Final Report 2008-2010

Transcription

Section B
Final Report 2008-2010
B.3. AFRICA
PAGE
DATE
AU TH OR
1 of (2)
15-05-2011
Diakonia
Regional Office
Africa
Section B.3. – AFRICA
1 Regional Level
3
2 Country Programme Kenya
34
3 Country Programme Mozambique
47
4 Country Programme Somalia
60
5 Country Programme South Africa
68
6 Country Programme Uganda
78
7 Country Programme Zambia
93
8 Country Programme Zimbabwe
102
9 Regional Programme Social and Economic Justice
111
10 Regional Programme Lake Victoria Livelihood Programme
122
11 Country Programme Burkina Faso
133
12 Country Programme Democratice Republic of Congo
154
13 Country Programme Ghana
170
14 Country Programme Mali
181
15 Country Programme Senegal
191
Foto framsidan: Diakonias samarbetsorganisation CFIAM i Burkina Faso erbjuder
unga kvinnor yrkesutbildning inom områden som mekanik, elektronik och
plåtslagning. Med en yrkesutbildning stärks flickornas ställning och självkänsla – man
bryter också genusbarriärer. Reine Ida går en mekanikerutbildning och har stort stöd
av sin mamma Mariam Patte d’Oie.
Foto: Peter Hoelstad
R E G IO N A L OF F IC E
ADDRESS
VISIT
PH ON E
FAX
P.O. Box 21 323
00505 Nairobi
Kindaruma Road,
Nairobi, Kenya
+254 2 0 271 96 00
+254 20 271 41 77
diakonia.se/africa
AFRICA
1. REGIONAL LEVEL
1.1 Regional Organization
1.1.1 Internal development – ESA REGION
1.1.1.1 Organizational Development
Capacity Building: This focused on all levels (Management, programmes, finance and those
responsible for programmes). This has resulted in increased knowledge and understanding of
contemporary issues such as anti-corruption, programmatic issues such as Do-No-Harm and
Results Based Management, Rights Based Approach, HIV and AIDS etc. and also developing a
holistic approach towards the support extended to both the country office and partners by the
finance staff. The leadership training given to the Country Representatives and Programme
Managers has equipped them to run the country offices and also prepared them for the eventual
delegation.
Formation of Management Group: Since 2008 the Regional Manager is assisted by the Deputy
Region Manager and the Finance and Administration Manager in carrying out the supervisory,
coordination and supportive role in the region. This has created room for better and more
informed decision making, improved the quality of decisions, and freed time for the Regional
Manager to focus on delegated responsibilities. The position of Deputy Regional Manager
strengthened linkage with Embassies financing the Country Offices under her supervision,
enhanced the regional support to programmes and strengthened the quality assurance role.
The Task Forces: The task forces in the region have been responsible for several staff trainings
that have taken place during the last three years. These included Do-No-Harm, HIV and AIDS
and Sexuality, HIV and AIDS mainstreaming and RBA. A safety and work environment survey
has been carried out at the regional office which led to a number of improvements e.g. use of
window blinds, and better lighting. People have been sensitized in environmental issues. An
environmental audit has been done in the regional office resulting in recycling of paper.
Formation of OD Group: The group which was in operation in 2008 and 2009 contributed
significantly to the standardization of routines and clarifying of various concepts within the
region. The achievements include elaboration of core values, definition of core funding,
definition/understanding of theory of change, and development of capacity building strategy.
Processes such as the induction and monthly programme meetings were borne out of this group.
1.1.1.2 Systems and Routines
There has been significant level of systematization in the region. The staff induction is well
established for all new staff, adaptation of the HR manual is complete in Kenya, procurement
guidelines operationalized, most of the country offices are well structured with clearly defined
roles of the Country Representative, Programme Officer and Finance Officer, Kenya Programme
has relocated from the main office thus strengthening its administrative capacity and increased
visibility and autonomy; Financial reporting to the back donors and audits are now done at the
Country Office level thus enhancing the quality assurance role at the Regional Office; Job
descriptions and contracts have been harmonized and the divide between programme and finance
has been narrowed down as there is closer collaboration. Relevant staff were facilitated through
PME handbook and the PHS for common understanding and these are being used effectively.
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The position of TA became fully operational in 2008 and strengthened quality assurance and
partnership development. Other achievements include the production of a Work Place Policy
and celebration of World Aids Day through the efforts of the HIV and AIDS Task Force.
1.1.1.3 Diversification of Funding
Somalia continues to lead with different projects funded by EU whom they have managed to
maintain as a donor; Kenya got the first EU funding in 2010; Zambia applied to EU in 2010 and
were given positive signals (contract signed in 2011); Zimbabwe is funded by both the Embassy
and CivSam. During 2010, LVLP’s main focus was on fundraising and though no tangible
results yet, there are many prospects, capacity has been built and contacts established. South
Africa, Mozambique, LVLP and Zambia did donor mappings during the period with varied
results. A staff training was offered in 2010. The Region is well sensitized on the need to be on
the look out for relevant calls for proposals.
1.1.1.4 Coordination with other donors (mainly Swedish organizations)
These efforts resulted in jointly planned and financed learning forums for staff in HIV and AIDS,
anti-corruption and Paris agenda.
WCA REGION
1.1.1.5 Staff movements
The Regional management structure was strengthened in 2008 with the formation of a
management team comprising of Regional Manager, Deputy Regional Manager and Regional
Administrator. A Regional Advisor for PRSP and budget monitoring was recruited in January
2009 and based in Mali to also give additional support to the country programme. The
programme officer in charge of HIV/AIDS and education projects in Burkina Faso left for a 13
month study leave to acquire a 2 nd Master’s degree in Education and Health Policy in developing
countries at Paris University.
1.1.1.6 OD process
An institutional and organizational assessment (IOA) was carried out in 2008 whose outcome
showed shortcomings in WCA’s leadership revealing a deeper problem within the organisation,
exacerbated particularly by the OD process, changes in leadership at RO and HO level and
accumulated over several years. There was also a social audit done during the regional staff
meeting in 2008. To address issues that were raise, an action plan was developed in 2009 but its
implementation was overtaken by the merger between WCA and ESA regions.
1.1.1.7 Staff capacity building
In 2008 staff participated in a 3-day introductory workshop on the identity of Diakonia and the
PME Handbook. In addition different staff have attended other trainings in areas such as HIV
and AIDS, Gender, RBA within the region and in Sweden. The focal persons in Gender and
HIV also facilitated other programme staff in different areas of their work, including
mainstreaming. During the regional meeting in November 2009, the regional staff received
training on Diakonia vision and mission, team-building and change management in support of
the ongoing OD process.
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1.1.1.8 Common understanding on Diakonia steering documents
To facilitate better understanding several key documents have been translated into French. These
documents include Audit instructions (and in consequence the new Partner agreement), the Car
use policy, the Audit report on Humanitarian aid in Mali and the presentation of the Democracy,
Human rights and Gender project in Burkina Faso.
1.1.1.9 Enhancing the use of Diakonia handbooks for programme and project management
The Regional Administrative and Financial officer gave training in Mali on Diakonia Audit
instructions for partners (including both technical and financial staff), auditors and Diakonia
staff. A similar training took place in Burkina Faso for the partners of the Democracy, Human
Rights and Gender project.
1.1.1.10 Systems and routines for human and financial resource management
The Regional manager facilitated a human resources management workshop, where Managers
from all regions shared their common experience and discuss strengths and challenges in
practical management issues. Together with the RM and HO a more systematic financial followup plan was put in place. Tailored training sessions were organised to implement this plan.
Further plans to strengthen the human resource management component were overtaken by the
merger.
1.1.1.11 Strategic Review of Country Programs (B.4.2.3.3)
Country programme assessments carried out indicated that Burkina Faso, Mali and DRC have
been considered as countries with potential of development while Ghana and Senegal went to a
second round of assessment and have since been phased out since 1.1.2011.
1.1.1.12 Diversification of Funding Sources (B.4.2.3.4)
DRC, in a consortium with CA and Cosi successfully applied for funding from UNDP. Other
initiatives by Senegal towards private foundations were not successful.
1.1.1.13 Coordination with Co-donors (B.4.2.3.10)
Diakonia entered into discussions with the co-donors on the consequences of improper use of
funds by a planned partner organisation within the Democracy, Human Rights and Gender
project (DHRGP) in Burkina Faso. A special audit was launched and justifications were asked by
the donor group. As a result, this partner was dropped from the project and replaced with a new
partner. In DRC, the local SIDA office has identified Diakonia as a partner for the development
program (support to income-generating activities and Agriculture). The RO and Mali CO work
in close collaboration with SIDA offices throughout the year. Sida staff participated in a number
of field visits to Diakonia partners and evaluations. The Burkina Faso country office participated
in the evaluation of the Burkina Faso Sida Programme, which will feed into the discussions on
the new country strategy for Burkina Faso. Mali country office also participated in the
discussions related to the elaboration of Sida’s new country strategy for Mali, to be launched in
2011.
1.1.2 Cost Effectiveness Analysis
During the plan period 2008-2010, cost effectiveness was implicit in the process of
reorganisation which explicitly referred to the following strategies in ESA region:
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 Operationalisation of the new organisation structure,
 Diversify funding sources,
 Increased capacity,
 Development and adoption of effective processes and systems and,
 Human Resource development.
The strategies of; revised organization structure at the region and country offices, increased
capacity, development and adoption of effective systems and processes and Human Resource
development have the ultimate effect of cost effectively delivering development in the region.
ESA region is constantly considering how best to achieve development objectives using the
available resources. The concept of cost effectiveness is one of the tools which has been adopted
by comparing the cost of activities to the results to be achieved by making appropriate allocation
of limited resources. The challenge however is measurement of results in relation to cost of
inputs.
The tables below highlight cost effectiveness per country/programme and the region(s)
(ESA/WCA) based on; the turnover, operating cost, number of partners, number of staff, number
programmes and number of grants in the region.
ESA 2010
% Op
costs
Diak.
/total No of
costs staff
Program
Budget 2010
Rev Oct
2010
Op costs
Total costs within
2010
Diakonia
Somalia
23 662 208
22 458 634
6 122 609
27%
Uganda
15 005 883
9 862 743
1 626 043
16%
9 638 754
7 907 433
7 907 433
100%
12
1 167 618
406 911
0
0%
0
Kenya
7 110 114
9 817 896
999 669
Lake
Victoria
5 228 504
4 720 828
ESA SEJ
5 648 500
South Africa
Mozambique
No of
Partner No of
Partners /staff
Grants CIVSAM
%
CIVSAM
976 462
17
0,7
5
995 000
4%
5 1 972 549
13
2,6
1
0
0%
658 953
9
0,75
0
3 819 605
48%
0
0
0
0
406 911
100%
10%
4 2 454 474
12
3
1
6 882 791
70%
1 015 788
22%
1 4 720 828
4
4
1
0
0%
5 594 927
744 927
13%
1 5 594 927
10
10
0
5 594 927
100%
2 777 000
3 203 168
1 223 168
38%
1 6 406 336
4
8
0
3 203 168
100%
17 882 081
16 211 620
2 438 514
15%
7 2 315 946
8
1,1
1
0
0%
6 553 806
6 270 369
1 936 128
31%
3 2 090 123
7
2,3
1
2 146 162
34%
Zambia
13 476 055
11 137 526
1 967 940
18%
4 2 784 382
13
3,3
1
0
0%
TOTAL
108 150 523
97 592 055
25 982 219
27%
61 1 613 092
97
1,6
11
23 048 564
24%
ESA
Regional
Comp
development
Diakonia
Zimbabwe
23
Turnover
/staff
6
% Op
costs
Diak.
/total No of
costs staff
WCA 2010
Program
Regional
WCA
Com Dev
Diakonia
Burkina
Faso
Budget
2010
Rev Oct 2010
Total costs
2010
Op costs
within
Diak.
4 416 150
3 404 700
2 984 941
88%
235 000
183 533
0
8 712 284
7 493 814
725 391
704 494
Mali
4 337 003
Senegal
Ghana
Congo
Kinshasa
SB/SMK
samarb. 1
TOTAL
Turnover
/staff
No of
partners
3 1 074 038
5
0%
0
0
0
0%
6 1 314 704
23
0
0%
0
2
4 219 720
1 102 805
26%
4 1 054 930
1 886 238
1 852 255
359 648
19%
4 909 955
4 750 969
910 039
1 070 853
1 042 941
26 292 874
23 652 426
Partner No of
/staff
Grants CIVSAM
1,6
%
CIVSAM
0
3 056 194
90%
0
183 533
100%
4
1
3 093 018
41%
2
0
704 494
100%
8
2
1
2 906 098
69%
2 1 234 832
3
2
0
1 852 255
100%
23%
3 1 158 782
10
2
0
4 750 969
82%
24%
18 1 361 683
51
2,9
2
16 546 561
70%
1 042 941
6 400 374
During the period 2008-2010 a total of twelve (12) agreements were signed with various
financiers amounting to about SEK 341m. The main financier remains SIDA/Swedish Embassy
at 88 % and the balance of 12% is contributed by European Union. In the year 2010, the total
programme outcome amounted to about SEK 98 m. against a budget of SEK 108m. The rest of
the analysis is as follows:
Regional Office ESA
The total operating cost within the region amounting to SEK 26m represents 27% of the total
expenditure on programmes which is in the range of (25-30) % recommended for a region. The
operating cost of the regional office amounting to about SEK 8m represents 8% of the total
expenditure of programmes in the region. The number of programmes supported is nine (9)
while the core staff numbers in the region are twelve (12) representing about decimal eight (0.8)
staff per programme. The recommended minimum number of countries/programmes for a region
is four (4).
Regional Office WCA
As the region has gone through extensive reorganisation during the year the numbers are to a
high degree estimations. The total operating cost within the region amounting to SEK is 6m
represents 24% of the total expenditure on programmes which is in the range of (25-30) %
recommended for a region. The operating cost of the regional office amounting to about SEK 3m
represents 12% of the total expenditure of programmes in the region. The number of
programmes supported is five (5) while the core staff numbers have varied during the year, but
on an average have been three (3) representing about 0,6 staff per programme. The
recommended minimum number of countries/programmes for a region is four (4).
1
In DRC Diakonia cooperates with Swedish Baptist Union and Swedish Covenant Church in a common office with
partly common staff. Diakonia charges the other organisations for their expenses.
7
Programmes
Volume
The recommended level of funding to run a programme is SEK 6m. Six out of the nine
programmes in the ESA region met this threshold except S. Africa, Lake Victoria and SEJ
programmes. The South Africa country office was closed on May 31, 2010. In WCA, only
Burkina Faso met this criterion. The region has since been merged with ESA to form Africa
region.
Operating Cost Proportion
South Africa and Zimbabwe programmes recorded 38% and 31% operating cost as a proportion
of expenditure respectively which exceeds the recommended range of (25-30) %. On the other
hand eight programmes recorded operation cost percentage below the range. There was no record
of operating expenditure in respect of Burkina Faso and Ghana as both countries has been
operated from the regional office in Burkina Faso.
Turnover per Staff
The recommended minimum is SEK 1.6m (total average). Based on the total number of staff per
programme volume, all programmes in ESA exceed the above threshold except Somalia. All
other programmes failed to meet this criterion. Even though South Africa appears to meet the
criterion, it is mainly because of the costs of closing the country office and the fact that the staff
is working part time to close the projects. Seven programmes of Somalia, Burkina Faso, Senegal,
Mali, DR-Congo and Regional office of WCA scored below the threshold.
Number of Partners
The minimum recommended number of partners per programme is six (6). In ESA, out of the
nine programmes, Lake Victoria and South Africa failed to meet the above threshold. As already
stated, the office in South Africa has since been closed. The total number of partners in the nine
programmes of the region is eighty nine (97). In WCA, the number of partners amounts to 51.
Ghana and Senegal failed to meet the minimum required and were discontinued while the
regional office has merged with ESA to form the Africa Office.
Number of Partners per Staff
There is no defined threshold for this factor. However, SEJ programme with ten partners per
staff is over-stretched. Somalia and Mozambique have one (1) staff per partner; Kenya, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe have three (3) each, while Lake Victoria and South Africa have each four
(4) partners per staff. On an overall level the number of partners per staff in ESA is 1,6 partner
per staff. In WCA, the overall proportion was 2,9 partner per staff. On average the countries had
two partners per staff with the exception of Burkina Faso that had 4 partners per staff.
Recommendation
The cost effectiveness analysis is a good tool for helping to make Diakonia an effective catalyst
in delivering development globally. While the tool may not have initially been incorporated in
the 2008-2010 strategic plan, the 2012-2015 strategic plan should deepen both the understanding
and the use of the tool in the strategy and programming as part of achieving sustainable
8
development results and organizational sustainability. The indicators needs to be refined in order
to take into consideration cost levels in a specific country, geographical and security conditions
and spread of programmes in a country, general development level as well as maturity of civil
society. This also have effect on the activities carried out with regards to competence
development and even programmes together with partners, and in the end in the indicators and
numbers for cost effectiveness.
1.2 Regional Level Outcome Analysis
1.2.1 Programme outcomes at country and regional level
Advocacy: The region recognizes that there are different ways of advocating for change.
Sometimes it is at a very local level e.g. with the local authorities. Other times it is at the
national or international levels (evidenced in programmes with national level partners and
regional partners like in SEJ) – which could be done either internally and/or externally as in
Zimbabwe and DRC in collaboration with HO and other networks. With the increased
community empowerment and organization, the local advocacy has increasingly been done (e.g.
in LVLP), but the national/internal levels need to be strengthened. This may mean looking
outside of ourselves for advocacy partners e.g. research institutions, academic institutions,
internal networks etc., or reviewing the composition of the partners in the programmes to include
partners with capacity in advocacy. This may partly mean developing different kinds of
partnerships to strengthen work done by country programmes. The other challenge is how to
measure and report on results of advocacy done at HO e.g. case of DRC.
Gender - Generally the gender result area has recorded remarkable outcomes with most of the
structural changes (policies, laws etc.). Inclusion of masculinities is very limited – though a few
programmes worked with men in regards to gender as was reported in programmes like Senegal,
LVLP and Uganda. A study on how masculinity should be integrated into the work on gender is
currently being developed together with SIDA in Burkina Faso. Once completed, this will feed
into the gender work in the region. However the challenge of mainstreaming still persists within
the partner organizations. The gender mainstreaming capacity is limited but the Gender Task
Force will be encouraged to focus more on this aspect and work towards harnessing the expertise
resident in some of the programme partners like Uganda, Burkina Faso and Zambia. Measuring
of mainstreamed areas is also not clear and will continue to be discussed in the region and with
HO.
Partner Portfolio: When Country Representatives/Managers reviewed the composition of
partners in their programmes during the period, the changes made strengthened the programmes
and consequently the results. However there is need to make further reviews especially with the
new strategic plan so that partners who have not delivered programme results as expected are
replaced with more performance-oriented partners. Partnerships have in the past been
discontinued mainly on basis of financial mismanagement or in a few cases weakness in
reporting. We recognize the challenge of our long-term view of partnership but this should not
obscure good judgement in the choice of partners for the new strategic plan
9
Phasing out partners: A number of partnerships were ended or stopped during the 2008-2010
period, mostly because of mismanagement of funds and in very few cases, due to lack of
capacity to comply with the contract. The exception to this was where whole programmes were
phased out (SA, Senegal, Ghana and partly Mozambique) due to decisions made at global level.
Previously many of these cases went undetected but because of improved instruments such as
systems, tools and practices of assessing and monitoring compliance, this has become possible.
Indeed in the region we have received comments from partners to the effect that we are now
more thorough in our work, displaying more professionalism. This confirms that the region has
strengthened its own oversight role.
The other concern, and one that the region will begin addressing in the next strategic plan is the
phasing out of partners when they build adequate capacity, or have been in the programme for a
significantly long duration. Modalities of this will be worked out in a clear exit strategy.
Although we have a long-term perspective to partnership, this should not be construed to mean
eternal partnerships.
Link with HO: The link between the work in the region and the advocacy at HO could have
been better. Looking at what programmes have reported under “Information and Advocacy”
there is a need to strengthen this link more. In a number of instances the programmes report on
visits by people from Sweden without indication of whether these led to any advocacy activities
(e.g. Kenya and Zambia). The region will address this as an issue in the on-going strategic plan,
so that together with HO we will be able to plan around it. A strengthened link will strengthen
our advocacy work and also the justification for the global structure (role of HO), especially
when negotiating with the back donors. Besides advocacy it will also be necessary to clarify any
other kind of support that the programmes can expect from HO e.g. thematic, QA etc.
Internal learning: As is stated in PME handbook part of why we do monitoring is for our own
internal learning, so that we improve on our practices. Several programmes carried out studies
and evaluations and the recommendations of these have been used to make improvements e.g.
Somalia changed the design of the subsequent programme while Mozambique introduced some
control measures to improve quality and timeliness of reports.
However, most of the
evaluations were end-term and the recommendations are being used to inform the current
strategic planning process (DRC, Uganda, Burkina Faso). To strengthen the internal learning in
the region, the position of TA in methodology has been changed to Planning, Monitoring,
Learning and Reporting Coordinator.
Education: Three programmes in the region (Mali, Burkina Faso and Somalia) are involved in
education within the theme of democracy. The argument is that with very high illiteracy levels it
is difficult to effectively drive the change process as illiteracy in itself is very disempowering.
This makes it difficult for people to understand, own and rally around issues that affect their
lives. The challenge in the region is to be able to show strategically how education is a tool for
democracy. At the moment the design that has been used so far depicts education as an end result
(especially in Mali and Somalia) since there is no mechanism to monitor what happens beyond
graduation from school. This challenge has been highlighted in the evaluation of the Somalia
democracy programme. The other challenge is on how to intervene in education in a sustainable
way. For example, one partner in Burkina Faso has an interesting model – they have established
10
Parents and Teachers Associations, and Education Monitoring Committees on a local level
(participation) while advocating also for the rights to education and services on national level
(access to quality education). This model could be further developed and replicated but these
discussions will continue during the strategic planning process.
Creation/facilitation of synergies: This is one of the roles of Diakonia in the programmes but
unfortunately the results reported are quite weak. One explanation may be in the way different
people understand “synergy” – perhaps seeing it from the project perspective where more than
one partners or programmes are involved. There is a lot of exchange of ideas that has taken place
between programmes, as well as exchange of documents such as TORs and Proposals. During
interactions in the various staff forum (like the regional meeting) staffs have engaged in
dialogues around different issues, (programmatic as well as management/leadership) and these
have affected work in the respective programmes, but there is no way of measuring these. The
task forces too are made up of individuals from different programmes who bring with them
experiences, expertise and knowledge from their respective programmes. Because the
programme staff are very busy there are few formal synergies recorded but at the informal level,
programmes have benefitted from each other. As a way forward the region will continue to
encourage these cross fertilizations. An attempt to formalize synergies was started in the region
where different programmes identified thematic areas where they could work together but the
process stalled. These efforts will be revived.
Theory of Change: e.g. The region has done well in the first levels of the theory of change.
Sensitization, awareness and knowledge creation has been done in all the programmes and this
has empowered the communities to organize themselves around issues of common concern, like
participation in social audits and budget tracking. There is evidence of people demanding their
rights but at the level of national advocacy and political influence there are fewer results
reported. This is of course normal in the results chain where results reduce as we move to the
higher levels but the momentum gained will continue to be sustained in order to consolidated
what has been achieved so far. The process approach to change is also evidenced by the fact that
most of the results reported are outcomes of interventions that have been ongoing since 2008.
Programmes that are constrained in advocating for change or political influence due to the
contexts where they operate will develop alternative strategies e.g. international level advocacy.
Resource mobilization: This was one of the issues that was to be addressed in the just ended
strategic plan. Relative to the previous period, the region has made significant efforts to diversify
its funding base. South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Mali and LVLP carried out
donor mappings while Somalia, Zambia and DRC have applied successfully for funding from
EU and DFID (Somalia and DRC in consortiums, with Somalia leading the consortiums in some
cases). Not every application has been successful though, as is the case in LVLP. A lesson
learned from these efforts is that resource mobilization is time consuming and therefore a
challenge to the already stretched programme staff. Regional funds are also much more limited
in comparison to national funds. To facilitate programmes in this respect, the region will contract
an advisor to give technical support. CRs/PMs and Programme Officers in the region have been
trained in basic resource mobilization, which will be complemented with further training in the
future.
11
New Trend: More and more programmes are discussing issues that were previously perceived
as “sensitive” such as condom use in LVLP, the rights of LGBT in Uganda, Zambia (CRs in both
programmes attended a three week long training in LGBT and human rights funded by Sida) and
partly Kenya and SRHR in general. Some of the programmes are beginning to broaden the
bracket of marginalized groups to include those sexually marginalized e.g. in Uganda. The
conclusion is that these issues take time to become fully incorporated into programmes and
discussions and training will continue to be necessary.
Partnership Management: All the programmes in the region have invested in strengthening the
partnership. This has been done mainly by organizing partner forums where expectations have
been levelled; the identity of Diakonia and theory of change have been explained to partners; and
partners have had a chance to know each other better. Some programmes like Kenya have even
used these forums to seek an honest feedback on how partners view Diakonia as a donor. This
confirms Diakonia’s principle of good donor-partnership, and that some programmes apply the
RBA principles in their interaction with partners, which has in most cases translated in better
working relationships as there is enhanced mutual understanding. Other ways of strengthening
partnerships will continue to be explored.
Capacity Building: Considering the emphasis that Diakonia globally puts on capacity building,
all programmes in the region engaged different interventions to increase the capacity of partners.
They targeted all areas including thematic, institutional and operational using a combination of
internal resource persons (programme staff, RO staff) and external consultants.
Trainings/workshops were conducted as well as development of systems and structures. Areas
such as mainstream and monitoring and evaluation which have been challenges in the region
received significant attention as well as finance and report writing. On many occasions partners
have acknowledged capacity building as a unique support to partners considering that not many
other donors prioritize it as much as Diakonia does. Through these interventions, many partner
organizations have grown in capacity but one main challenge has been staff mobility which often
times drains the capacity. To counter this, the region has developed a capacity building strategy
that aims at institutionalizing capacity building and making it more sustainable. We have had
occasion in the region to discontinue partnerships where partners have failed to build capacity
despite our efforts e.g. the case of CCM in Mozambique, though the partner was very strategic.
Monitoring of capacity building in the region has not been easy. The challenge we have at the
moment is that the capacity assessment matrix does not capture progressive changes but will
only note big changes from low to medium or medium to high. The tool is also subjective and
therefore dependent on the person using it. This proved a challenge where there were staff
changes in the programme during the period under review.
Even as much as we would like to prioritize capacity building in the region, there are many
challenges, like competing demands for time and differing priorities.
The capacity building
strategy developed in the region puts more emphasis on planning for capacity building
interventions and maximizing on the role of the Programme staff, including Finance Officers.
All our interactions with the partners through monitoring visits, various feedbacks (reports,
proposals, budgets etc), partner forums, technical advice, and the general accompaniment should
be done in an empowering way. Partners, e.g. in the Kenya programme have attested to the
learning they have received through these interactions, which they say is more practical than
12
sitting down in a training. Burkina Faso and Mali have undertaken capacity assessments with
their partners which resulted in development of capacity building plans. These will be used as
baselines and also for fundraising with other donors. Emphasis will be made to have proper
baselines for capacity before implementation of the next strategic plan upon which a capacity
development plans will be developed with every partner. These will be implemented, monitored
and reported on periodically to make the interventions more systematic.
1.3 Synergies at Regional Level
During the period under review the region tried to encourage and support all efforts to leverage
the available knowledge, skills and competencies available not only within the region but HO as
well, while at the same time being open to other to tap from our resources.
 Somalia Programme: The Somalia programme has extensive experience of working with
EU and this was a great resource to Kenya, HO and Middle East when they were doing their
applications to the EU. The Somalia Programme manager also contributed to the EU project
handling guidelines being developed by HO. Somalia is also spearheading the popularization
of the Do-No-Harm approach in the region and in this respect they have worked with both
Kenya and Uganda.
 Zimbabwe Programme: The Programme Manager is the Conflict and Justice focal point in
the region (through the CAJ task force). He is actively involved in Peace and conflict issues,
attended a global conference in Beirut and started discussions with the Jerusalem office on
how best to share ideals and models for mediation and dialogue. Discussion were also
started with the Kenya programme on possible exchange visits of youth to learn from each
other how to contribute to peace initiatives in their respective countries.
 SEJ Programme: The SEJ programme organized a common workshop with the Kenya
programme where partners came together to learn from each other about organization issues,
internal routines, monitoring and media work. This proved very effective. SEJ also coorganized a seminar in Maputo on “China in Africa” where the involved partners benefitted
from the strengths of each other. One SEJ partner has also worked as a resource organization
to the LVLP partners in strengthening the social economic component of the latter. This has
been successful, though challenging to the objectives of SEJ programme.
 Task Forces: The thematic task forces in the region are made up of staff form different
programmes who bring in their interests, competencies, experiences and tools from within
their programmes or other sources. This has proved a very effective way of developing
synergies and also maximizing on the capacities within the region. A good example is the
HIV and AIDS, which though not a thematic area has been the most active Task force with
very good results e.g. the work place policy.
 Senegal: As part of preparing the partners to continue with their work beyond the Diakonia
phase out, the programme needed to produce a video and a project brochure to enable for
purposes of marketing and fundraising. HO provided the technical support in this project
since they have the knowledge and expertise.
1.4 Comments on 2008 – 2010 Most significant Evaluations and Practice Studies
1.4.1 Mozambique Programme
13
The Programme Evaluation was carried out during the last half of 2009 for the period 2007-2009
in fulfilment of regulations of the contract with the back donor, the Swedish Embassy. The
evaluation assessed the extent to which the Diakonia Mozambique Programme had fulfilled its
objectives in terms of capacity building and institutional development of its national partners,
enhancing partners capacity in the themes of the programme and contributing to consolidate
democracy while monitoring the development of social and economic justice, and conflict
transformation in Mozambique.
