Endline Evaluation Alternative Orphans & Widows Family Livelihood
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Endline Evaluation Alternative Orphans & Widows Family Livelihood (ALO) Project Final Report Gary N. Gamer Independent Evaluation Consultant to Islamic Relief Worldwide and Bangladesh May 18, 2020 Acknowledgements The Endline Evaluation for the ALO US project has had many twists and turns. Throughout this process three groups of people stand out who helped navigate and contribute to the evaluation. They have devoted their skills, time and spirt to this highly achieving project. Islamic Relief staff, out of the worldwide headquarters in Birmingham and in the offices of Bangladesh, have been helpful every step of the way. It has been a privilege for me as the lead evaluator and writer of this final report to learn from them and be energized by their commitment to widow and orphan families. The government stakeholders to ALO, particularly at the Upazila and Union levels in Aditmari, Lalmonirhat, must also be acknowledged. They gave their time and insights in describing their experiences with the project and its beneficiaries. They are passionate about ALO and proud to be associated with its successes, particularly the beneficiaries of the project. Our evaluation team visited many of the participating households in the ALO and Orphan Sponsorship projects. We travelled sometimes many hours on narrow roads between paddies and crossed the great rivers of this beautiful northern region of Bangladesh. We were welcome even when having inevitable delays when doing evaluation fieldwork. The women and children of ALO wanted to tell us about their lives over the last five years – the remarkable changes they have experienced, the challenges they face and their hopes for the future inshallah. The resilience of the women of the ALO and OSP projects, widowed with children and leading their households, is truly inspiring. The evaluation benefited greatly from the deeply enriching and informative interactions with them. Gary N. Gamer, Independent Consultant to Islamic Relief Worldwide and Bangladesh Lead External Evaluator to the ALO US Endline Evaluation May 2020 2 Table of Contents Acronyms and Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ 6 I Introduction and Background ..................................................................................................................... 7 II Executive Summary of Main Results .......................................................................................................... 8 III Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Quantitative Survey ................................................................................................................................ 15 Qualitative Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 17 IV Findings ................................................................................................................................................... 22 A Socio-Demographic Background of ALO Beneficiary Households ..................................................... 22 B Women’s Rights and Empowerment ................................................................................................... 24 Leadership ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Mobility ............................................................................................................................................... 26 ALO Project Women’s Groups ............................................................................................................ 28 B Child Protection, Rights and Child Clubs .............................................................................................. 31 Trends and Practices on Protection Issues ......................................................................................... 31 Child Clubs ............................................................................................................................................... 34 Child Clubs and Child Rights ................................................................................................................ 36 D Family Income ...................................................................................................................................... 39 E Graduation from Extreme Poverty ....................................................................................................... 42 F Livelihoods and Income Generating Activities ..................................................................................... 46 Family Migration ................................................................................................................................. 46 Sources of Income ............................................................................................................................... 46 G Family Expenditures ............................................................................................................................ 52 H Assets of Households ........................................................................................................................... 55 Productive Assets ................................................................................................................................ 56 Non-productive Assets ........................................................................................................................ 57 Housing and Fuel/Energy Use ............................................................................................................. 59 I Wealth Categories of Widow and Orphan Households Supported by Islamic Relief ........................... 60 J Savings and Loans ................................................................................................................................. 64 Savings ................................................................................................................................................ 64 Loans ................................................................................................................................................... 66 K Education ............................................................................................................................................. 67 L Health and Sanitation ........................................................................................................................... 70 3 Sanitation ............................................................................................................................................ 72 M Linkages with Government Stakeholders ........................................................................................ 75 ALO Program Model and Islamic Values Approach ............................................................................ 75 Government Support and Beneficiary Satisfaction ............................................................................ 76 Social Safety Nets ................................................................................................................................ 78 Linkages into the Future ..................................................................................................................... 80 N Disaster Risk Reduction ....................................................................................................................... 81 O Project Impacts in the Broader Community – Secondary Impacts ..................................................... 82 P Project Management ........................................................................................................................... 82 Exit Plan and Sustainability ................................................................................................................. 83 Beneficiary Satisfaction of the ALO Project and Staff ......................................................................... 85 Complaint Response Mechanism ........................................................................................................ 85 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.................................................................................................. 86 V ALO Theory of Change ............................................................................................................................. 87 VI Key Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................................. 89 VII Key Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 91 VIII Relevance, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, Sustainability of the ALO Project Model ....................... 94 Table of Tables Table 1 Locations, Types of Discussions and Number of Participants in Qualitative Field Work .......... 18 Table 2 Types of IR Widow and Orphan Projects in the Endline Qualitative Assessment ..................... 19 Table 3 Family Size and Percentage in ALO US Households at Endline Period ...................................... 22 Table 4 Women’s Empowerment on Financial Matters in the ALO US Project