions. These include: often these observations also reflect World Significant increases in funding to basic Vision’s experience. These are provided education and basic health which will be below without purporting to represent the accelerated in the years 2007 to 2010. views of other coalition members. Greater support for HIV and AIDS programs. Leadership, decision-making and accountability Increased support for effective multilateral organisations such as A broad coalition poses obvious the Global Fund to fight AIDS, challenges in terms of organisational Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global structure, decision-making, budgeting Vaccine Initiative and the Education for and the priority of particular agendas. All Fast Track Initiative. Consensus decision-making has its
62 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study benefits – it attracts more support – and whether there is the potential for MPH its disadvantages - it takes more time to undermine the efforts of the peak Make Poverty and resources. Good results have been lobbying body, the Australian Council for History achieved, but with minimal central day- International Development (ACFID). to-day management through a secretariat While NGO partners might share the and little formal management authority, perspective that MPH and ACFID serve it has been difficult at times to ensure different purposes, the perception within agreed decisions are acted upon in a timely the broader community may not be the manner. same. Given that there are similarities to the UK experience, the evaluation report provides Planning some important insights for the campaign in Australia. As in the UK, there is a gap in strategic planning which gets subsumed by the need The coalition model means there are to ensure week-to-week work is completed. inevitable trade-offs between leadership This is, perhaps, a matter of resources but and decision-making. As in the UK, it also goes to the issue of responsibility. the downside is that there is “no The following comment from the UK clear relationship between activity, evaluation report provides a useful accountability and responsibility.” (Martin, reflection for the campaign in Australia et al 2005) although the caveat is that there has been significant ongoing activity here. Resourcing “Without this strategic vision, the work Distribution of workload in coalitions of 2005 could be seen as the high-water can also be complicated - and as reported mark of development campaigning, rather in the UK evaluation - this has led to than the foundation of a genuinely global considerable staff burnout which needs to campaign.” be better managed in future.
“There needs to be a clear understanding Monitoring, data collection, reporting and of the work to be done, the resources evaluation and responsibility for carrying the work As already stated, there has been no Top: MPH rally, 2006. out, the mandate for oversight and the formal review or independent evaluation Bottom: Mime to Make Poverty accountability to sign the work off. If this History, Queensland. of the Australian campaign which makes work is not done in advance, it stores up it difficult, although not impossible, to problems once the campaign is underway.” analyse how effective it has been. More While it is difficult to account for both systematic monitoring, data collection indirect and direct costs across 60 and evaluation of campaign objectives agencies, an estimate of the financial cost and outcomes needs to be given a higher of the campaign has not been adequately priority. recorded to enable a proper assessment of References:
return on investment. Alonso-Gamo, P 2007 Conclusion Progress on HIPC, MDRI and ESF, Commonwealth HIPC The scale of the Make Poverty History Ministerial Forum April 2007, Messaging and lobbying IMF. campaign is unprecedented. The Rudd, K 2007, Interview with Tony Jones, Lateline program, The growth of MPH has created some ability of the campaign to create public Australian Broadcasting confusion among politicians and policy awareness, mobilise supporters and attract Corporation Television. July 4. Martin, Culey and Evans, 2005, makers. Is it a campaign or a quasi significant media attention has helped Make Poverty History, 2005 organisation? This raises questions about to get development aid onto the national Campaign Evaluation. 83. the potential duplication of lobbying and international political agenda. It Source: Make Poverty History, 2005, Campaign Evaluation. efforts, appropriate messaging and has created an environment where it Martin Culey et al.
Responses to Poverty 2007 63 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to is now more difficult for politicians to geographically dispersed demographic. our work dismiss development aid as a peripheral Furthermore, the objectives of the issue lacking any traction in political campaign remain closely aligned to World constituencies. Vision Australia’s mission and advocacy objectives as an organisation. Key events such as the G20 meeting in Melbourne in 2006 have helped build a However, any campaign needs to be high level of momentum in Australia and properly evaluated and analysed in the contributed to some key advocacy wins in context of its ongoing costs and benefits to the policy arena. But in seeking to ignite a ensure that it is as effective as possible in worldwide movement to eradicate extreme achieving its major objectives. poverty, MPH still offers enormous potential to inform and engage ordinary Australians across a wide, diverse and
Snapshot: of its objectives, it was clear that Fifteen members of the EU International policy significant progress had been have set themselves the goal change achieved in the first year of the of spending 0.56 percent of campaign. GDP on world development A detailed analysis of the results aid by 2010, and reaching the from the global campaign is Highlights UN target of a minimum of 0.7 beyond the scope of this case The report found that percent of GDP by 2015. The study and can be found in an “important progress was made UK and some other countries independent evaluation of Make through the G8 in securing committed to reaching 0.7 Poverty History undertaken in promises of extra financial percent before 2015. So far, the UK in 2005. resources for developing countries are on target to The 90-page report drew countries in the form of extra meet their 2010 aid volume from data collection, NGO aid and the proposed deeper commitments although there is surveys and in-depth interviews debt cancellation for some poor some concern that most of this with campaigners, politicians countries.” increase has been in the form and supporters. It analysed of debt relief and not core aid However, overall, the rate of public and coalition-member funding. progress towards the long perceptions, the campaign’s overdue target of 0.7 percent Debt relief: structure, organisation and was considered far too slow. Make Poverty History called for impact. creditors to cancel the debts of Increased aid: Its broad conclusions included highly indebted poor countries. Make Poverty History called for that the campaign was donors to immediately deliver at Result: highly successful in securing least $50 billion more in aid per To date there have been 24 media attention, raising year and set a binding timetable countries that have benefited public awareness and simply for spending 0.7 percent of from the $US1.5 billion communicating its campaign national income on aid. multilateral debt cancellation messages. However, the report deal announced by the G8 in was frank in its assessment that Result: 2005. the nature and challenges of the At the 2005 G8 summit, a coalition structure raised issues commitment was made to about its ability to continue in the provide an extra US$48 billion long term. a year by 2010, which included between US$15-US$20 billion While no final conclusion was of new money. drawn about whether the campaign ultimately achieved all
64 Responses to Poverty 2007 Greening West Africa
The West Africa Natural Resource Management Project 2005–2007
Tony Rinaudo - significantly increases vulnerability to food Josue Sogoba insecurity. It was a drought and locust Past World Vision production-based plague in 2005 that inspired the approaches to food security in this region West African Natural Resources have mostly focused on improving Management Project, a new productivity of staple food crops. While this environment-based approach might deliver valuable outcomes in the short WEST to food security. By encouraging term, it often overlooks or ignores the slow AFRICA farmers across Senegal, Mali, degradation of agro-pastoral systems taking Mauritania, Niger and Chad to place. work with nature and maximise In a degraded state, the environment’s biodiversity through agro- ability to buffer shocks such as floods, forestry, the project aims to droughts or pests can be compromised. reduce the vulnerability of rural For farmers this can result in reduced crop communities to environmental yields and large fluctuations in production shocks, reverse desertification from year to year. Unless root causes for and improve food supply. this degradation are addressed, gradually However, in spite of drawing sub-optimal yields from crops and pastures on the latest research, solid are likely to become the norm, rather than design knowledge and the best the exception. And if farmers are reliant on of intentions, the project has only one rain-fed crop annually, the effects experienced several challenges of any kind of environmental shock can be during its first two years. devastating.
