Semi Annual Report

Figure 1 Household Registration in Lahj Governorate.

Program Name: Continued Recovery, Emergency Assistance and Training Engagement in (CREATE Yemen) Award Number: AID-OFDA-G-17-00182 Reporting Period: October 23, 2017 – March 31, 2018 Submitted To: OFDA / USAID Submitted By: Global Communities

Executive Summary

During the reporting period, Global Communities continued to implement the planned interventions through continued community consultations, participatory involvement in the beneficiary identification, and close liaison with relevant government departments at the Governorate and district levels. Global Communities has signed Principle and Sub-Agreements with Ministry of Planning and International Corporation (MOPIC), and Governor Offices in Aden, Dhale, and Lahj Governorates. In addition, coordination has been ensured with all relevant stakeholders i.e. Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation, Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training (MOTEVT), Education, Health, WASH and FSAC clusters on the ground. Global Communities has established 15 Community Volunteer Committees (CVCs) after conducting a proper needs assessment for the selection of most vulnerable areas in the targeted districts. Broad-Based Community Meetings (BBCM) were conducted in the villages where Global Communities field staff oriented them about the organization, program objectives, modalities, and beneficiaries’ selection criteria.

After the orientations, Global Communities received nomination lists of the most vulnerable beneficiaries (7000 households) based on shared criteria. The program team along with M&E staff started the Baseline and Households Registration exercise in 10 districts of Aden, Dhale and Lahj Governorates. Global Communities field staff conducted a 25% Baseline Survey in the targeted locations and a report was prepared and shared with OFDA in March 2018. A total of 5037 households (4214 Male and 828 Female) were registered for different interventions during the reporting period. Remaining household registration for the fiscal year 2018 is on-going and expected to be finished in the second half of April 2018.

In addition, Global Communities advertised a Request for Proposals (RFP) in Yemen HR for a Service Provider for Vocational Trainings and School WASH Kits, as well as a Financial Service Provider. Schools have been finalized with the support of the Education department, and selection has been done for participants who will participate in the WASH TOT for teachers. 1. Program Overview

Global Communities designed the CREATE Yemen program with the goal of meeting continued humanitarian assistance and early recovery needs of vulnerable and conflict-affected populations in southern Yemen, through a holistic approach to bolstering food security and livelihoods, improving WASH outcomes, and promoting economic opportunities in Aden, Lahj, and Dhale Governorates.

The program will achieve this goal through three objectives:  Objective 1: Improve household food security and livelihoods through the provision of agricultural inputs, including seeds, tools, and livestock;  Objective 2: Provide income generation opportunities for vulnerable households through market- driven vocational training, support to asset building groups, and cash-for-work opportunities; and  Objective 3: Improve community hygiene practices.

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The proposed 18-month project will address the needs of 164,906 vulnerable beneficiaries (23,558 households). Global Communities has established Community Volunteer Committees (CVCs) and is working in partnership with communities to identify beneficiary households, using vulnerability criteria created specifically for CREATE Yemen.

2. Program Administration & Implementation 2.1 Coordination During the reporting period, Global Communities ensured active liaison development and participated in relevant coordination forums at all levels including UN OCHA, WFP, UNICEF, Sub-WASH, Sub-Food Security & Agriculture, Health and Education Clusters. In addition, Global Communities also maintained strong relationships with the Government; particularly with key Government line ministries such as the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC), Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training (MoTEVT), Health and Education Departments, as well as with the staff of Governors’ offices and other key players such as local district councils and informal community leaders (Sheikhs), to ensure humanitarian access and smooth operations. Whenever possible, Global Communities ensured proper branding (logos on certificates, banners, etc.)

The signing of Principle Agreement with MOPIC In December 2017, Global Communities was one of the organizations who signed the Principle Agreement with MoPIC in Aden Governorate for the CREATE Program.

The signing of Sub-Agreement with MOPIC and Governor Offices Following the Principle Agreement, there was a requirement to sign a Sub-Agreement with MoPIC and Governor Offices in the targeted Governorates. In February 2018, the Sub-Agreement was signed by all authorities and submitted to them for their records.

Coordination with District Councils After signing the Principle and Sub-Agreements, Global Communities reached out to District Councils to further coordinate with them to introduce Global Communities as an organization, the project, its activities, and targets. Global Communities ensured proper engagement and communication with district councils to present itself and the project. Districts Councils shared a list of vulnerable villages with Global Communities in Aden, Lahj, and Dhale Governorates. Global Communities conducted a Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) in order to prioritize areas with major humanitarian gaps and a high vulnerability ratio. Rapid Needs Assessment was prepared and documented properly.

