CARE GBV Project

Terminal Report

Strengthening and scaling up the Hope for African Children

Initiative

Award Number: GPO-A-00-04-0006

Covering the period:

April 2007 –August 30, 2008

Submitted: September 15, 2008

Table of content

Acronyms and abbreviations

1. Executive Summary

2. Overall description activities

Key achievements

3. Key Results during the life of the SSUH grant (DIP 1,2 and 3)

3.1 Summary of overall key regional and country level outputs

3.1.1 Number of OVC reached by Service

3.2Other Key Results

4. Assessment of progress made

Intermediate Result 1

Intermediate Result 2:

Intermediate Result 3:

Intermediate Result 4:

5. Key research findings /Lessons learnt

6. Comments and Recommendations

Lessons learned

Acronyms and abbreviations

AIDS / Acquire Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AWA / Amhara women association
CAT / Community Action Team
CBO / Community Based Organization
CEDAW / Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women
DIP / Detail Implementation Plan
FBOs / Faith Based Organizations
FGM / Female Genital Mutilation
GBV / Gender Based Violence
HACI / Hope for African Children Initiative
HIV / Human Immune Deficiency Virus
HTPs / Harmful traditional practices
IR / Intermediate Result
MAP / Male As Partner
MOWA / Ministry of Women Affairs
NCE / No Cost Extension
NEWA / Net work of Ethiopian women Association
NGO / Non Governmental Organization
OVC / Orphan and Vulnerable Children
PEPFAR / President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PLWHA / People living with HIV/AIDS
RH / Reproductive Health
SSUH / Strengthening and Scaling up the Hope for African Children
TA / Technical Assistance
TOT / Training of Trainers
USAID / United States Agency for International Development
USD / United States Dollar
WA / Women Association
WAO / Women Affairs Office
WFP / World Food Program

1. Executive Summary

CARE Ethiopia has been implementing a GBV project which is funded by USAID- PEPFAR in Addis Ababa, Oromia and Amhara regional states. This project had two major objectives:

  • building community awareness towards gender roles and gender based violence which is expected to lay foundation for response mechanisms and
  • Gather information about GBV – prevalence, types of violence, enforcement of laws, resources for victims to better inform policy makers, the public, donors, and implementing partners.

The total fund of the project was $400,000 which was allocated to different planned activities to be accomplished at head office and local partner’s organization level. The project period was from April 2007 to March 31st 2008.However it has got a project no cost extension up to September 30, 2008.During the project period the organization has selected three partner organizations in the aforementioned regions which obtained sub grants based on their project proposal.

  • Amhara women association (AWA): the project began in August 2007, targeting 12 rural kebeles (kebele = lowest government unit)around Bahir Dar town administration and32 kebeles of Bahir Dar Zuria Woreda.The project interventions along the awareness raising were addressing all forms of HTPS, but with particular emphasis to early marriage, FGC, discriminatory attitude on women and children, child labor, etc. /gender issues, and above all GBV,HIV/AIDS and that of RH issues.
  • HUNDEE –Oromo grass root development initiative, our other partner, has began implementation in August 2007 it project implementation in Oromia regional states West Shoa zone two weredas (Burayu and Bako). Its intervention is on human right issue focusing on gender based violence.
  • Maryjoy Aid through development has signed agreement on November 12, 2007 intervening in two kebele of Gulele sub city of Addis Ababa. The major focus of the projectis building community awareness towards gender roles and gender-based violence with special emphasis on traditional laws incorporating laws against GBV. .

The major activities of these partner organizations mainly focused on community sensitization and designing mechanisms which could avoid the occurrence of GBV in the specific project areas and response mechanisms for the survivors.

With this project GBV training packagehas been developed and training cascades were conducted for stakeholders, law enforcing bodies, the community leaders and the community themselves. Besides advocacy materials and a documentary film have been developed to influence the change of existing policies and practices that will be supportive in the response mechanisms of GBV. In a nut shell, this project has laid foundation for wider GBV responsive actions in the project sites and wider areas of the country in the years to come.