Food insecurity in West Africa West African Natural Resource Management Project (WA NRM) Many communities in West Africa struggle to find enough food to ensure they live In October 2004, West Africa experienced active and healthy lives. More than 30 its worst locust invasion in 15 years. World percent of the populations of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone suffer from food insecurity. Ten percent of Nigeria’s population also remain food insufficient (IFPRI 2004). The majority of farmers in West Africa are reliant on mono-cultural agricultural systems which, depending on the region, may be millet, sorghum, maize, or a root crop such as cassava, and herders are reliant on pasture for their livestock. This over- reliance on a narrow range of crops and pastures - in an unpredictable environment
Responses to Poverty 2007 65 Section 3
Reviewing new Vision’s initial response to this crisis was Given that diversity of plants has cultural approaches to a call to equip farmers for locust spraying, applications in a West African context, WA our work followed by an expansion in market NRM promotes cultivating a wide range gardening programs. However, following of hardy annual and perennial species on advice from World Vision Australia, World farms. This will provide a range of produce Vision field partners were encouraged to but, being a diverse agricultural system, consider the plague as part of an ongoing pests (such as locusts) are unlikely to pattern of environmental shocks and think multiply to extreme levels. A high level of about taking a much longer term view of biodiversity also encourages natural pest solutions. predators back into the farm, and even if pests multiply, any one pest is unlikely to In 2005, in collaboration with the harm all crop species equally. International Centre for Research in Agro- Forestry (ICRAF), the International Centre Among the species being promoted is a for Research in the Semi Arid Tropics group of edible seeded Australian acacias. (ICRISAT) and Serving in Mission (SIM), They are drought tolerant and produce World Vision established the West Africa highly nutritious seeds for people and Natural Resource Management Project livestock, and they also provide firewood (WA NRM). These three organisations and building poles (Rinaudo et al, 2002). are research leaders on the domestication Trialled successfully by SIM in Niger and utilisation of plants, and on innovative Republic over the past few years, these farming methods appropriate to this region. acacias also protect crops and livestock from They offered World Vision programs in all strong winds, can be used for mulching, five countries access to practical experience and they enrich the soil with nitrogen and and innovations in agro-forestry as well organic matter which can lead to a doubling as up-to-the-minute research on the of crop yields. application of various plant species, many not traditionally considered for farming Principle 2. Work with nature application. Using this knowledge, local farmers (women and men), government and At its core, the project recognises the farmer World Vision staff could all be exposed to as a collaborator and enhancer of natural a range of alternative, but tested, viable and systems. Working with nature complements affordable farming options. natural processes and maximises synergy between species and farming methods. The West Africa Natural Resource This results in higher and more sustainable Management Project is based on the yields. following principles: For example, by using nitrogen-fixing crops to improve soil fertility; creating habitats Principle 1. Maximise biodiversity for beneficial pest predators; and improving Research and field results suggest that microclimate effects by growing trees with increasing biodiversity can transform annual crops, farmers can actually enhance the extremely vulnerable, mono-culture the environment. agricultural systems typical in the West Africa region into diverse, robust, multi- species systems (Pasternak 2004). Principle 3. Start simple and build on local knowledge ICRAF has identified that West African farmers traditionally use a number of The most sustainable system changes in a coping strategies to deal with environmental developing country almost always utilise uncertainty, including reliance on edible locally available and affordable inputs and seeds, sourced from remnant indigenous skills. By starting with what farmers already bush plants, and exploiting trees for fuel, know and building on that knowledge base, wood and charcoal. there is a greater probability that new ideas
66 Responses to Poverty 2007 or approaches will be both understood and Principle 7. Create a conducive policy Case study adopted. Introducing a few easy methods environment West Africa initially, and then allowing time for farmers Unsound laws can work against sustainable to become proficient before introducing natural resource management. In Niger more, will enhance uptake overall. It is Republic for example, for decades after also crucial that any new methods being independence all trees belonged to the promoted are affordable, or can at least government and farmers had to purchase be easily copied or adapted by the target permits even if they wanted to harvest trees communities. on their own land. Heavy fines applied to anyone caught felling trees illegally but Principle 4. Respect community and individual often trees were cut at night when nobody freedom of choice was looking. Solutions which are effective during the Where policies work against favourable life of the project may be ineffective if outcomes, WA NRM project leaders conditions (climate, market preference, will appropriately challenge them by arrival of new diseases etc) change. promoting more conducive policies enabling Therefore, if communities and individuals communities to sustainably manage their adapt new farming practices according natural resources. to their needs and local conditions, when conditions do change, their own knowledge Outcomes 2005-2007 base, networks and experience better enable them to adapt and cope with change A start has been made on introducing agro- (Bunch, 1982). forestry systems from SIM and ICRISAT into WV programs in Senegal, Mali, Niger To promote the sharing of ideas, positive Republic and Chad. Farmers are being outcomes and new approaches from challenged, and some are beginning to farmer to farmer, the WA NRM was experiment with a range of trees and annual designed to build on a progressive farmers’ crops in their farming systems. club model. These farmers’ clubs aim to provide a framework for local farmers to Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration meet, exchange experiences, assess, adopt (FMNR), a sustainable agro-forestry and make choices regarding new farming farming system developed by SIM, is the methods and crops that are appropriate to major activity being promoted by WA Top: Moringa tree, Mali. their needs. NRM. Since its introduction in Niger in Bottom: Farmers’ club, Niger. 1983, it is now used across more than 5 million hectares (LEISA, 2007). In addition Principle 5. Facilitate community ownership to FMNR, exotic and domesticated local It is crucial to have a high level of grassroots plant species are being promoted. ownership. Involving community members Progressive farmers in three World Vision in the selection, testing and adapting of new program areas in Mali have received methods is integral to facilitating buy-in of training and set up demonstration fields new ideas. with edible seeded acacia trees. In Niger Republic, two acacia food demonstration Principle 6. Work with government agencies days were attended by over 600 women. FMNR teaching was also completed in When government agency staff are included five villages, with a total of 50 farmers in training sessions, planning and execution establishing acacia trees on their farms. In of projects, coordinators can improve buy-in Senegal, a number of farmers have received and support, and encourage their continued training in FMNR and a number of projects support beyond the life of the project. are scheduled to start shortly. Mauritania, in contrast, has been slow to progress due in large part to their protracted relief
Responses to Poverty 2007 67 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to our work
Farmer’s demonstration, Mali.
response, as well as a change of leadership impossible if I was not taught the new Program Details within the World Vision office. The results technique of land management.” Project partners: of desertification in Mauritania over the Khadidja Gangan, mother and farmer, World Vision Australia, World Vision Senegal, World Vision Mali, last few years have been devastating, and Loumia Valley, Chad World Vision Mauritania, World attempts are being made to re-ignite the Vision Niger, World Vision Chad, project in that country. International Centre for Research Challenges 2005-2007 into Agro Forestry (ICRAF), Initially, 9,000 hectares of farmland and It would be convenient to say that the Serving in Mission (SIM) and the 2,500 hectares of forest will be managed International Centre for Research in future of this project is secure, and that under a FMNR system in Chad, involving the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) food and income-producing trees, restored some 90,000 beneficiaries across nine Project start date: soils, and crops that fail less frequently separate World Vision programming areas. June 2005 will significantly reduce the chronic Although they have only been practising Project end date: vulnerability to food insecurity in West FMNR for two years, initial responses from Current phase September 2007 Africa. However, there is a combination of farmers in Chad are positive, and insightful: Funding source: factors inhibiting progress. Bounceback “Thanks to the new technique our life has The project was initiated using quick changed. Food production has doubled Funds remitted from Australia: response funds made available to address the US$519,292 over 2.5 years and many people, who were laughing at us, locust plague. While these funds offered an have also adopted the techniques for soil opportunity to mobilise resources within regeneration. As a result, there is always a reasonably short timeframe, in hindsight good crop production, the soil is protected it would have made more sense to seek a from erosion and heat, and women can multi-year, long-term commitment of funds still get firewood. We have been using instead. Ultimately the project’s aims are not the same plot for more than 30 years and short term, and funding for this initiative is without such a natural fertilising possibility, not sustainable in its current configuration. we would soon stop getting food from it.” Project leaders are naturally concerned Malatin André, farmer, Loumia Valley, Chad that if funds are not available precisely at “This year is very exceptional for me the moments that target communities are because I have been able to get enough mobilised and ready to act during the early sorghum. I cultivated one hectare and stages, the project is likely to lose traction harvested 15 bags of sorghum. Generally, I and have significantly reduced impact. could get three to five bags when working World Vision Australia program staff are this land in the past. This would have been currently investigating a range of solutions
68 Responses to Poverty 2007 to this problem. Additionally the World Moving forward Case study Vision Australia marketing department While appropriately resourcing the WA West Africa is piloting a new ‘product’ which will NRM remains a short-term challenge for hopefully offer a stable, longer term World Vision Australia, the early successes solution to funding initiatives that address of this project (particularly in Chad and environmental restoration and assist poor Niger), combined with growing supporter communities to prepare for the effects of interest in agro-forestry, provide a strong climate change – such as the WA NRM. basis to secure the necessary resources. The WA NRM project also commenced Aside from this, growing global interest in at a time when WV staff, particularly agro-forestry suggests there is also exciting in Niger Republic and Mauritania, were long-term potential to explore future income fully occupied with famine relief activities. streams for communities through the sale of Without a doubt, staff turnover, stress and carbon credits. overwork have negatively impacted project The WA NRM is still embryonic, and implementation in these countries. for the foreseeable future environmental While the partner organisations add shocks will continue to negatively impact essential and substantial value to the project, food security in West African communities they also add extra challenges. Professional – predictably more so as climate change rivalries between the research centres has takes its toll. The primary challenge for resulted in limited communication and World Vision is to build on the current collaboration between them. So in many gains and continue to promote agro-forestry ways, WV has found itself collaborating solutions within program areas until enough with two competing centres both looking momentum is built to ignite a movement for prominence of their own technologies. which will unfold across West Africa over the next 20 years. Fundamentally, WV is committed to fostering farmer innovation and promoting Eventually, our hope is that beneficiaries like freedom to pick and choose elements of the Chadian farmers Malatin and Khadidja technologies which meet their needs. Many will supersede project staff as primary scientists have spent years developing promoters of these new techniques, sharing technologies that aim to suitably improve clippings and seeds, and using the simple crop yields and food security in the Sahel medium of everyday speech. So while this region, and continued funding for research goal is still a few years down the track,
centres is often dependant on the successful the medium-term objective is to ensure References: impact of their research. As a consequence, that enough farmers in enough regions of Bunch R. (1982), Two Ears of Corn. researchers invariably do not want their enough countries have the knowledge, tools, A World of Neighbours Publication.
work to be altered by farmers. When experience and desire to demonstrate what is Food and Nutrition Security undertaking partnerships such as these with possible to their neighbours. Policies for West Africa. Implementing Issues and Research research organisations, it is crucial to be Agenda SADAOC Regional Workshop, Bamako, Mali, open and frank about both approaches and January 13-15 2004. www.ifpri. intentions. For WV, helping communities org/2020Africaconverence/events/ mali.pdf to adapt new, cost effective, easily replicable LEISA Magazin, 2007. Vol 23. Issue technologies and to choose elements of 2. The Development of Farmer innovations most relevant to meet their Managed Natural Regeneration. http://www.leisa.info/FritZ/source// particular needs is essential in ensuring this getblob.php?o_id=113390&a_ is a sustainable initiative. id=211&a_seq=0 Pasternak D. (2004), The Sahelian EcoFarm, Summary of Activities for fiscal year 2004, submitted to USAID/WARP. Unpublished.
Rinaudo A., Patel P., Thomson L. Potential of Australian acacias in combating hunger in semi arid lands. In Conservation Science. W. Australia. 4 (1) 161-169 (2002).