Taking into consideration the objectives and areas of intervention set in the 2007-2009 Diakonia
Country Programme, the consultants conclusion was that positive results had been achieved
either resulting from Diakonia ‘s intervention or from the partner organizations. Diakonia was,
during this period, the main source for building institutional capacity of many of the partners
through core funding as well through facilitating the formalisation and legalization of the partner
organizations.
Notwithstanding the positive results, reference should be made to areas where the results can be
improved. Thus, although Diakonia facilitated training of partners in planning, reporting, finance
and administration, it is clear that the delay and turn over time in processing of the annual
reports, mid-year reports and plans resulted in the delays of disbursement of funds. This is
indication that there remains difficulty in this area for both partners and Diakonia. In the area of
gender and HIV/AIDS as both cross-cutting issues and as a key theme for partner programmes
there is much scope for improvement within the organisations internally and the beneficiaries
within communities that they work with.
In response to the recommendation of the evaluation Diakonia introduced an interim audit in
October which helps detect problems that can be corrected on time, and to shorten the time
required for the auditors in January. A monthly narrative report was also introduced to help
shorten the time for the annual narrative report. Bank reconciliation and financial report prepared
on a day to day basis, helps to shorten the time for the financial report required twice a year. A
capacity building plan has also been developed in order to have a more systematic approach.
1.4.2 Uganda Programme
The Diakonia Country Programme Mid Term Review: this was commissioned to assess how the
country programme had performed since its inception. The review identified that the capacity
building support of the programme to partners was generally appreciated and had started to yield
results. There was an emerging sense of shared purpose and values between Diakonia and
partners.
The Mid-term review noted a challenge related to the short span of funding (one year contracts)
which tended to create a sense of uncertainty and fragmentation of implementation. However,
this was inevitable since it was a time of “courtship” to enable deeper learning between the
partners before they could engage in longer term funding arrangements. A number of partners
also needed time to strengthen their systems.
14
Diakonia was encouraged to hasten the process of developing partnership policy guidelines
which should clarify partnership roles, expectations but above all, principles that promote
complementarity of purpose, added value, commitment to mutual respect for values beliefs and
learning; clarity of roles, responsibilities, and decision making; transparency and accountability,
commitment and flexibility. It also recommended the increased involvement of duty bearers
and rights holders in program management, the need to strenghthen indicator development and
monitoring in the program while noting the need for the development of a comprehensive
capacity development program for supporting partners. Finally, they requested Diakonia to
consider increasing the numbers of staff in the program if it is to deliver good results to partners.
These findings have feed into the strategic planning process and have influenced the partner
participation in the process as well as identification of the strategies. Development of
partnership policy guidelines is now considered a priority issue in the programme and should be
finalized during 2011.
1.4.3 Zimbabwe Programme
1.4.3.1 Programme Impact Evaluation.
The Impact Evaluation highlights three main areas of work for Diakonia:
The key findings from this evaluation were that
(i)
If Diakonia or its partners will get involved in more strict humanitarian work, Diakonia
should consider entering into partnership with an experienced locally anchored relief
organisation Diakonia must take the initiative to encourage more formalised and
structured networking and knowledge sharing among the partners.
(ii) Diakonia must continuously provide technical backstopping including financial and
narrative monitoring progress of partners, and encourage them and walk along with them.
In response to the above Diakonia has communicated as a prerequisite to all partners before
entering into this area, and they have been encouraged to undertake training in ATHA and such
related programmes. Entering into structured networking and knowledge sharing as been a
challenge in the programme and has met with some resistance among the partners. However, as a
first step it has been agreed to set up an electronic information sharing network in 2009. During
the year Diakonia realised the importance of repeating and share its core values and requirements
with regard to progress reporting. This has been done through seminars, e-mail conversations,
and skype meetings.
1.4.3.2 Conflict Analysis November, 2008
The purpose of the Analysis was to give constructive advice on how to improve the
implementation of the programme area of peace and conflict in relation to Diakonia’s country
programme in Zimbabwe. The findings highlighted two key issues;
(ii)
The need for sensitivity and mainstreaming of “Do No Harm” as a priority in all areas of
the programme.
15
(iii)
Support advocacy work on the national and regional level to address promotion of a
peaceful transition and respond to local reconciliation, counseling, protection and heeling
needs, by supporting and developing local church leaders and chiefs.
In response to these, Diakonia has put in place a capacity building strategy for its partners that is
based on the outcome of the conflict analysis. The strategy is to use the conclusions drawn at
programme level and specific partner level, process the information in plenary and individual
partner discussions and link it to the partners LFAs. This methodology provides for the making
of a common risk log that can be used as an instrument for future monitoring in this area since it
can be constantly updated and developed. In addition Diakonia is also encouraging partners
participation in networks and/ or coordination mechanisms such as the peace network,
governance or human rights networks and training of local leaders/ clergy, priests/ pastors in
particularly on human or God given rights, and mediation.
1.4.4 SEJ Programme – Organizational Assessment
In 2008 the programme initiated organisational assessment of eight of the partners involved in
the programme. The assessments were done by Project & Allied Consultants in Nairobi, which
came with high recommendations from other donors. Interviews were made and the preliminary
findings were presented at a joint workshop in Nairobi in January 2009, which caused a lot of
constructive discussions especially regarding planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning.
After that the consultants ran into internal problems and were unable to deliver the reports. After
long processes and a number of broken deadlines the consultants delivered what drafts they had
in 2010, but many of the final reports were never delivered. This was highly unfortunate since
the information from the interviews could have been very useful to follow up with the
organisations already in 2009, but this was now very delayed.
Further consultations with partners have however meant that more individual plans for capacity
building have been elaborated. Some partners have participated in trainings arranged by
Diakonia’s Kenya and Lake Victoria programme, while others have also teamed up with local
consultants or other resource partners to address some of the issues raised in the assessments.
Other partners have also found it difficult to move on without further financial support for
capacity building and additional staff recruitment, while Diakonia’s programme budget for
further capacity building was too limited to address all requests.
One lesson to be learnt is that it may be unwise to initiate external contracts just before change of
staff. The fact that staff was changed in the middle of the process made it more difficult to follow
up on what had been agreed previously and perhaps also reduced the consultant’s commitment to
the agreement. Involvement at management level could have been initiated earlier to put more
pressure to resolve the outstanding issues.
Another lesson is that many of our partners experienced a bit of “evaluation fatigue” which made
it more difficult to get hold of all the necessary information. Further donor coordination would
be good, and partners were also encouraged to share these evaluations with other donors to
minimise replication/overlap.
16
1.4.5 DRC Programme Evaluation
The programme which was started during the last quarter of 2010 was finalized in 2011. It was
aimed at assessing the extent to which the programme had achieved the objectives set out in the
strategic plan. While Diakonia was viewed as a good donor by the partners with effective
financial support and monitoring, it was recommended that partners be more involved in the
identification of capacity need. The evaluation also should be extended to the beneficiaries in
order to assess real impact. The evaluators also concluded that the Diakonia theory of change is
very ambitious in the context of DRC considering that structures are weak and that the need for
awareness creation still very high.
The programme has taken the findings of the evaluation and shared these with the partners.
Many of the recommendations are being factored into the ongoing strategic planning process.
1.4.6 Somalia Programme
1.4.5.1 Mid Term Evaluation of Democracy & Education Programme
This was a September 2010 evaluation of a SIDA funded programme that looked into
achievement, outputs, outcomes and impacts of the Democracy and Education programme and
assessed the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the programme.
The finding of the evaluation indicated that there was a misnomer in the title “democracy” in the
programme, while most interventions in the programme were education oriented. A
recommendation is to either clearly show the linkage between education and democracy, or split
the programme into two components – education as one and democracy as the other. Another
key finding was that the engagement of partners should be either to have specific logical
framework with specific partners’ allocated thematic areas or have a general project framework
with partner engaged through a call-for-proposals.
As a result of the evaluation a conceptual framework was developed to inform the future of the
programming. The concept looks at Democracy and Education through the lenses of Human
Rights, and thus provides an entry point in a fragile context of Somalia.
The current programme is utilising a detailed Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) in which
partners are assigned specific result areas. This has been done to enable taper off the heavy
investment that has gone into some of the partners. The preferred future will be a call for
proposals in which partners will specify their areas of activity, in line with Diakonia’s work.
1.4.5..2 Tracer Study of PETT CSS
This was a study carried out in April 2009 for a European Union funded project – Promotion of
Employment through Training (PETT) in Central South Somalia (CSS). The study was carried
out when the graduates had been in the job market for two months and focused on; employment
rates of the graduates – both in formal and self-employment, challenges facing the unemployed
graduates, the usefulness of the skills they acquired, the views of the current employers and
challenges facing the female graduates. A total of 643 graduates were traced, with a 50% female
composition.
17
Finding indicated that the overall employment rate was 76% in both formal and selfemployment. 11% of the traced were not employed, with the rest (13%) engaged in economic
activity with unreliable income. The range income levels across the board indicated that 53% of
the respondents earned in the range of 51 - 100 US$ while the lowest group (19%) earned up to
$50 per month. Those earning about $150 represent 8% of total sample size, bringing the average
earning in the project at $ 86 per graduate. Lack of toolkits, raw materials and capital were the
main challenges faced by all graduates. Women graduates faced similar challenges but had less
emphasis on the capital requirement as a challenge. There was a 73% chance that male graduates
would be preferred for employment due to cultural reasons and female graduates little interest in
male dominated skills. From the findings, it was noted that provision of toolkits to graduates
would raise the project funding levels, but is essential to achievement of real impact in the
project. Advocacy issues on women employment was still required and therefore a component of
this has to be included in the programme; and business plans and business incubation process
was required.
1.4.5.3 End of Project Evaluation – PETT CSS
This was an evaluation carried out in July 2009 for the EU funded Promotion of Employment
through Training (PETT) project in Central South Somalia (CSS). The evaluation looked into
achievement, outputs, outcomes and impacts of the project and assessed the relevance,
effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the project. The main findings indicated that the
project met its targeted beneficiaries and attained the enrolment numbers it had envisaged.
Employment rates for the project stood at 73% as shown by tracer studies. However, an issue of
duration of the courses was raised as a potential set back in the project implementation and
attainment of quality. It was also noted that the capacity building trainings on organisational
development, could have been implemented in the earlier phases of the project, rather than
towards the end of the project. Armed with the information from the evaluation, the design of
the Skill Training for Employment Opportunities (STEO) and Developing Vocational Training
for the Informal Economy in Somalia (DVTIES) was altered to include the recommendation of
the evaluation, by including aspects of vocational qualification framework development. The
component of on-the-job training was hailed as the most flexible and cost effective way of
switching training courses to match labour market forces in fragile contexts.
1.4.7 Burkina Faso Programme
A programme evaluation was done in 2010, which recommended strengthening of capacity in the
areas of monitoring, advocacy and networking. Institutional and organizational development
should also be strengthened for more effectiveness. It also recommended that SIDA continues to
give the programme technical support, especially in the forthcoming strategic planning. At the
partner level, there is need to improve the internal governance, improve management tools and
human resources, financial and accounting management, reinforce thematic dialogue, share good
practices and undertake joint advocacy and be more open to networking.
1.5 Used Indicators
1.5.1 ESA Region
18
Democracy
Result: Civil society organizations, at different levels, have strengthened their
capacity and organization in acting for the development and consolidation of
democratic structures and practices.
The Right holders and duty bearers have strengthened their capacity
and organizations towards enhanced democratic structure, organization, practice
and socio-cultural awareness.(Somalia)
TYPE Indicators
Account of changes in qualitative representation, leadership roles and decision
OCI1: making which also promote gender equality and the empowerment of women
PROGRAMME
South Africa
OCI1:
OCI 1
Amount and nature of new cooperation between community-based organizations
and other actors/organizations.
Account and number of conflict transformation initiatives by local communities
and/or by civil society organizations (Zambia combines democracy with
Conflict)
Zimbabwe
Zambia
OCI 1
Account of initiatives by CSOs aiming to strengthen civil society and target
groups’ possibilities for participation in democratic processes.
Somalia
OCI 2
Number of students that have access to NFE, primary and higher education and
the number of marginalized children that have access to education
Somalia
OCI2
Account of interventions made in relation to duty bearers to promote democracy
South Africa
OCI2:
Account of consolidated co-operation between communities.
Zimbabwe
OCI2
OCI3
OCI3:
Account of interventions by civil society organisations in relation to duty bearers
within the framework of democratic structures and practices.
Account of advocacy initiatives by civil society organisations aiming at
strengthening civil society’s possibility for qualitative participation in
democratic processes and institutions.
Account of initiatives undertaken to address negative ethnicity and to promote
peaceful and respectful intercommunity existence
Mozambique,
Zambia, Kenya
Mozambique,
Zambia’
Zimbabwe, Kenya
Kenya
OCI
3:
Number of initiatives by organisations involved in comprehensive civic and
peace education programmes
Somalia
OCI
4:
Number of IEC materials developed and disseminated to strength awareness
raising initiatives concerning anti-social behaviours
Somalia
OCI
5:
II1:
Account of reduced incidences of FGM among school age girls
Somalia
Account of changed legislation (or other policies) aimed at strengthening the
target groups possibility for qualitative participation and influence
Kenya
19
II1:
II1:
Account of consolidated forums for political dialogue between authorities and
civil society.
South Africa
Amount of formalized forums for civil society participation at municipal level.
South Africa
II 1:
II1:
Account of improved governance, peace, security and stability and greater
popular participation
Account of changed practice, policies and/or legislation strengthening civil
society’s’ possibility for qualitative participation in democratic processes and
institutions.
II 1
Account of created forums for dialogue between authorities and civil society at
District, National and International levels
II 2:
Account of improved access to qualitative education for the people of Somalia
Somalia
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Somalia
GENDER EQUITY
Result: Civil society organisations, at different levels,
have strengthened their capacity and organisation in PROGRAMME
acting for gender justice and equality between women
and men.
The right holders and duty bearers have
strengthened their capacity and organizations towards
equality between women and men. (Somalia)
Type
Indicators
Account of initiatives taken by civil society organisations Zimbabwe, Zambia
to promote gender equality and gender justice.
OCI1
OCI 1
OCI 1
Number of women in leadership and decision making
levels in institutions within the target communities
Number of sector specific gender policies developed and
under implementation
OCI 1
The right holders are organized and empowered to take
own initiatives to promote gender equality (at different
levels)
OCI 2
Number of capacity building workshops on gender and
development organised for right holders and duty bearers
OCI 2
Account of and characteristics of new organizations
formed by target group in order to address issues of
inequality between women and men
Kenya
Somalia
Uganda
Somalia
Kenya
20
OCI2
Account of advocacy actions and campaigns by civil
society organizations for the promotion of gender
equality and gender justice.
OCI 2
Men to a larger extent involved in gender work at a local
and regional level.
OCI 3
Number of right holders and duty bearers taking own
initiatives to promote gender equality as a result of
training
Account of women taking initiatives in trying to become
teachers and leaders in the educational system.
OCI 4
OCI 5
OCI 6
OCI 7
OCI 8
OCI 9
II 1
II1
II 1
II 1
II 1
II 1
II 2
II 2
II 3
Zambia, Zimbabwe
Uganda
Somalia
Somalia
An increase in the number of girls attending pre-service
training programmes
Somalia
Increase in the number of women participating in inservice training programmes
Somalia
Increase in the number of women education managers at
state and regional level
Account of number of women participating in decision
making processes
Account of number of girls enrolled in education ,formal
and non-formal/alternative basic education
Women active participation and leadership in community
development, local, regional and national governance
promoted and increased through support, advocacy and
lobbying by civil society organizations
Account of changed practice, policies and/or legislation
strengthening civil society’s possibility for qualitative
participation in processes and institutions aiming at
increasing gender equality and justice.
Number of partners that use a gender sensitive approach
Account of consolidated forums for political dialogue
between authorities and civil society
Amount of formalized forums for civil society
participation at municipal level
Decrease in gender based violence in the targeted
communities
Account of changed proactive, policies and legislation
strengthening civil society’s potential for qualitative
participation i.r.t. representation and the promotion of
democratic principles.
Women leadership in the educational sector are common
and acknowledged and promoted through recruitment of
educational administrators and managers at school,
district, regional and national levels
Framework for Gender Policy Development and Gender
Mainstreaming developed and implemented
Somalia
Somalia
Somalia
Somalia
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Mozambique
South Africa
Uganda
South Africa
Somalia
Somalia
Human Rights
21
Type
OCI1
OCI 1
OCI1
OCI 1
OCI 2
OCI3
OCI 3
OCI 3
OCI 3
OCI 4
OCI 5
OCI 6
II 1
II 1
II1
II2
II 2
Result: Civil society organisations have strengthened their
capacity and organisation in defending and promoting
Human Rights
The right holders and duty bearers have
strengthened their capacity to defend and promote human
rights. (Somalia)
Indicators
Account of initiatives taken by individuals, communities
and/or civil society organisations to defend, promote and
demand their human rights.
Account of media reports on human rights abuse and other
related concerns.
Amount and type of formed HR organisations/committees or
existing organisations beginning to advocate for the
promotion of HR.
The right holders and duty bearers are taking own initiatives
to defend and promote human rights as a result of training.
Account of awareness creation initiatives on rights,
obligations and responsibilities of states and citizens.
Account of organisations (not partner organisations) that are
mainstreaming HIV & AIDS within the framework of their
HR work.
Mozambique, South Africa,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
Kenya
Zimbabwe, Uganda
Somalia, Uganda
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Account number of initiatives for promoting juvenile justice
and detention condition
Number and type of advocacy initiatives in which the right
holder group has participated for improving the human
rights situation.
Account of civil society organizations adopting a Rights
Based approach
Account number of organizations advocating Human Rights
at all levels
Account number of initiatives in teaching and spreading
awareness in the society about People Living with HIV and
AIDS (PLWH) and other issues related to HIV and AIDS.
Account of number of initiatives for improving the living
conditions and livelihoods for IDPs
Increased awareness of HIV & AIDS
Somalia
Reduction of discrimination and abuse of the rights of
marginalized groups
strengthening civil society’s’ possibility for qualitative
participation in processes and institutions aiming at
increasing the respect for and enforcement of human rights.
Kenya
Account of changed practice, policies and/or legislation in
relation to the rights of women and children (particularly
orphans, street children, the physically/visually disabled)
coinciding with positions held and proposals advocated by
civil society organizations.
Enhanced access to justice by marginalized and abused
groups
Uganda
Kenya
Somalia
Somalia
Somalia
Somalia
Zimbabwe
Mozambique
Kenya
22
II 2
Increased awareness of the harms of VAW
Somalia
The human rights situation has been visible for a wider
audience due to work of civil society organizations and
other actors such as the media.
Social and Economic Justice
Result: Civil society organisations, at different levels, have
strengthened their capacity and organisation in acting for
social and economic justice.
Indicators
Account of civil society monitoring of the implementation of
OCI1
social and economic policies (e.g. on trade relations,
import/export regulations, customs regulations, regional
trade protocols, EPAs, EBAs, AGOA, etc., debt relief, PRSP
and PRGF, taxation rules, etc) and their effects on poverty
levels.
Account of advocacy and lobbying actions and campaigns
for the promotion of social and economic justice (debt
OCI 1
relief, trade rules, distribution of land, social service)
II 3
OCI 2
OCI 1
OCI 2
OCI2
OCI 3
OCI3
OCI3
OCI 3
II 1
II 1
II 2
II 2
II 3
II 3
No and type of practical interventions to support income
generating activities for various marginalized groups
The right holders and duty bearers have taken initiatives for
improving their food and water security at household and
community level.
Account of households with increased family income used
for family needs.
Account of organized efforts to monitor public performance
regarding social and economic justice (e.g. debt relief, trade
rules, distribution of land, tax systems, and social services).
Account of creation and/or strengthening of spaces / forums
for dialogue and participation in relation to local government
planning and implementation of development project
Account of CSO’s that include or strengthen their focus on
women and/or people living with HIV or AIDS in SEJ work.
Account of organisations that begin to include or strengthen
their focus on women and/or people living with HIV or
AIDS in their work on Social and Economic Justice.
Numbers of studies/evaluation availing information on
local economic development opportunities.
aimed at increasing resources for the poor, especially
women and PLWA.
Increased participation by the poor in influencing economic
policies
aimed at decreasing the feminization of poverty
Increased access and control of resources by marginalized
groups
Increased visibility and advocacy on selected SEJ concerns
in regional and global economic agenda e.g. EPAs
Increased visibility and advocacy on selected SEJ concerns
in regional and global economic agenda e.g. EPAs
Somalia, Uganda
Mozambique, South Africa
Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe
South Africa, Mozambique,
Uganda
Kenya
Somalia
Somalia
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda
Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Uganda
South Africa
Mozambique
Somalia
South Africa
Kenya
Mozambique, South Africa
Kenya
Kenya
Kenya
23
II 3
II 1
aimed at treating and preventing HIV & AIDS as a result of
changed budgetary policies, expenditure
Reduced vulnerability of the IDPs and marginalized groups
South Africa
Somalia
Account of changed practice, policies and/or legislation Zimbabwe, Zambia
strengthening civil society’s’ possibility for qualitative
participation in processes concerning social and economic
justice (e.g. debt relief, trade rules, distribution of land, tax
systems, social services)
Conflict Transformation and Peace
Result: Civil society organisations have strengthened their
capacity and organisation in acting for peaceful settlement of
conflicts.
II1
Type
OCI
OCI1
OCI1
OCI 1
OCI 2
OCI 2
OCI2
OCI 2
Civil Society organizations have strengthened their capacity
and organization to act for dialogue efforts towards
mediation, reconciliation and conflict transformation. (New
for Zimbabwe)
Indicators
Account of advocacy actions and campaigns for the
promotion of peace and security.
Account of preventive/conflict transformation initiatives
by local communities and/or by civil society organisations.
Account of dialogue and mediation initiatives by local
communities and/or by civil society organizations
The rights holders and duty bearers have strengthened
their capacity in peace building skills and knowledge.
Account of peace building (inter community dialogue and
mediation) activities between conflicting parties
Number of actions taken in order to equip the right holders
and duty bearers with tools to plan and implement activities
in a conflict-sensitive way
Account
of
conflict
management
interventions
(dialogue/mediations/negotiations
between
conflicting
parties) to which partners have contributed.
II 2
Account of dialogue/mediations/negotiations between
different parties (to which the project contributed)
Account of the impact of conflict transformation initiatives
by local communities and/or by civil society organisations.
Reduced insecurity and violence in target community areas
Measures taken by authorities for the benefit of people
affected by conflict and violence.
The right holders and duty bearers adhere to a common
judiciary system.
Decreased levels of violence in a given context.
II 3
Role of elders strengthened and recognized
II1
II 1
II 1
II 1
Zimbabwe
(New)
Kenya, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique
Zimbabwe (New)
Uganda
Kenya, Zimbabwe
Somalia
Mozambique
Uganda
Mozambique, Zimbabwe
Kenya
Uganda
Somalia
Somalia
Somalia
Partners’ capacity (for Zambia – the only programme with indicators on this result)
Result: The capacity of Diakonia partners in gender,
lobbying and advocacy, financial and project management
& HIV is strengthened.
Type
Indicators
24
OCI1
OCI 2
OCI 3
OCI 4
II 1
Account of capacity building initiatives in lobbying and
advocacy, financial management, project management
HIV/AIDS..
Account of initiatives in networking
Account of capacity building initiatives in evaluation
Account of capacity building initiatives in gender
Account of changes following the capacity building
Zambia
Zambia
Zambia
Zambia
Zambia
Programme: Lake Victoria Livelihood Programme
Result 1: Incidence and prevalence of HIV & AIDS among the fishing communities reduced.
Type
Indicators
OCI1
Number of religious and other community leaders freely talking/facilitating HIV & AIDS forums
in public and upcoming preventative/promotive HIV & AIDS intervention initiated.
OCI2
Number of people seeking medical HIV & AIDS related services from recommended health
services.
OCI1:
Result 2: Fishing communities empowered with regard to awareness of rights, access to
justice and good governance.
Number of (fishing) groups/associations formed and advocating for rights.
OCI2:
Number of functional paralegals trained according to recommended paralegal guidelines.
II1
Number of people aware of their rights and demanding justice.
Result 3: Fishing enterprises improved and other income generating activities developed
OCI1:
OCI2:
OC1
OC2
OC3
II 1
Number of new organized fishing enterprises formed and seeking business registration and making
profit.
Number and type of other (than fishing) income generating activities established.
Result 4: Sustainability – Community structures (engage in the project) taking responsibility
of development processes in the community (primarily the ones initiated b the project and
secondly other development processes. (New)
Number of community structures whose capacities have been built to handle development
processes.
Number of proposals submitted to local and/or other possible resource funds/organizations (e.g.
Youth Funds, CDF, LATF, NGOs)
Evidence of practical working linkages with other relevant actors (e.g. line government ministries,
local authorities, CSOs etc.)
Evidence of participation in local decision making processes (i.e. committees who are involved in
prioritizing and follow-up on the local resource funds etc.)
25
Programme: SEJ ESA Regional Programme
Result 1:
Civil Society Organizations at the regional level are able to effectively include SEJ in public and
private sector agenda
Indicators
OCI 1
Account of advocacy and lobbying actions and campaigns for the promotion of trade justice
OCI 2
Account of advocacy and lobbying actions and campaigns for the promotion of SEJ in debt and
prsp
OCI 3
Account of advocacy and lobbying actions and campaigns for the promotion SEJ on private sector
and poverty
II 1
Increased participation by the poor in influencing trade justice
II 2
Increased participation by the poor in influencing the debt and PRSP process
II 3
Increased participation by the poor in influencing private sector to address poverty
OCI 1
Result 2: Civil Society Organizations at the regional level are able to effectively build the capacity
of marginalized groups of improving their standard of living.
Number and type of interventions to improve standard of living.
II 1
Increased access and control of resources by marginalised groups.
OCI 1
Result 3:
Civil Society Organizations at the regional level are able to effectively include gender issues in
public and private sector agenda.
No and type of advocacy and lobby interventions
II 1
Increased gender equality in economic policies
26
1.5.2 WCA Region
Democracy and human rights
Type
Indicator
R1
The power balance role of civil society has been
strengthened/ameliorated.
Programme
Mali, Senegal
OPI 1
Mali, Senegal
OCI1
OCI2
II1
R1
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCI
OCII
R2
OCI 1
OCI 1
OCII 1
OCII 2
R2
OPI 1
Percentage of men and women that have taken part in training
activities, advocacy and report on human rights
Account of active networks among partner organisations
Account of CSO opinions expressed.
Account of changes initiated by authorities as result of CSO actions.
Partner’s organisations and their target groups have
strengthened their capacity to act for development of a
democratic structure and practice
Amount of partner organisation that have initiated or completed a
comprehensive strategy planning process, applying participatory
methods
Account of women’s participation in the planning processes.
Account of organised efforts to follow-up and monitor public
spending and performance at a local level
Account of the inclusion of gender perspectives/considerations in
efforts to follow-up and monitor public spending and performance at
a local level
Account of created forums for dialogue between local authorities and
civil society actors /local communities.
Account of women’s participation and possibilities to influence in the
forums for dialogue between local authorities and civil society actors
/local communities.
Account of the local committees created that organise around important
issues affecting the community
Account of women’s participation and decision making power in the
local committees
Account of results following from the forums for political dialogue
between local authorities and civil society /local communities and the
work of the local committees.
Account of changed policies as a result of forums for political
dialogue between local authorities and civil society /local
communities
The target groups have strengthened their capacity and
organisation to defend and promote human rights.
Account of beneficiaries that have been successfully accompanied
trough the juridical system
Account for created forums for political dialogue between local
authorities and civil society actors/local communities with the aim of
denouncing human rights violations committed by local authorities
Account of improvements in the juridical procedures in the courts in
the areas concerned towards good practice.
Account of improvements in the juridical procedures towards greater
gender equality/greater impartiality.
The commitment of the CSOs to the process of decentralization
has been strengthened.
Account of trainings and public awareness campaigns initiated by
partners.
Mali, Senegal
Mali, Senegal
Mali, Senegal
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
BF, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
27
OCI 1
OCI 2
II1
R3
OPI 1
OCI 1
II 1
II 2
R4
OPI 1
II 1
II 2
II 3
Gender
R1
OPI 1
OCI 1
II 1
II 2
R1
OCI 1
OCI 2
OCI 3
OCI 4
OCII
R2
OPI 1
Increased number of people (men, women) among the target groups
of partners who take part in the forum of discussion.
Account of claims of CSOs and communities towards the local
authorities.
Account of functional consultation frameworks between local
counsellors, state representatives and local communities.
The respect of human rights in all the projects or programmes of
development has been increased.
Account of active networks on Human Rights among partner
organisations.
Account of how partner organisations and target groups (men and
women) have benefited from training and have integrated human
rights in their projects/programmes.
Account of human rights interventions having led to change of
behaviour observed in communities.
Account of projects and programmes having led to the promotion and
the effective enjoyment of human rights.
The economic exploitation of children has been decreased.
Account of active networks on child rights among partner
organisations.
Account of clauses, Agreements, legislation and conventions on child
rights put into effect by authorities.
Number of children reintegrated or placed in professional learning
centres.
Decrease in the number of child victims of trafficking and
exploitation.
BF, Mali, Senegal
Various forms of practices and harmful violence against women
and girls have been reduced.
Account of results of partner meetings around the theme “violence
against women and girls”.
Account of initiatives undertaken for the intervention of decision
makers and communities in the fight against harmful violence and bad
practices.
Adoption of laws by the State.
Account of increased level of enforcement of laws and rules.
The target groups have strengthened their capacity and
organisation to act for equality between women and men
Account of partner organisations incorporate gender equality in their
project planning processes.
Account of partners addressing the issue of masculinity in their
gender work.