2. Overall description of activities

Key achievements

  • GBV assessment (situational analysis in the three project areas)
  • GBV training package have been prepared based on the findings of the assessment. Thus the prepared package (training manual and training guide) after being commented and enhanced being translated in to Amharic and ready for printing.Master trainers trained on the training manual to provide training on GBV at grass root level.TOT was provided for 64 participants with the use of newly developed training manual. This opportunity helped the further refinement of the training by receiving constructive ideas from the participants
  • Four types of Advocacy materials (Posters, brochures and stickers) produced and distributed to partner organizations MOWA, NEWA and other organizations working on related issues. The advocacy materials were prepared in two local languages,Oromiffa and Amharic.
  • In total 3703community members sensitized on GBV/HIV in the three intervention areas(1739women and 1964men).
  • A one day workshop was conducted by Mary Joy which involved 87 media professionals which has discussed on how to work jointly on issues of GBV/OVC and related highly prevalent harmful traditional practices.
  • A 25 minute documentary video titled a journey to life has been produced based on the GBV specific reality of the three project intervention areas. This video was shown at various fora and also given to USAID country office.
  • A 16 days of activism and March 8 international women’s day have been colorfully observed by participating community members from different groups, civic societies, school children, university students, HIV positive women Association, OVC guardians, school girls forum members , representatives from sector offices etc to advocate the prevention of GBV in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar cities
  • 27 participants from CARE head office and representatives from the three partner organizations participated in Men As Partner (MAP) TOT and community mobilization workshop with PEFAR funded PRUMUNDO project and Engender Health in Ethiopia.
  • CARE participated in the development of MAP Ethiopia IEC messages in collaboration with other international and local NGOs
  • Communality action teams (CATs) and women defense committees have been established as referral linkages in Bako and Burayu woredas and in Addis Ababa, Gulelesub city while existing HTP committees strengthened in Bahir Dar and kebeles around Bahir Dar town. Besides in Bahir Dar 54 staff members from law enforcing bodies were trained to strengthen the referral linkages of GBV survivors to the legal service providers.The community action team (CAT) collaborating with kebele administration will discharge their responsibilities in creating awareness and build referral linkages with potential service providers to address the needs of the vulnerable and the survivors.

3. Key Results during the life of the SSUH grant (DIP 1,2 and 3)

3.1Summary of overall key regional and country level outputs

Description of Activities / CARE GBV intervention areas / Female / Male / Total
1 / Project launching workshop / Amhara regional state around Bahir Dar / 23 / 21 / 44
Oromia regional state west Shoa zone (Bako &Burayu) / 26 / 48 / 74
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city (Mary Joy) / 18 / 24 / 42
Total / 67 / 93 / 160
2 / Community Sensitization workshop / Amhara regional state around Bahir Dar / 250 / 510 / 760
Oromia regional state west Shoa zone (Bako &Burayu) / 1237 / 1258 / 2495
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city (Mary Joy) / 235 / 308 / 448
Total / 1739 / 1964 / 3703
3 / Mass rally / Amhara regional state around Bahir Dar(16 days of activism & March 8)
Community rallies / 2235
1500
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city (Mary Joy) / 4000
Total / 7735
4 / TOT / Amhara regional state around Bahir Dar / 10 / 20 / 30
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city / 12 / 16 / 32
Oromia Regional state west Shoa zone (Bako &Burayu) / 3 / 7 / 10
Total / 28 / 36 / 64
5 / Advocacy and education on human rights / Oromia Regional state west Shoa zone ,Bako woreda / 53 / 157 / 210
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city / 153 / 56 / 209
6 / Community conference / Oromia Regional state west Shoa zone ,Bako woreda,Burayu / 22,900
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city / 134
Total / 23,034
7 / Evaluation/review workshop / Amhara regional state around Bahir Dar / 73 / 131 / 204
Addis Ababa Gulale sub city / 32 / 31 / 63
Oromia Regional state west Shoa zone (Bako &Burayu) / 51 / 160 / 211
156 / 322 / 478