Responses to Poverty 2007 69 Section 3
People power
Grassroots demand for good governance in Uganda, Brazil and India
Keren Winterford Understanding governance
Community Based Performance Corruption, poor budgeting, poor service Monitoring (CBPM) is a demand- delivery and poor management are an side good governance tool impediment to effective development. developed originally by CARE Interest in these areas has been growing and the World Bank. In certain over the past few years, as the international contexts, CBPM offers a means community seeks to understand the drivers of improving accountability of poverty and ways to eradicate it. UGANDA, BRAZIL & INDIA between government decision Increasingly, wealthier countries are makers and the communities being asked to provide more effective they serve. It also offers a way aid, reduce debt to sustainable levels to collect data at the community and implement fairer trade rules. Poor level that can be used for countries are being encouraged to provide high-level advocacy regarding greater accountability to their citizens and improved service delivery. ensure the efficient use and allocation of World Vision has been road resources. testing CBPM amongst The connection between human rights and communities in Uganda, transparent, accountable and participatory Brazil and India over the past government, or good governance, is three years. Initial findings pivotal to the development process. Ever from these pilots show that more resources are being channelled from CBPM demonstrates excellent multilaterals and government donors to potential to substantially poor countries, to increase ‘supply of’ improve development outcomes government services. However, there are for people living in poverty. surprisingly few strategic and systematic CBPM training in India. programming initiatives encouraging the ‘demand for’ good governance from the grassroots level up. It will be both the supply of, and the demand for, good governance that will ensure effective and sustainable change in the long term.
Community Based Performance Monitoring (CBPM) First used as a community scorecard process by CARE Malawi, CBPM was further developed by the World Bank in the Gambia. CBPM is a development tool that aims to enable and empower communities to influence the quality, efficiency and accountability of service
70 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study delivery, primarily as these services to them with government and political relate to government facilities such as representatives present can be empowering Uganda, schools and health centres. In addition and can open up new channels for dialogue. Brazil & India to informing community action plans, data can be captured through the CBPM The Ugandan pilot process, aggregated and used for advocacy purposes at state and national levels to In 2004, World Vision Australia influence government policies and resource commenced a CBPM pilot in Uganda allocation. focusing on primary schools and health centres within World Vision Uganda CBPM is a coordinated process where programming areas. community members, in the presence of the facility’s staff, government and political Uganda provided a favourable political and representatives: social context, with the government taking specific actions to reduce poverty through Are educated about standards set initiatives such as the World Bank-initiated by their own governments for the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). provision of services in community- Through the Ministry of Finance, the based facilities (such as health centres Ugandan Government also recognises that and schools); CBPM training in Uganda. grassroot organisations can play a vital role Review the level and quality of services in collecting data that will assist the overall currently provided against these campaign to reduce poverty. standards; Some positive outcomes from this pilot Take the opportunity to rate the have emerged. quality and performance of the services At Nabyewanga Health Centre in central currently provided; and Uganda, inadequate buildings and water Set reforms and action plans in a public facilities were identified through the forum, where facility staff, as well as CBPM process. Government officials, government and political representatives, politicians, service providers and the are asked to take some responsibility for community all took responsibility. implementing the action plan. Armed with new-found confidence, community members approached their For CBPM to work, governments must member of parliament who provided one have the capacity to be receptive so that million Ugandan shillings (A$500) as a the voices of community members and contribution to improving the quality of civil society can be constructively heard existing services. and answered. For this reason, mandated political and social space is required as a At the Buseese Primary School, eyes pre-condition and not all countries are able widened and mouths dropped when to offer this. Naturally, in some totalitarian parents learnt that whilst their school’s or mono-party states, encouraging teacher/student ratio was one teacher grassroots community members to actively to every 186 students, the government’s demand improvements in service delivery standard was one teacher per 60 students. might actually put their lives at risk. The poor performance of the students could be addressed fairly simply by However, when mandated political space is securing the two additional teachers the present, CBPM offers the community an school was entitled to. Unsurprisingly, the opportunity to consider their government’s community agreed to put a plan in place performance against its own standards. to secure more teachers. Within months Furthermore, for community members of the community process, and as a direct to share and voice their perceptions about result of CBPM, the school had two new the level and quality of services provided teachers on staff.
Responses to Poverty 2007 71 Section 3
People Power The CBPM process strengthened the VI Regional Public Administration relationship between service providers, building. Highlighting issues raised within parents and students, as they recognised the CBPM process, their banners read their joint commitment to quality “Communities of Santa Maria and Sante education. In the case of Buseese Parish, Fe mobilise for their right to health. Where local politicians are active in development is our clinic, Mayor?” activities. With the information generated Whilst this action was acceptable in Brazil, through the CBPM process, they were such marches and public demonstrations equipped to act on behalf of their are uncommon in Uganda, indeed it constituents with the local government. would not have occurred to Ugandans The responsiveness of the government to incorporate this type of protest in representatives in this process has also been their action plan. Clearly the social, critical. cultural and political context in Brazil is Interestingly, aside from the provision of different to Uganda and it’s important to two new teachers, the services delivered recognise that what constitutes acceptable by Buseese Primary School were improved community action in one place will not in other ways too. Through their focus necessarily be acceptable in another. group discussion, students suggested that eating lunch at school would improve CBPM in India their ability to concentrate and improve their education. Parents and teachers World Vision Australia and World Vision agreed. Now, as a result of community India initiated a CBPM pilot in early 2007. contributions, children are receiving In India, local animators (i.e. individuals lunchtime porridge every day at school. trained in community mobilisation) have In the case of Buseese Primary School, been chosen to facilitate the CBPM tool. parents and teachers from neighbouring Trained over a number of weeks as part schools heard about the community’s of a regional team, they are now equipped response to the CBPM initiatives. As a to lead the process both within their own result, four neighbouring schools are also community and also in neighbouring providing lunchtime porridge for their facilities. students. Communities are also expressing At Kishandahi Government Primary interest for CBPM to be held in their own School, a six-hour drive from Calcutta, facilities. parents, teachers, students, government officials and politicians sat together for CBPM in Brazil two days as part of a CBPM process to identify ways to collectively improve the The introduction of the CBPM tool quality of education in the school. Whilst in Brazil aligned with a pre-existing recognising the need for the government government mandate to encourage to provide adequate services, many of community-based participatory budgeting. the collectively decided reforms could be So, in Brazil, local Community-Based actioned by those present. It was agreed Organisations (CBOs) were trained to that the construction of a school fence, the implement CBPM as part of their core planting of a garden and better use of the community activities in ways that linked library would be undertaken by parents with this participatory budgeting process. and teachers themselves. The Brazil experience provides an Recognising that many of the government interesting comparison to Uganda. The standards had been met, the community communities of Santa Fe and Santa representatives sought ways in which to Maria, in Vida de Criança, marched improve the school’s facilities beyond through the streets to the front of the the minimum standards set by the
72 Responses to Poverty 2007 government. The results highlight the way achieve results. in which, once government standards have An important principle of CBPM is that been met, CBPM can move beyond its communities decide their own actions and primary focus of demand-led governance, responses to knowledge gained through to be a community-mobilising tool in the process. Whilst respecting the primacy ensuring the best outcomes from service of community within the process, it is the delivery. responsibility of CBPM initiators such as World Vision to ensure a safe environment Reflections in which CBPM can take place. Of course, life is uncertain, and outcomes of a We have seen varying responses from community-driven process are unknown, political and government representatives but reasonable care must be taken to within CBPM processes so far. CBPM ensure that individuals are not put at risk. offers an opportunity for these leaders Communities march for improved to perform their mandated roles, and in Since the CBPM pilot programs in health services, Brazil. many instances they have relished the Uganda, World Vision staff have also opportunity to be involved. In order to experienced an increased demand for ensure active engagement and support of their own accountability. When a World the process, it is suggested that facilitators Vision contractor attempted to deliver a work with political and government cracked water tank to a primary school, the stakeholders prior to any community community rightfully refused to accept it, exercise. demanding instead to be provided with the quality tanks to which they were entitled. In the instance of Buseese Primary This suggests that CBPM potentially offers School in Uganda, the local government a means to ensure NGO accountability representatives recognised the reality of to the beneficiary communities they are the situation in the school, and when working with. pushed by the community (backed by World Vision), responded positively and promptly. Learnings However, power to improve service Across the three countries to date, the delivery often resides in positions higher CBPM pilot has provided some interesting than those present at CBPM activities. learnings: Whilst effort should be made to ensure as While community demand for many power holders as possible are present, accountability from politicians and often decisions are driven by state or government staff has increased, nationally determined policies or budgets. communities are also demonstrating Real decision makers might even avoid an increased awareness of their attending if they know they are likely to responsibility to improve the quality of be held to account in a public forum by service themselves; enthusiastic parents. Recognising the changed power It is for this reason that the aggregated dynamics with the community that the information gathered through the CBPM tool can provoke, World Vision community scorecard process is critical for field staff in pilot programs are re- informing state or national level advocacy thinking their role from one of service in order to address poor service delivery. delivery to facilitation and support Community-based CBPM activities should of all stakeholders in achieving good be complemented with state or national governance. As one colleague in India level advocacy in order to strengthen put it, the result of CBPM activities community voice and ensure follow may be the “marginalisation of World through if community strategies cannot Vision”;
Responses to Poverty 2007 73 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to our work
Community gathering, Uganda.
