This page left intentionally blank. Independent Midterm Evaluation of the Children’s Empowerment Through Education Services (CHES) Project in Cambodia Winrock International Cooperative Agreement Number: IL-16567-07-75-K 22000099 This page left intentionally blank. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report describes in detail the midterm evaluation, conducted during December 2009, of the Children’s Empowerment through Education Services (CHES) project in Cambodia. The report was prepared by ICF Macro, according to agreements specified in its contract with the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT). The evaluation of the CHES project in Cambodia was conducted and documented by Bjorn Harald Nordtveit, an independent evaluator in collaboration with USDOL/OCFT staff, the CHES project team, and stakeholders in Cambodia. ICF Macro would like to express sincere thanks to all parties involved in this evaluation: the independent evaluator, Winrock International and its partners, and USDOL. Funding for this evaluation was provided by the United States Department of Labor under Task Order number DOLB089K28215. Points of view or opinions in this evaluation report do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. ~Page iii~ This page left intentionally blank. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF ACRONYMS ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY xi I EVALUATION OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Scope and Purpose of Evaluation 1 1.3 Evaluation Methodology 3 1.4 Stakeholder Meeting 6 1.5 Limitations 7 II PROJECT DESCRIPTION 9 2.1 Background 9 2.2 Country Context 10 2.3 Children’s Empowerment Through Education Services 11 III RELEVANCE 15 3.1 Project Assumptions 15 3.2 Support of the Five Education Initiative Goals 15 3.3 Relevance of the Project’s Main Strategies to Withdraw and Prevent Children from WFCL 16 3.4 Main Obstacles to Addressing Child Labor in Cambodia 17 3.5 Appropriateness for the Cultural, Economic, and Political Context in Cambodia 18 3.6 Design’s Fit with Government and Organizations Existing Initiatives to Combat Child Labor 19 3.7 Relevance of the Project’s Criteria for Selecting Action Program Regions, Sectors and Project Beneficiaries 19 3.8 Other Design Issues 19 3.9 Lessons Learned and Good Practices 20 IV EFFECTIVENESS 21 4.1 Project on Track 21 4.2 Effectiveness of the “Direct Action” Interventions 21 4.3 Effectiveness of the Services in Meeting the Needs of the Target Population 24 4.4 Effectiveness of Education Models Used by the Project 25 ~Page v~ 4.5 Beneficiaries’ Poverty and Work Status 26 4.6 Sector-Specific Lessons Learned 26 4.7 Monitoring and Tracking Systems of the Project 26 4.8 Management Strengths 27 4.9 Management Challenges 27 4.10 Subcontract with the Department of Child Labor 28 4.11 Partnership with ILO-IPEC 28 4.12 The Floating Schools 28 4.13 Progress and Influence of Research and Policy Change 29 4.14 Shortcomings and Successes of the Training Initiatives in Terms of Awareness Raising 29 4.15 Strengthened Institutional Capacity 30 4.16 Lessons Learned and Good Practices 30 V EFFICIENCY 31 5.1 Cost-Effectiveness 31 5.2 Financial and Human Resources Allocated 32 5.3 Efficiency in Floating Villages 32 5.4 Lessons Learned and Good Practices 32 VI IMPACT 33 6.1 The Project’s Impact to Date on Individual Beneficiaries 33 6.2 The Project’s Impact to Date on Partners Working on the Issue of Child Labor 33 6.3 The Project’s Impact to Date on Government and Policy Structures 34 6.4 Impact of Project Activities on Education Quality 34 6.5 Emerging Trends or Issues to Which the Project Should Respond 34 6.6 Community Understanding of the Objectives of the CHES Project and Child Labor 34 6.7 Views of Stakeholders on the CHES Project 35 6.8 Response to Community Needs 35 6.9 Lessons Learned and Good Practices 35 VII SUSTAINABILITY 37 7.1 Exit Strategy and Sustainability Plan 37 7.2 Leveraging of Non-Project Resources 38 ~Page vi~ Independent Midterm Evaluation of the Children’s Empowerment Through Education Services (CHES) Project in Cambodia 7.3 Major Challenges and Successes in Initiating and Maintaining Partnerships 39 7.4 Involvement of Local and National Government in the Project 39 7.5 Major Challenges and Opportunities Coordination with the Host Country Government 39 7.6 Challenges and Opportunities of Implementing Coordination with ILO-IPEC 40 7.7 Challenges and Opportunities in Working with International and Multilateral Organizations 40 7.8 Challenges and Opportunities in Working with National Nongovernmental Organizations and Community-Based Organizations 40 7.9 Additional Steps to be Taken in Order to Promote The Sustainability of the Project 41 7.10 Suggestions from Communities and Stakeholders for the CHES Project 41 7.11 Potential for Sustainability for the Child Labor Monitoring Mechanism 41 7.12 Contribution of Communities 42 7.13 Processes in Place to Continue the Awareness Raising 42 7.14 Processes in Place Through Other Initiatives to Continue Institutional