3.1.1 Number of OVC reached by Service

CARE GBV project is a pilot initiative working with partner organization with an objective of addressing OVC in the specific target areas.Hence, OVC beneficiaries cannot be put in numerical figures as accomplishments. However, we believe that in BahirDarCity administration, a total of 4926 OVC (2709 female and 2217 male} directly or indirectly benefited from the community sensitization in the respective kebeles.Besides, Amhara women association (AWA) has reached OVCs through models schools.Thus 20 model schools have received training and material support including a total number of 1,017 OVCs among which 921 is female and 1938 are male served by the program.The same is true with other project sites although we do not have good estimate of the OVC beneficiaries

3.2Other Key Results

CARE GBV project is dealing mainly on community sensitization,conducting GBV assessment, and running advocacy works that facilitate to mitigate the over all GBV problemand create the ground for provision of direct services for OVC..

4. Assessment of progress made

Based on the objectives and derived SSUH intermediate results, activities accomplished during the reporting periods are presented as follows:

Intermediate Result 1 strengthened resource capacity of NGOs, CBOs and FBOs

IR 1.3 Strengthened Resource capacity to effectively deliver services to OVC and their families by the partners

  • Allthe three partners have recruited project coordinators finance officers to implement the GBV activities
  • Launching workshop conducted by CARE Ethiopia as well as partner organizations at their sites to familiarize the project to pertinent bodies.
  • M&E manual developed based on the objectives of the project in line with HACI expected intermediate results
  • CARE’s international staff provided TA during the launching workshop in order to carry on the implementation of planned activities on the vision and mission of CARE international in Ethiopian. Besides technical assistance was provided by Regional HACI Coordinator on the development and of the M&E manual.
  • Capacity of AWA office and 20 model schools have been strengthened while one of the Hundee intervention woredas Bako woreda women affairsoffices has been strengthened in order to sustain GBV activities the office.

Intermediate Result 2: Strengthened and expanded service delivery for country and community-level programming and implementation mechanisms

IR 2.4: Improved compliance with and protection of OVC rights

Training and workshops

In the project period community level awareness raising workshops have been carried out on GBV, HTPs, HIV/AIDS and newly amended family and criminal laws of the country.The sensitization workshops have been given to pertinent bodies in respective community representatives, police, judiciary, youths women association members Kebele administration and others. Special emphasis was given to address men and boys involvement in addressing GBV issues in each community.

The major objectives of the workshopswere to:

  • Obtain men’s /women perception on equality between women and men and see how men’s understanding impact on the realization of gender equality and in perpetuating discriminations women suffer under rules of patriarchy;
  • Sensitize men, women, girls and boys and other community members on the negative impacts of GBV and thereby identify with the participants the roles they could play to combat GBV and other discriminatory practices;
  • Introduce the participants to the relevant provisions of the constitution, revised family and penal codes where acts of GBV are out rightly criminalized and banned.

The sensitization workshop sessions addressed the following important points:

  • Current situation (status and position) of women and girls in the respective localities; equality between men and women
  • The prevalence of gender-based violence and major causes of GBV and their consequences;
  • Customary marriage institutions to identify violent practices embedded into them;
  • Community perceptions, narratives and myths as well as structures and institutions perpetuating GBV and other harmful traditional practices;
  • Awareness on newly amended relevant laws put in place to combat GBV and remedies available to victims;(family law, criminal law and the constitutional rights of women, CEDAW etc)
  • Major obstacles that women perceive prevent victims from seeking and accessing institutional remedies; and
  • The roles as well as responsibilities of various community structures and institutions in the combat against GBV.

Thus based on the indicated sessions analysis on equality of men and women, property rights, analyses of customary marriages institution and HTP have been conducted in joint workshops.