Established and trained Community Volunteer Committees (CVCs), with specific efforts made to ensure women’s participation To discuss and confirm the feasibility of the project, the Broad-Based Community Meetings (BBCM) were conducted with different communities to give them an orientation and confirm the feasibility of the program modalities. The next step of the community engagement strategy was to establish Community Volunteer Committees, who served as an entry point to the larger community for Global Communities, and bore the responsibility for beneficiary selection. The process of establishing Community Volunteer Committees

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3 involved the broader community, who were in charge of electing representatives. While Global Communities actively supported the participation of women in Community Volunteer Committees; it acknowledged that local customs and norms did not always allow for effective and active participation. To account for this, Global Communities actively involved women in CVCs and the beneficiary selection process.

After formation, the Community Volunteer Committees received an orientation by the Global Communities team on sectoral interventions and how to process for the selection of beneficiaries, with a strong emphasis on selection criteria. Initially, CVCs nominated the data of 7000 households for all the sectors, but 5037 households (4214 Male and 828 Female) registered by 31 March and the remaining household’s registration is on-going. They will be finalized in the month of April 2018.

S. No Governorate District Village Dar Sa'ad Al Mazare' 1 Aden Al Mu'alla Castro Al Buriqah Al Dakka Aum Gardof - Kod Duees Toban Kadamat Awad Ali Al Hagar Al Milah Al Nafsh - Al Hadenah 2 Lahj Al Musymir Musymeer Capital Al Maqaterah Al Sawaliha Al Kurbah Al Qobytah Al Maqam Al Sailah Al Dhale Al Dabyat 3 Al Dhale'e Al Hamra - Habil Al Al Azariq Daher Abab - Noman - Nagd

2.2 Agriculture and Food Security

Agriculture Production In order to implement the Agriculture and Food Security interventions, Global Communities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Aden for the smooth implementation of sectoral activities. The main purpose of this MoU was to ensure proper coordination with the Ministry, which allowed Global Communities to implement its agriculture and food security activities in targeted districts and Governorates. In addition, this MoU served as an official commitment between the Government Agriculture Office and the respective Governorates/districts who were committed to providing the necessary facilities and human resources to carry out the project in accordance with the laws and

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4 regulations of the Republic of Yemen. As proposed in the proposal, Global Communities also hired two Agriculture Agents who belonged to the Ministry/Agriculture Department, in order to conduct program- specific work outside of their official government work. Currently, they are working with the technical staff of Global Communities where they are communicating with beneficiaries on projects activities.

Identify and Register Vulnerable Households The responsibility for beneficiary identification is primarily with the Community Volunteer Committees, who proposed a list of vulnerable beneficiaries to Global Communities team. To ensure fairness and transparency of the process, and minimize the risk of inclusion (e.g. community leaders including their relatives) or exclusion (extremely vulnerable households excluded from the list), the Global Communities team conducted door to door household registration with the support of CVC members. During the reporting period, Global Communities registered 100 households for Agriculture support. Global Communities also conducted a verification exercise in order to cross verify the current farming practices of selected beneficiaries. Finally, 77 Farmers were selected to receive Agriculture tools and inputs in April 2018 through a Global Communities prescribed supplier. The full list of tools and inputs is attached as Annex 1 and Annex 2 with this report.

Livestock: Restocking Livestock Assets Under this activity, registration of vulnerable households is on-going in the targeted locations, and the first trench of restocking livelihoods assets will be distributed to 300 HHs in the last week of June 2018. In addition, Global Communities has requested the Department of Livestock in the targeted areas to provide us with livestock extension agents who will conduct program specific activities, along with the technical staff of Global Communities. Before this distribution, Global Communities will conduct Animal Healthcare Worker Skills training for 22 beneficiaries with the support of the Government Livestock Department. Animal health workers in these communities will receive basic care training such as trimming hoofs, dressing wounds, attending births, identifying and referring suspected disease outbreaks to the authorities, and cost recovery options for services.

2.4 Early Recovery and Market Systems

New Livelihoods Development: Vocational Training During the reporting period, Global Communities ensured proper coordination with the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training (MoTEVT) in order to implement context specific vocational training skills to unemployed youth from targeted beneficiary areas. MoTEVT shared a list of vocations that were market driven and context specific. The Global Communities team conducted household registration for the selection of final beneficiaries for the vocational training program. In addition, the Request for Proposal (RFP) was prepared and advertised on Yemen HR for the selection of a Service Provider who will conduct vocational training in Aden Governorate. The evaluation of bids is scheduled for the month of April for the final selection of the Service Provider.