Program Details Whilst much can be done at the local We suspect that CBPM offers significant Project partners: level to improve services, community- transformational potential beyond its core World Vision Australia based ‘demand for’ good governance activities. To date however, evidence to World Vision Uganda (Uganda Pilot) needs to be complemented by support this, whilst anecdotal, has not World Vision Brazil (Brazil Pilot) World Vision India (India Pilot) coordinated high-level advocacy, either been systematically documented. The state or nationally focused. way in which CBPM is co-constructed Project start date: by communities, governments, World Uganda (April 2006) Vision staff and other stakeholders, and Brazil (September 2006) Moving forward India (March 2007)h 2007) the results generated in the community Project end date: Clearly many reforms necessary to in years to come will be instrumental in Uganda (September 2009) improve service delivery are simply beyond understanding how demand for good Brazil (August 2008) the control of those present at CBPM governance can be strengthened. India (July 2008) activities, whether they are community Funding source: members, government representatives Uganda (Corporate and Major or politicians. However, it is clear that Donors) Brazil (Child Sponsorship) in appropriate contexts, CBPM offers India (Child Sponsorship) significant opportunities for NGOs Funds remitted from Australia for to improve the cost effectiveness and CBPM: sustainability of community development Uganda US$64,160 initiatives. Brazil US$59,160 India US$31,199
74 Responses to Poverty 2007 Governance the Wetenngerr way
The Wetenngerr Leadership and Governance Project 2005-08
Gabrielle Halcrow counterparts; and lower than several less Dr Stuart Phillpot developed nations including Nigeria and Bangladesh. The causes of this imbalance It’s an extraordinary thing to are complex, layered and inter-related. realise you have no effective Achieving meaningful outcomes that decision-making power. But this address the extreme disadvantage facing was precisely the situation in many communities and that overcome which the Aboriginal community welfare dependence – specifically in remote of Wetenngerr found itself Australia – is proving challenging for only a few short years ago. As AUSTRALIA communities themselves as well as other a relatively recently formed development actors including not-for-profit remote community without a agencies, service providers and local, state, legally incorporated council, territory and federal governments. Wetenngerr was in a tenuous position. For World Vision and In 2003, in response to a request by the community, a key step both the local Member of Parliament towards effective development and the community’s leaders, World has been to support the leaders Vision developed a partnership with the to build and sustain appropriate Aboriginal community of Wetenngerr governance structures and take in Central Australia. Wetenngerr is some control. What has evolved is a process of exploring the ‘common ground’ between the two worlds of western contemporary governance arrangements and the cultural basis of the community’s traditional Indigenous systems of governance (Phillpot 1990).
Responding to Indigenous needs Australia has one of the highest standards of living in the world. Indigenous Australians, however, remain the most disadvantaged group in terms of key social, economic and health indicators. In a growing population, now estimated at half a million people, life expectancy for Indigenous Australians is as much as 17 years less than that of their non-Indigenous
Responses to Poverty 2007 75 Section 13
Reviewing new approaches to very remote, even by central Australian of the community members and World our work standards and located in the Southern Vision as each step of the project has Barkly region of the Northern Territory. evolved. This has served to manage the It is situated on an excision of a pastoral tensions and risks that might arise through station, serviced by a clinic, a school and misunderstandings about the nature of the a station store, with a growing and mobile relationship at any given moment. population of between 200-300 people. In order to implement an effective longer Indigenous communities in Australia often term community development program experience significant disadvantage: poor there were several key issues surrounding socio-economic status, difficulties accessing service delivery and governance that services, geographical isolation, poor needed to be unravelled. Both from environmental health conditions, health a World Vision and a community risk behaviours (e.g. alcohol misuse) and perspective the specific roles, functions limited capacity or knowledge as to how to and responsibilities of the various agencies productively exert or take control over the delivering services to the community were factors that influence the circumstances complex and jeopardised the community’s in which they live (Wilkinson etal 2003). capacity to actively achieve any substantial Wetenngerr was perceived by stakeholders quality of life improvements. to be one of the most disadvantaged and marginalised communities in the region. Through the consultation process it was evident that the community had Since first contact with non-Indigenous no identified means of advocating for people in the 1870s, the Alyawarr families improvements in the quality of the services living in the region have been subject to being provided from a range of agencies, an ongoing state of cultural, social and who in turn were all operating in a shifting political flux. In spite of this upheaval, policy environment. An example of this was and due in part to their remote location, the cessation of funding to a core service the Wetenngerr community has been able provider responsible for delivering the to maintain its language and its cultural Community Development Employment identity. Thus, on many levels, while Program. The community was left for 12 Wetenngerr is a place of change, it is also a months without a project officer. In this place of survival. environment, the project officer role is vital for the community to function on a Development approaches daily basis. As a result, there was no one to coordinate basic services such as rubbish World Vision established its relationship collection, community maintenance, with the community and region with repairs, training opportunities, or to smallscale activities, focused primarily on manage the main source of employment for re-establishing a community committee 40 adults. As a consequence, isolation and structure, engaging women in art and despair took over. craft activities which supported a women’s centre, and an in-school nutrition project. Compounding this perceived inability As a non-Indigenous and non-government to advocate for action was the confusion organisation new to the region, developing around the legal governance structures relationships and trust proved a slow for the community. The land is freehold and difficult process. Entering into a and listed as held by the Wutunurrgurra partnership with a community where Aboriginal Corporation (WAC), as a relationships operate according to kinship corporate body since 1983. However, the traditions involves engaging with a host of original template constitution for the reciprocal obligations. It has been essential corporation did not indicate that it is a to invest substantial time and energy land-holding body and its incorporation in clarifying the respective obligations status under the Aboriginal Councils and
76 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study Associations Act 1976 is exempt, making identity intact, who had managed to it effectively dormant. This dormancy negotiate effective arrangements over several Australia limited the Wetenngerr community’s generations that limited the impact of an capacity to negotiate contracts and external and powerful dominant culture. agreements for improved service delivery. There were also evident strengths It additionally restricted the community’s and leadership capabilities within the ability to access government funding community including: the ability to normally available to other remote coordinate cultural events, such as yearly Indigenous communities. Until the legal ceremonies (with other communities and ambiguities surrounding the dormant elders) in and away from the community; corporation could be resolved Wetenngerr the presence of an active church group would not have an incorporated body to which organises events, funerals and “sorry represent the community. business”; the holding of community sports Wetenngerr leaders spoke of the frustrations events; a community football team that is of having no ‘voice’ to advocate for able to raise prize money and trophies for improvements. Indeed, all decisions relating football carnivals; and an active women’s to funding and services provided to the centre involved in women’s issues, art community were effectively being made activities, and seed harvesting. It was Polaroid image: Artist’s workshop, externally or with only limited consultation crucial that any governance process built Wetenngerr. (Photo courtesy amongst community members. If their on these strengths and extended into and Barkly Regional Arts) situation was to improve, it became obvious pervaded broader community life. Main image: Wetenngerr’s that the leaders and broader community football team. Initiatives aimed at building governance needed to understand why they had no were based on developing authentic effective decision-making power. relationships within the community and building trust. By improving these relationships and sense of connectivity, Starting again (with governance) people were encouraged to think both In 2006, the program focused its collectively and individually about how development initiatives on improving the the advocacy and governance capacity community’s governance and leadership of the Wetenngerr community might capabilities. A major challenge was to shift be increased. With the community’s the perception, both within and outside endorsement, World Vision also the community, from one characterised by undertook research aimed at clarifying disadvantage and need to one of strengths the community’s legal history, particularly and assets to be built upon. A key to this in relation to the dormant Wetenngerr was recognising the Alyawarr family groups Aboriginal Corporation’s history. As as “survivors” with much of their cultural part of this process a group of leaders
Responses to Poverty 2007 77 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to our work
Debrief with community leaders, Wetenngerr.
Program Details conducted a fact-finding trip to the process develops and the project team Project partners: regional centre of Alice Springs to explores different approaches. Open World Vision Australia & the meet with key agencies and gain a meetings for example, that originally Wetenngerr Community clear, firsthand understanding. This emerged as a response to pressure from Project start date: information and the research findings external organisations, are changing. In October 2005 were then used to form the basis of the the past, without these meetings, leaders Project end date: community’s governance story. Narrative had been expected to represent and make This phase, September 2008 storytelling techniques using traditional decisions on behalf of all the families, Target population: Alyawarra concepts and language enabled often with only limited information. This The Wetenngerr Community the complex issues surrounding western was seen to bypass the need for proper Funding source: governance concepts to be shared simply, community consultation and became the Corporate and major donors in a way that had meaning across the two source of conflict and stress for various Other funding sources cultures. families as well as the leaders themselves. Total project budget: A$394,498 over 3 years The story, when told to the wider These open meetings have now shifted community and elders in their language, their focus, from serving as information was a turning point in the project and sessions, where the decisions or requests resulted in a dramatically increased made by external agencies were shared with understanding of why the community the community, to forums for making was not moving forward. The traditional decisions. A strong emphasis is placed on owner and leader concluded that communication and at each important step “we’ve got to wake WAC up!” That is, the key points are recorded in Alyawarra community members needed to revitalise - an oral rather than a written language – and regenerate the dormant corporation which serve as living minutes of meetings, if they were to improve their control of replayed at each step to clarify issues and the situation. Since then, a number of build on knowledge. Consultation is now key workshops have been held that have something that takes place beyond meetings focused on “waking up” the corporation. in the broader daily life, on hunting trips, social gatherings or camping out on country. Workshops are also held with a Reflections degree of ceremony, and trusted senior voices are used to share information and to World Vision’s approach in the field is place value on the knowledge created. constantly evolving as the governance
78 Responses to Poverty 2007 Case study An extremely significant outcome of this Moving forward journey has been the drafting of a new Australia While World Vision is proud of the constitution for the WAC that is both progress the Wetenngerr community understood and owned by the community. has made, the costs associated with this This constitution recognises all family process have been high in time, resources groups and the traditional owners in and pressure on staff, particularly in the the community. The community seems field. It is almost impossible to separate keen to increase its control over resource professional from personal involvement in allocations and service delivery decisions, contexts such as these and the engagement not on creating another service delivery is demanding. Governance building is one organisation per se. step in a much longer term program and a The governance process is also empowering new design phase is planned for when the this remote Indigenous community as corporation is legally active. elders, leaders and community members The community is certainly now in a are all actively engaged in a process which better position to negotiate with external is still very much a work in progress. agencies than it was two years ago. What is certain is that there is an Following community pressure, the project invigorated WAC with stronger processes officer position has now been filled by Pottery class, Wetenngerr. for communicating and consultation both a community services manager who is with the family groups, with World Vision, accountable to the Wetenngerr Aboriginal and with external agencies. Corporation. In simple terms, when basic Internally, there are challenges and services or housing maintenance needs tensions facing elected councillors and the arise the community members now have responsibility is high. It will be a long- support to manage these issues. Not only term process to build the resilience of the will the leaking taps or sewerage be fixed, corporation as it takes its first steps and so but in the future there will be a local team it is able to communicate effectively with trained to ensure they stay fixed. As of mid service providers and external agencies. 2007, the outcomes of the community’s There is pressure on the members to efforts will materialise in the negotiation succeed and bring about positive change of several service level agreements. for the community and demonstrate to Each of these will set out each agency’s the community that the ‘council is strong’, accountability to the community in ways however some basic infrastructure and that can be monitored and measured. This support required to actually conduct will represent a major power shift to the council business is still lacking. At the community’s advantage. same time the dissonance between family The key development challenge is to find and traditional values and western type and sustain appropriate and authentic “council decisions” may conflict with mechanisms of governance that ensure traditional governance structures (where people have a voice and the right to family comes first). There is an ongoing meaningfully and respectfully participate need to develop communication channels in decision-making processes. Nevertheless, to ensure that all community members governance building is already serving are fully informed and supportive of as a foundation for this community to community governance matters and that determine its own priorities and responses References: decisions are regulated by community in a more sustainable environment, as forums to mitigate the pressure on Philpott S (1990), A training it redefines its position and external needs analysis of community councillors. government councils, NT relationships. Local Government Training Committee, Darwin.