Accordingly, the joint workshops in each center have recommended the banning of:

  • Abduction not only as a criminal act, but also a threat to girls’ education. The threat of surprise marriage as its variant is also emphasized. Here, the role of community elders in perpetuating these violent practices and criminal acts was further elaborated and condemned by community representatives. The workshop participants have also called upon law enforcement agencies to apprehend and prosecute abductors and their accomplices instead of covering their failure in duties by simply dubbing abduction as the culture of the people;
  • Practices of gender based violence embedded in customary marriage institutions such as early marriage, excessive bride price, widow inheritance, marriage without consent, polygamous marriage, contractual marriage, marriage through intermediaries, etc were out rightly condemned;
  • Violent and harmful practices namely: female genital mutilation, rape, domestic violence, sexual assault and their causes were analyzed and evaluated in terms of their effects on the physical health, psychological and mental integrity of women and girls.

Advocacy and networking

HUNDEE and MaryJoy have conducted Human Rights Training in Bako-Tibe district City Government of Burayu and gulele sub city with the following objectives:

  • To sensitize law enforcement agencies and other government organs as well as indigenous institutions that have jurisdiction social affairs in local context, on human rights, in terms of its very essence as an intrinsic element of human being,
  • To assess practice of government organs (especially law enforcement organs) in light of Universal Declaration of Human Rights ratified by Ethiopian Government and Constitutional provisions enacted in recognition of respecting and protecting of these rights.
  • To identify loopholes in the statutory laws that could lead to a clash between respect and violation of human rights and
  • Point out roles of individuals in respecting and protecting human rights in everyday reaction with each other i.e. how to discharge international responsibility in domestic framework.

A colorful and highly organized rally was conducted in Bahirdar town based on the global Sixteen days of activism initiative. Accordingly 525 males and 210 females, a total of 735 participants from different areas participated in the rally. Amhara Women Association members,Law school students of BahirDarUniversity, girl’s gender forum members, members of PLHIV associations, anti-AIDS club members and driver’s association members have participated in the rally.

Besides, March 8, 2008 is observed in Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar conducting rallies by taking a theme on celebrating women’s achievements and stopping violence. In these rallies 4000 and 1500 participants respectively wearing t-shirts caring banners withUSAID and CARE logo andmessages to stop GBV have been participated.

Lessons learnt from implementing IR2

In order to make the intervention more effective and efficient, the need of establishing networking and referral linkages with all duty bearers and service providers is an imperative aspect. These activities need to be strengthened in the future interventions activities to keep the momentum of movement against GBV.

Intermediate Result 3: Implemented advocacy and communication strategies that reduce stigma and discrimination ofchildren and families affected by HIV & AIDS and GBV.

IR3.3: Increased awareness of and response to stigma and discrimination by key decision makers and by communities

Production of advocacy materials

  • For sixteen days of activism 1000 T-Shirts with key GBV messages produced and distributed to the rally and panel discussion participants in Bahir Dar town and Addis Ababa in collaboration with NEWA.
  • 1500 T-shirts with advocacy messages produced and distributed to GBV campaign participants on celebration of March 8 of the year 2008 here in Addis and in Bahir Dar town.
  • On December 9, 2007 when the sixteen days of activism was observed in Bahir Dar town an estimated 150,000 radio listeners were addressed by Amhara region F.M radio. Quiz were prepared regarding GBV/OVC/HIV/AIDS and forwarded to the audience to express their views on the subject. As a result important hot discussions were conducted that has been aired. Those who have actively participated in the discussion have been awarded by the Amhara Women Association, the local partner.
  • Based on the GBV assessment findings messages related to major types of GBV have been developed. Four different types from each items of posters, brochures and stickers have been developed conveying different messages. All the advocacy materials have been translated in to two local languages, Amharic and Oromiffa. 1000, 500 and 1000 copies of the posters, brochures and leaflets respectively have been printed with the two languages.The messages vaied based on the importance of each of them in a specific localities of the intervention sites. All the materials have been distributed to partner organizations, Net work of Women Associations,and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.

Key lessons learnt