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Microfinance: Asset Building Group TOT Global Communities selected 25 female participants from Aden, Lahj and Dhale Governorates who participated in the Asset Building Group TOT Program over a period of 10 days. This TOT not only familiarized participants with relevant training content but also allowed them to develop the requisite leadership and facilitation skills to conduct effective training in their communities. Official letters were submitted to CVCs along with all the information related to ABG TOT Program, with the venue and names of the participants for each selected location. Global Communities advertised the role of the ABG Trainer which will be finalized in the first half of April, in order to conduct this TOT program scheduled for 22 April to 3 May 2018 in the Sky Emirate Hotel in Aden Governorate.

Temporary Employment: Cash for Work (CFW) Registration is on-going for the beneficiaries who will participate in the Cash for Work activities in Aden, Lahj, and Dhale Governorates. Beneficiaries will be finalized in the month of April 2018 and will start their projects in the targeted locations. Currently, engineers are busy in the identification of potential CFW projects with the active participation of Community Mobilizers, WASH Officer and Community Volunteer Committees in their respective areas. Global Communities has advertised a Request for Proposals in Yemen HR for a Financial Service Provider, and the relevant institution will be selected in the month of April 2018.

2.5 Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene During the reporting period, Global Communities finalized the Hygiene Promotion Manual (in Arabic) which was used during the hygiene promotion sessions within the communities and schools. In addition, coordination was ensured with the Departments of Education, Health, Sub-Education and Sub-WASH Clusters for the implementation of WASH activities. Eight schools were selected within the targeted districts, with proper consultation with the Education Department as well as the Sub-Education Cluster. After coordination with nominated schools, Global Communities selected 22 school teachers who will participate in the WASH TOT Workshop in Aden Governorate. The tentative schedule for conducting this workshop is 1-5 April 2018 in Aden. Global Communities has hired Education Agents with the support of the Education Department in the targeted districts who will monitor the School WASH activities in different schools.

In addition, Global Communities advertised the Request for Proposals in Yemen HR for the provision of School WASH Kits in eight schools in Aden and Lahj Governorate. Bids will be opened in the month of April 2018 and the suitable supplier will be finalized after the proper bids evaluation process.

2.6 Monitoring and Evaluation

2.6.1 Rapid Needs Assessment The M&E Team cooperating with the Program Team designed a FGD tool for a rapid assessment, to get a situational overview, to identify the urgent needs of the host communities in the targeted locations, to assess their situation in terms of water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, agriculture and food security, their economic situation, and accessibility of communities to local markets. This assessment was also used to confirm the security situation and the accessibility of other humanitarian partners to provide humanitarian assistance, with re-confirming the need for the humanitarian assistance and possible responses.

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The M&E Team added the form to Fulcrum, the data collection application, and trained the field team on how to use the form. They became familiar with the questionnaires. 12 enumerators worked on the form in 32 villages, ten districts within three governorates Aden, Lahj and Dhale.

2.6.2 Baseline Survey Global Communities in its previous programs modified a Multi-Cluster/Sector initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) to develop our baseline survey, and the same assessment was modified to be used in the CREATE Yemen program. After the form was reviewed by both the M&E and Program Team, M&E added to the mobile data collection application, Fulcrum. Global Communities targeted 2,098 respondents, which was 25% of the total targeted beneficiaries of the program. They continued to use the same form to register targeted beneficiaries. The M&E team, within the design process of the form, added calculation fields to Fulcrum for scoring purposes, and checked the data quality during the whole process. After collecting 25% of the data, the M&E team finalized the baseline report.

2.6.3 M&E & Distribution Tools The M&E team designed the voucher reader application on Fulcrum to be used in the distribution stages. The application included a QR Code reader to read the barcode that was added to the printed voucher. The new tool will allow both the Program and M&E Teams to have more accurate data about beneficiaries and to avoid common mistakes by the field team during distribution, like delivering assistance to the same beneficiary twice. The process of checking and verifying beneficiary documents during and after the distribution was simpler and faster than with previous methods.

During the same reporting period, the M&E Team prepared the necessary tools and report templates to start monitoring at the start of activities. The tools consisted of the DDM (During Distribution Monitoring) form, the Observation form, the PDM (Post Distribution Form), the Evaluation and Interview forms for Trainings, and the AMR (Activity Monitoring Report) Template for trainings. The M&E Team cooperated with the Program Team and agreed upon the requirements for Pre and Post-Tests that will be prepared by trainers for each training.