Wilkinson R & Marmott M (2003), Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts, Copenhagen, WHO.
Responses to Poverty 2007 79 Section 3
Growing Strong
Encouraging ownership of Early Childhood Care and Development in Vietnam
Leigh Mitchell This project excelled in the way Phearak Svay it mobilised and maximised community ownership. By Health, nutrition and effectively working through intellectual stimulation in early the government-sanctioned childhood years are crucial to Project Management Board the development of key brain (PMB) structure, community pathways, necessary for children awareness and ownership of to realise their full potential. ECCD benefits were instilled. Today in Vietnam, 94 percent of Furthermore, at a crucial children receive at least some moment in the project’s form of primary level education, timeframe, when children from yet the developmental needs of extremely poor families were at preschool children have been risk of dropping out, it was the largely neglected. PMB that identified solutions The Growing Strong project aimed at improving their began in 2002 and set out participation rates. to develop and improve the quality of, and access to, Early Childhood Care and The Growing Strong project Development (ECCD) for It is generally agreed that neglect of early poor Vietnamese families. It childhood development has long-term performed well against its consequences for children. They invariably objectives. experience reduced academic performance, and are increasingly likely to drop out of school. They are also less likely to take an active role in the workforce. Neglect for early development can also result in lifelong learning difficulties, increased social isolation and antisocial behaviour which can have a profound long-term effect on a community (World Bank 1999). With this in mind, in 2002 World Vision Vietnam (WVV), with World Vision Australia (WVA) support, launched a three-year project, entitled Growing Strong: Models for Early Childhood Care and Development, to improve and strengthen responses to ECCD in Vietnam. Initially devised as a pilot within A Luoi District and Hue City both in Thua Thien Hue Province, the intention
80 Responses to Poverty 2007 was to leverage findings from this project Project Management Board (PMB). and roll out similar initiatives across other PMBs often already exist at the ward/ World Vision programming areas in commune and city/district levels and Vietnam. offer a standing network of experienced
In many respects Growing Strong’s community volunteers, used to facilitating VIETNAM strategy was extremely simple. Its strength multiple development activities. as a development initiative wasn’t in grand design or ambitious targets, it was in the The Project Management way it successfully aligned knowledge, Board (PMB) resources and expertise both within and outside the district. Achieving, for a The PMB is typically comprised of the relatively modest investment of funds, chairman and accountant of the Peoples’ significant community empowerment Committee, heads of the Women’s Union within a short timeframe. This was and the Department of Education, a Snap-shot: Children in Vietnam achieved by: health officer, the headmaster of the Since the World Bank re-engaged primary school, a cashier and a community Building on best practice learnings with Vietnam in 1993, annual per representative. While World Vision from Save the Children (UK), capita income rose from US$170 might offer support and guidance or even to US$610 today. This, along UNICEF, and the World Bank (WB), make recommendations regarding PMB with other human development as well as academic institutions such indicators, has prompted the members, it is the PMB and not World as the Vietnamese Ministry of Health World Bank to rank Vietnam Vision that takes ultimate responsibility for as one of the world’s best Care’s Institute of Nutrition, and other implementing projects in Vietnam. performing developing economies. relevant community initiatives; By contrast, UNICEF reports However, since the PMB offers direct that approximately 10 million Working through, strengthening links to and within the community, Vietnamese children still live below and improving access to state-run the international poverty line, and the Growing Strong project was able to educational centres and community- that Vietnamese children remain directly access a pre-existing network of seriously at risk of homelessness, based kindergartens in both urban experienced, locally-based stakeholders. drug abuse, sexual and economic and rural areas across the district. The These stakeholders facilitated community exploitation, human trafficking objective was to ensure all children aged and domestic violence. It is engagement, resource mobilisation and 0-5 received quality education in a safe estimated that approximately 2.5 an understanding of the objectives of the million children are in need of and suitable environment. Improved Growing Strong project within a very special protection, including curriculum, improved access to basic 150,000 orphans, over 1 million short timeframe. They also enabled both teaching aids, appropriate and safe children with disabilities, 16,000 communities and parents to directly physical infrastructure and enhanced street children and 23,000 child engage in the ways their kindergartens labourers. teacher/caregiver training were key functioned, and to understand the benefits components; that ECCD offered their children. Raised awareness of, and commitment The Peoples’ Committee representatives to, the benefits of preschool care and play a critical political role in leading education amongst parents. Over a their community. Their endorsement three-year period, contributions made regarding the importance of ECCD by World Vision were scheduled has been enormously influential in to decrease on the assumption that socialising the concept within the contributions made by the community, community. Additionally, these and parents in particular, would government representatives were able to increase; and link the project’s aims and objectives with Taking full advantage of the government agendas at the district level. government-sanctioned Project While the PMB offered extraordinary Management Boards. In Vietnam, all opportunities in terms of development development projects including World and advocacy, its understanding of project Vision programs must work through a cycle management differed from that of Source: World Bank, UNICEF
Responses to Poverty 2007 81 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to she would normally take her child with our work her when going to the field. However, she is happier focusing on her work, while her child is in the centre – the child’s health has also improved and he is more active. Following advice from the PMB, some parents particularly in rural areas, who are unable to afford to pay for ECCD with cash, are instead allowed to pay with firewood, eggs and vegetables. The PMB also recommended that credit programs for poor families be introduced. Those who receive credit loans organised themselves into small groups, exchanging experiences in doing business and ways to return capital. In such meetings, topics such as health and ECCD were discussed. Recipients of credit loans in each commune or ward were trained by WV staff and the Phuoc Vinh Kingergarten, WVV. As a consequence, the program’s PMB on the credit program’s objectives Hue City. progression has been monitored, but not and how to keep statements and records according to World Vision monitoring and about business plans, savings and returning evaluation frameworks. capital loans. To date these programs have achieved a more than 90 percent Key outcomes 2002-2007 repayment rate, providing opportunities for poor families to earn income to send their In the A Luoi District of Thua Thien children to kindergarten. Hue Province, much of the population is engaged in agricultural activities such With the program’s assistance, parents have as fisheries, rice, vegetable and fruit actively sought information and materials harvesting and/or animal husbandry. It is to understand the preschool needs of their often difficult for households to produce children. Parent education groups meet enough food to meet their own domestic regularly to discuss childcare, development needs, let alone produce the kind of steady methods and to share their experiences. income needed to send their children to Over time, through participation in the school. Nevertheless, the PMB felt that the Growing Strong project, parents have community would be willing to contribute begun to recognise positive behavioural as long as they had a good understanding changes in their children. Participants told of the benefits of the project. staff that their children now greeted them when they got home after class, and that With the upgrading of infrastructure they were generally happier as expressed and teaching materials for kindergartens, through singing songs, dancing, reading especially in A Luoi District, the project poetry and reviewing lessons learned at radically changed the hours of operation home. of kindergartens from half-day long to all- day long, enabling many parents to go out During a discussion on the most and earn their living. Thus, the provision significant changes, the PMB reported of ECCD services has allowed parents a noticeable improvement in both to pursue various income-generating teachers’ and principals’ professional and opportunities. management skills. The quality of care also seems to be improving as evidenced One parent acknowledged that in the past when the Son Thuy Kindergarten recently
82 Responses to Poverty 2007 won third prize for creativity in a recent scholarship program be initiated to target provincial competition. the community’s most vulnerable children. In the Son Thuy Commune prior to However, at the end of the one-year project implementation, 98 percent of 0-3 extension, it was found that 11 percent of year-old children were unable to attend the poorest children in the same location nurseries. Less than two years later, the would still drop out. Recognising that nursery attendance rate rose from 2 percent the credit programs were simply not to 48 percent. appropriately meeting the needs of the poorest families, the PMB arranged VIETNAM Furthermore, in Bac Son Commune, alternative payment options and provided prior to the project, there was only their own resources to cover monthly one combined kindergarten class of fees until these children were ready to 36 children. The number of children transition to primary education. attending kindergarten in that commune Snap-shot: has now more than tripled. Another key concern was that children What is Early Childhood aged 0-3 were experiencing significantly Care and Development? more difficulties accessing ECCD services Children do not just grow in size, Challenges they develop, evolve and mature, than those in higher age groups. In mastering ever more complex As the project was devised from the Vietnam, children aged 0-3 are often left understandings of the people, outset to be sustainable and owned by the at home with their siblings and not cared objects and challenges in their community, parents were encouraged to for properly by working parents who environment. Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) refers contribute financially towards their child’s are busy with other essential livelihood not only to what is happening education. Contributions made by World activities. As such, the children are not within the child, but also to the Vision decreased as contributions made given the opportunity to reach their care that child requires in order to by targeted families and the local PMB optimal development during this early thrive. For a child to develop and learn in a healthy and normal way, increased. For a majority of participants age. Through several discussions with it is important not only to meet the this model for sustainability worked community and local partners, it was basic needs for protection, food successfully. However, in all areas it was suggested that WV work more with and healthcare, but also to meet the basic needs for interaction and found that dropout rates would be highest parents in order to provide ECCD services stimulation, affection, security, and amongst children from the poorest of to the 0-3 age groups. learning through exploration and families if the contributions were to be discovery. In response to this, WV began working abruptly stopped. ECCD activities are those with communities to model home-based that support young children Through community consultations it childcare networks, managed by parent appropriately and seek to became clear that as many as 34 percent of groups and specifically targeting children strengthen the environments in which they live. ECCD therefore parents in an urban centre would be forced aged 0-3. In order to sustain this new includes: working with parents to to withdraw their children if the project home-based model, WVV provided strengthen parenting skills; working was to end at its scheduled time – after training in home-based care, nutrition, to provide or strengthen day care three years. Following recommendations child development and healthcare skills for options; developing preschools and other early childhood education by the PMB, a one-year project extension parents and community volunteers. Finally, programs that address the child’s was granted to enable extremely poor existing ECCD facilities were renovated to needs in holistic ways; and striving children continued access to ECCD be more appropriate for those aged 0-3. to bolster the community in its services, while giving their parents more economic, physical and moral support of families and young time to concentrate on generating income children. and improving their livelihoods. It was felt that by doing this, these children would References: have better opportunities to attend school World Bank, 1999, Early Childhood in the future. Counts: Programming Resources for Early Childhood Care and Development.CD- To complement the project extension, the ROM. The Consultative Group on ECCD. PMB also recommended that existing Washington D.C.: credit programs be redesigned to target Source: The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development more entrepreneurial poor families and a (CGECCD) www.ecdgroup.com