Strengthening at the Ministry Level and the Level of the Local Governments 42 7.15 Lessons Learned and Best Practices 42 VIII CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 43 8.1 Conclusion 43 8.2 Recommendations 44 ANNEXES Annex A: Question Matrix Annex B: Overview of Target Provinces and Challenges Annex C: Evaluation Field Work Schedule Annex D: List of Training Annex E: List of Donations (Books) Annex F: Presentation and Group Work at the Stakeholder Meeting Annex G: Photos Annex H: CHES Organization Chart Annex I: TORs of Midterm Evaluation ~Page vii~ This page left intentionally blank. LIST OF ACRONYMS CCM Child Care Mothers CFS Child-Friendly School CHES Children’s Empowerment through Education Services CLMC Child Labor Monitoring Committee CSNACLO Civil Society Network against Child Labor Organization CYC Child Youth Club DOCL Department of Child Labor EFA Education for All EI Education Initiative HCC Healthcare Center for Children ILO-IPEC International Labour Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour KAPE Kampuchean Action for Primary Education M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MOA Ministry of Agriculture MoEYS Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports MOLVT Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training NFE Nonformal Education NGO Nongovermental Organization NPA National Plan of Action OCFT Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking PAP Priority Action Program PB Priority Budget PCCL Provincial Committee on Child Labor RAC Research Advisory Committee TBP Timebound Program TOR Term of Reference UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID U.S. Agency for International Development USDOL United States Department of Labor WFCL Worst Forms of Child Labor ~Page ix~ This page left intentionally blank. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT), an office within the International Labor Affairs Bureau of the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) oversees cooperative agreements with organizations working to eliminate child labor around the world. OCFT-funded projects are subject to midterm and final evaluations. In 2007, Winrock International received a four-year cooperative agreement from USDOL to implement a project for Children’s Empowerment through Education Services (CHES) in Cambodia. This project aimed at sustainable withdrawal and prevention of children from exploitive child labor by expanding access to and improving the quality of basic education, as well as supporting the goals of USDOL to reduce the worst forms of child labor (WFCL) through research, awareness-raising activities and policy formulation. As stipulated in the cooperative agreement, the project targets 3,750 children for withdrawal and 4,500 children for prevention from hazardous work in subsistence and commercial agriculture, including fresh water fishing. The project targets 150 villages in the provinces of Siem Reap, Pursat, Kampong Cham, and Prey Veng. CHES went into implementation in September 2007 and was due for midterm evaluation in 2009. The main objectives of the evaluation included an assessment of the relevance and achievements of the project, as well as an assessment of its effectiveness, impact, and sustainability. Most importantly, the evaluation is seen as a tool for project implementation in being an opportunity for project staff to reflect, together with the evaluator, on the prior months of project implementation, and on the way forward. The evaluation approach was therefore, primarily qualitative and participative in terms of the data collection methods used. Methods of data collection and stakeholder perspectives were, to the extent possible, triangulated for as many as possible of the evaluation questions. Also, parents’ and children’s voices were included in the evaluation, using child-sensitive approaches to interviewing children. A total of 9 out of 150 schools were visited (three in each province—two of which were based on the project’s stratified sampling—and one on the evaluator’s random sampling). Individual and focus group interviews were held with 245 stakeholders (adults and children); the evaluator also checked, for an additional 133 beneficiary children, whether the project statistics were accurate about their school level and whether they were still at school and had received an educational service (it was found that all had received a minimum of one educational service from the project; see below for further details). The project was created by Winrock International personnel in consultation with a number of stakeholders during the design phase, which resulted in a multifaceted project approach attacking the problem of child labor from many angles. The activities included four direct services to combat child labor, including a withdrawal and reentry program; a prevention through scholarship program; help to vulnerable girls to continue schooling at lower secondary levels; and nonformal education (NFE) and skills training to withdrawn children.