Account of women victims that have been successfully accompanied
through the legal system
Account of initiatives for facilitating women’s access to income
generating activities and to means of production.
Account of changes in policies in the areas concerned in the favour of
women’s rights
Economic and social equity between women and men has been
increased.
Account of best practices and experience sharing activities among
partner organisations.
Mali, Senegal
(BF, cf. DHRGP)
Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali,
Senegal
Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
Mali, Senegal
Mali, Senegal
BF
BF
BF
BF
BF
Mali, Senegal
Mali, Senegal
Mali
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
DRC
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
28
OCI 1
Account of actions initiated by men in favour of gender equality.
OCI 2
BF, Mali, Senegal
Account of complaints and requests by women in relation to their
human rights.
II 1
Increased percentage in legal marriages.
II 2
Increased number of women having access to means of production and
decision positions.
Social and economic justice
R1
The power balance role of CSOs has been strengthened in order
to influence socio economic policies.
Existence of a functional dialogue arena for Diakonia partners.
OPI 1
Mali, Senegal
OPI 2
BF, Ghana, Mali
R2
Account of interface meeting with public policy holders and elected
representatives and media engagement.
Account of functional citizenship committees in place for monitoring
of PRSP projects/programmes.
Account of initiated investigations on corruption published and
resulting in legal proceedings
Account of improvements in transparency and allocation of public
resource at the district level.
Pro poor trade advocacy at all levels has been supported.
OPI 1
Account of CSOs monitoring and evaluation of trade policy
OPI 2
II 1
Account of CSOs analysis on and dissemination of findings based on
monitoring and evaluation of trade policy
Account of trade policy influenced by CSOs
II 2
Account of organisations engaged in and benefiting from fair trade
R3
The income and the food security have been improved in the area
where the partners intervene.
Number of women’s and men’s small scale enterprise groups
benefiting from micro credit
Number of Farmers Based Organizations formed and networking.
II 1
II 2
II 3
OPI 1
OCI 1
OCI 2
II 1
II 2
R4
Number of farmers (women and men) practicing soil improvement
methods.
Decreased degree of anti-bush fires.
Increase in soil fertility and food productivity and income.
OPI 1
The quality and the variety of the Income Generating Activities
(IGA) have been increased for the benefit of young people and
women.
Number of women and men trained in employable skills.
OPI 2
Account of exchange visits organized for women and men farmers.
OCI 1
Account of diversified Income Generating Activities (IGA)
undertaken by rural women and men.
Number of women and men accessing loans from Financial
Institutions (FI).
Number of women and men, including PLWH effectively managing
their IGA.
II 1
II 2
Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali
BF, Ghana, Mali
BF, Ghana, Mali
BF
BF, Ghana, Mali
Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
Ghana, Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Ghana, Mali,
Senegal
29
R5
OPI 1
OCI 1
OCI 2
OCI 3
II 1
Education
R1
OCI 1
The effective participation of the local communities in the
decentralization process has been strengthened.
Number of local counsellors (women and men) trained.
Account of successful advocacy conducted at local level.
Account of successful actions on budget follow-up by local
communities.
Account of communal development plans elaborated in a participatory
way.
Account of increased rate of mobilization of local resources
BF, Mali,
Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali, Senegal
Mali,
BF, Mali, Senegal
BF, Mali
The access to an education of quality has been improved.
BF, Mali
Account of interventions of parents and teachers associations (PTA:
BF, Mali
Parents and Teachers Associations) in the management of schools.
OCI 2
Account of political standpoints in favour of access to quality
BF, Mali
education, in particular for girls.
II 1
Increased numbers of functioning schools.
BF, Mali
II 2
Increase in the school enrolment rate of girls and boys.
BF, Mali
III 3
Increase success of pupils in the Primary School Certificate
BF
R2
The technical and professional training of young people have been BF
strengthened for their best integration on the labour market.
OPI 1
Number and types of technical and professional trainings.
BF
OCI 1
Increased number of girls in the centres of technical and vocational
BF
training.
OCI 2
Account of small businesses initiated by young people
BF
II 1
Increased number of young people having access to paid employment. BF
II 2
Increased interest of the public and private sector for quality
BF
vocational or technical trainings
R3
The literacy programmes have been improved.
BF, Mali
OCI 1
Increased number of initiatives taken for the valorisation of the newly BF, Mali
literates in their respective communities
OCI 2
Increased publications available in national languages
BF
II 1
Number of successful interventions of decision makers for adaptation BF, Mali
of literacy programmes
II 2
Increased number of women declared literate among the target groups BF, Mali
of partners.
New indicators in Burkina Faso’s democracy, human rights and gender programme (DHRGP)
Democracy
Specific objective I: Contribute to strengthen the function of institutions on different levels in the country.
DHRGP R 1
The citizens (right holders) are actively participating and strengthen BF
their control over democratic processes at different levels (National
assembly, regional, municipal, village councils, etc) in the society.
OPI 1
Account of citizens’ participation (divided by sex) in the proceeding
BF
sessions of decisions on different levels, e.g. regional, municipal, and
villages’ councils for development.
OCI1
Civil society organizations officially express a position on
BF
mismanagement within the public sector
OCI2
Account of sharing at the time of democratic call spaces organized at,
BF
regional, municipal and village level to question the authorities.
OCI3
Account of changes initiated by the authorities as result of the civil
BF
society organizations’ actions.
II 1
Account of citizens’ (women and men’s) participation in the
BF
management by local authorities (e.g. decentralization issue, elaboration
and execution of development plans, etc).
30
DHRGP R 2
Civil society organizations have strengthened their capacity and
organization to reinforce democratic principles (e.g. inclusiveness,
fairness and independence, etc) in the electoral processes.
Account of involvement of partner organisations in observations of
elections.
The right holders have increased access to justice and are treated
fairly in front of the law and the democratic institutions irrespective
of sex, age, HIV status, etc.
Reports on texts of law adopted or in the process of being adopted (for
example a law forbidding death penalty).
Civil society organizations and the media have strengthened their
capacity to promote and defend freedom of expression and press
freedom.
BF
OPI 1
Account of training activities for medias firms in deontological ethics
and editorial techniques.
BF
OPI 2
Account of sharing opportunities between journalists, civil society and
the State.
BF
II 1
Account of initiatives by the State to take into consideration freedom of
expression and press as a result of partners’ actions.
BF
OPI 1
DHRGP R 3
II 1
DHRGP R 4
BF
BF
BF
BF
Specific objective II: Strengthen cooperation and improve organization of civil society organizations in the
country
DHRGP R 1
OPI 1
Civil society organizations have strengthened the mechanism to
exchange thematic expertise on a regular basis.
Account of CSOs meetings among partners on relevant programme
themes.
BF
BF
OPI 2
Account of regular statutory proceedings (in general assembly, congress, BF
etc) among partners.
OCI 1
Account of participative meetings among the partners where all members BF
(women/men) are active.
Specific objective III: Contribute to improving vulnerable communities living conditions
DHRGP R 1
OPI 1
OPI 2
CSOs, at different levels, have strengthened their capacity and
organization in acting for climate justice in social and economic
policies
Account of sensitization sessions and mobilization of women and men
on climate change.
Account of successful advocacy initiatives by CSOs on climate change
and justice towards authorities.
BF
BF
BF
Human Rights
Specific objective I: Contribute to strengthen the function of institutions on different levels in the country
DHRGP R 1
OPI 1
OCI 1
II 1
Civil society has strengthened their capacity to promote rule of law
which apply equally to all citizens regardless of class, gender, age
and HIV-status.
Account of advocacy, lobbying and sensitizations initiatives towards
Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly.
Account of cases of economic and political crimes denounced by
partners (eg impunity)
Account of police stations, brigades of gendarmerie, magistrate and
prefects who apply the law objectively regardless of class, gender, age,
HIV status
BF
BF
BF
BF
31
Specific objective II: Strengthen cooperation and improve organization of civil society organizations in the
country
DHRGP R 1
The rights based approach (RBA) is integrated in all the projects
and programmes (organized by partners).
BF
OPI 1
Account of trainings conducted by partners on RBA divided by male and
female participants.
Account of partners’ projects who have integrated RBA in their work.
Taking into account the concerns of the target communities (rights
holders) in the development, planning, implementation and evaluation of
the projects.
The economic exploitation of children has decreased among the
2
rights holders and duty bearers targeted by our partners
BF
OCI 1
OCI 2
DNRGP R 2
BF
BF
BF
OPI 1
Account of active networks on child rights among the rights holders and
BF
duty bearers targeted by our partners
OCI 1
Number of children reintegrated or placed in professional learning
BF
centres.
Specific objective III: Contribute to improving vulnerable communities’ living conditions
DHRGP R1
OPI 1
OCI 1
Adaptation capacity of women, men to climate changes has increased
Account of trainings, sensitization of women and men on the climate
change and the related rights
Initiatives taken (planting of trees, solidarity, and use of new farming
methods…) by women, men, to manage their own situation face to
climate change effects.
BF
BF
BF
Gender Equality
Objectif Spécifique: Améliorer l’égalité des genres dans les communautés parmi les détenteurs de droits et les
fournisseurs de droits
DHRGP R 1
The physical and psychological violence against women and girls are
among the small holders and suppliers of rights targeted by the
partners
BF
OPI 1
Records of the types of training, sensitization and successful meetings
with partners to communities disaggregated by sex
BF
OPI 2
Number of advocacy and lobbying initiatives taken and sent to the
authorities and opinion leaders to reduce violence against women and
girls
BF
OCI 1
Record of initiatives taken by decision makers, leaders and communities
in the fight against violence and abuse against women and girls
The adoption of laws and regulations by the State to prevent and stop
violence against women and girls (eg sexual harassment in schools)
The economic and social equality between women and men is enhanced
among the rights holders and suppliers of rights targeted by the partners
BF
Actions initiated by men for gender equality
Record of access to their rights by women (eg cases of protection against
early marriage and forced, marriages and legal access to land).
The political equality between women and men is improved among
rights holders and suppliers of rights targeted by the partners
BF
BF
OCI 2
DHRGP R 2
OCI 1
II 1
DHRGP R 3
BF
BF
BF
2
Pour plus de résultats dans ce domaine, voir ci-dessus Résultat 3 Démocratie et Droits Humains du Plan
stratégique.
32
OPI 1
OCI 2
II 1
Number of training / sensitization on the participation of women in the
management of the city for participants disaggregated by gender
The existence of common positions on issues of women economic and
social policies
The law on the quota of 30% of women in elective and nominative has
been adopted and implemented
BF
BF
BF
33
2. Country Programme: KENYA
2.1 Summary of Diakonia´s Programme in Kenya
Kenya has a population of 39 million, 42% of whom are under 14 years (2009). The
unemployment rate is around 40% and about half of the population lives below the poverty line.
Kenya faces several challenges: a significant income gap between genders and between urban
and rural communities; and a need for substantial constitutional and law reforms.
Whereas Diakonia had been supporting some work in Kenya since the nineties, its first attempt
at a coordinated programme was with the Empowering women & youth for development
programme in 2002-2006. As this phased out, the first strategic plan for Diakonia in Kenya was
developed and rolled out in 2007. The Kenya country programme has therefore been a
programme under transformation.
In Kenya, Diakonia channels its support through a mix of local and national NGOs and FBOs,
networks, coalitions and a national research and policy think tank Diakonia and its partner
organizations work in the following thematic areas: Democracy, Social Economic Justice,
Gender Equality, Human Rights, and Conflict and Justice. The partners intervene at different
levels-local, national, regional and international based on their comparative advantage. Change
is viewed as a process and various strategies are used including knowledge and awareness
creation, citizen’s self-organization around common interest and collective action for
influence/advocacy for sustainable change. In order to effectively address their circumstances,
citizen’s self-organization for management of common concerns and collective mobilization for
political influence remains crucial. Diakonia therefore supports institutional development of
local partners to strengthen civil society.
Some significant progress has been made, including increasing community participation in
management of public expenditure, formation of community lobby groups, an increase of
women’s influence in the political decision making at local and national level, decreasing
human rights violation incidents and improved livelihoods for women and reformed youth.
With the passing of the new constitution, the attention of the public has shifted to
implementation and citizens must remain vigilant in monitoring the realization of the
fundamental changes. Other issues requiring urgent attention include the rising inflation and cost
of living, rising insecurity especially at the borders, ensuring access to justice in light of the post
election violence and undertaking meaningful reforms e.g. electoral reforms ahead of the 2012
elections.
34
2.2 Deviations From Original Plans During 2008-2010
2.2.1 External
The post election violence experienced at the beginning of 2008 resulted in a number of partners
engaging in emergency response work. Further, the change in context called for a review of the
Diakonia Kenya programme strategic plan including the three year proposals submitted earlier
causing delay in the release of funds. The emergency humanitarian response to the food crisis
that hit the country in 2009 delayed project implementation in some areas as targeted
communities were unable to participate especially in democracy related activities like public
accountability forums on decentralised funds . The hungry communities experienced apathy; the
only thing that mattered was their ability to meet immediate needs especially food for the day.
A humanitarian intervention and distribution of food aid to the most affected regions was
undertaken in partnership with NCCK.
In 2010, there was adjustment of regular project activities by most of the partners in order to
focus on the constitution making process, which included publishing of the draft and a national
referendum vote. Across the country, voters were anxious of how the process would turn out
given the violence experienced in 2007/2008. CSOs had to intensify civic education, joint peace
rallies and community forums in order to improve the understanding of the proposed constitution
and advocate for its adoption. Diakonia allocated additional resources to support the final
stretch of the Katiba Sasa! campaign activities led by the National Civil Society Congress
(NCSC). The EU project started in September 2010 and partners (NCCK & IEA) received their
full disbursements for year 1, which covers FY2010 – FY2011. Allocation for the funds was
done on pro-rata basis.
The delays can be explained by 2 external threats identified in the Kenya programme Strategic
plan i.e. “The current divisive political climate especially as the country approaches 2007 which
is an election year” and ‘Growing disillusionment and apathy amongst the target group that
political translations do not translate to actual gains for common people who continue to battle
growing levels of poverty and inequality. This has implications on people’s participation in
governance and human rights concerns’.
2.2.2 Internal: Partners
New Partners in 2008: (1) NCSC in response to the changing context following the post
election violence that provided an opportunity for the constitutional review and other reforms to
be better engaged as well as contribute to a unified and vibrant civil society in Kenya. (2) ACKWRCCS: A strong partner at the local level that provided an opportunity to balance the levels of
our work as set out in the Kenya strategic plan by addressing the issues affecting marginalized
groups including women and youth in the western region .
Excluded Partners in 2008-2010: TWCC: Did not submit proposal in 2008 citing challenges in
implementing numerous donor-funded projects. KEWWO and KELC who were implementing
gender equality and human rights projects did not receive grants in 2009 due to significant
challenges with accountability and governance. KEWWO’ case was serious as it pointed to
misuse of funds. Attempts to carry out an in-depth audit failed as they refused to cooperate. An
incident report for KEWWO was filed as stipulated in the PME handbook
35
2.2.3. Internal: Diakonia
Following its application to the EU in response to a call for proposals, the Kenya programme
was awarded a 2-year grant to implement a project on decentralised funds. This led to growth in
staff numbers from 2 to 4 and relocation of the country programme to a separate office.
2.3 Programme Analysis of Outcomes Per Result or Theme
2.3.1 Result 1: Democracy: Civil Society Organizations at different levels have
strengthened their capacity and organization to act for the development of democratic
institutions and practice
There was mobilization of a critical mass of citizens to take up action as evidenced by the
formation of local lobby groups, increased capacity to participate in the management of the
projects and the active participation of various groups including youth, women and professionals.
Empowerment of citizens has made them bolder ,moving from complaining and challenging
misuse of public funds at the local level to taking up the issues with the appropriate agencies at a
higher level. In Nyeri, community groups who had been trained by NCCK effectively tracked
Kshs. 16.5 million which had been misappropriated and launched a report with the Auditor
General’s office who took up the issue. Elsewhere, in Ol-kalou, 2 retired professionals filed a
suit that resulted in the allocation of funds for Ol Joorok Health Centre. The rising complaints
have attracted the intervention of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), which has
made decentralized funds an area of focus.
Service delivery by duty bearers at local level has improved as a result of citizens holding them
accountable on utilisation of decentralised funds e.g. community’s success in demanding the
completion of the stalled Nyangori dispensary and Youth Polytechnic in Migori. CLARION,
NCCK and ACK DOSS reported a ripple effect of the awareness creation, citizen organization
and advocacy to other sectors beyond just use of decentralized funds. In the case of the
dispensary, the public were able to petition the Ministry of Health to send two nurses while the
Rural Electrification authority provided electricity. Also, in Kajiado North, community members
successfully followed on evasion of a weighbridge by truck drivers. In Isiolo constituency,
communities went further, addressed the challenge of Female Genital Mutilation and early
marriage for the girls, and emphasized on the need for girl child education.
Improvement in the participation of women in governance was noted over the period due to
integration of lessons learnt. A number of interventions including targeted invitations to women
participants and sensitisation of community leaders on gender equality helped address the
challenges experienced earlier. For example, NCCK used affirmative action from the
mobilisation stage when identifying community facilitators and have reported that from 2009,
over the 30 % mark of the participants in the follow-up activities conducted were female. This
has been successful as some women have taken up leadership roles and are sustaining the
momentum e.g Ms.Everline Musololi who was a housewife in Shinyalu is now a chief social
auditor heading social audits and facilitating accountability forums.
The partners consolidated the gains from project implementation and used their experience to
inform lobbying and advocacy at the national level for sustained impact. In 2008, a Constituency
Strategic Planning Manual was developed by IEA-Kenya combining lessons learnt during the
36
facilitation of strategic planning in 9 constituencies during the pilot project phase in 2007 with
theoretical approaches on strategic planning. The government appreciated the need for
integrated and participatory planning at all levels of governance and requested IEA to lead
CSOs in critiquing the draft planning bill to enhance coordination of development work at the
local level. There has been rising demand by citizens for coordinated participatory community
planning as demonstrated by the increasing number of requests by members of parliament to IEA
for technical support in developing constituency strategic plans.
Having engaged with communities across the country, NCCK & IEA reviewed the decentralized
financing framework and related matters and provided useful input to the Constituency
Development Fund board and the Committee of Experts on the constitution thus ensuring that
citizens influenced the devolved system in the new constitution.
Through their work in public education, lobbying and advocacy, NCSC and WPA-K contributed
to the passing of a progressive new constitution with gains in human rights for all and democratic
governance.
2.3.2 Result 2: Gender Equality: Target groups have strengthened their capacity and
organization to act for gender justice and equality between men and women
There has been a notable increase in the uptake of the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) at the
constituency level. Following increased awareness and capacity building ,women have now
organised themselves in formal groups and have developed skills in development of good
business proposals that attract lending from financial institutions to grow their businesses,
thereby improving economic livelihoods among women and their families. Lucy Wanjiru who
benefited from the fund, credits the fund for enabling her scale up her grocery business enabling
her to feed and educate her children and also access medical care for her disabled child.
WPA-K has been involved in advocacy on various laws and policies through out 2008-10. In
2008, they led the process of preparing proposed guidelines for the WEF framework that were
incorporated by the advisory board. A legal framework for the women’s enterprise fund was
developed in collaboration with the Law Reform Commission. This was completed and the
Women Enterprise Bill 2010 is currently waiting to be tabled in Parliament This legal foundation
will secure the gains made by the fund and promote its growth and sustainability.
They have also advocated for greater representation of women in public positions as per the
President’s 30% directive, collaborating with the Ministry and that of Gender and Children’s
Affairs to develop strategies that would ensure increased representation of women in the higher
job group carders in the Public Service. In 2009, they successfully lobbied the Committee of
Experts on the new constitution for greater representation of women (at least 30%) in senate and
county levels in the proposed new Constitution, enacted in 2010.
Empowerment of women and their increased participation in decision-making was achieved at
both the national and local levels. This is supported by voices of women like Maximilla Omieno,
a widow who had been facing challenges compelling her to join the social economic justice
project supported by WRCCS in Siekunya sub-location, Nambale division of Busia where she
was elected as the chairperson. She has since risen to become an area leader in the location and
is also the local chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake- a national organization supporting
37
women’s empowerment. Elsewhere, 61% of the paralegals trained by LRF are female and some
of them have been appointed to leadership roles in government e.g. Hanna Wanjiku has been
appointed chief of Uthiru Location in Kikuyu constituency.
The enactment of the new Constitution of Kenya, which is considered one of the most women
friendly constitutions in the world is a significant achievement. WPA-K and NCSC sustained an
intensive campaign to ensure that the gains for women were not lost. The new constitution
focuses on improving the status of women and includes affirmative action, guarantees women
positions in government. The bill of rights guarantees social, economic and cultural rights with
recognition of cultural practices harmful to women as unlawful.
2.3.3 Result 3: Human rights: Target groups have strengthened their capacity to monitor,
promote and defend Human rights
Through training by paralegals, citizens have become more aware of their human rights are well
informed about the role of duty bearers, questioning when rights are violated. As a result, more
cases of human rights violations are now reported to the local authorities. A chief from Mogotio
noted that in the past, when he asked community members what they would do in case an underage girl is impregnated by a man they would answer: “the man has to marry her.” However, after
the training by paralegals this has changed and now citizens are reporting such cases to relevant
authorities, which is a shift from cultural norms.
The paralegal approach used by LRF and WRCCS has been successful especially in areas where
accessing the formal justice system remains a challenge. There has also been noted inclusion of
youth, women and persons with disabilities in the projects. Paralegals were instrumental in
human rights education, monitoring violations and providing legal aid on various human rights
issues mainly land and family laws and succession laws.
In Western Kenya, paralegals have educated the community on the children’s Act, property &
inheritance rights, marriage and sexual offences Act. Through the work of the paralegals, most
cases especially those relating to family disputes are being resolved amicably without involving
the courts hence promoting timely justice and ownership by community.
Strong partnerships established between citizens and service providers like local administration
is bearing fruit in terms of efficiency in the justice system, inculcation of human rights, and wellestablished and effective governance structures in the communities. There is increased
emergence of associations by trained paralegals enhancing social sustainability. Some have made
local arrangements to train others in paralegalism. Paralegals have set up networks and are
initiating innovative programmes on their own. For example, Kikuyu Paralegal Network set up a
functioning paralegal desk, and mobilized funds to support some of their projects. In 2009,
community paralegals from Kinoo Paralegal Network were able to make a human rights status
submission in respect to Kikuyu Constituency to the Office of the High Commisioner for Human
Rights under the new accountability mechanism of Universal Peer Review-Kenya was reviewed
in mid 2010.
MCF focused on child rights by training stakeholders on the rights and responsibilities of
children. Child participation was further enhanced by children led forums. Close networking
with the government through the District Area Advisory Councils accelerated advocacy on child
rights. This continued advocacy on child rights led to improved service delivery as evidenced by
38
the excellent performance of MCF schools in national examinations recorded since the
commencement of the project in 2008.
2.3.4 Result 4: Social & Economic Justice: Civil Society Organizations have strengthened
their capacity and organization to act for social and economic justice
The results are closely linked to gains under democracy. With increased understanding on public
expenditure, citizens have organized into various action groups such as social audit groups and
lobby groups. Meaningful participation in planning, implementing and monitoring of local
projects ensured that citizens’ issues were prioritised. Better utilisation of decentralised funds in
service delivery e.g. hospitals, schools and markets helped improve socio economic status. A
group from North Maragoli successfully lobbied management of Mudete tea factory to increase
purchase price of the farmers’ tea from Kshs. 9 to 12 per Kg.
There has been an increase in access to credit by special groups like women as demonstrated by
the rising e uptake of the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) as reported by WPA-K and
CLARION. Women have started new businesses or expanded existing ones using the funds.
This has contributed to improved economic livelihoods among women and their families as the
women spend some of income to cater for the family needs for food, health care and education
for the children. The successful intervention by WPA-K in Subukia constituency transforming it
to be one of the best in terms of WEF funds loans uptake and repayment remains a showcase in
the country especially among WEF national managers and Members of Parliament. Within 2
years, the number of groups benefiting from the fund increased from 4 to 35 and amounts
advanced rose from Ksh. 200,000 to 1.8 million. The women have displayed financial discipline
and there have been no cases of defaulters.
Marginalised groups specifically widows have been economically empowered. They are able to
independently support their families and have earned respect from their in-laws who previously
harassed them on matters of inheritance and property rights. In WRCCS, 40 members of
Siekunya Poultry project started with a minimal contribution of Kshs. 50 each and bought 12
birds for selling. They have ploughed back profits into the business and currently the group has
two heifers.
Members have also replicated the same income generating project in their
homes.OVCs and reformed youth have gained practical skills on various trades including
Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, Tailoring, Carpentry, Metalwork and Masonry alongside
Entrepreneurship and Life Skills training; preparing them for gainful employment. Further,
targeting the surrounding community strengthened social mechanisms and enhanced safety nets
for OVC care.
Through the community based seed production, BEACON started a process of community
empowerment, not just towards production of own seed, but also in the participation of research
that will be able to over time transfer the power of seed production into the hands of local
farmers. In addition, BEACON in collaboration with other organizations has continued to use the
findings of the survey carried out earlier for advocacy towards longer term solutions. They are
engaging policy makers, farmers and consumer organizations to respond to the emerging food
security and safety concerns in the country.
39
2.3.5 Result 5: Peace and Conflict management: Target groups have strengthened their
knowledge and ability to promote harmonious coexistence between communities
The CJPC research findings from the mapping of the root causes of conflict across the country in
2008 informed their choice of the 2010 Catholic Lenten Campaign. The annual campaign that
runs across all levels- from national level to the small Christian communities in the villages was
dedicated towards Peace Building and Conflict Transformation.
The theme; Towards Healing, Transformation, and the dawn of a New Hope: Implementing the
New Constitution was used during the campaigns.
Positive results were noted following peace building activities by CJPC among them trainings
and public forums, establishment of peace border committees and social cultural club activities.
In Kericho, some communities displaced during the post election violence returned to work at
the tea farms. Elsewhere, there has been voluntary surrender of arms in Marakwet/Pokot. Locally
owned dialogue structures have evolved from continuous peace building activities. In Kisii and
Eldoret, 5 peace committees composed of religious leaders, local administration and the
community opinion leaders have been formed. The government has responded effectively and
the local chiefs actively implemented whatever resolutions were made in peace meetings; for
example Mr. Tului Matale the area chief of Kedo Location managed to recover cows stolen by
thieves from West Pokot.
In Kisumu, BAFOPE through its members has played a key role in settling disputes between
different groups and individuals. This has been possible as a result of consistent trainings on, and
application of active non-violent skills of conflict resolution. Mentoring of other youth groups in
order to strengthen and sustain the results from their peace building interventions.
Partners focusing on other themes demonstrated a conscious effort to be conflict sensitive in their
programming. Following the post election violence, transitional justice at local level yielded
good results as evidenced by the work carried out by LRF. The paralegals assisted the
community to identify warning signs of potential conflict areas and initiated preventive
approaches beforehand. For example, in Kikuyu Constituency, paralegals used the Access to
Justice Committees to create awareness and resolve disputes
2.3.6 Capacity Building Result:
At the time of engaging partners in 2008, they faced some institutional capacity challenges
ranging from lack of basic financial skills, equipment ,monitoring & evaluation, report writing
,advocacy among others. This varied from one organization to another. The Kenya Programme
commissioned a comprehensive organizational assessment of partner organizations in 2008 to
inform its capacity building support. Based on the findings, the partners in consultation with
Diakonia prioritised capacity-building interventions and prepared annual institutional capacity
building plans.
Diakonia’s capacity building support was two fold. Joint intervention applied for areas where
there were generic capacity gaps across most partners. This included training on Monitoring,
Evaluation, Reporting & Learning and subsequent accompaniment by Diakonia and Pact Kenya.
Feedback from Diakonia on project reports (narrative, financial & audit) and discussions during
40
monitoring visits have strengthened the partners’ capacity especially with regards to capturing
results of their work and improved accountability. This has resulted in improved quality of
reports including stories and better compliance. Feedback from partners e.g. BEACON is that
other donors have noted the improvement. Other group interventions were around Networking,
Lobbying & Advocacy in view of the changing context with the new constitution, deepening
partners’ understanding of Diakonia’s theory of change and financial management and Audit
guidelines.
In addition, individual organizations have received support in setting up various systems and
structures . For example MCF, NCCK, WPAK were supported to improve their financial
management systems, BEACON and WRCCS received support towards improved governance
structures by addressing issues around the board. LRF received support towards improving its
information management while CLARION enhanced its research programme. BAFOPE set up
administration systems and started the legal process to enhance its autonomy. NCCK, IEA,
WRCCS, CLARION and BEACON continued to strengthen their Monitoring, Evaluation,
Reporting & Learning (MERL) systems.
Capacity building on specific technical areas was also provided. For instance, IEA and NCCK
staff undertook scenario thinking and governance training while ACK- DOSS and WPAK were
part of series of budget tracking training organized by the regional SEJ programme. Diakonia
also mentored staff from respective organizations around issues such as programme
management, resource mobilization and communication.
The Kenya programme institutionalised follow up on capacity building support and this
monitoring was useful in tracking progress and taking appropriate action. Generally steady
institutional capacity development was noted across the partners over the period 2008-10 as
Diakonia allocated more resources (human, financial & technical) to partner capacity building
and accompaniment. However, there are some areas of improvement notably governance
especially the role of boards and mainstreaming HIV and AIDS. Support to partners for HIV
and AIDs mainstreaming was limited due to inadequate staff capacity on mainstreaming among
Diakonia staff. It was therefore need to first enhance internal capacity so that staff can
accompany partners better. The regional staff training on external mainstreaming of HIV and
AIDS that took place towards the end of 2010 set a good foundation. Following the training,
resource materials for mainstreaming by CSOs were distributed to partners and with closer
accompaniment, it is expected that this will improve in the next strategic phase. There is also
need to continue with MERL support given the varied challenges experienced by organizations
in order to sustain its benefits.