Responses to Poverty 2007 83 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to our work
Project Management Board member, Hue City.
Program Details Moving forward Under its national education strategy, WVV has also employed an ECCD Project partners: Since its introduction four years ago, World Vision Australia, World National Coordinator to roll this Growing Strong has now been phased out Vision Vietnam, various other program out across all World Vision child community based organisations, of the urban area and completely integrated sponsorship programs in Vietnam. This NGOs and local agencies. within WVV’s child sponsorship-funded will include approximately 30 programs Project start date: Area Development Program in the rural in total and plans are in place to roll out January 2002 area. programming in Nepal as well, with Project end date: Phase 1 complete, Phase 2 until WVV and WVA have used this project potential to replicate it in other South-East June 2008 as a model upon which to base a second Asian countries. Funding source: ECCD initiative within Tra Bong District 75% AusAID NGO Cooperation of Quang Ngai Province. Access to pre- Program (ANCP) with match existing resources, such as local knowledge, funding from staff and materials, in addition to pre- 12.5% Corporate and Major Donors existing relationships with government is 12.5% Innovative Quality Initiatives helping this second ECCD program to (Child Sponsorship) succeed. Australian funds remitted overseas by Financial Year (FY): FY 2003 US$37,403 FY 2004 US$87,427 FY 2005 US$69,623 FY 2006 US$47,782 FY 2007 US$43,145 Total Australian funds remitted overseas: US$285,380
84 Responses to Poverty 2007 Health sector development in Aceh
Post-tsunami partnerships in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
Louise Searle districts devastated. More than 128,000 Rapid changes in Aceh’s people died and another 93,000 people social, political and economic were officially reported missing. Over half context post-tsunami made a million people were displaced and more it, and continue to make it, than 149,000 injured. (World Health Organization 2005). In the health sector, challenging for humanitarian ACEH and development actors infrastructure including hospitals, clinics to plan detailed and overly and health offices were significantly prescriptive programming. In a affected and the health workforce was constantly changing operating seriously depleted, with more than 700 environment, context analysis, personnel reported dead or missing upon which responses are (Abdulla 2005). usually designed, outdate Entering the Aceh context was challenging rapidly. Recognising the unique for most donors. After decades of civil challenges of this context, a conflict, few agencies had established ‘facility’ mechanism was chosen links to the province. The scale of the as the most appropriate way response was enormous, with more than to support and improve quality 300 agencies on the ground in the first health sector services within month (Bennett et al 2006). The response this northern Indonesian was challenging to coordinate and not province. always appropriate, with some incidences of supply-driven and poorly targeted
donations and services. The health sector The global community responded to the Health check at a Child Friendly was no exception. By 6 January 2005, the Space, Banda Aceh. 2004 Asian tsunami with unprecedented levels of funding and support. As images of the disaster and remarkable stories of survival were broadcast around the world, individuals, families, the business community and governments were quick to donate millions of dollars for relief and reconstruction. A complex humanitarian emergency such as this presents an unpredictable, dynamic environment for program planning and delivery. World Vision Australia recognised that new, innovative and flexible methods would be needed to adequately respond to this disaster, especially in Indonesia. The province of Aceh was closest to the epicentre of the earthquake and worst affected by the tsunami, with 14 of 21
Responses to Poverty 2007 85 Section 3
Case study World Health Organization advised that a precise implementation schedule, it is Aceh no additional field hospitals were required, instead governed by an agreed scope, yet they continued to arrive. Two years on, broad objectives and a set of criteria for the district hospital in Meulaboh, West selecting partners and activities. Funding Aceh is now faced with funding the safe for activities is driven by identification of destruction of 200 cubic metres of expired needs by partners as they become apparent. and unused pharmaceuticals. Reflection on achievements during actual implementation becomes the best and Despite significant donor investment in the immediate indicator of if, and how, future health sector, staff from three Melbourne- activities should evolve. based agencies involved in the response were concerned that key areas were being The APiH facility operates within and neglected by existing donors and programs. supports the Aceh Provincial Strategic Recognising these gaps, Aceh Partnerships Plan for Healthcare (2006-2010). In in Health (APiH) was initiated through addition to receiving technical assistance a contractual partnership between the to design and implement health activities, Australian International Health Institute, partners are also supported to enhance Burnet Institute and World Vision their organisational capacity. This is Australia. A joint field assessment in achieved, for example, by learning how to February 2006 confirmed several themes develop budgets and proposals, improve - including HIV and AIDS, disability, human resource management and financial adolescent health, mental health, and management and reporting, and acquire research and health policy - where strategic new skills such as problem analysis financial and technical assistance could and strategy development. Rather than be beneficial. APiH was not intended to substituting for gaps in health service directly implement any activities itself. delivery or health system weaknesses, Instead, it was designed to support existing APiH strengthens the capacity of existing systems and governance structures by agencies and makes resources available at partnering with local government, non- moments when they will hopefully have government and educational institutions. the most beneficial impacts. The facility also has the flexibility to fund Rapid Response Initiatives, where local The ‘facility’ as a development Top: Health check at a displaced organisations who may not already be persons centre, Banda Aceh. approach partners of APiH can access funding for Bottom: Temporary health clinic, Banda Aceh. Rapid changes in Aceh’s social, political discrete activities such as staff training, and economic context made it, and attendance at workshops and seminars, continue to make it, challenging to plan short-term technical assistance or detailed prescriptive project designs. smallscale equipment or infrastructure The operating environment is constantly support. Examples of activities funded changing and contextual analysis that under this initiative in 2006 include provides rationale for selecting particular the Provincial Mental Health Planning activities can quickly become outdated. Workshop, the development of new mental Recognising the unique challenges health legislation, and support for World for development programming in this AIDS Day activities. This event was a context, a ‘facility’ was chosen as the most first for Banda Aceh and without APiH’s appropriate way to manage funding. investment is unlikely to have occurred. The facility is a relatively new form of While in many respects World Vision development assistance that utilises Australia feels the APiH facility is an a flexible approach to planning and effective and appropriate response, funding. Rather than requiring upfront demonstrating its effectiveness remains a detailed analysis and design that informs significant challenge. The humanitarian
86 Responses to Poverty 2007 Snapshot: The Aceh context Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is located on the northern tip of the island of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The province was closest to the epicentre of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami, and experienced considerable loss of life and infrastructure. More than 128,000 people died, 500,000 became homeless and 600,000 people lost their source of livelihood. Total damage has been estimated at a financial cost of US$4.5 billion. Aceh province is rich in natural resources, especially oil and gas. The unequal distribution of resources between Acehnese and the central government was one factor contributing to 30 years of conflict which took the lives of an estimated 12,000 people. In August 2001, Law 18/2001 granted special autonomy to the province; however, community, including World Vision, is for facilities does not exist, and APiH is the peace process collapsed in May increasingly focused on improving agency facing a number of challenges, as explored 2003. Martial law, imposed in 2004, accountability through measuring the below. was still in force when the disaster occurred. impact and effectiveness of relief and Peace talks resumed in January development activities. However, the Challenge 1: 2005 following the Free Aceh current frameworks available to assess Movement (GAM) announcement achievement and impact of projects are A pre-agreed ‘scope’ guides funding decisions of an informal ceasefire following largely irrelevant when trying to capture within the facility. Decisions are not based on the tsunami. Since then, Aceh has experienced rapid change in the contribution of a ‘facility’ response. planned and prescriptive outcomes or objectives, its socio-political context. The as they are in other development approaches. peace agreement signed between the Government of Indonesia and The facility approach adopts an agreed APiH: the challenges of GAM in August 2005 paved the ‘scope’ of work that only determines the way for election of a new provincial evaluating ‘effectiveness’ types of activities that can and cannot be governor and local government leaders in December last year. The majority of development projects funded. In the case of APiH, the scope For the first time, candidates implemented during the last 30 years have restricts funding to organisations working representing local Acehnese utilised the logical framework approach in the health sector in earthquake and parties will be eligible to run in to project design and management, for at tsunami-affected areas of Aceh and parliamentary elections, to be held in 2009. least some stage of the project management Nias Island. However, the scope simply cycle. This approach assumes projects provides parameters for funding and are governed by linear logic, with a clear guides the way forward for selecting cause-and-effect relationship between partners and activities. Unlike other activities and outcomes. It is reliant on development approaches, funding the future being easy to anticipate and decisions are based on the consistency of uncomplicated to plan. New models of proposed activities within the scope, not program delivery such as the facility have because they are designed to achieve a emerged, in part due to critique of the particular objective or purpose. Therefore, logical framework approach and perceived if activities fit within the scope and the limitations in its application. They facility is being managed within the therefore require alternative frameworks for agreed parameters, it is considered to be design, monitoring and evaluation (DME). operating effectively. It is not logical to However, a ‘blueprint’ DME framework try and set indicators of achievement or
Responses to Poverty 2007 87 Section 3
Reviewing new 1. Traditional development approaches to project structure our work
Goal
Purpose c ect logi Outcome Outcome
Output Output Output Output Cause and eff
Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity
Project logic assumes implementation of activities will result in outputs and achieve pre-determined outcomes, or objectives.