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3. Progress Against Indicators

Reporting Period Indicator Cumulative % of Description Target (October 2017 to Notes # to Date Target March 2018) Agriculture and Food Security: Improved household food security and livelihoods through the provision of agricultural inputs, including seeds, tools, and livestock. Sub-sector: Improving Agricultural Production/ Food Security Projected increase in number of months of 350 Farmers food self-sufficiency due (by three 1.1 0 0 0% Not started yet. to distributed agricultural months/ input for beneficiary round) households Number of people 350 benefiting from seed households 1.2 0 0 0% Not started yet. systems/agricultural (2,450 input activities, by sex people) Number of beneficiaries 350 receiving information on households 1.3 0 0 0% Not started yet. appropriate pest control (2,450 interventions people) Sub-sector: Livestock Number of animals benefiting from or 1.4 affected by livestock 3,000 0 0 0% Not started yet. activities

Number of people 1,000 benefiting from livestock households 1.5 0 0 0% Not started yet. activities, disaggregated (7,000 by sex people) Number of veterinary At least one interventions (e.g., 1.6 per animal 0 0 0% Not started yet. treatments, vaccinations, 3,000 etc.)

1.7 Number of animals treated 3,000 0 0 0% Not started yet.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Improve awareness of good hygiene practices.

Sub-sector: Hygiene Promotion

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Number of people receiving 14,100 direct hygiene promotion (4,500 2.1 (excluding mass media households & 0 0 0% Not started yet. campaigns and without 9,600 double-counting) Students) Number of respondents 11,280 who know three of five (3,600 2.2 households & 0 0 0% Not started yet. critical times to wash 7,680 hands Students) Number of households 3,600 23 0 0 0% Not started yet. with soap and water at a households hand washing station. Number of households who store their drinking 3,600 2.4 0 0 0% Not started yet. water safely in clean households containers Economic Recovery and Market Systems: Provide income generation opportunities for vulnerable households through market-driven vocational training, support to asset building groups, and cash-for-work opportunities. Sub-sector: New Livelihoods Number of people assisted through new 3.1 livelihoods development 225 0 0 0% Not started yet. activities, disaggregated by sex Number of new micro 3.2 and small enterprises 45 0 0 0% Not started yet. (MSEs) started. Percentage of people, disaggregated by sex, 3.3 continuing their new 60% 0 0 0% Not started yet. livelihoods by program completion Total USD amount channeled into the 184,436 $ 3.4 0 0 0% Not started yet. program area through sub-sector activities. Sub-sector: Microfinance Number of people by sex, or MSEs newly receiving financial 3.5 services or continuing to 500 0 0 0% Not started yet. receive financial services due to USAID/OFDA support

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Percentage of financial service accounts/groups 3.6 supported by 95% 0 0 0% Not started yet. USAID/OFDA that are functioning properly.

Total USD amount channeled into the 3.7 58,000 $ 0 0 0% Not started yet. program area through sub-sector activities.

Sub-sector: Temporary Employment Number of people 3.8 employed through CFW 1,800 0 0 0% Not started yet. activities, by sex Average total USD 368 $ amount per person 3.9 0 0 0% Not started yet. earned through CFW activities Total USD amount channeled into the 3.10 663,102 $ 0 0 0% Not started yet. program area through sub-sector activities

4. Staffing During the reporting period, Global Communities filled several positions under this grant as follows; - Program Manager; - Deputy Program Manager; - WASH, ERMS, Reporting & Communication Officers, WASH Engineer and WASH Engineer Assistant, Program Assistant, Senior Security Officer, Agriculture Specialist, Community Mobilizers and Enumerators; - M&E Manager; and - Three M&E Assistants.

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5. Challenges Encountered - Project approvals by authorities (the signing of principle and sub-agreements) both at national and governorate levels took a longer period than expected, thereby delaying activity start-ups in target areas. - Short-term suspension was undertaken by the Program Team in January 2018 due to intense fighting between different groups on the ground. - Global Communities faced the difficulty in finding potential candidates for the recruitment of the technical staff in Yemen. - During baseline and household registration, field teams faced some issues due to scattered houses in Lahj and Dhale Governorates. - Field teams noticed that some of the households did not have National Identity Cards. - Field teams faced some issues with the identification of educated females in Qubaytah District for ABG trainees and Hygiene Promotors.

Program Pictures

Figure 2 Household Registration in Tuban District, Lahj Governorate.

Figure 2 Household Registration in , .

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Figure 3 Household Registration in Azariq District, Dhale Governorate.

Figure 4 Household Registration in Dhale and Lahj Governorates.

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