2.4 Lessons Learnt based on Selected Outcomes
Knowledge/Awareness creation
Knowledge/Awareness creation as strategy that leads to organization of people for collective
action played a significant role in addressing unfair structures and practices across all the
partners. Mobilization of a critical mass of citizens to take up action is evidenced by the
formation of local lobby groups, increased capacity to participate in the management of the
projects and the active participation of various groups including youth, women and professionals.
41
Empowerment of citizens has made them bolder, moving from complaining and challenging
misuse of public funds at the local level to taking up the issues with the appropriate agencies at a
higher level. These united voices created need for continuous nurturing and strengthening in
order to safeguard gains made so far.
Diakonia and its partners should therefore continue
working on awareness creation on emerging issues especially around the new constitution.
Follow-up meetings and sessions should be organised in order to ensure longer lasting outcomes.
For instance, NCCK, in conjunction with IEA, implemented a “Pesa Zetu Haki Yetu” project
whose goal was to facilitate communities to participate in the management, monitoring and
evaluation of decentralized funds in Kenya. This involved funds- training of community
facilitators, formation of social audit teams, holding of public accountability forums. It emerged
that relating decentralized funds to practical issues facing the constituencies is very effective in
arousing the interest of target audiences. The result is the initiation of self-propelling efforts that
go beyond the particular funds and touch on other development issues within the constituencies.
Influence/Advocacy
Policy processes have the potential to deliver lasting results in addressing unfair structures but
they take time to deliver and expectations need to be carefully managed. For instance, the
passing of the new constitution was a great gain but the impact will be felt long after the initial
intervention. There is need for continuous advocacy however difficult for review of policies and
legal frameworks that guide local development efforts. Meaningful outcomes will also be
achieved if there is a balance in engagement of both the demand side to effectively pressure for
accountability and the supply side to efficiently institutionalize transparent and accountable
frameworks that meet these demands. More emphasis during this strategic period was on the
demand side. Deliberate efforts will be make to build the capacity of duty bearers.
2.5 Synergies Between Partners Facilitated by Diakonia
The Kenya programme continued to bring partners together for mutual learning and sharing.
In 2008, a forum to review the changing country context following the post election violence
and determine how this was going to affect the programme plans for the rest of the strategic
period was held. Partners got an opportunity to undertake a peer review of proposals .The
process also helped identify areas of duplication as well as those that needed to be complemented
by other partners given the partners’ comparative advantage. The NCCK-IEA partnership that
emerged on decentralised funds work is an excellent example of synergies. The project made
optimal use of IEA’s strength in national policy advocacy and strategic planning and NCCK’s
strong capacity in mobilization and follow up through its vast grassroots networks.
Following the success of the partnership between NCCK and IEA in 2008, Diakonia formed
consortium with NCCK and IEA and led the process of developing a joint application to the EU
seeking funds to upscale the work on decentralised funds. The proposal was successful and a 2year grant from September 2010 was awarded. Lessons learnt from previous engagement
including the dangers of limiting women participation when mobilizing through the church and
the need to better engage the ‘supply side’ i,e, duty bearers on decentralised funds for sustained
change were incorporated in the planning and implementation of this scale up.
42
Other collaborations have continued to emerge following the increased networking among
Diakonia partners. CLARION facilitated trainings for staff and communities on new guidelines
for local authority planning in Western Kenya .This was in addition to their previous cooperation
where they provided WRCCS with handbooks on decentralised funds, used to facilitate trainings
at local level thus cutting costs. This interaction provided CLARION with an opportunity to get
feedback that informs its work at national level.
BEACON-a regional network organization established linkages with The Catholic Arch Diocese
of Kisumu and Western Region Christian Community Services who have extensive grass root
networks to facilitate easier access to farmers and farmers groups in the two areas.
LRF partnered with the ACK who provided the Zimmerman church as a free venue during the
launch of the provincial administration report 2009 and also consulted IEA recognised as a
national policy think tank in the development and validation processes of the ‘Citizens
Accountability checklist’. Being a leading research organization, IEA’s research was valuable
many partners in the Kenya programme. For example, research findings on ‘Devolution in
Kenya’ have been disseminated to all the partners for reference. This information informed
advocacy by CSOs on devolution. It also influenced organizational planning with the passage of
the constitution as demonstrated by some of the bridging year applications for partners
implementing work under democracy and SEJ themes.
2.6 Coordination with Other Donors
In 2008, Diakonia Kenya Programme mobilised International NGOs as a move towards a
coordinated response to the political & humanitarian crisis that faced the country. Organizations
that actively participated in this initiative included Save the Children, Action Aid, Oxfam, Pact,
World Vision and Open Society Institute. Regular meetings were held to discuss developments
in the country. The various actors shared information on how they were intervening and their
experiences with a view to avoid duplication and identify areas that still experience gaps e.g.
children and women living with HIV. Other issues discussed included the alarming human rights
violations and the urgent need for protection, opportunities for joint advocacy and how to seize
the opportunity and improve the execution of our civil society strengthening role.
In 2009, Diakonia took part in a lessons learnt study conducted by Danida on core support given
under its governance programme coming to an end in 2010. Two of the five partners receiving
the core support were Diakonia’s partners as well-LRF and CLARION. The findings of the study
provided Diakonia with useful insights on core support as we move to the next strategic plan.
Upon recommendation by Diakonia, the Embassy of Finland got into partnership with WPAK to
complement the work supported by Diakonia on the women enterprise fund. The Kenya
programme also shared information with other donors who fund common partners. For example,
capacity assessment reports for LRF and CLARION were shared with Danida. Subsequently, the
two donors jointly supported CLARION to strengthen its research function as recommended
following the assessment report.
Collaboration with Christian based INGOs supporting democratic governance particularly
CAFOD, Trocaire and Christian Aid on the approach towards the constitution. While donors and
43
INGOs viewed the constitution as a very progressive document especially from a governance
and human rights perspective. FBO partners were opposed to it due to religious convictions e.g.
anti-abortion. Diakonia initiated discussions with these INGOs to share ideas on how best to
approach the issue. It was agreed that there was need to engage the church leadership to
understand each other’s standpoint and continue supporting constitution work through other
democracy partners.
Diakonia continued to be part of the donor networks by participating in donor round tables for
local organizations for example LRF, CLARION and IEA. The donors that Diakonia engaged
with over 2008-10 were Danida, CIDA, Pact, DFID, IDRC,GTZ,UNDP and various INGOs The
staff also took part in forums that discussed different issues in the Kenya context e.g. ongoing
reforms. This served to enhance the technical capacity of staff and improved Diakonia’s
visibility in Kenya.
2.7 Information and Advocacy
The Kenya programme through regular updates kept head office informed on the crisis situation
in Kenya during the post election violence in early 2008, food crisis in 2009 and the constitution
making process in 2010. Diakonia has also made presentations during meetings to discuss
ongoing developments in Kenya coordinated by Sida in Sweden.
The programme and its partners have played hosts to donors and various key stakeholders for
purposes of show casing its work for advocacy and fundraising. MCF hosted visitors from
Swedish Television (STV) 2008 and Radio Sweden in 2010. The crew spent time in their
Ndalani and Yatta homes and recorded interviews and videos, which they shared with their
audience in the Scandinavian countries as part of the annual Children of the World campaign. In
2009, MCF also hosted visitors from a Swedish congregation which has been supporting some of
their project activities- Upplands-Väsby. As a result, the congregation made an additional
donation of SEK 100,000 to aid in the drilling of a borehole as the country was experiencing
drought.
Diakonia Kenya programme made significant contribution to the International Climate change
campaign. Films and photos from the Nzumari/NCCK environmental and sanitation projects
were used as advocacy tools. In addition, a staff member from NCCK took part in the Climate
change campaign during a visit to Sweden for the Poverty, Justice and Climate Change meeting
in May 2009.The NCCK General Secretary took part in a workshop on Religion and
Development. This was part of an ongoing discussion and process between Sida and some of the
Christian faith based organisations in Sweden. They were selected as it was perceived to have
some critical reflections on the topic based on the experiences during the unrest in Kenya in
2008.
2010 saw the filming of BAFOPE project commissioned by Sida providing documentation of
Diakonia’s work in bringing change and transformation and will be useful for communication
and fundraising.
44
Also, Kenya provided HO with information for advocacy as part of campaign by a group of
Swedish NGOs to show the results achieved by use of Swedish funds. A story from Kenya on
how the NCCK/IEA democracy project empowered the local community in Nyeri to follow up
on the public projects and take appropriate action following discovery of misuse of funds was
featured demonstrating how changing unfair structures leads to sustainable impact.
A visit by the Vice-President of the Diakonia Board to Kenya which included interaction with
BEACON -one of the partners implementing SEJ work towards the end of 2010 provided useful
insights on food security and related development in Kenya to be shared with the entire Board.
2.8 Contribution to EU-financed Programme
In Kenya, Sida CIVSAM is co-funding the EU project called “Empowering Communities for
Self Governance and Development”, with Diakonia being the lead agency. EU agreement
number DCI-NSAPVD/2010/244-236. The project runs 1 September 2010 – 31 August 2012.
During 2010, co-funding for the project was allocated from the already approved and allocated
Sida Civsam frame. From 2011, co-funding will be given through an additional contribution
from Sida Civsam.
2.9 Budget and Outcome
2010
Appr budget
5,650,000
Revised Nov
6,444,650
Actual costs
6,882,791
Outcome/budge
t
%
107%
0
463,714
2,732,390
589%
0
463,714
2,732,390
589%
5,650,000
6,908,364
9,615,181
139%
Kenya
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
Balance other donors
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
Comments on deviations
higher than 10%
Note that approved budget
was prepared for 4 months
straight line while the plan
was based on activities for
4 months which included
full disbursements to
partners for year 2010
2008 – 2010
Appr budget
16,255,000
Revised Nov
18,769,650
Actual costs
19,170,033
Outcome/budge
t
%
102%
0
463,714
2,732,390
589%
0
463,714
2,732,390
633%
Kenya
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
Sub-total other
donors
higher than 10%
Note that approved budget
was prepared for 4 months
straight line while the plan
was based on activities for
45
4 months which included
full disbursements to
partners for year 2010
TOTAL
16,255,000
19,233,364
21,902,423
114%
46
3. Country Pogramme: MOZAMBIQUE
3.1 Summary of Diakonia’s Programme in Mozambique
i) The situation in Mozambique
The financial crisis and the national elections are two facts to highlight during 2008 and 2009, at
the side of an attempt to change some structure hindering women to live the life in dignity, with
the approval of a law against domestic violence. The financial crisis has implied a decrease at the
level of economic growth, raising at the same time the number of unemployed people. For the
third municipal elections (2008) 10 more villages acquired the statute of municipalities,
increasing the number from 33 to 43. For the first time an independent candidate was elected, in
the municipality of Beira. The fourth national election (2009) has revealed lack of good will on
the part of the electoral organs, excluding most of the opposition political parties from the race.
The abstention was rather high, close to 60% and the final result gave about 75% of the votes to
the presidential candidate of the ruling party and to their MPs in the national parliament. The
representation of women in the national parliament has increased from c. 30% to 42%, and there
are more women nominated to serve as governors and ministers.
ii) How we work in the country
Type of partner organisations and their location
Diakonia works in Mozambique with CSOs of national outreach, with delegations, member
organisations (for networks) or focal points in all provinces. Diakonia in Mozambique provides
thus funds to CSOs at national, provincial and local level (district and village) and provides also
guidance (capacity building and accompaniment in form of close monitoring) for programme and
administration/finance management, including the audit report process. The CO provides support
in form of capacity building for thematic issues related to the country programme, encouraging
also the partners to network by creating synergies for mutual benefit and for the benefit of their
constituencies, be them composed of right holders or of duty bearers. The CO creates also
opportunities for partners to interact with other CSOs working on similar programmes, to avoid
duplication and to create the principle of valuing the complement received from others.
How long has Diakonia worked in the country
Diakonia has worked in Mozambique since 1989, providing funds for emergency actions during
the time of the armed conflict (1976-1992). However, the CO was only opened in 2001.
Major focus of the programme during the period
Diakonia has worked with 25 partners during 2008-2009 in the themes democracy and
governance, human rights, gender equality, social and economic justice, and conflict
transformation.
The partners of Diakonia in Mozambique act on behalf of, and many times together with, their
constituencies, conducting research before intervening, to grasp better the contents of the
problem/reality. They are engaged in lobby and advocacy for the improvement of democratic
governance and to advance and respect the human rights (focusing on vulnerable groups such as
women, children and disabled persons, and those affected/infected by HIV and AIDS). They
conduct campaigns and write position papers on issues related to social and economic justice,
such as just terms of trade. Finally, considering that elections have always created moments of
tension in Mozambique, partners have been engaged in actions aimed at preventing electoral
conflict.
iii) What Diakonia and the partners achieved.
47
After intensive work during 2007-2008, during 2009 Mozambique has consolidated the
programme achieving good results according to the plan. Partners’ reports, all but a few, are
prepared according to the required standards, accounting for the results of the activities that have
achieved the planned outcome. The audit reports are indicating that the administration and
finance have been handled according to the rules of good management. Synergies among
partners have been consolidated, and many likeminded organisations, those based and operating
from Maputo and those of provincial and district outreach, have created functional networks,
exchanging views, giving and receiving inputs to carry out evidence based advocacy and
complementing one another in the mission of fighting for more space for civil society in State
affairs; improved respect for the rule of law, with increased women’s rights, less violent conflicts
related to the electoral process. An evaluation has taken place in the second half of the 2009,
which has indicated that the programme is on good track pointing out some points where it could
be improved that the CO have already prepared a plan to be addressed.
3.2 Deviations from Original Plans during 2008-2009
3.2.1 External
No deviations have taken place for reasons external to the programme.
Two partners (CJE; G20Z) and have been cut from partnership by middle/end 2008, creating a
deviation in the planned budget for 2009.
The Deviation in Total (2009)
The phase out of CJE and G20-Z by end 2008 left a balance that was distributed to increase the
funds of 13 partners, after evaluating performance, and also of the funds managed by the CO to
be used for capacity building, audit/evaluation, gender equality, and for the running of the CO
programme. The total balance to be used 2009 was SEK 500,000 (CJE), plus SEK 100,000
(G20-Z) plus the balance of 2008, SEK 464,016, total equals SEK 1,064,016.
Budget and Outcome Deviation 2008-2009
The deviation of the budget managed by the Country Office was:
- By end 2008 the deviation was 25% from the total, which was ruled over to be used
during 2009; the budget prepared for 2009 was reviewed and approved by the RO and by
the Swedish Embassy.
The explanations for the deviations 2008-2009 are discriminated below.3
For 2008-2009
i) Country Office Support
- 2008 - 71% of the funds at disposal have been used for running the Country Office. The
deviation was due to the fact that no contract was signed between the CO and the medical aid
firm, as was planned. Besides, one member of the staff did not travel for introduction in Sweden
as planned, for incompatibility with the date. 4% was gained in exchange rate reported to the CO
from HO in Stockholm.
ii) Exchanging network
3
The deviation is commented only if it is higher than 10%.
48
- 2009 - Only 53.42% of funds planned and at disposal have been used for facilitating
networking/synergies among partners. The deviation was because one workshop planned to be
delivered to partners (2009) was not carried out. The theme was “how to mainstreaming HIV and
AIDS in programme”. The other workshop was to be thematic, decided by partners. However,
the high deviation did not interfere much in the final deviation in percentage, because the amount
budgeted was rather low.
iii) Audit/Evaluation
The label audit/evaluation reports on activities related to partners programme and to the very
country programme.
- 2008 - Only 32% of the funds at disposal have been used because only two partners programme
have been evaluate, AMCS and CJE. The deviation was because the other 4 partners identified
for evaluation for 2008 have paid for it in agreement with the CO.
- 2009 - 111.39% above the funds planned and at disposal have been used for the Country
Programme evaluation because of the high cost for procurement. In fact, the CO had to make
three bids to find the consultants, paying for the announcement in the press, and for three
analyses of the proposals by an independent consultant. The total of used funds was thus
111.39%., complemented with the funds of the interim CO.
iv) HIV and AIDS
- 2008 - 88% of the funds at disposal were used for staff sensitisation and for
training/methodology for mainstreaming HIV and AIDS into the country programme as well as
for the local contribution, involving local partners, to the Diakonia Global (International)
Meeting held in Maputo. The deviation was because the costs for the logistics for the mentioned
training became less expensive than planned, because of the facilities the hotel has offered to a
large group.
- 2009 - Only 47.75% of the funds planned and at disposal was used for sensitisation and to buy
material for HIV and Aids awareness, to be used during the AIDS day to the interaction with
partners and the members of the staff. The deviation was because the costs for the material
became less expensive, and the activities with partners in HIV and AIDS awareness were less
cost than planned. However, the high deviation did not interfere much with the final deviation
because the amount budgeted was rather low.
3.2.3 Internal: Diakonia
No deviation due to reasons internal to Diakonia.
3.3 Programme analysis of outcomes per result/theme (2008-2009)
3.3.1 Result 1 - Democracy and Governance: Civil society organisations, at different levels,
have strengthened their capacity and organization in acting for the development and
consolidation of democratic structures and practices.
Diakonia’s partners, more specifically AMCS, AMOPROC (those two operating
local/community radios), CCM, CEDE, the EO, OREC and GMD at national level, CCM-Z,
FONGZA, GPDDZ, G20-Z and NAFEZA at provincial level (Zambézia), and ACAMO,
AMUDZA and ADEMUM, at district and village levels in Zambézia, played an important role in
the electoral processes (2008 and 2009). During 2008 they observed the legal procedures for the
municipal elections and the very electoral moment, which was considered by the observers as
49
fairly legal, transparent and just. For 2009, for the national and provincial elections, under the
coordination of the EO the organisations monitored the process of registering, campaigning, the
very electoral moment and the vote counting. Unfortunately, the 2009 process was not
considered free and fair by all observers, even if the voting day was very peaceful. The Electoral
Commission disqualified many candidates from the opposition parties, without an acceptable
justification. The partners complained to the Constitutional Council but their appeal was not
accepted. For outcome (OCI3) CCM, GMD and Forum Mulher (congregating AMMCJ,
MULEIDE and NAFEZA among other organisations) were elected members of the national
forum of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) (2007); FONGZA, GPDD, G20Z and
NAFEZA were elected as members of the APRM commission at provincial level in Zambézia
during 2007 and continued to be engaged in those positions during 2008-2009 – an evaluation
process that has started during 2008 and ended during 2009.
The consolidation of the G-20, the platform to monitor the government at national and provincial
levels, took place during 2007 with the participation of CCM and GMD in the poverty
observatory at national level, and CCMZ, FONGZA, GPDDZ and NAFEZA in the poverty
observatory at provincial level. Under 2008-2009 however, the platform became dormant, to be
restructured, and its members carried out the planned activities. (ii) The consolidation of the
Electoral Observatory to monitor the electoral process at national and the provincial levels, and
in some districts; to highlight the role played by the Observatory as watchdog using parallel
counting along the official one. The results of the parallel counting were considered by the
electoral authorities for the case of Beira, where an independent candidate won the municipality
for the first time, and for Nacala Porto, a municipality that has had the electoral second turn, also
for the first time. A prominent role in the EO is played by the religious confessions such as
CCM, and by civic organisations such as OREC, under the academic, administrative and
financial guidance of CEDE, all three Diakonia partners. For 2009, the EO has also produced a
report, which has given evidence for fraudulent acts practiced by some electoral officials.
The provincial elections were postponed from 2008 to 2009, after a hard work of the
organisations engaged in the Electoral Observatory, such as CCM-Core and CEDE. The
importance of the fact was because; by postponing the act the Constitution was respected.
The president of the republic intensified visits to the communities during 2007-2009 in what is
called “open presidency”, listening and consulting the people in the districts in matters of
importance for the districts’ development. Even if the initiative could be seen as political for
electoral purposes, the CSOs took the opportunity to train citizens to advocate at local level for
better governance (AMOPROC, AMCS, GMD, CCM-Core, CCM-Z and CEDE). Consultative
Councils have been created and the CSOs have worked with their constituencies to take the
change to consolidate them at district levels during 2008-2009. At present they are making some
(economic) differences in district life. ACAMO, ADEMUM and AMUDZA have participated
actively in Zambézia province on behalf of their constituencies at district and village levels, and
in close interaction with CCM-SEJ, GMD, CEDE, AMMCJ, MULEIDE at national levels, and
NAFEZA at provincial levels.
3.3.2 Result 2 - Gender Equality: Civil society organisations, at different levels, have
strengthened their capacity and organisation in acting for gender justice and equality between
women and men.
50
AMMCJ, MULEIDE at national level, and AMCS and NAFEZA at local (Maputo City) and at
provincial level (Zambézia), respectively, have been engaged with fairly good success, in
lobbying for the approval of the law against domestic violence. Lobbying was carried out during
2008 and 2009, and the law was approved by end 2009.
MULEIDE (together with the Institute for Multiparty Democracy) had initiated a movement
during 2008 to create the Forum for Women Engaged in the Political Parties, launched early
2009, to facilitate the sharing of experiences and circulation of information among women
engaged in different political parties to lobby for a woman’s agenda within those partners; also to
facilitate the continuous training of women in political issues of relevance within their sphere of
action.
Civil society organisations have lobbied and advocated against domestic violence, producing a
bill, tabling it at the parliament for discussion/approval, and had it finally approved. MULEIDE,
AMMCJ, among other members of Forum Mulher have provided sensitisation and arbitration to
conflicts to women and men affected by gender based violence. The violence at large has not yet
decreased but the affected persons/families have been assisted.
3.3.3 Results 3 - Human Rights: Civil society organisations have strengthened their capacity
and organisation in defending and promoting Human Rights
DECOM has lobbied intensively during 2008 for promoting the rights of the citizens as
consumers, organising seminars at provincial and national levels, and sessions of debate with
parliamentarians, leading to the elaboration of a proposal of law which was approved by early
2009 by the Cabinet and handed over for approval by the parliament, to be finally approved end
2009. At provincial level (Zambézia), visually handicapped children and adults have been
assisted by ACAMO, creating during 2008 and 2009 possibilities for formal training enrolling
children at school to increase job opportunities in a later stage, and job opportunities for the
adults to live a life with dignity. Children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS have been
assisted by CSOs such as Kukumbi, to live a life with dignity. They are at present assisted in
health care and are enrolled at school. HIV and AIDS has been a theme highlighted by many
partners, some of them (AMCS, CCM and GMD) developing (2007) and putting in practice
during 2008-2009 a HIV and AIDS policy for their organisations.
The new family law approved and adopted as from 2004 had a major impact in the rights of
women during 2009, thanks to campaigns of sensitisation of CSOs such as MULEIDE, AMMCJ
(at national level), AMCS and NAFEFZA (at provincial level), all member organisations of
Forum Mulher. A law against domestic violence was approved by end 2009, as advocated by
AMMCJ, MULEIDE and NAFEZA, members of Forum Mulher.
The law approved by parliament to grant persons infected by HIV AIDS (free) treatment had a
great impact during 2008-2009 offering a better quality of life for those people who are receiving
treatment, a process that is monitored by CCM-core at national level and CCM-Z and Kukumbi
at provincial level (Zambézia). Those persons are experiencing better quality of life, are living
productively and even to have children considering that the care against vertical transmission is
also part of the legal packet. A new Law was approved by parliament during 2008, against
stigmatisation and discrimination of those infected and living with HIV and AIDS. Lobby and
advocacy by CSOs such as CCM-Core, AMOPROC, CCM-Z and Kukumbi, has contributed to
change the legal disposition.
51
The Constitution in Braille has been disseminated in Zambézia and Sofala, among the blinds and
the amblylops, what has led to a movement of this social group vindicating the right to vote
independently, arguing for the vote ballot also in Braille. The law protecting the consumers is
still in the first stage. It is not yet giving major results but the public as consumers are referring
to it when dealing with the service providers, especially for the services provided by the State.
A new law was approved during 2008 by the parliament, creating the Council for Human Rights,
where the civil society is supposed to be represented. The lobby carried out by of CSOs such as
AMOPROC, CCM-Core and CJE, AMMCJ and MULEIDE, have contributed to the change in
the legal disposition.
3.3.4 Result 4 - Social and Economic Justice: Civil society organisations, at different levels,
have strengthened their capacity and organisation in acting for social and economic justice.
The discussion about the negative effects of EPAs has been a process initiated by CSOs in
Mozambique during 2007, and continued within the civil society agenda during 2008 and 2009
promoting debates to emphasise the envisaged negative effects in the still incipient productive
sectors of the national economy when compared to economies of the highly developed members
of the European Union. Special emphasis in the debate during 2008 was on the negative effects
on the lives of households headed by women. The discussion about the regional trade protocol in
the SADC region, meant to liberalise trade relations among the member countries was also focus
on the advocacy work of the CSOs, concentrating on the emergent private sector in the country
comparing to the highly development economy of South Africa. AMOPROC, CCM-SEJ, CJE
and GMD at national level and CCM-Z and GPDDZ at provincial (Zambézia) level, are the
partners engaged in such debate. To highlight during 2008, the panel organised and facilitated by
CCM-SEJ during the All African Churches Conference held in Maputo, presenting papers/ideas
to lobby the cause towards the duty bearers, mostly governments, taking the opportunity of the
presence of the regional and international press to cover the event to reach the politicians of the
continent. The parliamentary Commission for Plan and Budget has asked the support of CSOs to
better monitor government actions to compare with the expenditure, for better aid effectiveness.
GMD is supposed to coordinate the process. CCM, FONGZA, NAFEZA, GMD, G20Z, GPDD,
CEDE and ACAMO, ADEMUM and AMUZDA are monitoring the government activities to be
presented in a report at the Observatories of Development (2008-2008) producing the annual
position of the CS in form of an Annual Poverty Report. During 2009, unfortunately the
participation was not as successful as during 2007 and 2008.
During 2008, the CS has produced a position paper on Aid Effectiveness, for Accra Conference
on the subject. A process coordinated and captained by GMD and CCM-SEJ.
CCM-SEJ, CJE and GMD have strengthened during 2008 the focus of work on the rights to food
and medicine to the citizens living with and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, culminating in a
substantial impact (as reported above) reported in the inform of the government to the
parliament.
An investment fund for local initiatives was created by government at district level in 2007,
enhancing the role of the citizens in district planning and development during 2007-2009. Those
funds were handled by a Constitutive Council (CC) with the participation of the citizens, women
and men, young and adults. Considering that the CC are invested to the power decision that has
contributed to enhance citizens ‘power at that level of governance the CSOs have worked
actively to enhance the capacity of those CCs (GMD, CCM-SEJ, CJE).
52
A new regulation was approved by the Cabinet in 2007, put in practice during 2008, regarding
the creation of especial forums to promote women in development at each level of government
(national, provincial and district). The regulation is meant to reinforce the position of women in
government and in parliament. The regulation was supported by the work of sensitisation
campaigns of CSOs such as AMMCJ, AMCS, MULEIDE and NAFEZA, as prominent members
of Forum Mulher. The work of partners has highlighted the fact that poverty has a clear
connection with domestic violence (statistics prove that more than 25% (27.8%) of the reported
cases of domestic violence (at national level) are connected to access and uses of resources,
unemployment, and alike.
A law was approved by the parliament, intended to punish premeditated spreading of HIVAIDS. AMMCJ, AMCS, CCM, MULEIDE and NAFEZA have lobbied for the changes in the
legal disposition, and are at present engaged in disseminating the law.
3.3.5 Result 5 - Conflict Transformation and Peace: Civil society organisations have
strengthened their capacity and organisation in acting for peaceful settlement of conflicts.
During 2008 the partners engaged in the accompaniment of the electoral procedures for the
municipal elections, leading to the very electoral act, as well as the process of counting the votes.
The accuracy in the final results can be described as a result of the work of the EO. For 2009, the
partners working together in the EO engaged in the accompaniment of the electoral procedures
for the national parliament, for the presidency and for the provincial assemblies, the very
electoral act, as well as the process of counting the votes. A parallel counting was provided to the
Constitutional Council.
CCM-TAE was engaged during 2008-2009 in collecting weapons and destroying them,
providing at the same time civic education for peace and reconciliation to the communities; an
activity that is preventing conflicts at community level. Those activities are also empowering the
communities, especially women, to contribute to democracy building/consolidation by
participating in community affairs and been engaged in the development process.
OREC’s activities achieved good results with their nucleus for conflict transformation
functioning at community level, mediating conflicts among family members and conflicts among
families living in the same community. OREC has published one brochure about the mapping of
those types of conflicts in the provinces of the Centre of the country. In 2009 OREC has carried
out a research about conflicts related to HIV and AIDS, affecting mostly women.
AMMCJ and MULEIDE engaged in counselling at family levels, preventing the escalation of
conflicts especially in cases of domestic violence.
CCM-TAE and CCMZ have been engaged in community work for peace promoting - CEDE,
Propaz, Justapaz and OREC and the EO have been engaged in dialogues and negotiations with
political partners at national level, for conflict prevention related to the electoral processes (2008
and 2009).
The results of the activities of Justapaz and of Propaz: Justapaz targeting civil servants,
sensitising/training the members of the police force in human rights, for respecting the law and
not take justice on their own hands killing those accused of crimes; Propaz working along the
same lines for sensitising the communities through community leaders; CEDE and EO, working
with community leaders and politicians at different levels.
It is argued by many actors, including Diakonia, that the relatively calm climate in force during
the electoral census and during the electoral process that took place during 2008 and during
53
2009, is an impact of the advocacy work carried out by the civil society organisations (CEDE,
CCM and OREC within the Electoral Observatory). To point out however, that the electoral
process of 2009 was full of conflict; the electoral organs have not being sufficiently transparent;
the electoral law was not precise, in fact it was rather ambiguous, creating spaces for more than
one interpretations of the legal commands: the political parties in the opposition having one
reading, the electoral organs having another reading. The EO has tried to mediate, calling for
calm, meeting all stakeholders, including the international community. However, in the end the
opposition was excluded from many constituencies, and the party in power won a landslide
victory gaining more than 76% of the votes for the parliament and for the presidency. The
situation is such that much is yet to be done by CS to contribute for a climate of peace during the
electoral processes: the journey is very long and the walk is full of uncertainty.