impact because activities and objectives engagement with partners, facilities need to are not predetermined. have appropriate accountability systems in place to ensure funds are dispersed through
a transparent process. Facilities also require Challenge 2: significant upfront investment to employ The humanitarian community is increasingly program staff and technical advisors who being asked to demonstrate value for money as need to be in place at inception to identify part of improving accountability mechanisms to and work with potential partners. APiH donors. Within a facility approach it is actually experienced a lengthy start-up phase, quite difficult to determine ‘value for money’. where staff worked alongside partners to assist in project identification, design and It seems that APiH is not alone in this the development of appropriate financial experience. In a review of programs in management systems before funds could be 2004, AusAID found that programmatic dispersed and activities commenced. approaches such as facilities tend to be very staff-intensive and highlight tension between the desire to create a flexible, Challenge 3: responsive and efficient mechanism while The APiH facility focuses, in a large part, ensuring adequate focus and impact. on organisational development, institutional The review described a commonly posed strengthening and good governance. threshold question by staff involved in the review – “what is stopping this facility While designed as a health facility, from just being a slush fund?” (AusAID organisational development has been a 2005). In the case of APiH, annual partner critical component of APiH’s investment program plans and clear documentation in local partners. While this is encouraging guiding partner selection and requirements and likely to enhance sustainability, for release of funds have so far ensured the contribution of APiH in this area adequate focus. Determining value for risks being invisible if monitoring and money, however, remains highly subjective evaluation systems are not designed to and judgment varies according to adequately capture the process by which individual and institutional experience. partners are learning and achieving. Repeating partner capacity assessments With less emphasis on upfront design (currently conducted prior to contracting and planning and greater emphasis on a partner) is one way that APiH hopes to flexibility, rapid response and progressive capture organisational change.
88 Responses to Poverty 2007 2. The facility approach to development
Facility Goal Facility goal: T o contribute to the achievement of the Provincial Health Office of Aceh's strategic plan by strengthening local capacity to promote and deliver quality health services.
Scope of facility: · mental health · disability · adolescent health Scope of the facility · HIV · research & policy; and (Governance group) · organisational development
Represent funded activities, approved by the governance group, that sit within the scope.
Local NGO’s, government agencies and other partners
Challenge 4: monitoring and evaluation, typically used in more traditional development approaches, are Many of APiH’s partners to date have been therefore not suitable. involved in facilitating networks, engaging in Program Details advocacy, and attempting to influence public Instead of concentrating purely on tracking Project partners: opinion. It is typically difficult to monitor and progress in implementation and achieving The three Australian partners are evaluate the impact of advocacy-based work. predetermined indicators of success, APiH’s The Australian International Health monitoring and evaluation framework Institute (including the Centre for In some theme areas, such as HIV and International Mental Health), Burnet emphasises organisational learning from AIDS, APiH has clearly been the catalyst, Institute and World Vision Australia. achievements and challenges, and mapping helping to transform the HIV sector in As at June 2007, the following changes in the health sector. Accountability Aceh. Increasing dialogue, collaborative agencies have been supported remains important with monitoring of through the APiH facility in partnerships between local NGOs and systems, processes, decision making and Aceh: Medan Aceh Partnerships government officials, and revitalisation the quality of individual activities; so does (HIV), Yakita (Adolescent health), of the Provincial AIDS Commission are P3C-Aceh (Disability), Provincial evaluating the effectiveness of the facility all, arguably, partly attributable to APiH’s Health Office (Health Finance approach as a method to deliver flexible Study), Provincial Health Office work and influence. A year ago, HIV development assistance. (Community-based Mental was rarely mentioned by either health Health), Bireuen District Health policy makers and practitioners, or within Office (Community-based Mental communities, and yet the raised profile of Reflections Health), Pidie District Health Office (Community-based Mental Health), this issue resulted in more than 700 people While it is possible within the APiH Zainoel Abidin Provincial Hospital participating in Banda Aceh’s inaugural and National AIDS Commission facility to evaluate individual activities that World AIDS Day activities in December (KPA) (HIV sero-survey) have been implemented by local partners last year. However, capturing social change Project start date: against their own expected outcomes and and pinpointing an organisation’s input May 2005 objectives, it is not possible for the facility into that process is complex to measure, Project end date: to demonstrate collectively what it has especially given the relatively short period May 2008 achieved. This is because multi-layered of implementation. Funding source: partnerships are involved and the facility Tsunami appeal funds diverse activities that are not related, Total Australian funds remitted Challenge 5: except where they fit within a common overseas at June 2007: scope of work. US$2,086,759 Facility approaches are not primarily concerned with establishing a logical connection between However, despite no formal link between achievement of activities and intended facility activities or among partners, project outcomes. The focus and methods for there are interesting synergies forming
Responses to Poverty 2007 89 Section 3
Reviewing new approaches to our work
Newborn, Banda Aceh.
Acknowledgments:
APiH is funded by World Vision Australia (WVA) for A$5 million over three years. This case study captures WVA’s current reflections on the APiH facility as a mechanism to deliver development assistance midway through implementation. The lessons learned during implementation will continue to build understanding of the facility approach and inform future interventions. The following institutions and people contributed to the ideas submitted in this case study: between APiH’s partners in Aceh. Critical While it is not possible to objectively Burnet Institute, Deborah networks and coalitions are developing, measure the impact of facilities, it is Rhodes and The Australian International Health Institute where partners are working collectively to feasible to find ways to understand whether of the University of Melbourne representing contributions achieve health sector gains. Any attempt to the actual mechanism for delivering funds from the Centre for measure individual contribution, though, was effective, and to capture opinion International Mental Health. may be counterproductive and potentially about APiH’s contribution to health
References: damage partner trust and cooperation sector development in Aceh. It will be (Chapman 2002). Instead, APiH will interesting to monitor whether this level Abdulla, A; (2005). Health System Analysis after examine changes within the health sector of information will continue to satisfy Tsunami for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province. Prepared during implementation and, through growing industry demand for documenting for AusAID Health System stakeholder analysis, try to identify how evidence of impact in the coming years. Assessment and Planning Mission. APiH has been linked with, or contributed
AusAID; (2005). Rapid to, those changes. Review of Quality-At-Entry. AusAID Office of Review The APiH facility has provided World and Evaluation. Canberra. Commonwealth of Australia. Vision Australia with an opportunity to
Bennett, J. W Bertrand, C think critically about new approaches to Harkin, S Samarasinghe, and development, both in terms of the way H Wickramatillake; (2006). Coordination of international business is conducted, and the methods assistance in tsunami-affected countries. London. Tsunami used to fund and implement programs. Evaluation Coalition.
Chapman, J; (2002). Monitoring and evaluating advocacy. PLA Notes, 43:38-52.
World Health Organization (2005). Mental Health and Psychosocial Relief Efforts after the tsunami in South-East Asia. New Delhi. World Health Organization.
World Health Organization (2005). Situational Reports on South East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami – 6 January 2005. Downloaded 19 April 2007 from http://www. searo.who.int/en/Section23/ Section1108/Section1835/ Section1862_8329.htm.
