PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT IMPROVING FINANCIAL RESILIENCE AND PROMOTING GENDER EQUITY OF DISADVANTAGED YOUNG WOMEN IN MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES OF UMERKOT, PAKISTAN EX-POST IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT Lead Evaluator Hur Hassnain Impact, Results and Learning Manager April 14th, 2018 Women in Umerkot showing their newly learnt writing skills Introduction The Context: Although Umerkot is only five and a half hours car journey from Pakistan’s largest urban city Karachi, it is one of the most underdeveloped districts in Sindh, with the second highest poverty rates in the province. About 83% of the population is rural and 70% are Hindus (majority scheduled caste) and Christians, who are highly neglected, disadvantaged and lack access to basic services. The climate in Umerkot is extremely hot, about 40 degrees on average in summer. The majority of local people are tenant/subsistence farmers. Main livelihoods include daily agricultural labour, livestock and brick-making. Due to poor crop yields and climate insecurity, many farmers are indebted for life to the feudal landlords (a relatively small group of politically active and powerful landowners) and this goes generation to generation. People rarely have any reliable alternative livelihoods or sufficient coping mechanisms. Gender inequality is at its extreme with a variety of traditional and harmful practices, including violence against women and mobility restrictions resulting in limited access to health and education. The voices of these rural women articulated and demonstrated the dynamics of poverty at household level. These women had inherent potential to improve their own lives but were significantly constrained with major socio-economic barriers. They lacked key assets, including social, physical, financial and human assets, and access to public services. The Project: Between March 2015 to March 2018, Y Care International and the Community World Service Asia implemented a project “Improving financial resilience and promoting gender equity of disadvantaged young women in marginalised communities of Umerkot in Pakistan” funded by the UK Aid from the British government and the Swedish Postcode Foundation. The project addressed extreme poverty, food insecurity and gender inequality faced by young women, their households and communities. The project intended to contribute to young women having safer, happier lives, with reduced poverty. This was attained by increasing livelihoods opportunities of young women and improving gender sensitivity and mainstreaming in the communities of Umerkot district. The expected results of the project were as follows: Impact: Reduced poverty for vulnerable households in Sindh Province, Pakistan Outcome: Disadvantaged households in Umerkot District in Pakistan have improved economic resilience, empowerment and equity Output 1: The target 700 disadvantaged women have developed improved sewing and traditional embroidery skills (stiches/ dying/ block printing, etc.) Output 2: The target 700 disadvantaged women have strengthened market linkages and economic networks Output 3: Local community members of the 22 villages in Umerkot district have increased awareness and knowledge on gender-related issues affecting their local communities The purpose of the assessment is to (1) review the project results and impact (2) generate findings and recommendations that can inform the design and of similar interventions in Pakistan and elsewhere in the future; and (3) support project staff in conducting the Validation Workshop for the project final evaluation Methodology: This Impact and Sustainability Assessment Exercise focused on identifying and assessing the changes brought about through the project after the 3-year project inception using a mixed method composite approach using the Most Significant Change, Outcome Harvesting and Sprockler which is a story based mobile data collection tool (www.sprockler.com). Since the project was aimed at making people change-agents rather than just recipients of aid, the assessment design purposely included a validation workshop to share the findings with communities, so they could learn from it and understand the importance of monitoring and evaluation to provide solid evidence of project results. The validation workshop was conducted in two of the rural communities with the most relevant stakeholders including, but not limited to: project participants (men and women, boys and girls), local religious and political leaders, project staff members, local civil society and officials. Please read the article I wrote on my return from the field about validation workshops and the importance of closing the learning loop in evaluations1 in international development and humanitarian response. At the end of the meeting, community members were aware of what worked and what didn’t in the project, as well as the best possible ways for future improvements. One participant said, ‘this validation workshop was special, since it was the first time after a survey that the evaluation team shared the results with us’. Evaluation Criteria: The evaluation focused on two standard OECD-DAC criteria: sustainability and impact. Tools for data collection: A mixed-method participatory approach is used to make visible diverse perspectives and promotes participation of both women and men from different stakeholder groups. Data collection methods include: • Secondary data available at the national and provincial level • Sprockler, a story based mobile data collection tool • In-depth interviews • Key Informant Interviews • Focus Group Discussions • Document review Limitations: Visas for international consultants, getting permission to use mobile device in rural Sindh remained as key challenges to this assessment. Annexes: • Annex-1: Project Staff’s perception of impact in Umerkot. • Annex-2: Detailed visit/interview schedule and itinerary. • Annex-3: Photos from the visit and consent forms: saved HERE • Annex-4: Case Studies from the visit: saved HERE 1 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/closing-learning-loop-how-extend-ownership-evaluation-hur- hassnain/ Three Components of the Project Design The overall objective of the three-year project (April 2015 to March 2018) is to improve the economic resilience, empowerment and equity of disadvantaged households in Umerkot District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The expected results of the project are as follows: Output 1: The target 700 disadvantaged women have developed improved sewing and traditional embroidery skills (stiches/ dying/ block printing, etc.) Output 2: The target 700 disadvantaged women have strengthened market linkages and economic networks. Output 3: Local community members of the 22 villages in Umerkot district have increased awareness and knowledge on gender-related issues affecting their local communities The total budget of the project in GBP was 785,681.45 over three years. Project design by its components: Summary of Findings Overall, the project has done well in achieving its expected results. It successfully shook the vicious cycle of poverty off in 22 villages in Umerkot by using a three- pronged approach (skills, linkages and gender equality). By the end of the project, 94% of the households in the villages live above the poverty line ($2 a day) compared to only 3% before the project. (Source: before and after E&E assessment). The interviews and focus group discussions with the women conducted in the context of this mission, revealed that the project made substantive contribution to improving traditional embroidery skills. The skills that women enhanced through the trainings provided by the project turned a traditional activity into an important income generating activity. The quality of the production improved and in three years, women artisans started earning and contributing to their household income. This is supported by the evidence provided by project sales monitoring data: the total income generated by March 2018 is reported as PKR 8.9 million (USD 79,000). By circulating in the market, this amount is also strengthening the local economy of these poor villages. More specifically the project contributed to the following domains of change (source: E&E Assessment 2018): - 94% HHs can earn an income above $2 a day compared to only 3% in 2015 - 78% HHs are food secure compared to only 28% in 2015 - 595 women are now able to support their household income with 31% of them contributing equal to or more than $65 per quarter. - The average HH annual income increased from $936 per annum in 2015 to $2,596 per annum in 2018 - 97% of the HHs reported consuming the minimum dietary diversity compared to only 42% at the start of the project. - 72% women reported taking part and influencing HH decision making compared to only 8% in 2015 - 80% of community members reported having a more positive perception of women and their role in the household compared to only 9% in 2015. Project Impact and Sustainability: For analysis purposes, the project outcome is divided into two main categories: Building the Economic Resilience and Gender Transformation. 1- Building the Economic Resilience: Economic resilience could be simply defined as ‘the ability to recover from or adjust to the negative impacts of external economic shocks’.2 This project uplifted its constituents’ ability to cope with external economic shocks and stresses by diversifying their skills, income sources, connecting with the market and helping them build their self-esteem and confidence. The 22 selected villages in Umerkot are