3.3.6
Capacity Building Result (see further analysis in Annex in Excel format)
As an outcome of capacity building provided to partners they have improved dramatically in
programme management and in administration and finance management, including the quality of
the audit reports. More specifically, more partners have adopted the RBM in their proposals and
reports. As for the thematic results, to highlight the difficulties partners faced to mainstream HIV
and AIDS in their programmes and to report accordingly.
3.3.6.1 Commenting the results - Achievements and challenges
- Internal governance – (i) Achievements - All partners held (regular) annual assemblies; all
partners had clear division between social organs and the executive body; most partners were
accountable to members. (ii) Challenges - One partner (CJE), who was phased out by end 2008,
did not keep the rules of internal governance as required by Diakonia; CCM with four contracts
could not absorb the rules of internal governance during the eight years of partnership with
Diakonia. Because of that, even if qualifying in terms of being a key actor in what they are
engaged with, and with a high level of leverage in the society, did not quality for partnership in
the new programme 2010-2014.
- Administrative capacity – (i) Achievements - Partners have improved substantially the
administrative capacity, as comparing to the previous periods (2001-2002, 2003-2006, 20072009), been able to prepare financial reports up to the required standards; the audit reports of
partners have improved substantially, comparing to the previous period 2003-2006 and 2007.
Diakonia has prepared guidelines to follow up the audit reports of partners after the end of the
programme 2003-2006. The documents proved to be a good instrument for monitoring the
observations and qualifications of partners’ audit reports, which have ensured a better
performance in the following years (ii) Challenges - Unfortunately, one partner with four
contracts with Diakonia (CCM) was not able to capture Diakonia’s message about the need, and
the added value in terms of partnership, to keep a good and sound administrative financial
system. Because of that, CCM did not qualify for partnership in the programme 2010-2014.
- Methodological capacity – (i) Achievements - Partners have produced a strategic plan for the
period, and have prepared operational annual plans accordingly. To highlight that: 4 partners (all
of them CBOs) have produced their first Strategic Plan during 2007-2009 with Diakonia’s
support; most partners (80%) have improved the planning capacity, comparing to the previous
period, after receiving training in RBM. (ii) Challenges - Some partners (4) during 2008-2009,
54
are still fixed in inputs as a matter of attitude, reporting mostly on activities, and struggling to
report on results under the RBM methodology.
- Thematic outcomes – (i) Achievements - Partners have become more skilled in the themes
they are dealing, achieving better results from the implemented activities; partners are more
skilled in network with one another, and liking to interact with other organisations to achieve
better results. Two examples are: the alliance that was created for advocacy on aid effectiveness,
captained by the GMD (2008-2009) and the Electoral Observatory that was created (2008-2009)
to monitor the electoral processes, becoming legally registered during 2010. (ii) Challenges Some issues have become too complicated in the actual political debate to be well grasped and
followed as desired by some CSO, especially those active at provincial and district level. The
need for local organisations to network with more skilled (national) organisations for learning by
sharing experiences (avoiding classical lecturing training) is becoming more imperative. The
space opened to CS to participate in district planning is one issue that requires skills above the
present capacity of the local organisations.
- Gender mainstreaming – (i) Achievements - Two partners (feminine organisations –
AMMCJ and MULEIDE) have received specific training in Gender and Development and (2009)
are now able to replicate the training to other organisations in order to improve their capacity in
gender analysis; some partners working outside the theme gender relations, have mainstreamed
gender in their programmes (CEDE, GMD) (2008-2009). (ii) Challenges - The organisations
working on other thematic issues than gender relations are still facing big challenge to
mainstream gender in their programmes. Other type of training, out of the box of the classic
mainstreaming, is required to attack the problem.
- HIV and AIDS mainstreaming – (i) Achievements - Some partners working outside the
theme HIV and AIDS have mainstreamed HIV and AIDS in their programmes (CCM, GMD) –
2008-2009. (ii) – Challenges - The organisations working on other thematic issues than HIV and
AIDS face big challenge to mainstream HIV and AIDS in their programmes.
3.4 Lessons Learned based on selected Outcomes
Among the most important lessons Diakonia highlights the following:(i) Related to monitoring –
That is a hard activity because it is time consuming. However, it is a valid strategy, probably the
best one, to follow up partners’ progress in terms of needs and achievements. The making of a
action plan is used to give clear guidelines to partners about what is expected, and to accompany
the improvements of partners’ actions in the terrain, and to detect, as early as possible, possible
constraints faced by partners when managing the programme (thematically and
methodologically) and the administration/finances. Training focusing on real needs is an element
in the process of strengthening their capacity. In fact, we have learned that the positive results of
the programme are only achieved as consequence of close and focused training, provision of
capacity building (thematically and methodologically), producing and delivering manuals
(administrative/finance and related to programme/thematic), some of those manuals at times
have to be customised to better guide partners’ work; all this work followed up by close
monitoring. The good results appearing more specifically, (i) in the improved quality of the
narrative and the financial reports of the organisations, and in the audit reports without (major)
qualifications, comparing to those reports delivered in the previous period; (ii) in the clearer
connection between results (outcome) and actions (inputs), noticed about the actions
implemented by partners in the terrain; partners making more difference in the society, due to
improved command of the thematic areas in the fields they are engaged on, as compared to the
55
previous period, the increased institutional building taking place along Diakonia strategy for
change – awareness, self organization, action, influence..
(ii) Related to innovation. It was good to innovate adopting new strategies to run the programme;
and two examples illustrate the positive outcome of such initiatives during 2008-2009. (a) The
guidelines the CO has developed in 2007 to follow up the audit reports, prepared after the end of
the Strategic Plan 2003-2006, have been of high value during 2008-2009, used to monitor
partners audit processes from the very beginning of the year. As a result, 90% of the audit reports
were delivered without qualifications, in 2008 and 2009. And, in general, the majority of the
reports had clearly better quality, with fewer recommendations, as comparing to the previous
years/period. (b) The idea to encourage partners to create synergies to make difference also
nationwide, not only to remain confined to influence ideas around Maputo and other provincial
capitals, has produced good results. Partners did interact lively with one another during 20082009, building alliances to complement one another’s work, working together to influence also
the rural areas to carry out evidence based advocacy providing the elements to help Diakonia’s
programme to achieve the planned thematic objectives. One example was the exercise about aid
efficacy, where CBOs from Zambézia composed of rural women as members (AMUDZA and
ADEMUM among others) have participated actively in the production of a position paper
together with a highly academic NGO (GMD) based and operating from Maputo. See one of the
highlight stories below.
3.5 Synergies between Partners facilitated by Diakonia
Synergies among partners encouraged by Diakonia during 2008-2009, supporting with a small
grants funds outside the core funding, were developed along the five pillars of Diakonia’s
programme contributing thus for the achievement of the envisaged/planned results. Among the
activities carried out jointly by at least two partners to highlight: (i) Kukumbi have carried out a
programme together with AMUDZA in Zambézia, involving the members of AMUDZA from 8
districts, to promote ‘gender equality in family and community life’ – 2008-2009. The results
have been raised awareness about the subject among the feminine CBOs (especially members of
AMUDZA) in the region, contributing to achieve the objectives of the theme/pillar gender
equality in Diakonia’s programme. Diakonia has contributed with the thematic expertise of its
staff to design the training material and to develop the methodology to be applied. (ii) The
Mozambican Debt Group (GMD) produced the position-paper of the Mozambican civil society,
mandated by CSOs, about ‘the efficacy of aid’, to be which was presented in the Accra
Conference held in September 2008. The process was to consult diverse CSOs at national level,
to produce the paper, to present the paper in Accra, and to come back and report back to the
CSOs who had participated in the production of the document. The work was carried out with
participation of ACAMO (8 districts), AMUDZA (8 districts) and ADEMUM (1 district) in
Zambézia, and other CSOs - 2008-2009. The results of the activity have contributed to achieve
the objectives of Diakonia’s programme under the theme/pillar social and economic justice as
well as women’s rights. Diakonia has contributed by facilitating the synergy; lobbying the small
organisations to participate in such process that was perceived by their members as rather
difficult; and by supporting in the design of the methodology to be used. (iii) MULEIDE has
carried out an activity together with AMMCJ, for ‘capacity building on family law - lobby and
advocacy’, targeting feminine organisations – 2008-2009. The results are the increasing
participation of feminine organisations in diverse forums of discussion about women, law and
development; women able to discuss also the feminization of poverty especially, and as it did
56
appear reported in the media, during the electoral campaign. The results of the activity have
contributed to achieve the objectives of Diakonia’s programme under the theme/pillar democracy
and governance and gender equality. Diakonia’s contribution has been on the design of the
methodology to be used on the field. (iv) CEDE has carried out an activity together with AMCS,
under the theme enforcement of the role of women working on the media, for observation of the
electoral process – 2008-2009. The result has been so far higher participation of women covering
the electoral process, contributing to achieve the objectives of Diakonia’s programme under the
theme/pillar democracy and governance and gender equality. Diakonia contribution has been in
the design of the methodology for the interaction among the two organisations and the women
journalists.
3.6 Coordination with other donors
Diakonia in Mozambique has been working since 2001 (when the CO was created) in
coordination with likeminded donors, such as TROCAIRE, Christian Aid, CAFORD; a
partnership involving also some Bilateral Cooperation (the Dutch, DFID, and the Swiss, fellow
donors to the Electoral Observatory, as from 2003). The results of such networking with the
bilateral cooperation have been: to agree on receiving reports with same format and common
audits from the EO, and with other donors, for supporting GMD, OREC, AMOPROC, Propaz,
CCM; some interaction producing good results (EO, GMD, OREC, AMOPROC, Propaz), other
interactions producing fewer results (CCM). Such initiative was consolidated during 2008-2009,
contributing to facilitate the administrative procedures of partners’ organisations reflected in a
single narrative, financial and audit report to those donors saving partners time; common and
systematised comments about reports and results of activities have also been delivered to the
partner.
During 2008 an exercise of coordination was initiated among donors supporting CSOs operating
in the Northern part of the country, including Zambézia, aiming at exchanging ideas for future
work for better supporting well established and grass roots organisations at various levels.
Diakonia participated in the meeting which took place in Niassa congregating also the Swedish
Cooperative Centre (SCC), GAS (Swedish INGO), HIVOS (Dutch INGO), the Canadian
Cooperation and a platform to assist local NGOs created by the Dutch Cooperation in Nampula
(the Facility for the Development of Civil Society in Nampula). For the future, the group will
meet once a year to interact on the methodologies used to monitor partners and for exchange of
ideas about best practices.
3.7 Information and advocacy
3.8 Contribution to EU financed programmes
No EU financed project was undertaken in Mozambique during 2008-2010.
3.9 Budget and outcome 2008-2009
2008
Outcome/budg Comments on
et
deviations
Mozambique
CIVSAM
Appr
budget
300,000
Revised
Nov
300,000
Actual
costs
300,000
%
higher than 10%
100%
57
OTHER
DONORS
Balance other
donors
Other
corrections fro
HO
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
18,000,00
0
18,000,00
0
16,462,45
2
1,954,398
18,000,00
0
114,977
20,069,37
5
16,462,45
2
82%
18,300,00
0
20,369,37
5
16,762,45
2
82%
2009
Outcome/budg Comments on
et
deviations
Mozambique
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
Appr
budget
300,000
Revised
Nov
300,000
Actual
costs
300,000
17,000,00
0
17,000,00
0
16,126,67
8
17,000,00
0
1,796,993
18,796,99
3
16,126,67
8
86%
17,300,00
0
19,096,99
3
16,426,67
8
86%
%
higher than 10%
100%
2008-2009
Comments on
Outcome/budget deviations
Mozambique
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
Appr
budget
600,000
Revised
Nov
600,000
Actual
costs
600,000
%
higher than 10%
100%
35,000,000 35,000,000 32,589,130
35,000,000 35,000,000 32,589,130
35,600,000 35,600,000 33,189,130
93%
58
59
4. Country Programme: SOMALIA
4.1 Summary of Diakonia’s Programme in Somalia
Somalis live in a country that is considered a “fragile context”, which means that the State
perpetually lacks the capacity or the will to deliver basic services to its population and where the
legitimacy of the Government may be questioned both internally and externally and where
citizens and other people operate in a fluid and insecure environment with the likelihood of
disruption through multiple sources of conflict leading to insecurity.
Poverty in Somalia is wide-spread and about 43% of the population live on less than US$ 1 a
day. The World Bank estimates the rate of unemployment at 61.5% in urban areas and 40.7% in
rural areas. The gross enrolment rate (GER) at primary school level is one of the lowest in SubSaharan Africa at 24%, with a mere 19% going on to secondary school level. Only 15 hospitals
with a total of 1,223 health staff serve Puntland’s population of 3.96 million. Puntland hosts an
estimated 60,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) who have fled from drought and conflict in
South Central Somalia.
In Somalia, Diakonia has identified 8 key local partners (KLPs), (GTEC, PSU, Kaalo, GECPD
SFS,SDO,WAWA and YET); and 3 Government Ministries (Ministry of Education, Ministry of
Women Development and Family Affairs (MOWDAFA) and Ministry of Planning, as partners
responsible for programme implementation on a long time basis while working with 9 local
Community Based Organisations (CBO) on short-term contracts. Due to the relatively weak
capacity of the partners, Diakonia implements some of the projects directly, while still working
with local and international partners.
Within the period, the autonomisation of Garowe Teachers Education college (GTEC) was
completed, with an operational board of directors and a 5-year strategic plan. The Ministry of
Education (MoE) is now able to carry out inspection of education activities and produce coherent
reports on the status of education in Puntland. A total of 9552 youth were training in both
literacy and numeracy and in vocational skills. A study that traced 4464 youth indicated that 70%
of them acquired employment, of this group, 46% were women.
During the period, the programme grappled with making a coherent linkage between democracy
and education. With the advise of the mid term evaluation, a conceptual framework was
developed that spelled out the linkages between education and democracy, through the human
rights lens. This conceptual framework will be used in developing the future programming for
Diakonia, in Somalia.
4.2 Deviations from Original Plans during 2008 – 2010
4.2.1
External
a) Revolving Loan Fund: The programme expected to enhance employment of the skills
training component graduates, by providing business start up capital in the form of Revolving
Loan Fund (RLF). However, the programme realized that the Somali context complicated the
setting up of RLF, due to issues arising from; groups being formed around clans and families;
high rates of defaulting as occasioned in other RLF projects; issues of interest rates (riba) versus
administration fees in the Islamic context and Somali cultural issues of women and money
60
lending. This led to the cancellation of the RLF component of the project. The result of the
cancellation led to the non accomplishment of one result areas of the programme. In the future
programming, grants (as opposed to revolving funds) for business start up may be explored.
b)
Expansion to Central South Somalia: The programme expected to expand its reach into
the Central South Somalia, however, the insurgent groups in Central South Somalia banned
Diakonia and its partners from working in Central South Somalia in late 2010. The expansion to
Central South Somalia was not realized. This had been identified as a possible threat in the
strategic plan. In future, the programme will engaged in the newly formed federal state,
Galmudug, in Central Somalia. The programme has identified Puntland Human Rights Network
(PHRN) as a partner with a geographical reach into Galmudug and Somaliland.
Internal Deviations
During the period, 4 partners were phased out and 5 new partners added. The changes were made
to improve the coverage of thematic focus as well as improve on geographical coverage of the
programme.
4.3 Programme Analysis of Outcomes per Result or Theme
4.3.1 Result 1- Democracy: The right holders and duty bearers have strengthened their
capacity and organization towards enhanced democratic structure, organization, practice
and social-cultural awareness
Through 8 local partner organisations, a total of 3598 women and youth can read and write from
the adult literacy education offered by the programme. From human interest stories, the women
trained in literacy programme indicated that their engagement with daily chores, like helping
their children with their homework, was now possible. The women felt that their status in society
was improved and could challenge other illiterate persons to acquire education. The enrichment
of the adult literacy curriculum with Civic Education components added to the increase in
knowledge of the learners in issues of good governance and participation in democracy. In
addition, GTEC has a total of 244 teacher trainees enrolled in teacher training diploma courses at
both Primary and Secondary levels, with a 26% female composition and Puntland State
University (PSU) has a total of 814 students enrolled in Certificate, Diploma and Degree course.
In a bid to strengthen the civil society engagement of issues in Puntland, a key local partner
(KLP) programme was initiated, in which 8 local organisations were funded and support in
capacity, to coherently represent the issues of democracy and human rights in their contexts.
The non formal education syllabus was enriched with information on the risks and dangers of
female genital mutilation and other genders related harmful practices, in a bid to educate the
adult learners. The syllabus and learning materials, including examples were tailored to show the
interaction between daily lives of the people and the harmful practices and their effect on the
society.
Through the advocacy of many actors in Puntland, including local organisations supported by
Diakonia, the Puntland government increased spending on education from 1.3% in 2008/2009
year to 1.7% in 2009/2010 year. Although this is a far cry from what is expected of the
government, it is a step in achieving improved democracy in Somalia. The government also
61
enrolled additional 170 teachers to its payroll, bring a total of 888 teachers in employment by the
government since 2008, of which 23% are female.
In improvement of quality of education, annual national examination results at Primary and
Secondary school levels have shown that the rate of failure is reducing. The annual national
examinations are carried out independently by the Ministry of Education. This can be attributed
to the availability of better qualified teachers coming from institutions like GTEC among others.
PSU, a local university finally attained membership of the Association of African Universities
(AAU) and was able to secure 20 UK scholarships for its students. Through the direct funding
from Diakonia, Puntland Community College (PCC) as it was once called became Puntland State
University and therefore could apply for membership in AUA.
With GTEC autonomisation complete, the college is carrying out training programmes from
three different EU-funded projects. The college has recruited regional tutors to assist in quality
training. In order to target rural girls, the college has built a 32-room hostel that can
accommodate 64 girls.
The Inspectorate Unit of the Ministry of Education in Puntland is not able to provided credible
and comprehensive data on the status of education in Puntland. This data is invaluable in
planning the education activities and for budgetary purposes. The MoE has been pushing for the
Education Act to be enacted in Puntland, however, due to changes in the cabinet and difficulties
in the political process, the enactment has not taken place.
4.3.2 Result 2 – Gender: The right holders and duty bearers have strengthened their
capacity and organization towards equality between women and men
The FAWESOM initiative has benefitted 600 girls, by providing bursaries for the girls to attend
school. These girls are targeted for training at the GTEC in a continuation of the girls’ education
initiative programme. The girls supported come from minority and disadvantage groups.
FAWESOM also trained 30 Community Education Committees (CEC) and school administration
staff on gender and education issues. The CEC are formulating resource mobilisation plans in
order to pay their teachers better and reduce their reliance sporadic grants from organisations.
In the creation of awareness on gender issues, workshops on gender and leadership; use of media
in gender advocacy and campaign; and gender in civic education were carried out, reaching an
estimated figure of 900 persons through attending workshops and media.
Female participation and involvement in education plays an enormous role in enhancing the
understanding of gender issues. Within the period, 81 female teacher trainees graduated from
GTEC and another 20 female teacher trainees are enrolled in both pre-service and in-service
teacher training at both primary and secondary school levels. Through GECPD, rights holders
and duty bearers were trained to adopt and implement gender mainstreaming using the 8 manuals
on GBV that were developed within the period. The trained organizations were required to show
the mainstreaming of gender issues in their proposals to organizations. The Ministry of Women
Development and Family Affairs (MOWDAFA) developed a 5 –year strategy that is looking into
women’s empowerment and welfare and gender inclusive development and improved life
expectancy.
In the period ended, 13 women organizations have prepared coherent strategic plans that indicate
improved understanding of the gender issues in their contexts. This has also been reflected by the
improved quality of proposals developed and submitted by the women organizations. Besides,
this knowledge of issues around women the planning has enabled the organizations to attract
62
funding from other donors, apart from Diakonia. For example, because of the training on how to
develop strategic planning by WAWA, two member organizations received money from
UNHCR, two from DRC and one from WFP. Gender Based Violence (GBV) reporting in police
stations has increased, as indicated by police records. This can be attributed partly to the
sensitisation work that has been done by local partner organisations..
4.3.3 Result 3 - Human Rights: The right holders and duty bearers have strengthened their
capacity to defend and promote human rights.
Human Rights promotion in Somalia has been a key issue for the Diakonia programme
throughout the period. In this regard, Diakonia has continued to support 8 organisations in
disseminating and information on Human Rights and creating awareness through media,
workshops, discussion forum, and focusing on cultural and traditional beliefs that negatively
affect people. Through Female Network Centres (FECNET), Peace and Human Rights Network
(PHRN), awareness creation was carried out in the areas of international human rights in
disadvantaged groups of the community, reduction of violations of human rights like Violence
against Women (VAW), Gender based Violence (GBV), Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and
others, and ensuring equal rights and opportunities for all. An approximated 300 people were
reached directly through workshops that targeted local authorities, minority groups, internally
displaced persons (IDP) and the general public, with a specific focus on women and the youth.
In the 2010 celebrations of World Aids Day, the Puntland Aids Commission (PAC), held a
dinner in which persons living with HIV/AIDS were allowed to give their experiences to a group
consisting of high level government officials, business persons and even the president. In
addition, the PAC chairman gave a speech on HIV/AIDS prevention, while holding condoms in
his hands to signify their importance in prevention of the HIV/AIDS spread. This was an
unprecedented show increased engagement by authorities and increasing acceptance of the
people in Puntland on use of the condom in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
4.3.4 Result 4 - Social Economic Justice: The right holders and duty bearers have
strengthened their capacity to promote sustainable management of resources.
In the period, Diakonia was involved in vocational skills training programme targeting youth
between 16-24 years, consisting of women and girls, minority groups, IDP, ex-militia, school
dropouts and unemployed school leavers, with a 50% gender composition. On completion of the
training, tracer studies indicate that 70% have acquired employment in the form of formal and
self-employment, with a minimum income of US$50 per month. A total of 4464 trainees were
enrolled in the Promotion of Employment Through Training (PETT) project in Central South
Somalia and the Skills Training for Employment Promotion (STEO)
The exemplary employment rates are an indication of the demand within the local labour market
for skilled manpower, showcasing the relevance of the skills training programme. This was
especially important for the Central South Somalia, where the youth are easily targeted for
militia work. The projects targeted 10% of IDP, thus assisting in the reduction of vulnerability of
the IDP. The selection criteria used in recruiting trainees included community elders from IDP
camps that assisted the programme in identifying the trainees. The IDP that undertook the
63
training felt that they were in a better position to fend for their families from the income that they
acquired.
4.3.5 Result 5 - Peace & Conflict Management: The right holders and duty bearers have
strengthened their capacity in peace building and conflict management skills
In this result, focus on reducing the negative impacts of the conflict is Somalia was sought.
Partners took part in peace and civic education, peace building and conflict transformation.
Diakonia set up a one-year accompaniment programme on Do No Harm (DNH) in which 8 key
local partners took part and attained Training of Trainers capabilities. The DNH accompaniment
process started by targeting Diakonia’s programme and management staff, after which the key
local partner organisations were trained at both the basic and training of trainer levels. The
process required the organisations in attendance to provide periodic feedback on issues regarding
incidences or situations within their organisations that indicated harm. This feedback is what is
used to enrich future DNH training, as case studies and examples.
GECPD, a local partner, produced a manual on maintenance of peace in Mudug region, a region
prone to prolonged conflicts between conflicting clans. This was after hosting two peace forums
and civic education workshops. Civic education forums on human rights, gender and democracy
and their roles in conflict management, reached an estimated 1000 persons directly and
indirectly. The manual assists communities in conflict to understand the steps to take in the
instance of a conflict and the stakeholder to involve in order to sort the issue out with little
violence.
Diakonia supported a Somali author, Dr. Deqa Olujoog wrote a 2 volume, 1200 page book, “The
Encyclopedia of Somali Peace: Then, Now and Thereafter”, through the local partner, Abyan.
The existing knowledge on Somali traditional peace building methods and processes has been
largely oral and inaccessible to foreigners. The book, which is in Somali language, is an
academic research studying the major roots of the Somali Civil war and the catastrophes that
resulted from the prolonged endless war. It is expected that the book will be used to advise
efforts and interventions made towards improving the traditional peace building mechanisms.
After the DNH training, the trainers from the workshop undertook the task of translating a pocket
sized DNH manual into Somalia, on their own volition. The translated pocket-size book is now
planned to be printed and disseminated to various actors in Somalia. In future, the trainers have
also planned to undertake training for other local partner organisations in the field on DNH
practices.
The book on Somali peace has proved valuable to scholars wanting to study the conflict in
Somalia and therefore requests have been made to have the English translation of the book
printed by an international publishing house in order to have it disseminated to a wider
readership all over the world.
4.3.6 Result 6 - Capacity Building Result
Within the period, Diakonia was engaged with 22 local organisations. There were 5 new
organisations by 2010 and 4 organisations that were on short term contracts were phased out
during the period, in favour of the key local partner programme which was initiated in 2009 in a
bid to focus on fewer but more strategic organisations in Diakonia’s thematic areas.
64
Using monitoring logs as well as capacity assessment tools, the partner capacity was noted and
evaluated to advise the programme on gains made and/or needs that are still unmet. The partners
were provided with an accompaniment process on financial management, that included the
carrying out of financial audits. This was the first time that partner organisations in Somalia had
been subjected to full financial auditing, since financial auditing firms in Somalia are not
internationally recognised. The audit and audit training was carried out by an external
independent auditor over a series of 3 training and auditing sessions.
The Do No Harm process was accompaniment process was carried out over 4 training sessions in
Kenya, Somalia and in Kampala. At the end of the training, trainers from Diakonia and from
KAALO and SFS were ready to carry out further training to other local partners. The trainers
translated a pocket sized Do No Harm booklet into Somali. The pocket-sized book is meant to
become a quick reference to development practitioners.
Training on project cycle management revealed new strengths in some partners that resulted in
planning of experience exchanges. For instance SFS was able to enhance their HIV/AIDS
programming by learning from GECPD. It has been realised that the most effective training is
achieved through the period or day-to-day accompaniment of partners in specific areas of
challenge. This was realised by the success of the audit and do not harm training.
Mid-Term Evaluation of the Democracy and Education Project: The logical framework analysis
(LFA) of the democracy programme lack smart indicators. This arises from the fact that working
through partners requires a degree of flexibility which allows partners to find their niches.
However, measurability of achievements of the programme are then hampered and difficult to
show. Two options are provided to remedy this challenge. One, to have a very specific logical
framework analysis and very specific partners assigned to results in the LFA. Two, have a
general LFA without specific indicators, then issue a call for proposals in which partners would
make specific targets and indicators that fit into what Diakonia wants to achieve. Although the
latter is seen to be a preferred way forward, due to the current investment made to the key local
partner programme, a specific LFA is envisaged in the medium term.
In addition, the current Democracy Programme has a lot of Education components in it, this has
led to the confusion as to whether the programme is an education programme or a democracy
programme. The initial thinking was that education was the entry point for democracy in the
fragile situation of Somalia. However, this has led to the challenge of showing the linkages
between education and democracy. Thus, the programme has developed a conceptual framework
that shows the linkages between education and democracy in the lenses of human rights.
Revolving Loan Fund: The RLF within the context of Somalia proved to be more challenging
than envisaged and therefore the Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) was not implemented in the
period. There were major difficulties to designing the RLF without doing harm. A context
analysis of the RLF highlighted issues related to;
 groups being formed around clans and families,
 look into the ways of reducing defaulting in payments,
 address the issues of interest (riba) versus administration fees in the Islamic context,
 Somali cultural issues of women and money lending
It is envisaged that the piloting of the RLF will be done in future, using FAWESON, and their
scholarship programme that assists the very disadvantaged girls, the RLF can be built into it as a
65
way of targeting the families of the girls. This would then make the mix between the various
clans a possibility. It is also hoped that since the families have girls supported by the project, the
rate of defaulting would be reduced. In this way, the RLF can be piloted in Phase IV and
extended to other components of the project as the lessons are learnt.
4.5 Synergies between partners facilitated by Diakonia
Among the 8 key local partners, education institutions GTEC and PSU are sharing curriculum
and experiences on tertiary education issues in Puntland, thus enhancing the delivery of services
to the people of Puntland.
The key local partner programme has enabled the Somalia programme to diversify in coverage of
the thematic areas, while complementarities are found among the partners who are sharing ideas
in areas where themes overlap. For instance SFS has benefitted from the previous work of
GECPD, while GTEC and PSU continue to share on issues in education processes.
Coordination in Somalia is done through Coordination of International Support to Somalis
(CISS) and particularly by the Somali Support Secretariat (SSS). In this coordination
mechanism, Diakonia is the co-chair in the Education Sector Committee (ESC), where all
education actors (donors, implementing organizations, government, etc) meet to ensure that the
international support provided to Somalis is utilized effectively and efficiently, as part of
enhancing aid effectiveness. At the ESC, donors such as EU, DFID, SIDA, USAID and JICA are
represented. In the ESC, Diakonia is also a member of the Technical Vocational Education and
Training (TVET) taskforce, which meets in a bid to harmonise TVET activities in all Somalia, as
part of good partnership practises. Through this engagement, Diakonia has received numerous
requests for partnerships by other international organizations.