90 Responses to Poverty 2007
Contributor’s biographies
Responses to Poverty 2007 91 Contributor’s biographies
Editor and project coordinator Refocusing the sponsorship model – Pilahuin and Lamay Martin Thiele is an advisor within the Strategic Projects Unit of World Vision Reflections on effectiveness from Peru and Australia’s Policy & Programs Group. Ecuador Prior to joining World Vision in 2006 he Belinda Pratten is World Vision Australia’s worked in television, documentary film, Country Program Coordinator for publications, arts management, cultural Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. development and services to marginalised With a background in psychology she has youth. He has a Masters in International worked on NGO and AusAID programs Development. in East Timor, Kosovo and Papua New Guinea. She has a Masters in Public Health. Section 1: Reflections on program effectiveness Jenny Torres is the Ministry Quality Manager for World Vision Ecuador. She The Machinga HIV & AIDS has held several positions with World Project 2003-2006 Vision Ecuador over the past nine years Community coalitions for combating HIV and including Sponsorship Coordinator, AIDS in Malawi Manager, Programs Direction and Dr Paul Woods is World Vision Australia’s more recently as Coordinator of the Senior Country Program Coordinator for International Audit review in Ecuador. Malawi and Zambia. He joined World Jenny has a degree in Information Vision in 2002. He completed formal Technology. studies in international development and Janet Cruz Granda has been the National later spent time in the hills of northern Director of World Vision Ecuador since Vietnam studying towards a PhD in October 2004. Prior to working with agroforestry. He has a particular interest in World Vision she spent 15 years in natural resource management and has lived executive consultancy and management and worked in Australia, Borneo, Vietnam, which included strategic and business Samoa and Malawi. planning, administration and corporate finance. She is a graduate in Business Food in crisis Administration from the Catholic University of Ecuador. Evaluating the effectiveness of food aid operations in southern Africa Brett Pierce has worked with World Vision Australia for 14 years in various roles and Viv Mancusi has been working as Desk is currently with the Program Effectiveness Officer with World Vision Australia’s team overseeing the quality of sponsorship Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs programs. His educational background team for almost seven years. In addition is in vocational education and training, to overseeing project administrative communications and he is currently functions, she manages a small portfolio completing a Masters in International in Lesotho and is currently completing her Community Development. Masters in Public Health.
Junus David has been managing food Defining success aid projects since 1998. He started with – Begasin Bugati World Vision Indonesia in 1998, moved to East Timor in 1999 and to Azerbaijan in Understanding ‘effective’ development in Papua 2001. He originally studied information New Guinea management and joined World Vision Jonathan Treagust has been World Vision Australia’s Humanitarian and Emergency Australia’s Country Program Coordinator Affairs team in 2004. for Thailand and Papua New Guinea. He
92 Responses to Poverty 2007 grew up in Papua New Guinea, completed Children of Romania a Masters in International Development in Reflecting on 15 years of child protection work the United Kingdom and has worked in in Romania the aid sector and agricultural development in both PNG and South Asia. Valentin Sabau is the Manager of Cluj Area Development Program in Romania. David Sweeting worked as a mechanical He has a background in social work and engineer for four years before joining the has worked with World Vision Romania Australian Youth Ambassador Program for 13 years. and volunteering in Fiji. He joined World Vision Australia as part of the 2007 Maria Muzur is a social worker by graduate program. profession and currently works as a supervisor with World Vision Romania, where she has worked for 12 years. Section 2: Sectoral or Corina Popescu is the Manager of Valcea multi-country interventions Area Development Program and is the Child friendly responses Coordinator of the Valcea Children of Romania project. She has several years Child rights and child protection issues following experience as a caregiver in orphanages, the Pakistan Earthquake working in child support and outreach Claire Beck is part of World Vision and as a social worker in the Children of Australia’s Humanitarian and Emergency Romania project. She has been working Affairs team and Team Leader of the with World Vision Romania for 13 years. Community Resilience and Project Roxana Trupina has a Masters in Management Team - with specific Management of Social and Health responsibility for Afghanistan and Services. She has six years of field Pakistan. Prior to coming to World Vision programming and project management she worked in Pakistan for 12 years. Claire experience with World Vision Romania. is a trained teacher and has completed a Masters of Public Health. Fair Trade, the Brazilian experience Reconstructing responses Making markets work for the small producers The trials and tribulations of World Vision’s as a pathway out of poverty tsunami shelter program Roni Oracion has been World Vision Joyati Das is currently the Urban Poverty Australia’s Microenterprise Development Program Coordinator in the Special Advisor for seven years. Prior to emigrating Projects Unit of World Vision Australia. In to Australia from the Philippines, Roni January 2005, she was sent to Thailand to was Executive Director of an NGO in the conduct rapid assessment of the tsunami Philippines called Appropriate Technology disaster and was seconded to Sri Lanka for Centre for Rural Development. three months in March 2005 to set up the Stakeholder Liaison Unit (later renamed the Humanitarian Accountability Team) to ensure community engagement processes were included in the shelter program.
Responses to Poverty 2007 93 Contributor’s biographies
Closing the cycle to human Greening West Africa trafficking The West Africa Natural Resource Management World Vision’s law enforcement collaborations in Project 2005–2007 the Mekong sub-region Tony Rinaudo managed relief and Susu Thatun is World Vision Australia’s development programs in the Maradi Senior Policy Advisor on Child Protection Integrated Development Project in Niger and Trafficking. Prior to this, she spent Republic for 17 years before joining World seven years as Program Manager at the Vision Australia. From 1999 until 2006 he United Nations Inter-Agency Project on was Country Program Officer for Kenya Human Trafficking. Susu’s work with and Ethiopia and then Chad and Senegal. families whose lives are torn apart by child He currently holds the position of Natural trafficking has taken her to Cambodia, Resource Management Specialist in World China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vision Australia’s Integration Team. Vietnam. Josue Sogoba lives in Mali and is coordinator of the WA NRM project. Section 3: Reviewing new He has been facilitating training in approaches to our work land degradation and restoration, natural resource management, natural Why campaign? regeneration, project design and evaluation, World Vision’s experience of Make Poverty Emergency Relief and Disaster Mitigation History in Australia track 1 & 2 facilitation for five West African countries. Josue has a Masters in Andrew Hassett has played an active role Environmental Auditing from Imperial in World Vision Australia’s campaigns College, London. team and was heavily involved in the Make Poverty History campaign. He has worked across World Vision’s marketing, public People power policy and campaigns teams. He studied Grassroots demand for good governance in commerce and arts and has a Masters in Uganda, Brazil and India International Studies. Keren Winterford is a Quality Advisor Sue Cant is a policy adviser in World for World Vision Australia with expertise Vision’s Government Relations Division. in community development, facilitation She was previously adviser to the Shadow and design, monitoring and evaluation. Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and She has worked in Africa, Asia and the Overseas Aid, Bob Sercombe. Prior to this Pacific and recently commenced a PhD she was assistant foreign editor at The Age exploring impact of language use within newspaper and has worked as a journalist the development sector. in several developing countries. Anueja Gopalakrishnan works with World Governance the Vision Australia in the Public Policy and Wetenngerr way Government Relations teams. She as an The Wetenngerr Leadership and Governance Honours Degree in Biomedical Science, Project 2005-2008 a Masters in International Law and is currently completing a Masters in Public Gabrielle Halcrow is the Regional Program Health. Coordinator for World Vision Australia’s Australian Programs. With a background in public health, she has worked with remote communities for over seven years in South Asia, the Pacific and recently Indigenous Australia across a range of
94 Responses to Poverty 2007 public health, water and sanitation and community development programs. Dr Stuart Phillpot has three decades of community development experience in Australia and internationally. He has held senior executive posts in State and Federal Government service, and academic posts with the University of Canberra. He speaks basic Indonesian and Pitjanjatjara and has finely developed skills in Indigenous community process, and in natural and agricultural resource management.
Growing Strong Encouraging ownership of Early Childhood Care and Development in Vietnam Leigh Mitchell has worked in many Asian countries in various roles including human rights, peace media and corporate social responsibility. He joined World Vision Australia’s Asia Unit as part of the 2007 graduate program. Phearak Svay is World Vision Australia’s Country Program Coordinator for Vietnam and Laos. Born in Cambodia, he has first-hand experience of quality early childhood care in developing countries and potential to positively influence all stages in life.
Health sector development in Aceh Post-tsunami partnerships in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Louise Searle has a background in designing and managing projects that promote inter-agency partnerships, encourage the adoption of flexible funding and new forms of development assistance. She has a special interest in local health systems and has worked with World Vision Australia’s Asian tsunami response program since 2005.
Responses to Poverty 2007 95 Credits
Copyright, 2007 World Vision Australia
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except for brief excerpts in reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-875140-72-5 ISBN: 978-1-875140-73-2 (electronic version)
Published October 2007 by World Vision Australia’s Program Effectiveness Unit.
Commissioned by Andrew Newmarch.
Edited and prepared by Martin Thiele
Editorial Committee members:
Paul Ronalds – Director of Policy and Programs Conny Lenneberg – Head of International Programs Melanie Gow – Head of Advocacy, Program Effectiveness and Learning Kerin Ord – Team Leader, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Southern Africa Teams Andrew Newmarch – Manager, Program Effectiveness Martin Thiele – Special Projects Advisor, Policy and Programs
World Vision Australia 1 Vision Drive Burwood East VIC 3151 Australia
Graphic design and layout: Claire Emmett of Redfish Bluefish Creative Communications liaison: Zane Kuramoto Proof readers: Lisa Hodson, Margaret Spencer Resource manager: Suzy Sainovski
With special thanks to World Vision Australia’s Quality Advisors and Program Effectiveness team:
Andrew Newmarch Francois Tsafack Andre Renzaho Gabriel Mahony Lucia Boxelaar Keren Winterford
Front cover photo: children in Wetenngerr, Australia. Photographer: Damien Carty
96 Responses to Poverty 2007