4.8 Contribution to EU financed programmes
During 2008-2010, the Somalia programme took part as lead agency or partner in the following
EU funded projects, where Diakonia’s share of the co-funding were managed from the
previously approved and allocated Sida Civsam Frame;
o Promotion of Employment through Training (PETT) project in Central South Somalia –
10% Civsam contribution to Diakonia’s specific parts of the project. Diakonia being the
lead agency. EU agreement no: 564/NGO/ED01-06. Project implementation period 1
January 2007 - 31 May 2009.
o Skills Training for Employment Promotion (STEO) project in Puntland – 10% Civsam
contribution to Diakonia’s specific parts of the project. Save the Children DK being the
lead agency. EU agreement no: 9 ACP SO 7/8. Project implementation period: 1 August
2008 - 31 July 2010.
o Strengthening of Secondary Education and Teacher Training (SOSETT) in Puntland –
10% Civsam contribution to Diakonia’s specific parts of the project. African Educational
Trust being the lead agency. EU agreement no: 9 ACP SO 7/4. Project implementation
period: 4 June 2008 – 4 June 2010.
o Strengthening Access and Participation in Secondary Education (SAPIS) in Puntland –
10% Civsam contribution to Diakonia’s specific parts of the project. African Educational
66
Trust being the lead agency. EU agreement no: FED 2009/2017-402. Project
implementation period: 9 October 2009 – 8 October 2012.
o Strengthening the Capacity of Teacher Training in Primary and Secondary Education
(SCOTTPS) in Puntland – 10% Civsam contribution to Diakonia’s specific parts of the
project. Save the Children DK being the lead agency. EU agreement no:
FED/2009/D/1544. Project implementation period. 1 November 2009 – 31 October 2012.
2010
Outcome/
budget
Somalia
Approved
budget
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
Revised Nov
795,000
995,000
17,282,548
17,682,923
Actual costs
Comments on
deviations
higher than
10%
%
995,000.00
100%
17,671,133.00
4,984,285
17,282,548
22,667,208
17,671,133.00
78%
18,077,548
23,662,208
18,666,133.00
79%
See comment
below
See comment
below
2008-2010
Outcome/
budget
Somalia
Comments on
deviations
higher than
10%
Approved
budget
Revised Nov
Actual costs
CIVSAM
1,995,000.00
2,395,000.00
2,221,111.00
93%
OTHER
DONORS
58,389,641.00
62,774,520.00
54,523,442.00
87%
See comment
below
Balance other
donors
58,389,641.00
62,774,520.00
54,523,442.00
87%
See comment
below
Sub-total other
donors
60,384,641.00
65,169,520.00
56,744,553.00
87%
See comment
below
%
Comment on the deviation:
The Democracy Programme had a no cost extension into 2011, therefore the remaining funds were to be used in the
extension period.
Due to the varying implementation time frames for the EU funded projects, balances are always available.
67
5. Country Programme: SOUTH AFRICA
5.1 Summary of Diakonia’s Programme in South Africa.
5.1.1 The situation in South Africa
Seventeen years into democracy, South Africa has accomplished significant victories which have
placed it as a beacon of hope and inspiration to the rest of the world and to nations reeling from
conflict and to those still embroiled in struggle. South African has come to be seen as one of the
leading countries in Africa because of its progressive constitution. Significant challenges that
have prevented South Africa from realising all the elements of its progressive constitution have
been delivery, implementation and its history of apartheid. The ANC led government continues
to hold majority support and thus dominates not only parliamentary politics, but also within the
tripartite alliance.
Unfortunately South Africa is also quickly developing into one of the countries with vast
inequalities and the challenge of bridging the gap is being championed by unions and civil
society organisations. With the global financial crisis it became even more evident that civil
society is still very dependent on donor funding and its capacity is largely limited by a shrinking
funding environment and weak leadership. The last three years have witnessed a retreat of major
progressive organizations and networks that were instrumental in shifting the development
agenda towards one which deals head- on with the structural nature of poverty and inequality in
SA.
The South African government has repeatedly expressed a commitment to gender equality and
has established supportive institutional frameworks and structures with the intention of
translating this commitment into action. With regard to women’s representation, the SA
government has done exceptionally well with regard to the percentage of women in parliament
and government. Unfortunately, the high representation of women at many different levels in the
public sphere has not brought about substantive change for the majority of poor black women in
the country. The abuse of women and children, crime and the inability to access democratic
rights are some of the challenges eroding the democracy of South Africa.
The South African government has committed itself to achieving the Millennium Development
Goal of halving the proportion of the population living in absolute poverty. South Africa has an
increasing rate of unemployment, and the unemployed are predominantly black and women and
rural poor are over-represented amongst the unemployed.
Diakonia in South Africa has been working to increase the democratic and human rights of the
vulnerable and marginalises members of society. Inequality has continued to be a unifying
theme for the work of Diakonia.
5.1.2 How we work in South Africa
Diakonia has made a significant mark in the lives of their target group in South Africa as it has
focussed on working with different levels of the South African society through supporting work
of local civil society organisations, and at grass root level within the local communities.
Diakonia’s work with its partners in the country has focussed on promoting human rights,
68
democracy, social justice and gender equality. In the years that Diakonia has been in the country
it has worked in collaboration mainly with organisations that have a strong Christian base to
promote democracy, human rights, social economic justice and gender equality. Diakonia
together with its partners has targeted its work on the most vulnerable and marginalised, women,
people living with disability, and people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
5.2 Deviations from original plans
The key causes of deviation from original plan by partners were the xenophobic violence in 2008
and the global financial crisis that affected partners in 2009 and 2010. There were some partner
organisations which had staff resign and could not fill the vacancies. Staff changes within the
partner organisations resulted in some elements of the different programs being put on hold in
the transition. Other deviations were in relation to opportunities presented to the partner
organisations that the organisation felt would be strategic to embark on. All the deviations were
in support of the programs and strategies within the partner organisations, such as the Churches
of Channels Hope which was training on the methodology to enhance the work with HIV and
AIDS.
5.2.1 Xenophobia
South Africa experienced shocking xenophobic violence in May - June 2008. Violence,
intimidation and harassment against foreigners spiralled nationwide and drew international
condemnation. Government and civil society scrambled to respond effectively to the crisis which
left thousands homeless and vulnerable. A number of partners ploughed their resources into
emergency aid measures. Partners used their own organisational resources and budgets from
within each program to address the issue. No separate budgetary line items for this work were
created. The impact of the attacks directed partners’ agendas for the duration of the year. The
partners continued implementing their programmes and as such results were not affected.
However additional work was done to respond to the crises. This included; PACSA who
initiated an Anti-Xenophobia Coalition to engage with foreign nationals and interested
stakeholders, DCoC who worked with churches in the eThekwini municipality to provide
blankets, food and shelter to victims of the attacks and offered counselling and healing sessions.
In their analysis, partners concluded that some of the causes were related to lack of service
delivery in poor communities and to issues of racism, which is often hidden, but definitely
present in our midst.
5.2.2 Global Financial Crisis
A number of partners saw their budget diminish or slashed with the intensification of the Global
financial crisis. The unavailability of funding was the main reason for deviation for most partners
who had to either abandon programs planned or reduce the scale of implementation in 2009 and
2010. ESSET could not conduct workshops for the TSET project in the second part of 2009
which resulted in the program not being completed in some of the provinces.
69
5.2.3 Internal – Diakonia
There were retrenchment costs of SEK 700,000 in May 2010 monthly report. The decision of
supporting partners with extra funds was based on incorrect figures.
2.3 Programme analysis of outcomes and impacts per Result
5.3.1 Result 1: Democracy CSO’s have strengthened their capacity and organisation in
facilitating and acting for development and consolidation of democratic structures and
practices
DCoC conducted conflict and mediation workshops in the build up to the election process which
resulted in clergy from the different churches participating in the elections and engaging with
political leaders from different political organizations. They also participated in elections with
the KwaZulu - Natal Democracy Election Forum and engaged the Independent Electoral
commission. There were also some of TEASA’s member churches who participated in election
monitoring to ensure fair elections. As a result partners contributed to South Africa being able to
host for the fourth time, democratic elections which were declared to be free and fair.
During the period under review 29 of PACSA’s community partners mobilized for change
through democracy and advocacy projects. Part of their impact is demonstrated through an
active KwaMpande Water Committee which was requested by the municipality to assist the
municipality in building and establishing cooperation between the municipality and the local
residents of a new informal settlement. The KwaMpande Water Committee continues to work
for universal access to water for the whole community. By the end of 2010 about 70 of the 81
households in need of water connections had been connected. This means that the objective of
universal access to water has almost become a reality in KwaMpande. The PACSA water project
also assisted the Edenvale Ward School to fight its high water bill which resulted in the school
saving over R 1 million.
PACSA has also contributed to a policy shift in the free basic electricity policy by the Msunduzi
Municipality where the municipality now allocates 200kWh of free electricity to poor
households per month instead of the 50 kWh that they used to get before PACSA and its
community partners embarked on the campaign. This shift has affected most households (637
000 people) and it resulted from a free basic electricity campaign conducted in the middle of
2010.
A number of forums were formalized such as the formation of the Free State HIV and AIDS
Coalition through the TSET project that successfully lobbied government to lift the moratorium
on the roll out of ARVs. There are a number of informal traders organizations supported by
ESSET that formalised in Kliptown, Jubulani and Soccer City in Johannesburg. The
formalisation of these Trader’s organizations enables traders to challenge government
specifically on the by-laws that are discriminating against informal traders. Municipal police
would violate traders’ rights by confiscating their goods and traders would not being able to
70
collect all their goods. As a result traders have been able to influence the formation of the city
by-laws to accommodate the traders’ rights as well.
The FIFA World Cup presented a lot of opportunities for the country but at the same time
presented some challenges for the sector that Diakonia’s partners are working within. With the
build up to the world cup partners created spaces for themselves to engage government and FIFA
on policies that were not pro-poor. Informal traders supported by ESSET made submissions to
the Premier of Gauteng during the State of the Nation Address and took FIFA to court in relation
to the FIFA by-laws. They embarked on campaigns to fight against the exclusion from the World
Cup and the violation of their rights. These campaigns resulted in Government engaging the
Informal Traders on how they could benefit from the World Cup. Over and above shifts within
the struggles of informal traders, the National Trader’s Forum and its structures are getting
recognition from government. Traders participated in the submissions for the drafting of
municipal by-lays and they are therefore beginning to inform the agenda of government.
Currently the municipal plans in the City of Johannesburg are clearly reflecting the plans to
address the needs of the traders.
5.3.2 Result 2: Gender
CSO’s have strengthened their capacity and organisation in
relation to the empowerment of women, and gender equality
Partners participated in the campaign in different ways such as campaigns on the rights of
Women Traders and issues of domestic violence and abuse of women and children. This has
resulted in a significant increase in the participation by the churches in this campaign. A case in
point is the participation of the churches in the national campaign of 16 Days of no Violence
Against Women and Children. Churches participation varies from partaking in activities of
Diakonia partners to having their own program and campaigns. Other Gender Justice campaigns
conducted to raise awareness were the Sport Against Abuse and Thursday is Black for the youth
supported by DCoC. The outcome of these campaigns has been an increase in number of women
and young girls speaking up against abuse. A case in point is young women that participated in
DCoC’s Thursday is Black campaign indicated during evaluation that there were a lot of
behaviuors that they were not aware that it was a violation of their rights and because they now
knew they were able to speak up against abuse. There has also been an increase in the men
advocating for alternate behavior which has contributed to healthier relationships.
The participation of men through men’s forums has helped to step up men’s participation in the
realization of gender equality. PACSA has been a pioneer in this area and has helped to support a
number of Men’s forums that have undertaken Gender and HIV conscietisation which has
increased the number of men testing and breaking the stigma of HIV. Through the work of
PACSA’s 3 CBO men’s partners, 938 men were reached in 2010. Through these Men’s CBO
they participated in training and support groups were formed for the men infected and affected
by HIV and ADIS. As a result of men advocating for alternate behavior, women have felt
supported in their plight and have been speaking out about domestic violence and gender abuse.
The Men’s and Gender project has formed support groups for mentoring and supporting new
leadership of women’s groups formed. The Mpophomeni Men’s Forum was also launched with
the support of PACSA and the forum has supported local churches in implementing gender and
HIV activities.
71
PACSA’s strength in gender and HIV mainstreaming has been recognised by two of its long
standing donors, Christian Aid and ICCO, who have entered into a consultancy partnership with
PACSA to offer mainstreaming training and support to their other South African partners.
Khanya College established a dedicated gender program that has helped to mainstream gender in
all its programs through a Women’s Advice Centre which was launched in 2010. They
developed a code of conduct on sexual harassment that has been added to the College’s Code of
Conduct. A Women’s Reference Group was also formed to ensure that gender is mainstreamed
into all aspects of the network with a focus on the impact of HIV and AIDS on women on farms.
Khanya College is drawing large numbers of women activists. They have embarked on a strategy
to get more women to participate through the college’s 50-50 representation.
DCoC has revised its gender policy and through it women members of 45 self help groups have
benefitted financially and spiritually resulting to their emotional well being. Concerted efforts
by CCJ to access justice for women and children resulted in widows getting inheritance e.g. one
widow got R 500,000 and a group of widows and children recovered R2,095.048.43. Children
are getting empowered in rights issues and men who are victims of domestic violence are
accessing services.
ESSET conducted focus groups for women Informal Traders which resulted in the formation of a
Women’s Informal Trader’s Forum in 2009. The formation of the Women’s Informal Traders
forum has played a significant role in democratizing the struggles of the women traders. Not only
are the women traders leading their own struggles as they have confidently taken up leadership
positions, they are engaging government to deal with challenges that are faced specifically by
women in the sector.
At a national level, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) held a
conference on the Implementation of the Domestic Violence Act to reflect on lessons of the
Implementation of the Act during the last ten years. The conference found that civil society’s
efforts have focused on responses by the state in the implementation of the Act, service provision
and less on prevention. A conference journal was published and has been used as a tool for
lobbying government.
5.3.3 Result 3: Human Rights CSO’s have strengthened its capacity and organization in
defending and promoting Human Rights i.r.t. women’s rights and the rights of PLWA.
CCJ in partnership with the South African Police services and the Office of the Premier have led
successful campaigns of the 16 days of Activism against the abuse of women and children. The
work of CCJ has drawn in former perpetrators who are now advocating for the support services
of support offices and demanding recognition of human rights..
DCoC has been providing stress and trauma counselling and self help groups for those affected
and infected in rural KwaZulu Natal throughout the period under review. Through its
environmental programme it initiated sustainable food gardens for families affected by HIV.
This has helped to create livelihoods for families that were destitute and also provide food for
72
people infected by HIV and AIDS. DCOC has also hosted a course on ‘Churches, Channels of
Hope’. The course enabled participants to look at their self, the facts around HIV/AIDS, and
how to mobilise churches for effective involvement. DCoC’s Churches Channel of Hope
methodology on dealing with HIV and Aids has been shared with other organizations.
The SACC holds a permanent seat on the governing board of the South African National Aids
Council (SANAC) which is working to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to
HIV/Aids. Within a partnership with the Treatment Action Campaign, a series of workshops on
Preventing Mother to Child Transmissions (MTCT) were held across South Africa. This led to
an increase in awareness of preventing MTCT and a commitment by participants to engage in
safer sexual practices.
By 2009 there were 214 TEASA’s member churches active on the HIV program, who have
contributed to changing the way churches respond to the epidemic with more infected people
disclosing status and accessing treatment and support of which 65% of the congregants are
female. This work has contributed to the changes witnessed in Church leader’s attitudes as they
integrate HIV and AIDS in their sermons.
5.3.4. Result 4: Social and Economic Justice CSO’s have strengthened their capacity and
organisation in acting for social and economic justice
Partners during this reporting period have contributed to a body of knowledge on social and
economic justice. ESSET conducted a study and launched a report on the Values that Underpin
the Current Reality in South Africa which they have presented at seminars. Zibambeleni on the
other hand developed a strategic position paper for the State President on Fast Tracking Delivery
of Land Reform which the government is still engaging with. DCoC launched the Pilgrim of
Hope book.
Throughout the period under review ESSET has embarked on mobilizing support for the
maginalised groups with a specific focus on the homeless and Informal Traders. This was done
through the Worker Sunday Campaign and Daily Bread digest publication focusing on
mobilizing churches. The campaign boosted confidence of the churches and church leaders to
contribute to the restoration of the poor. As a result there were a number of churches that
supported the Cloverdene Homeless community campaign where the community was able to get
their land back. Through the TSET project the Maila community embarked on an advocacy
campaign which enabled them to get access to ARV.
A number of partners,, DCoC and PACSA, have been involved in the monitoring of municipal
budget through working on the People Budget Campaign and the Civil Society Budget Watch to
lobby for pro-poor national spending and allocations with regional SEJ partners.
Through processes of negotiation, mediation and lobbying ZDO has contributed to 3600 landless
people having secured tenure to the land. Zibambeleni was instrumental in putting a mediation
process in place between land claimants and invaders. Through advocacy and lobbying strategies
employed by Zibambeleni, the Department of Local Government and Housing built a One Stop
Multipurpose centre in Muden and the Minister of Health approved the building of a community
clinic.
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Gender based violence workshops were conducted for women Self Help Groups which had an
impact on their work and self confidence as they have been confident to deal with their
respective abuses through accessing services. DCOC has set up 39 self help groups in selected
communities. The women involved in the self help groups are increasingly able to meet their
basic needs and to engage local authorities. In addition, some of them have also been asked to
serve in school governing bodies because they have demonstrated leadership qualities. PACSA
and DCoC have encouraged core church groups to establish vegetable gardens and some are
generating income from these. The “basic needs basket” research assisted in strengthening the
Right to Food Campaign. ESSET work on food security with the people in Makhuduthamanga
communities has resulted in the documentation of the dialogues which were shared at the
economic Justice network on Social effects of the Global Crisis.
ESSET conducted focus group discussions for women traders which resulted in the formation of
an Informal Traders Women’s Forum who also engaged in dialogues with all traders on Poverty
Day. Women Informal Traders Forum made submissions to Department of Safety and Security,
Department of Economic Development, and the Office of the Presidency to demand respect and
recognition for their contribution to economy. This has resulted in the City of Johannesburg
establishing an informal trading forum for the implementation of by-laws to engage informal
traders. The clergy’s and ministers have also pledged support for the struggles of informal
traders.
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Partners continued to work together in a number of different projects during this reporting
period. DCoC and PACSA have worked closely on PACSA’s Churches Channel of Hope
methodology and Thursday is Black campaign. This relationship between these partners has been
significantly strengthened. Another important synergy is between PACSA and ESSET who have
been working on the TSET project over the last five years.
Three partners, PACSA, ESSET and the SACC worked on a joint project to train community
members on issues of SEJ and economic literacy in 2008. Diakonia directly supported the
strategic planning of this project.
The DCoC, PACSA and the KwaZulu Natal Christian Council (the provincial wing of the
SACC) worked on a “healing of memories” project as part of their reconciliation and peace
building programme in 2008. These partners, who are all faith based, had realised that issues of
reconciliation between the races remain critical in their church bases. They combined their
resources to develop a common agenda.
The CCJ engaged with the regional HIV programme by attending an HIV/Aids workshop in
Nairobi. They also participated in the CSVR conference on Domestic Violence which
contributed to a better understanding of their work on gender based violence. Diakonia supported
both of these networking activities.
The DCoC also participated in a follow on workshop on budgetary processes and advocacy cycle
management as part of the regional Diakonia SEJ programme. This enabled the staff to gain a
better understanding of global economic processes; and this assisted the partner to develop more
in depth economic literacy courses.
The SA country office initiated a partnership with the Norwegian Church Aid Regional office on
Monitoring, Reporting and Learning (MRL). The project was a joint initiative based on the need
for improved and effective reporting and monitoring. The Monitoring, Reporting and Learning
project in collaboration with Norwegian Church Aid was a key focus of the programme.
Reporting, proposal and monitoring visit formats were adapted and shared by the donors and
partners have received capacity building to use these formats. In house support to partners to
improve planning, monitoring and reporting was also conducted through this project. This has
resulted in some improvement in reporting and clearer partner programs.
The country representative was also part of the Donor Network on Women and this strengthened
networking around and knowledge on gender issues. This co-operation with other donors has proven
to be extremely useful.
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5.7 Conclusion
Although SA is considered to be a middle income country the legacy of patriarchal colonialism and
apartheid are still visible in most contexts in SA. High rates of unemployment and wide scale poverty
is rampant, as is gender based violence. The majority of South Africans remain poor, oppressed and
exploited, with poor black rural women being the worst off on all fronts.
Diakonia’s thematic focus remained highly relevant for SA, since it addressed key societal problems,
such as; lack of qualitative participation for sustainable development, high levels of violence against
women, women’s land dispossession, discrimination and injustice against women in public and
private spheres; poverty and socio-economic injustice, violation of human rights and discrimination
against people living with HIV and Aids, Societal, community and ethnic conflict.
As an international donor agency, Diakonia has had significant and longstanding relationships with
partners in SA. The impact of the work of Diakonia in the country is evident in the changes that
partner organisations and their constituencies have been able to report. The organisation has
established its credibility and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge which can be shared with other
donor agencies and stakeholders.
2010
Outcome/
budget
South Africa
Appr. budget
CIVSAM
Revised Nov
Actual costs
%
2,777,000.00
2,777,000.00
3,203,168.00
1.15
2,777,000.00
2,777,000.00
3,203,168.00
1.15
Comments on
deviations
higher than 10%
Due to phase-out of
programme there were
unpredicted
retrenchment costs
of SEK 700,000 in
May 2010.
OTHER DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
76
2008-2010
Outcome/
budget
Comments on
deviations
higher than 10%
South Africa
Appr. budget
Revised Nov
Actual costs
%
CIVSAM
14,832,000.00
12,842,000.00
12,144,101.00
0.95
14,832,000.00
12,842,000.00
12,144,101.00
0.95
OTHER DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
TOTAL
77
6. Country Programme: Uganda
6.1 Summary of Diakonia´s Programme in Uganda
6.1.1 The situation in the country
Uganda is a low income country with a population of approximately 31.7 million and a very high
population growth rate at 3.2% per annum. Life expectancy averages 52.1 years and the HIV
prevalence is at 6.4%. Thirty five percent (35%) of the total households live on less than 1 US
Dollar a day and the national income per capita stands at 330 US dollars (UBOS, 2009).
Political & legislative developments:
The quest by Government to bring services nearer to the people has created pressure for creation
of new districts leading to an increase in the number of districts from 56 in 2002 to over 100 and
1010 sub counties in 2010. The consequence has been increased public administration
expenditure, partly due to the creation of economically unviable sub-national entities with
limited capacity to attract, deploy, and retain skilled personnel and professionals. The elections
brought into parliament 378 new MPs, rising in number from the 332 MPs in the 8th parliament
as a result of the creation of the new districts.
In Karamoja which has experienced insecurity for many decades, various human rights abuses
have been reported in the cordon and search operations linked to the disarmament process with
continued concerns over the inflow of small arms. Acholi, Lango and Teso sub regions are
recovering from the protracted two decade long conflict, which resulted into general destruction
of social, cultural, economic and political infrastructure, thus diminishing opportunities for
access to education and skills. The region is confronted with a whole generation of low quality
population which has had no access to quality education and skills training.
President Yoweri Museveni was declared winner of the presidential elections in Uganda, with a
68.36% win, setting out on his sixth consecutive term, versus his closest Opponent retired Col Dr
Kizza Besigye at 26%. The election voter turn out was low with a registered 40.7% of the
registered voters not casting their votes. Mr. Museveni is under pressure to make improvements
in service delivery, the creation of jobs for the youth, and to consolidate the rule of law including
fighting corruption.
Legislative developments
Uganda has a comprehensive legal, policy and institutional framework intended to eliminate
gender and other inequalities. Discrimination of women and LGBT persons continue with the
slow implementation of the necessary laws like the anti-Female Genital mutilation act and the
tabling of the regressive homosexuality and the HIV prevention bills. The enactment of key
legislation like the Marriage and Divorce Bill faces stiff resistance from Muslims and
traditionalists.
On the other hand, the NGO advocacy against the NGO registration
(Amendment) Act 2006 and regulations continues.
Diakonia works mainly in the Karamoja region of Uganda, focusing in improving the living
standards of the most vulnerable people
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. The program is implemented by 14 partner NGOs, mainly based in Karamoja but with others
strategically placed at national level to support strategic level advocacy, drawing from the
implementation evidence on the ground.
The major focus of the country program is conflict and justice, promoting Gender equality,
Human rights and democracy.
The last year of the strategic period has seen the Diakonia partners more active in the promotion
of gender relations and democracy, especially in the run up to the recently concluded general
elections. Key outcomes include improving civic awareness, increasing the roles of women in
electioneering including enabling women and youth develop concrete proposals for candidates
and political parties. They also were key in election monitoring and advocacy for progressive
electoral laws.
There was an Overal Deviation of Outcome from Overal Revised Budget for the period 2008 –
2010 by 16%. Plesae see below the explanations of various variable contributing to to deviations
6.2.1 External
KDDS humanitarian emergency project;
The food scarcity in Karamoja led to the development of a humanitarian project through which
Sida funded food distribution to child and female headed households, pregnant and lactating
mothers, people living with HIV, people with disabilities, the elderly and other vulnerable
groups.
Explanation of Diviation of Outcome from Budget by 16%):
Internet Service fees significantly dropped by over 75% due to the adoption of the Fiber Cables
in Uganda and Cost of Leaving Index increased by only 8% instead of the anticipated 10% in the
budget creating some deviation in the Programme Coordination Budget line
The program made changes in the partner profile. RIAMRIAM, a network of NGOs in
Karamoja was taken out due to failure to communicate with them. New partners included;
- Teso Initiative for Peace (TIP) implementing a cross-border women and youth
participation in Peace Building and Conflict Transformation project
- The Uganda National NGO forum, a national forum for NGOs that coordinates CSOs’
efforts and capacity building on debt and Aid Effectiveness.
- Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) implementing a women in governance
project which increased the visibility, number and impact of grass roots women in
governance
- African Youth Development Forum implementing a Youth driven and focused
democratic governance project
- ZOA/AMREACH; This is a collaboration between a number of organizations working to
reduce and eventually cause the elimination of Female genital mutilation and increase the
opportunities for education of girls in Pokot.
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To strengthen the advocacy, the programme worked with 2 organisations as sub grantees,
namely; (i) The Forum for African Women Educationalists Uganda Chapter (FAWE) who
conducted a study on gender disparities in education at national level and in Karamoja; and (ii)
The African Centre for Trade and Development (ACTADE) which hosted the Civil Society
Budget Advocacy Group engaged in influencing the government’s budget process to ensure that
both the local and national budgets incorporate the views of the poor and marginalised people
and that they are pro-poor and gender sensitive.
Explanation of Deviation of Outcome from Budget by 16%):
There were practical difficulties working with The Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF) in
terms of communication and working relationship and modality. There was, therefore, need to
assess whether they were not ill fitted into Diakonia Programme, or whether there was some sort
of expectation gap or a miss match of interest that we need time to short out before we sign an
agreement for 2010 with them. The whole of 2010 we did not release funds to them. The second
installment for 2009 was released in 2011
There was a Budget line "Pokot Area" intended for programme work in that area in Karamoja
Region which is one of the least developed area in Uganda without a specific Partner at the time
of Budgeting. However, although a suitable Partner to work with was identified before the close
of 2010, the funds were released in 2011
There was a Budget line "SEJ Programming" intended for Social and Economic Justice
programming without a specific Partner at the time of Budgeting. However, although a suitable
Partner to work with was identified before the close of 2010, the funds were released in 2011
RIAMRIAM, a network organisation of NGO in Karamoja was dropped in 2008 due to failure to
communicate with them
 Delays in start-up
The programme commenced in January 2008 with the RO being involved in preparatory works
until May when staff came on board. There was delay in internal recruitment. The program has
subsequently extended the program for 4 months into 2011.
Two additional staff positions were added to the programme namely that of a finance and
administration assistant to assist with bookkeeping and administration. The driver was hired to
provide driving services and to conduct logistics support.
Explanation of Deviation of Outcome from Budget by 16%):
There were a number of Capacity Building and Advocacy Activities which were yet to be carried
out by the close of 2010.They will be carried out in the First half of 2011 as agreed with the
Embassy of Sweden in Kampala
The Final Programme Evaluation (2008 - 2010) was yet to be carried out at the closed of 2010
Due to delays in internal recruitment of staff and other Start up Considerations, the Programme
Start up in 2008 was delayed by 4 Months( Operations Started in May 2008 instead of January
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2008). This obviously had an impact on the overall Outcome both with partners and Diakonia
The first Finance and Administration Officer resigned in March 2009 and was only replaced in
September 2009. Her absence for about 5 Months created some deviation in 2009
6.3.1 Result 1: The rights holders have strengthened their capacity and organisation to act for
equality between women and men.
As a result of the intervention of ACFODE, FOWODE and UJCC among other organisations,
the 2011 general elections realised an increase of 63% in the number of women participating as
candidates than in 2006. Civic education was conducted to educate women on their right to
participate in electoral processes.
FOWODE trained aspiring women candidates in campaign management and run campaigns
urging voters to vote for candidates whose manifestos promoted gender equality issues. At the
grassroots, the visibility of women was increased through the radio programs where they
presented their manifestoes to the electorate. There was increased participation of women in the
electoral processes through standing for different positions in the areas of operation. A total of
1,910 women in Abim contested for elections 1,902 for political Party primaries, Local Council
(LC) I, II, III; 7 for District Councillor; and 1 for Member of Parliament (MP). In Kotido, a total
of 1,169 stood for different positions 1,161 for LC I, II, III; and 8 for District Councillor. At
least 5 of the women trained in Kotido were elected as district councilors. Part of the success of
the project was due to the collaboration and cooperation with male elders in Karamoja, who
opened doors for the project.
The women councillors who were trained used the knowledge and skills to lobby for women’s
issues in district plans and budgets. They used their skills to lobby for an increment in the
number of female head teachers, for sanitary facilities for girls in schools to be budgeted for, and
for affirmative action for female applicants during recruitment of assistant Chief Administrative
Officer and Community Development Officers.
In addition, participation of female politicians in Lira and Pader showed remarkable
improvements in engaging their male counterparts on issues affecting women. They realized the
importance of working with men to push for their issues, which in many cases bore results as
mentioned above. At the national level, the study conducted by FAWE enabled the review of
the gaps in getting and retaining girls in school. It facilitated the further development of
strategies for increasing access to education for girls in Karamoja as part of the broader
advocacy framework.
ACFODE coordinated the women’s cluster of the citizens manifesto that sought citizens views
on what the women considered were the election issues. The citizen’s manifesto became a
rallying point during election and was used by citizens to challenge all aspiring politicians.
It is however recognised that there still exist challenges in the ability of female politicians to
advocate for quality policy outcomes for women. Socio-economic and cultural barriers still
81
hinder women’s competition specially when competing for the non-affirmative action seats due
to the fact that poor and rural women often prioritize their other roles in society including caring
for the family and supporting the family livelihood rather than public service. This is in addition
to the low literacy levels.
Other complementary programs were conducted by CECORE, ADOL, HURINET, KDDS,
ACFODE and COU PDR in the thematic fields of democratisation and good governance, human
rights, peace and reconciliation and functional adult literacy. The main purpose was to raise
awareness levels on the rights and roles of men and women and especially equip women with
information and strategies for advocating for their rights and winning over the policy makers. A
case in point is in Apac District where councillors advocated at district level for creation of
village health teams in all villages in order to improve access to health services and for
information dissemination.
Volunteers for Community Action (VCAs) groups working with COU PDR in collaboration with
other organizations working on domestic violence in the sub county of Adilang in Pader district
were successful in making the local governments of Pader and Abim district pass bye-laws that
limit brewing and consumption of alcohol. It was reported that this saw a reduction in the
domestic violence cases.
In order to have joint and strong advocacy initiatives for effective participation of grassroots’
CSOs, UWONET organised trainings for women organisations at grassroots’ level to assist in the
formation of a network for joint advocacy. The training targeting women CSOs was conducted
with an overall aim of equipping the participants with skills to build a vibrant women’s
movement at district level. As a result of the trainings, two district Networks were formed in
Pader and Agago Districts. The network in Pader working with UWONET in Pader successfully
advocated for the reopening of a closed health centre so that women could deliver safely, thereby
reducing the maternal mortality.
6.3.2 Result 2: Rights holders have strengthened their capacity to defend and promote Human
rights.
UWONET worked with women’s groups to empower them on their rights. In Pader and Abim,
women were up against perpetrators of gender based violence to the extent that they got the
culprits imprisoned. In Pader district the community-initiated Gender Based Violence have
become so overwhelmed with their dispute resolution mechanism to the extent that community
members prefer to seek the counsel of these groups rather than report the cases of abuse to
police. To further empower themselves in Abim district, the community started a bead
making project where women sell their commodities and earn incomes so as to become self
reliant.
The information and resource center has enabled rural women in Abim and Pader gain
knowledge, which users testify has enabled them realise their rights for example by gaining
knowledge on how to get back their lost inheritance (land), who to go to in cases of domestic
violence and how to improve their maternal health by gaining access to contraceptive methods .
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One woman in a similar training in Agago district in 2010 was quoted; “I did not know about
contraceptive methods and the importance of family planning but after reading one of the
books from the resource center on Sexual reproductive rights I have been able to start
using them and plan my family. This has freed my time, which I can use for persuing my other
interests.”
They have also been able to monitor government programmes and hold the government
accountable for services that have not trickled down to the community. Currently in Agago
district the activists are struggling to strengthen the bylaw on gender based violence. Due to
the activism of these women’s groups, the district authorities have recognised them as a strong
policy force and now invite them to attend district planning meetings.
FOKAPAWA which is the organization managing the resource centre in Agago district, attested
to the fact that provision of the computer in the centre helped them connect to internet. This has
eased both their communication and access to information for wider policy influencing. It has
also helped to cut costs previously spent in internet cafes and secretary bureaus. The rights
handbook has proved very useful and is considered a dictionary that many carry everywhere.
HURINET-U organized a series of events around resource-based conflicts and human rights
violations in protected areas in Uganda. An assessment report titled “Resource Based Conflicts
and Human Rights Violations in Protected Areas in Uganda”, was launched as a basis for
engagement on this issue. Dialogue meetings held attracted stakeholders from Conservation
NGOs, Human Rights Organizations, the media, members of Parliament, and government
representatives. Strategies on best practices to handle resource based conflicts in Uganda were
set in place, the main outcome being that the stakeholders agreed on core principles that will
inform the agreement between the wildlife authority and communities so as to minimize the
tensions between front-line communities and Uganda Wildlife Authority UWA. This
engagement has lessened the mistrust that Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and human rights
organizations that were advocating for a conflict sensitive approach to resolving the conflicts.
Many court cases are pending between UWA and the different communities living around
protected areas while advocacy continues to ensure that the formal justice system is effective in
handling such complaints. To curb the abuses by the police, UPDF, RDCs and wildlife rangers
various trainings were conducted by HURINET including mediation. So far, a commitment of
the security agencies in promoting peaceful means of conflict resolution has been achieved and is
being monitored.
Labwor zone of Karamoja diocese continued to work on the right to life by supporting
communities to improve on their crop and livestock production. The 9,944 community members
that have participated in literacy and health education programs attest to improved health
practices within their communities where basic health practices were previously not adhered to.
In addition to learning, the FAL groups have set up savings groups where their total savings
amount to close to 5,000 USD. These savings, they say, has enabled many of them get back their
dignity as they would rather borrow money from their savings rather than beg for handouts.
Other human rights work was mainly implemented by FOWODE, HURINET and HURIFO and
as part of their expanding horizon to promote the respect for human rights. Advocacy was
83
conducted in support of human rights defenders in the districts of Gulu and at national level,
which made the state relent in the harassment of HURIFO and HURINET specifically.
As part of a network of other CSOs, a number of advocacy initiatives were conducted to prevent
the passing of the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2009 which has to date been shelved for ’further’
consultations. The advocacy on the Prevention of HIV/AIDs Bill 2010 and the Mental Health
Bill 2009 continue with a number of contestations on a number of provisions. Advocacy on the
Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2010 and the Domestic Violence Act 2010 were
successful as both were passed into law giving extra ground to the work on the prevention of
gender based violence. The challenge, however, is to ensure that citizens are aware and that law
enforcement mechanisms are operational.
Led by HURINET and the Human rights network of journalists, a number of public initiatives
were supported to advocate against the Press and Journalist (amendment) bill 2010 which was
viewed as a tool to legalise harassment and arrest of journalists, and as an attack on freedom of
the press. There is currently a stalemate in the tabling of the bill.
Another bill intended to narrow citizen’s space, the Public Order and Management bill was
tabled in parliament. Serious advocacy against this bill, which required people organizing
gatherings of more than 15 people to inform police of their meeting and intended outcomes, was
conducted. It has since been halted with many pundits viewing it as a tool for narrowing of
space for citizen’s engagement and NGO operations, especially in the run up to the national
elections. On a positive note, the Parliamentary Elections Amendment Bill 2009 was amended
with better provisions inserted in an attempt to make the up coming elections free and fair.
However, the amendments were not done comprehensively, in preparation for the 2011
elections.
The advocacy for the setting up of an equal opportunities commission bore fruit as the
commission was finally put in place in 2010. However, the LGBT community is contesting the
legal framework around the EOC as it does not provide for their issues. Another challenge is that
this commission is not adequately funded by the government, which might become a huge
bottleneck in their operations.
Advocacy on making the oil agreements public continue with government still remaining tight
lipped about it.
6.3.3 Result 3: The rights holders have increased their capacity to take action for social
economic change.
HURIFO worked with a group of human rights defenders to increase their knowledge so that
they could educate other community members on human rights, as well as monitor the human
rights situation in their communities. To address their personal needs, the group members set up
a communal agriculture and savings scheme which would not only make them self sustaining but
also enable them to fund their human rights program.
The UJCC trained Evangelical Joint Action Committee (EJACS) were active in mobilising
communities into demanding services and following up government programs for accountability.
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In Dokolo, the EJAC members were active in informing communities about the different
government programs and mobilising communities to monitor them. In Pader, the communities
became more vigilant with following up their community projects. Three schools were
monitored to the extent that construction that was shoddily being done had to be retouched to the
expected standard and teachers who sexually abuse girls were not only brought to book but also
expelled. One school with no management committee had it set up and the district education
office pressurised to supervise teachers. The health workers in Pader that had laid down their
tools due to non payment returned to work after the EJACS put pressure on the local government
administration to pay up their salaries. In Abim and Kaberamaido, the environmental crusade
resulted into a monthly tree planting exercise by community members, supported by the local
government. All these community initiatives were reported back in the citizen’s accountability
fora where civil servant and local leaders reported on progress and got feedback from citizens.
The functional adult literacy programmes run by ADOL and KDDS has been successful in
equipping communities with life skills to increase the literacy and general quality of life.
However, in order to empower the participants who were mainly women, an economic
empowerment component was integrated so as to increase household incomes, improve health
status and address gender equity. This has in turn strengthened community ownership in the
programme, in addition to addressing poverty, lack of access to and control of economic
resources, and improving survival strategies at household levels. Voluntary counseling and
testing was integrated in the program due to demand from the learners. This has in turn helped
to address negative social practices like wife inheritance that promoted the spread of HIV &
AIDS.
UNNGOF continued to coordinate CSO understanding and efforts at national, regional and
international level on aid and debt effectiveness. A compendium on Aid Effectiveness has been
developed to enable sharing of information and promote the engagement of CSOs with Aid and
development effectiveness.
Regional consultations for CSOs on the National Development Plan (the successor to the PEAP)
were conducted to enhance civil society awareness and knowledge on key issues around the aid
discourse. An Aid Policy is in its final stages of development which is a vital tool for
Government to ensure effective delivery and coordination of development assistance towards
meeting the development targets, and gradual exit of Uganda’s dependence on aid.
6.3.4 Result 4: The rights holders and duty bearers have increased their participation in the
peace building processes.
CECORE’s work with the peace committees and the successes that women have scored in
negotiating with the Karacunas4 to abandon cattle raiding has increased the recognition of
women as peace makers in Karamoja, a role that was traditionally assigned to elderly men.
Community activism has increased, resulting in an increase in the use of traditional dialogue
mechanisms of conflict resolution and recourse to established law enforcement organs for
conflict resolution as opposed to taking the militant approach. As a result, community members
4
This is a Karamojong word that refers to young warriors
85
reported the reduction of criminal incidents between the warring Bokora and Matheniko, and
they now graze their animals together.
To narrow the gap identified in the situation analysis as one of the drivers of the cattle raiding by
the Karachuna, income generating projects were initiated for the Karachunas. Bee keeping has
not only kept the youth busy but also provided sources of income. Advocacy peace messages
like “Peace is our Pride, Let us embrace it. Ekithil5” have spread out by the Karacunas and has
resulted into 241 youth joining the youth peace groups and abandoning cattle raiding.
Peace committees continue to actively support, educate, report, document and follow up
resolutions of human rights violations in their localities.
The cross border peace building project implemented by TIP between the warring Iteso and
Karamojong greatly improved relations among the two nationalities, including promoting
intermarriages, something previously unheard of. One of the initiatives for peaceful co-existence
animated by the youth groups was the establishment of a joint resettlement at
Arengipua/Apeipopong for the Iteso and Thur of Morulem for returnees from the conflict. This
new and jointly instituted settlement committee meant to oversee land allocation and intervene in
dispute resolution has been successful in handling administrative issues in the settlement while
awaiting the posting of parish chiefs and consequent election of LC I. However, the conflict has
reduced to the extent that over ten Karimojong families are keeping their livestock with Iteso
family friends. There are cases of joint ploughing of land using oxen. This peaceful coexistence
has promoted free cross border movement which has greatly improved security in the
communities, with the members of the youth groups involved in the tracking and relocation of
stolen animals.
The resettled communities are now demanding services from the local government of Napak
which has resulted in the construction of a health unit and a maternity facility, teachers getting
posted to the local school and tractors being sent to plough land for the most vulnerable
households in Apeitolim.
To facilitate co-existence of the Pokot and Sabiny youths, football has been used by the
Psychosocial Support persons of Korito settlement camp to unify the warring youth. The youth
had not lived in harmony for the last 40 years due to suspicion and mistrust. The two
communities are now playing together and the mistrust and suspicion has reduced.
HURINET’s involvement with the ICC coalition has played a key role in popularising and
informing communities in the North on the central theme of accountability in dealing with
perpetrators of crimes, protection of victims and on the jurisdiction of the Court on crimes
against humanity, war crimes and genocide. This is crucial in regard to the indictment of the top
LRA commanders, who are still at large.
5
A Akarimojong word for Peace
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6.3.5 Result 5: HIV & Gender Mainstreaming
Partners including UWONET, ACFODE, FOWODE, and HURIFO, TIP have tried to
mainstream gender and HIV/AIDS in all their project interventions. The challenge remains for
the mainstreaming to happen at organisational level where a number still don’t have guiding
policy and practice papers to support their work. In some cases like with UJCC, the membership
concerns of the different religious bodies present a stumbling block to the development of an
effective gender policy.
There is also the increasing realisation that while emphasis has been put on encouraging HIV
voluntary testing and treatment, HIV and AIDS disclosure is causing a lot of violence against
women, in addition to presenting a barrier to women attaining leadership positions. This has
been attested to by female politicians in Abim whose husbands believe that HIV infection is
brought into the home by the women not they, the men so in cases where the wife is mobile due
to her duties and responsibilities, this makes matters even worse.
In LAZIDEP, HIV counselling and testing was an opportunity to raise the profile of gender and
HIV issues. Through the literacy classes, voluntary HIV testing and counselling enabled women
to demand accountability from their husbands on their lifestyles and the impact it has on the
wellbeing of the family. Being that HIV outreach is quite poor in Abim, the collaboration with
the district authorities provided space for the network of people living with HIV to successfully
get commitment from the authorities that a CD4 count machine will soon be installed in the main
hospital, as opposed to them having to travel to other districts to have the test conducted.
Church of Uganda – Planning, Development and Rehabilitation has mainstreamed HIV
information into all trainings so as to increase awareness of communities on how they can
prevent infection, and get care and treatment if infected.
The mainstreaming of many partners has gone beyond HIV and gender, to include persons with
disability, orphan and child headed households, formerly abducted youth and other unprivileged
households.
The administrative capacity, programmatic and other internal capacities of partner staff in all the
14 organisations show marked improvements. They have developed most of the necessary
manuals for their smooth operations especially in finance and administration, procurement and
human resource management except ADOL. TIP, UJCC, ACFODE and
FOWODE have developed HIV at workplace policies. PDR, ACFODE, FOWODE, UJCC,
UWONET AND AYDL have developed gender policies. The challenge with the resource
manuals is the implementation. For example a number of organizations have not fully
implemented their HIV at workplace policies due to budgetary constraints. Also, while 6
organisations have gender policies, the challenge is still in the actualization of gender equality in
terms of the ratio of women to men on the board, in leadership positions and in operations.
However, a number of partners have gender related affirmative action measures in specific
87
projects, and the distribution of tasks and responsibilities in implementation of the projects are
assigned equally between women and men.
Partners have received training in results-based management and UJCC, CECORE, ACFODE,
ADOL have developed monitoring systems to enable them focus on outcome and impact
monitoring and planning.
An Organisational Developmental meeting for all the partners was conducted to identify the
institutional developmental challenges for each organisation and one of the outcomes for
ACFODE was the identification of institutional development challenges for each partner.
ACFODE identified a number of areas that needed strengthening and review which included:
reflection of the board of directors on a number of organizational aspects, mid-term review of the
5 year strategic plan and lack of Systematic institutional assessment, retooling and opening up
sub-regional offices. An action plan was developed to address them. The reflection enabled the
board to come up with the yearly work plan that guided their operations during the reporting
time.
All partners participated in financial management skills training for non-financial managers,
rights and gender based programming training, Organisational development sessions and in the
annual programmatic and partner review forums where Diakonia and the partners have discussed
issues and any challenges faced during programme implementation. Ten partners have been very
active and strong in advocacy related activities – and are recognized for this contribution. These
are Human rights network (HURINET), Human rights focus (HURIFO), Action for
Development (ACFODE), Uganda Women’s network (UWONET), Forum for Women in
Democracy (FOWODE) who have contributed to the formulation of the Marriage and Divorce
Bill (originally called Domestic Relations Bills) will be passed before the end of the eighth
Parliament. The proposed legislation recognises cohabitation in terms of property rights,
abolishes forced marriage, prohibits same sex marriage and allows women to divorce their
husbands on grounds of cruelty which Bill is intended to protect all family members not only the
women. This has been done in consultation and support of the Uganda Women Parliamentary
Association (UWOPA).
African Youth development Links (AYDL) participated in the just concluded youth
parliamentary elections through youth election monitoring whose overall objective was to
advocate for increased young people’s active participation in, transparency and integrity of
Uganda’s national youth parliamentary electoral processes. AYDL sought to enable young
people to take a central role in governance of the national youth parliamentary elections through
informed decisions and electoral choices, in close collaboration with the relevant CSOs,
government institutions and political players. Mobilisation was done of the young people who
participated and demanded for a legitimate electoral process that addressed prevailing socioeconomic and political challenges.
Uganda National NGO forum (UNNGOF), African centre for Trade (ACTADE), Teso initiative
for Peace (TIP), Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) and have influenced gender and human
rights laws and protection mechanisms, the government of Uganda budgetary processes and
88
allocations, Youth empowerment policies and programs and peace building approaches,
democracy laws and implementation.
In regard to methodological capacity the partners have undertaken PME training provided by
Diakonia which has resulted in partners’ monitoring and reporting leading to improvement in
analysis to a larger extent of outcome indicators.
All partners have also participated in a resource mobilisation (fundraising) training which
provided both theoretical and practical understanding of the key concepts of resource
mobilization. The main objectives included but not limited to understanding the basics of
resource mobilization, be familiar with tools to guide fundraising efforts, be able to meet donor
requirements and maintain donor support. The main output of the training was partners
developed draft resource mobilisation strategies of their respective organisations which would be
completed during monitoring support visits.

The importance of context specific solutions, the need for mapping duty bearers and
networking. A few partners had to redesign their programs as a result of the realities on
the ground when it came to program implementation. In Karamoja, they had to redesign
civic education materials to suit the educational levels in the area and match their life
style, in addition to taking note of the environmental conditions existing at that time, for
example hunger and drought and thereby programming around the availability of time.
This strengthened the importance of understanding the context and working with
community resource persons so as to avoid cultural clashes and resistance.

Balancing the hardware and software in programming- a situation of livelihoods
overshadowing other programmes; A lot of emphasis seemed to have been put on
livelihood aspects (tangible) of the programs as opposed to the human rights & good
governance promotion, as a result of widespread poverty in communities. The challenge
now is for the country program to find a good mix so that the livelihood programs do not
divert but support the HR, gender equality, Good Governance and other advocacy work
which are longer term and not immediately visible. In a situation where poverty is so
immense, it is difficult to ignore that communities need to survive.
At the instigation of Diakonia, KDDS and ADOL started coordinating their Functional adult
literacy (FAL) programmes with other organisations like ADRA. Coordination was on the
training curriculum (led by the Community services manager at the district local government
office) and harmonisation of payment of facilitation allowances of the FAL facilitators. Inter sub
county learning visits were conducted for the facilitators to enable them borrow good practices
for improving their FAL instructions.
Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) and Action for Development (ACFODE) belong to Human
rights Network (HURINET) were facilitated to conduct human rights capacity development and
joint advocacy.
89
UWONET, ACFODE and FOWODE started collaboration and coordination among themselves
to avoid duplication, create synergies and identified joint actions where possible. They among
others, put out joint applications for funding.
UJCC and ACFODE have been members of a Democracy Monitoring Group (DEMGroup), a
consortium comprised of four civil society organisations that came together to contribute to a
freer, fairer, transparent and credible elections landscape in Uganda.
The DEMGroup undertook an analysis of the just concluded electoral process to determine
whether women were able to participate on the same footing with men and established the
following key findings and recommendations:
 63% more women participated as candidates for affirmative action seats in 2011 than did in
2006. In future, performance would be tracked to determine if the increased competition
within affirmative action seats resulted in better quality policy outcomes for women.
 It is clear that both men and women supported the idea of gender equality in political
representation. Both men and women listed many positive attributes that women can and do
bring to politics that could make them more desirable as elected officials.
 The above finding partially explained why women make up only 37% of the candidates in
the 2011 election though they are legally eligible to contest for 100% of the seats. At
Parliamentary level in the 2011 elections, only 46 out of 1269 (4%). In 2006 it was 28
women out of 808 at 3.4%.
Implementing the humanitarian project for Karamoja enabled coordination with other
international and national organisations operating in the region. These included the UN WFP,
UNDP, UNOCHA, UN-FAO, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), World Vision and
ADRA.
Cooperation was undertaken with ZOA a Dutch international NGO in implementing a Gender,
democratisation and empowerment programme in POKOT area in Karamoja.
There were also attempts at office sharing with Dan Church Aid and ICCO to reduce costs and
promote synergies that come with proximity but this is still work in progress. However, sharing
of information and human resources has begun including having the same capacity building
workshops for partners of both organisations.
Monitoring meetings and field visits were also held with SIDA/Embassy of Sweden officials to
Northern Uganda and Diakonia partners operating in that sub region participated in the visits.
Coordination was also held with DANIDA Human rights and good governance project who were
instrumental in advising on the context, donor environment and partnerships. Joint trainings and
field visits were held with DanChurchAid (DCA) and ICCO on Do no harm, Rights and Gender
based training and results based monitoring.
90
No advocacy was done in collaboration with Head office. Most advocacy work was conducted
by partners and has been reported in the results section.
No EU financed project was undertaken in Uganda during 2008-2010.
2010
Outcome/
budget
Uganda
Appr budget
Revised Nov
Actual
costs
%
higher than 10%
Deviation 34% see comments
below
0
0
0
OTHER DONORS
Sub-total other donors
11,016,065
9,862,743
11,016,065
11,341,300
3,664,583
15,005,883
9,862,743
66%
TOTAL
11,016,065
15,005,883
9,862,743
66%
CIVSAM





Comments on
deviations
There
were practical difficulties working with The Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF) in terms of
communication and working relationship and modality. There was, therefore, need to assess whether they
were not ill fitted into Diakonia Programme, or whether there was some sort of expectation gap or a miss
match of interest that we need time to short out before we sign an agreement for 2010 with them. The
whole of 2010 we did not release funds to them. The second installment for 2009 was released in 2011
There
was a Budget line "Pokot Area" intended for programme work in that area in Karamoja Region which is
one of the least developed area in Uganda without a specific Partner at the time of Budgeting. However,
although a suitable Partner to work with was identified before the close of 2010, the funds were released
in 2011
There
were a number of Capacity Building and Advocacy Activities which were yet to be carried out by the
close of 2010.They will be carried out in the First half of 2011 as agreed with the Embassy of Sweden in
Kampala
The
Final Programme Evaluation (2008 - 2010) was yet to be carried out at the closed of 2010. Internet
service fees significantly dropped by over 75% due to the adoption of the Fiber Cables in Uganda and
Cost of Leaving Index increased by only 8% instead of the anticipated 10% in the budget creating some
deviation in the Programme Coordination Budget line
There
91
was a Budget line "SEJ Programming" intended for Social and Economic Justice programming without a
specific Partner at the time of Budgeting. However, although a suitable Partner to work with was
identified before the close of 2010, the funds were released in 2011
2008 - 2010
Outcome/
budget
Uganda
Appr
budget
CIVSAM
Revised
Nov
0
Actual
costs
0
%
Comments on
deviations
higher than 10%
Deviation 16% - see
comments below
0
OTHER DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
26,301,065 28,284,313 23,688,415
84%
26,301,065 28,284,313 23,688,415
84%
TOTAL
26,301,065 28,284,313 23,688,415
84%
Please Refer to the Comments on Deviations under 2010 in its entirety for this section as well
Due to delays in internal recruitment of staff and other Start up Considerations, the Programme Start up in
2008 was delayed by 4 Months( Operations Started in May 2008 instead of January 2008). This obviously had
an impact on the overall Outcome both with partners and Diakonia
The first Finance and Administration Officer resigned in March 2009 and was only replaced in September
2009. Her absence for about 5 Months created some deviation in 2009
RIAMRIAM, a network organisation of NGO in Karamoja was droped in 2008 due to failure to communicate
with them
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7. Country Programme: Zambia
7.1 Summary of Diakonia´s Programme in Zambia.
The situation in the country
Political Developments: In the year 2008, Zambia experienced the death of her republican
president Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. This saw the ushering in of a new president, Rupiah
Banda who the fourth President of Zambia. The process for the development of a new
constitution through the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) continued with the major
CSOs, women’s movement and Church mother bodies boycotting the process due to major
concerns such as the inbuilt majority of the ruling party, refusal to include economic, social and
cultural rights, continued excessive powers of the President etc. In terms of human rights issues,
there were reports of police brutality especially the increasing use of live ammunition against
protesting groups leading to some loss of lives.
-Economic Situation: The inflation figures in this period continued to reduce as the country was
reported to register economic stability and some positive economic growth. However, the
country still faces stagnant employment figures and despite a number of the Country’s mines
being reopened, tax reliefs given to the mine investors has caused externalization of mining
profits . Poverty levels still remain high with about 64% of the country’s population is still poor.
HIV/AIDS was reported to have dropped from a prevalence of 16% to 14.3% especially among
the youth. However the infection rate is increasing with the current being at 1.6%
1. How we work in the country
-Having begun in 2003 with two partners, the programme has grown and as of 2010 had 16
partners. 15 of the partners are based at national level. 6 partners work in all the nine Provinces
of Zambia, 9 work in selected Provinces and only 1 works in one province. All partners work
across the five thematic areas for Diakonia.
2.1 What we and our partners have achieved
– Six of our partners (SACCORD, CSPR, NGOCC, JCTR, CARITAS, CCZ) with four other
CSOs demanded for a tribunal after the High Court found one minister without a case in a
corruption case. The tribunal overturned the High Court ruling, the Minister resigned but
unfortunately, the President later reappointed her to another position. The courage by these CSOs
gave some confidence back to the public. One partner won a case for two soldiers that had been
dismissed due to their HIV status. This was a landmark victory for Zambia. It gave confidence to
HIV positive employees and sent a warning to employers against discrimination.
7.2.1 External
Presidential Election: Due to the death of the Republican President, the country had to go to the
polls to elect another president. This process called for ll stakeholders to participate and the
Diakonia programme partners participated in preparing citizens for this process. This was not
planned for and as such partners such as CCZ had to be supported from the CSID budget. These
funds had been targeted for other capacity building events but had to be used to support this
process through partners.
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NGO Act of 2009: Diakonia supported partner advocacy work to stop the enactment of the NGO
bill. Advocacy work around the NGO bill was not anticipated but partners had to respond to this
in order to push for NGO self regulation. This shifted the focus on the advocacy agenda as it was
an unexpected development that has the potential to shrink space for NGO and CSO actors.
Partners are however working to ensure that they provide technical advice to Government
through the ministry of community development on how to effectively operationalise the ACT.
Partner disbursements: During 2008-2010 deviations were experienced in partner disbursements
with 2 partners, YWCA and LADA, not getting their funds for the entire period due to fraud and
inability to meet contractual obligations. US$26,000 of Diakonia funds for the period had been
stolen in the case of YWCA. LADA on the other had failed to submit the 2008 financial audit to
Diakonia. These two partners were finally earmarked for ending of partnerships within 2010.
Other partners such as CCZ and MISA had delayed disbursements due to various reasons (details
given in section 7.9)
New partners: During this period, three new partners were included in the programme; TALC,
CTPD and ZLA.
Programme Coordination: Under expenditure 2010 amounting to about Sek 693,000 is mainly
attributed to delays in upgrading office facilities and the process of realising full office
establishment. This process will be completed in 2011.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Audit: Under expenditure amounting to about Sek 340,000 is due to
the fact that the planned mid-term evaluation was deferred to make way for a baseline survey.
Also the programme audit is normally conducted after the year end.
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7.3.1 Result 1: Democracy
There has been continued advocacy by partners on the constitution making process. Partners
such as ZLA have made submissions to the National Constitution making conference on
inclusions of land rights issues in the national constitution. These submissions have been adopted
by the NCC and included in the draft constitution. Partners such JCTR, CARITAS, NGOCC,
ZNWL, TALC and SACCORD contributed to the development of the Sixth National
Development Plan (SNDP) through participation in sector advisory groups (SAGs) and
Accountability and Transparency committees. These partners also participated under the
coordination of CSPR in the development of the SNDP civil society position papers for
submission to Government. This process has helped partners to contribute to the governance
priority issues that need to be included in the SNDP. One positive outcome of this process is that
for the first time the NDP has a specific chapter in HIV and AIDS. This was largely as a result of
the recommendations by CSOs (including Diakonia partners) that this be included in the SNDP.
There has been concerted effort amongst partners working in this thematic area to create space
for citizens to participate in electoral process. Public debates and radio programmes have been
used by partners to create space for the citizens to engage with duty bearers on governance
issues. There has also been increased demand from the citizens for those vying for leadership
positions to have issue based campaigns.. SACCORD, ZNWL and CARITAS held dialogue
meetings with the Electoral Commission of Zambia and influenced the extension of the voter
registration period. The extension of the voter registration period has seen more people
registering to vote in this year’s elections. ZNWL worked with political parties to ensure that
more women candidates are adopted for leadership positions within their respective parties.
There has been an increase in the number of women adopted as candidates for 2011 elections
compared to those that were adopted for the 2006 tripartite elections. There has been strong
advocacy by partners (SACCORD, CARITAS, CCZ, NGOCC, ZNWL) and other CSO
organizations for Government to review the electoral ACT.
7.3.2 Result 2: Gender Equality
Work on awareness raising and knowledge building on gender at various levels and in various
fora was undertaken by Diakonia partners. For example, Women for Change (WFC) conducted
annual community level trainings that targeted traditional leaders as well. There is evidence of a
change in perception on gender roles in these communities where this has been done. For
example, domestic chores such as fetching water, caring for babies, cooking are not strictly
women’s roles alone as men have also began to take part in these roles. Further, there is
increasing participation in commemoration of the annual International Women’s Day due to the
increasing knowledge levels on gender. Partners such as WLSA have continued to host radio
programmes that deliberate on aspects of gender, the ever increasing reporting of gender based
violence cases to the police, CSOs and hospitals (WLSA received 97 reports in 2008 and 168
reports in 2010) and convictions of perpetrators. The women’s movement under the leadership of
NGOCC can take major credit for this. As noted, reporting of gender based violence especially
defilement increased countrywide with a number of offenders being given stiff penalties,
sentences range between 15 years and life imprisonment. This change of attitude among the
judiciary is a recent development and a welcome change. The presence of Drop In Centres
(DICs) for vulnerable groups especially women, youth and children to access is another major
95
achievement that gives these groups access to services that they would otherwise not have had.
Every year, these DICs for different CSOs handle other 1,000 cases. Cases handled over the
years include defilement, spouse battering, property grabbing, maintenance, divorce and forced
early marriages. Under the coordination of WLSA, Zambia participated in the regional advocacy
that saw the signing of the SADC Gender protocol in 2009 which is a major step. The challenge
now is for this to be followed by domestication at national level.
7.3.3 Result 3: Human Rights
This thematic area, as a separate result area, is relatively new for the Zambia programme as
human rights was previously seen to underline all partner activities. The focus has now mainly
been on sharpening partner capacity in making the link between their work and human rights
issues. Diakonia partners have been trained in the RBA approach. Following from this training,
partners undertook several sensitisations targeting different groups of people both the target
groups and staff. For example, CCZ conducted a sensitisation for one of their member churches.
This resulted in the formation of a Social and Economic Justice (SEJ) committee, whose
responsibility is to look into issues of social and economic justice at community level and feed
these into the overall work on SEJ advocacy for the CCZ.
Other partners such as CARITAS have continued to conduct mass human rights sensitizations
through rallies for communities. CARITAS has also been doing its human rights work in the
prison where it has also conducted research showing the dehumanising conditions prisoners are
in. The findings of this research have been used for advocacy with Government to improve
prison conditions and improve access to better health care and treatment for prisoners. The
human rights commission has also used the findings in this research in compiling the human
rights report. Other Diakonia partners such as ZARAN have been conducting awareness on
human rights focused on HIV. This was being done through radio programmes, student debates
and community sensitizations. ZARAN has continued to run its AIDS law Clinic that is
attending to human rights violations for PLWHA and in 2010, won its landmark victory when
the court ruled in favour of 2 soldiers who had been fired due to their HIV status.
7.3.4 Result 4: Social and Economic Justice
At National level, Diakonia partners such as JCTR, CSPR, CCZ and CARITAS have continued
to conduct budget tracking and pre and post budget engagement with Government. Government
has recognised this annual engagement as one channel for receiving CSO input. All Diakonia
partners have been involved in making presentations at Parliament through different committees
of Parliament and on different issues. This has provided CSPR with an opportunity to influence
law makers on issues of concern. Under SEJ, the partners have made submissions to the Public
Accounts Committee and the Expanded Committee on Estimates at Parliament. A joint budget
analysis was conducted by four of Diakonia’s partners, CSPR, CARITAS, CTPD and JCTR on
the non review/reintroduction of windfall tax resulting in an extensive debate during the
committee meeting by the end of which law makers agreed to a number of issues raised by the
CSOs such as the need to broaden the revenue base for the country and reduce the burden from
relying heavily on Income tax but tap into the informal sector. However, Government has still
remained adamant over the call for the re-introduction of the windfall tax for the mines. CSOs
have still continued to call for this action by Government of the country is to realize any real
96
profits in view of the rising copper prices on the world market. Civil Society in Zambia played a
critical role in forcing Government through a petition to set up a tribunal against the Minister of
Transport and Communications, Dora Siliya to investigate possible corruption in the awarding of
a contract on behalf of Government. This move magnified the role of CSOs as watch dogs. Six
out of the ten CSOs that petitioned are Diakonia partners. The President was forced to appoint a
tribunal that heard the case and ruled that the Minister had violated the law and she was forced to
resign her position .but the President quickly reappointed her to another position. A lesson learnt
was that taking this level of advocacy is very costly and CSOs need a budget for litigation costs
if they have to engage in this type of advocacy. A network of CSOs including Diakonia’s
partners also worked on preventing MPs from receiving their mid-term gratuities. This was done
on ethical grounds as many public workers such as those in health and education sector were on
strike for better conditions of service at the same time.
7.3.5 Result 5: Peace and Conflict Management
. In the period under review, the programme took on a new partner to the programme, the
Zambia Land Alliance. Land issues have been a source of conflict with some partners such as
Caritas, LADA handling cases of land wrangles. However, four organisations, three of them
Diakonia partners, WFC, CARITAS and LADA formed an organisation specifically to deal with
issues of land, the Zambia Land Alliance. Through the land alliance, great CSO input into the
draft national constitution has been made with a specific chapter on land having been included.
Training of election monitors by SACCORD, CCZ, CARITAS and ZNWL emphasised the
issues of electoral conflict. The church also proved to be a major instrument of addressing issues
of conflict. CCZ and CARITAS issued pastoral letters which condemned conflicts and violence.
Organizational policy and systems development: Diakonia provided capacity building support to
partners to develop organizational policies that would serve as effective tools for improving their
organizational Development. HIV/AIDS work place policies were developed for 5 partners
(LADA, MISA, WLSA, ZLA & CTPD). Anti-corruption policies and guidelines were also
developed for all Diakonia partners to help partners deal with corruption and fraud. Corporate
Governance/ Board manuals were developed for four partners (NGOCC, MISA, ZNWL, &
SACCORD) to help partners improve their corporate governance. Five partners were also
supported with Gender policy and mainstreaming guidelines development ( ZLA, CCZ, CSPR,
ZARAN and CTPD). Conflict resolution manual development support was also provided to one
partner, SACCORD.
Systems development support was given to partners in terms of M and E and Finance. 8
partners, CSPR, MISA, SACCORD, ZARAN, ZNWL, WLSA, TALC and ZLA received support
in M & E system development during this period. Focus was also placed on improving financial
systems for partners. Specific support was given in provision of pastel and Dove payroll soft
ware. Relevant finance staff were trained to use this soft ware. Further support was given in
form of desktop computers to seven partners to support the software provided. ZLA, MISA,
CCZ, CSPR, SACCORD, CARITAS and ZNWL received this support during this period and
partners expressed gratitude as it is usually difficult for them to get support in the administration
area as most partners prefer supporting pure programme related office equipment. There has
been improved performance by partners in terms of generating their financial reports following
this support. Monitoring visits conducted have shown that partners now have in place good
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organizational systems that have made them more attractive to other donors. In 2010, three of
Diakonia’s partners were able to access funding from the Zambia Governance Foundation
(ZARAN, CSPR and CARITAS)
Support to programme Quality Assurance: support was given to partners for the development of
their strategic plans (CSPR, ZARAN, SACCORD, CTPD & SACCORD). Further support was
provided for partners to undertake OCAs and evaluations(see list of evaluations and studies).
These processes have contributed to the learning process of these organizations. The revised
strategic plans have become a strategic marketing tool to other donors. For example ZARAN
accessed funding from ZGF following this process.
Rights Based Approach (RBA): All partners received training in RBA during the period.
Civil Society in Zambia played a critical role in forcing Government through a petition to set up
a tribunal against the Minister of Transport and Communications, Dora Siliya to investigate
possible corruption in the awarding of a contract on behalf of Government. This move magnified
the role of CSOs as watch dogs. Six out of the ten CSOs that petitioned are Diakonia partners.
The President was forced to appoint a tribunal that heard the case and ruled that the Minister had
violated the law and she was forced to resign her position. The success of this action by CSOs
was through the way the partners were organized. CSOs came together on this issue and
presented a united front against the action taken by the Minister in unconstitutionally awarding a
contract to an international company, RP capital CSOs used various strategies to express their
displeasure such as protesting at the court. There was also wide media coverage of this specific
issue and follow up radio programmes that gave an opportunity for citizens to debate the matter.
A key lesson is that the change process goes with empowerment of local people and
organizations that represent them. Effective strategies for advocacy do not just lie in having
evidence but are also dependant on how organized the development actors or change agents are.
Another key lesson in the Zambian context is that CSOs have been fragmented and this has
caused their advocacy to be ineffective in influencing policy change. Another lesson learnt is that
the church mother bodies are very strategic agents of change despite them being perceived as
being political in cases where they do not support Government action. They have a larger
following and are quite able to mobilize the critical masses for mass movement on key issues and
this is another effective advocacy strategy.
Partners worked together to challenge the enactment of the NGO bill of 2009. Diakonia
provided financial support to partners to help them effectively advocated for non enactment of
the bill due to the fact that this had not originally been planned. Although the CSO demands
were not met, the process drew lessons for CSOs on the need to be more organized and
coordinated when dealing with national advocacy issues such as the NGO Bill.
Partners also worked together to scan the CSO environment and conduct a mapping of CSO
institutions in the country. A networking retreat was convened by CSOs and this was aimed at
developing CSO strategies to improve advocacy work of CSOs. This process was facilitated by
Diakonia and has since resulted in quarterly update meetings of CSOs to discuss issues of
interest and relevance to partners work. CSOs are now re-looking at their strategies for effecting
change or influencing the change process.
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Another area of synergy between partners has been in the national constitution making process.
Partners worked together and agreed to boycott the NCC deliberations on the constitution
making process due to major concerns such as the inbuilt majority of the ruling party, refusal to
include ESCR, and continued excessive powers of the president.
.
In June 2008, Diakonia co-financed, together with DCA and HIVOS, a forum for CSOs to
deliberate on how they could still influence the NCC output even if CSOs boycotted being part
of this constitution making process. The outcome of this was that CSOs were still able to make
submission through the parliamentary committees.
In 2009, the Zambia based partners of CCZ, i.e. NCA, CA, DCA and Diakonia held series of
meetings due to concerns over its strategic plan which did not seem to reflect its changed focus
of being more of a coordinator, facilitator and capacity builder of its member churches. By end
of 2009, these issues were resolved and CCZ came up with a new strategic plan which all the
partners/donors finally bought into.
Another coordination initiative in 2009 was over LADA. Diakonia together with GTZ, DCA,
Canadian Development and Peace and NORAD funded NGOCC-Grant Management Unit
supported a process of Organisational Capacity Assessment (OCA). This brought out a number
of strategic issues that the organisation needed to address relating to its constitution, governance,
programming, human resource issues and finance systems. Unfortunately, LADA failed to come
up with an implementation plan to address these critical findings and most partners withheld
their funds which affected the organisation further. By 2010, staff were sent on forced leave and
only one person was left
The four frame organisations (Diakonia, Save the Children Sweden, Forum Syd and Swedish
Cooperative Centre) also undertook a number of activities together. Following the Regional
workshop on the triple A (Accra Agenda for Action), a national workshop bringing together
partner organisations was organised to increase awareness, knowledge and analysis of the Paris
Agenda as it applies to Civil Society. A training workshop for HIV/ AIDS for staff members was
done. A joint workshop for partners on Anti-corruption was also conducted by the frame
organizations. A follow up activity in 2010 brought partners of the frame organisations together
for increasing knowledge and lead to partners developing anti corruption policies.
Final initiative was developing MOUs/JFAs with other funders (Irish Aid, DCA, TROCAIRE,
GTZ, CCODP, CORDAID, CAFOD CRS SCIAF, PORTICUS) to agree on certain common
practices for the partner e.g. common reports, common time frames, common annual partner
forum etc to reduce the work for the partner. Diakonia has MOUs/JFAs with other partners for
three of its partners, MISA, CSPR and JCTR.
During the period, Diakonia also participated in two forums of funding partners, the INGO
forum and the NSAG. These proved very useful for information sharing, coordination and
strategising for common issues such as NGO Act.
In 2008, Diakonia Zambia hosted visitors from Sweden, the Ombudsmen. A group of 19
Swedish Visitors visited Zambia from 15th to 24th February 2008. These were taken to visit a
number of Diakonia partners, both in Lusaka and in operational areas in Southern Province, such
as YWCA, WFC and LADA and a potential partner, TALC (now agreement signed 2010-2011).
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A key result was that there was cross learning. The ombudsmen learnt a lot about the work
supported by Diakonia and the challenges facing the communities.
In 2008, Diakonia hosted The Swedish Ambassador to Zambia on 10th March meeting all
partners. The Ambassador wanted the views of partners on the Paris Agenda, the NGO Bill, the
situation in the country and any other issues partners would want to discuss. In this discussion,
partners tabled a number of issues that the ambassador would take on at higher levels of
discussion. For example issues on Aid and development effectiveness.
With the re-emergence of the NGO Bill and being presented in Parliament in 2009, Diakonia
country office participated in a number of meetings with both the local NGOs and the INGOs.
Diakonia participated in putting up position papers which were written and presented to
government and Parliament and shared with the Head office. Diakonia even supported some of
the partners by attending their parliamentary presentations as they made submissions to
Parliament.
During the period under review, Zambia programme did not implement any EU financed project,
although an application was made and approved under the EU NSA programme, where a new
EU funded project will start in March 2011.
2010
Outcome/
budget
Zambia
Appr budget
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
Revised Nov
0
10,301,000.00
Actual costs
-
10,322,000.00
%
higher than 10%
-
11,137,526.00
3,154,055.00
Comments on
deviations
See comments below
10,301,000.00
13,476,055.00
11,137,526.00
0.83
TOTAL
10,301,000.00
13,476,055.00
11,137,526.00
0.83
The deviation of 17% in the 2010 annual financial report is mainly attributed to the following:
 Disbursements to partners: Disbursements earmarked for partners amounting to Sek 1,575,000
was withheld due to various reasons as follows:
a) YWCA Sek 525,000 – the partner was undergoing forensic audit due to fraud
b) LADA Sek 350,000 – the partner was experiencing institutional management challenges
c) CCZ Sek 250,000 – there was delay in signing the funding agreement
d) MISA Sek 450,000 – experienced delay in finalising joint financing agreement with
other donors
The undisbursed funds in respect of YWCA and LADA will be reallocated in 2011 budget.
The balances in respect of MISA and CCZ will be disbursed in 2011.
 Programme Coordination: Under expenditure amounting to about Sek 693,000 is mainly
attributed to delays in upgrading office facilities and the process of realising full office
establishment. This process will be completed in 2011.
 Monitoring, Evaluation and Audit: Under expenditure amounting to about Sek 340,000 is due
to the fact that the planned mid-term evaluation was deferred to make way for a baseline
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survey. Also the programme audit is normally conducted after the year end.
2008-2010
Zambia
Appr budget
Revised Nov
0
CIVSAM
Actual costs
-
Comments on
deviations
%
higher than 10%
-
38,451,000.00
35,429,500.00
22,719,457.00
38,451,000.00
35,429,500.00
22,719,457.00
TOTAL
38,451,000.00
35,429,500.00
22,719,457.00
OTHER DONORS
Outcome/budget
See comments below
0.64
The budget of SEK 38,451,000 is for the period December 2008 to December 2011, which is the
Zambia programme period. The budget outcome of 64% therefore reflects expenditure from
December 2008 to December 2010 only. The total budget for the period adds income of SEK
12,257,000 which is for January to December 2011 in order to finish off the budget utilisation of
100%. As such, the budget utilisation for the period Dec 2008 to December 2011 is on course.
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8: Country Programme: ZIMBABWE
8.1 Summery of Diakonia´s Programme in Zimbabwe.
With a rather homogeny ethnic composition and a population of 12, 5 million of relatively well
educated people and a fertile soil, Zimbabwe has got greater possibilities than many other
comparative African countries to prosper. For years Zimbabwe possessed one of the regions’
most diversified economies and was a potential bread basket for surrounding countries. However
due to bad governance and deep political divides many of its people, in particular women and
children, suffer from widespread insecurity and poverty, lack of employment possibilities and
inequalities in society. The political system is highly authoritarian, and human rights and
personal freedoms remain insufficiently acknowledged and protected. Many of the governmental
institutions aimed at ensuring individual and collective security, such as the police and the
military are being used against the population and in many cases constitute a direct threat to
individual security. Discrimination against women exists at all levels of society and violence
against women is widespread. Many Zimbabweans, and women in particular, do not have access
to decision-making structures and resources that would help them improve their lives. In
Zimbabwe Diakonia is working to increase respect for democratic values and of human rights
through working with peace and security- dialogue and reconciliation.
How we work in Zimbabwe
To achieve lasting improvement in people’s lives, Diakonia supports work carried out on
different levels of Zimbabwe society by local civil society organisations: on grass-roots level
within local communities; on national level through organizational capacity building and by
publicly advocating for policy change and increased human rights; on regional level by
facilitating networking amongst our partners, various think tanks and institutions, and on
international level through European networks carrying out advocacy towards the European
Union. To achieve our goals Diakonia uses strategies of networking, promoting education and
awareness raising on democratic values and human rights and self organisation for enhanced
participation of marginalised groups in decision making. Diakonia has got a wide portfolio of
partner organisations specialised in youth issues, gender and HIV and AIDS, human rights and
democracy and conflict and justice. Over the years of our presence in the country, Diakonia has
identified groups of rights holders who are particularly marginalized and oppressed: poor
voiceless and rural people in general, women and youth. Together with our partners we are
contributing towards ensuring awareness and a people driven constitutional building process that
will lead to general elections. We provide support to our partners in empowering marginalised
people affected by violence. Diakonia also provides support to local organisations carrying out
training in conflict prevention- mediation and reconciliation efforts
Achievements
Since 2010 Diakonia has supported a youth organization (Youth Empowerment and
Transformation Trust) that uses sport as a tool for advocacy and a platform to connect young
people from different political and social divides. The purpose is to provide measures for
preventing youth being used as tools for political agendas, fabricated and destructive conflict.
Over 3000 youths took part in five tournaments that were held in five provinces in the country
and a national tournament in which six teams representing six provinces took part. These
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tournaments included soccer, volleyball and netball games. In the five provinces that YET
convened the tournaments, a platform was provided to bring together different political parties
that have fought each other in the previous elections. Testimonials were given by supporters of
the political parties indicating willingness to change behavior and live peacefully with each
other. In Mashonaland Central, some youth indicated that they committed acts of political
violence out of ignorance and bad influence from political leaders adding that after playing sport
together they are willing to live harmoniously with their counterparts. The fact that victims and
perpetrators came together in sport opened avenues for reconciliation and forgiveness. The
community leaders, among them, village heads, chiefs, ministry officials and political leaders,
who attended the tournaments took the opportunity to educate the youth on the importance of
peace, also giving commitment to do their best in their capacities to end political violence.
8.2.1 External
Pending the final decision to relocate to Zimbabwe, recruitment of finance
and administrative officer originally scheduled for March 2009 was delayed until June.
The reason for this was related to the over all political situation and beyond Diakonias’
control. In addition has Diakonia not succeed in being registered as an INGO in Zimbabwe in
accordance with the PVO (Private Voluntary ACT). Efforts have been made to achieve a MOU,
which entered into force in 2010, however the official clearance and recognition to freely operate
as an INGO is pending. This has contributed to extraordinary high costs, lack of work permit for
the Country Representative, allocation of personal resources and caused uncertainty with regard
to sustainability and security of staff.
After liaising with the Embassy of Sweden and Sida, a new partner, Christian Alliance became
part of the programme in 2009. Christian Alliance fits very well into the new Diakonia
Zimbabwe programme since it has got a wide network of grass root organisations attached and
also possess great experience in peace building measures, in particular in peace and
reconciliation. It will contribute to the contextualization of faith and theology to mobilize the
Christian constituency to be in the forefront of conflict transformation initiatives. For the purpose
of strengthening the mainstreaming angle and make the programme more relevant from a youth
perspective, in 2010 Diakonia took the initiative to integrate in the regular country programme
two new youth organizations (YET and SCMZ) specialized in out reach peace building measures
and gender and HIV and AIDS issues. The result is a considerably vitalized and strengthened
country programme that will benefit from added competence and new methodology, youth
enthusiasm, and of being more adequate and attractive to future cooperating actors. Moreover the
partner organisation specialized in public spending and budget tracking, ZIMCODD was phased
out at the end of 2008, due to new programme focus. This was a joint decision between Diakonia
and the Embassy of Sweden and Sida, since Diakonia needed to prioritise and the country
programme needed to be focused. In addition due to a fraud case within the partner DHPI,
caused by weak financial control and routines, in 2010 funds were frozen. Diakonia carried out
an investigation, contacted the board and the director of DHPI and agreed to establish a mutually
compiled competence and capacity plan to be implemented. Hence the activities of the
organization where delayed with seven months. Moreover has the funds to CA for 2010 and
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2011been frozen due to financial irregularities and alleged fraud. A forensic investigation
spearheaded by CA in cooperation with other like minded donors (ACT), including Diakonia is
pending. In addition, in 2010 the first trench of disbursement of funds to ZCC was delayed due
to delayed submission of audit.
The 2008 election turbulence and post-election violence affected the possibility to carry out all
planned activities and brought by a low execution of the embassy funds, something that is also
seen in the overall execution ratio for the period that is 53% (other donors) and 65%. The goal to
carry out activities at programme level for mainstreaming of gender and HIV and AIDS,
originally scheduled for January 2009 was not achieved. Strict time constraint, necessary
prioritization, and partner fatigue in participatory assessments can explain the deviation. In 2010
a follow up and reinforcement of the process was carried out that will lead to new feasible
methodology and approach.
With regard to Organisation and Action, for the purpose of finding common ground and creating
connectors, ACPDT has since 2008 repeatedly worked with training, study circles, tree planting,
publishing of books, and awareness raising at national and local level.
On a district level within the three pilot districts of Bindura, Mutoko, and Buhera there can be
evidenced traces of a greater tolerance and willingness to cooperate between hostile MDC and
ZANU-PF members after they have joined the same activities, e.g. study circles and tree
planting. In addition there are observations of changed attitudes within marginalized and
oppressed groups to counteract propaganda and speak out. There is also noted changed attitude
from some governmental ministries to acknowledge the importance of churches as advocates for
good governance and democracy; observations in increased confidence in claiming rights,
finding solutions to problems and participating in decision making, e.g. voting out non
performing leaders. In addition police and district and traditional leaders have reported on
decrease in politically motivated violence, and women and girls organized themselves and were
able to report on abuse and rape. Rural people were able to demand none politically partisan food
distribution and collective improvement of infrastructure. In general there is evidence of
enhanced organization and action for improved understanding in local governance and
participating in local decisions. Although it is too early to observe any substantive impact, the
bringing together of people from extreme diverse backgrounds – the wronged and the
wrongdoers, constitutes positive steps towards a more conducive environment for exercising
democratic rights and sharing of ideas and experiences.
With regard to Knowledge and Awareness Raising, in 2009 SA16 launched a major report,
“Walking a thin line: the political and humanitarian challenges facing Zimbabwe’s leadership
and its ordinary citizens”. The report provides an overview of unfolding political events and
challenges facing the GPA and makes clear recommendations on how to address the outstanding
issues pertaining to reconciliation and further democratization. The outcome of the report has
6
South African Partner whose name has been withheld for security reasons.
104
been published in various media (BBC, CNN, SABC, SVT), and has also been submitted to all
regional think-tank and international embassies (of particular importance being the SADC peace
broker and political hegemon Southafrica). The outcome can be observed in terms of more
informed media reporting and has contributed to a greater awareness amongst the public;
mitigation of regional and international Zimbabwe fatigue; and a more informed and in dept
debate among the SADC policy makers contributing to a more fair and just picture of the
complex situation in Zimbabwe.
With regard to advocacy, actions, and campaigns, in 2010 YET launched a policy dialogue
campaign that included 18 youth organizations represented by 28 youths (17 males and 11
females). The purpose was to explore and make visible the linkages between gender, HIV and
AIDS and conflict among youth for the aim of increasing programming and policy capacity to
respond to authorities in a holistic manner. The campaign was based on international instruments
pertaining to the implications of women in conflict such as UNSCR 1325. This has resulted in a
the drafting of a declaration and participants resolved to influence the government to implement
international instruments that address gender implications inherit in conflict. Dialogue was later
initiated with Ministry of Youth which has resulted in YET possessing a permanent key advisory
role to the Ministry.
As regards influence and advocacy CA has through its status as lead civil society agency in the
National Healing Process, its active role in the CISOMM (Civil Society Monitoring Mechanism
(which is monitoring the implementation of the Global Political Agreement), worked with
promotion and equal rights for women. In its work with lobbying for inclusion of women’s rights
(in particular property and inheritance rights) in the constitution building procedure and by
building a nationwide data base on abuses it has contributed to lift these issues to an urgency
evident for the Zimbabwean government. This has resulted in a direct influence on the
constitutional making procedure and drafting of conventional legislation in which two negotiated
paragraphs in the draft constitution gives room for the acknowledgement of these rights.
In relation to knowledge and awareness raising, ACPDT has worked together with UNICEF with
education in women’s rights through publishing of books on sexual and productive rights and
HIV and AIDS, and conducting of training of 30 district leaders and 120 community leaders in
three districts (Mutoko, Bindura, Buhera) that have suffered from severe conflict and gender
based violence. The result is 1198 people trained. Of them 653 were female and 545male, and of
these 270 were children. The outcome are observations from the police and district and
traditional leaders on reduced gender based violence; increased tolerance across the political
divides, and changed behaviour in which girls, students, and women have been able to raise their
voice and even report to the police on abuses and harassments.
8.3.3 Human Rights
As regards initiatives aiming at increasing the respect for and enforcement of human rights, in
2010 the Diakonia partner CA participated in a series of joint Zimbabwean civil society
advocacy and education seminars. Five of the most prominent and influential Zimbabwean
human rights and labour organizations (Christian Alliance, Crisis Coalition, NANGO, Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association) participated by the initiative
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and under the coordination of Diakonia and ZEN (Zimbabwe Europe Network). The activities
were directed towards European governments, public and policymakers in Stockholm, Oslo,
Budapest, Brussels and Geneva. The purpose was to raise awareness on eminent human rights
issues and make visible the link to conflict and justice and social and economic justice. To raise
awareness on the issue of natural resources, the targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe, and to mitigate
the Zimbabwe fatigue at large. The outcome was a joint Zimabwe civil society declaration
presented in Oslo that was handed over to respective European government officials
(ambassadors and ministers) on the necessity to maintain the targeted measures. It also resulted
in a recommendation to the Kimberly Initiative Process on Zimbabwe’s role, and the
responsibility of European countries in regard to the illegal smuggling of conflict diamonds in
Manica Land. Hence the hardliners within the Zimbabwe government are facing resistance from
a unified end better equipped civil society with direct access to policymakers within the EU and
the international community.
With regard to defending and promoting human rights, Silveira House carried out activities
aiming to mobilize support for the recognition of the five major minority languages (Tonga,
Sotho, Xangaani, Tshivenda, and Nambya) in the constitution making process and as a cultural
human right. The project used regional linkages and cross border experiences from Zambia and
South Africa to lobby the Ministry of Education and the constitutional outreach mechanisms.
The outcome can be observed in formed partnerships between indigenous groups and that media
support was garnered, resulting in recognition from local authorities and pledge to revise teacher
recruitment policy and curricula.
Result 8.3.4 – Social Economic Justice
With regard to influence and advocacy, in 2008 ZIMCODD carried out its work as leading
catalyst for Zimbabwean and regional advocacy, education, and facilitation in this field. For the
purpose to raise the level for economic literacy ZIMCODD has been involved in sector specific
civic education. This has resulted in creating debate and make visible alternatives to the
persistent global neoliberal economic agenda, and raise the awareness and literacy about
economic issues amongst the marginalised, the rural communities, the youth, and the local
councillors. ZIMCODD has carried out research and policy analysis on various sectors in
Zimbabwe and the region contributing to demands on fair trade, labours rights, formation of
cotton producer association, and influencing the SADC Trade Protocol. The foremost outcome of
these forums was the drawing up of a SADC peoples’ declaration that was handed over to the
heads of states of the eleven SADC countries represented. The declaration was about the need to
intensify people to people solidarity across the region citing Zimbabwe and Swaziland as crisis
countries.
As regards the creation and/or strengthening of spaces or forums for dialogue and participation in
relation to government planning and implementation of development projects and social
investment, Silveira House carried out research on road infrastructure in Binga, Tyunga and
Simatelele area. The purpose was to create tools for local community
to conduct lobbying towards the responsible authority the District Development Fund (DDF).
The outcome is a formation of a permanent forum of local chiefs and village heads carrying out
regular liaising meetings with DDF representatives.
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With regard to organized efforts towards monitoring public performance and budgeting, ZCC
carried out budget tracking in the Mberengwa and the Chipinge rural districts. The purpose was
to advocate for a people driven developmental local government budget process and
participatory budgeting and budget tracking. The outcome can be evidenced by the 2010 budget
procedures in the respective districts whereby wide consultations among community
representatives were carried out by the local authorities.
8.3.5. Capacity Building Result:
Three major assessments show that the technical level of progress reporting, institutional
capacity and mainstreaming skills are generally rather low ( in particular among the faith based
organizations) and have not improved considerably despite the increased number of seminars and
the establishment of the Diakonia country office and the increased efforts made. For that
purpose, in 2009 Diakonia decided to conduct annual and semiannual Monitoring and Evaluation
visits to all partners in connection to the partners’ progress reporting. Consequently annual and
bi annual follow up and monitoring visits to all partners offices and project sites in Zimbabwe
and South Africa (Harare, Bulawayo, Chinoy, Bindura, Johannesburg, Pretoria) including
participation in partners activities (workshops, trainings and daily activities) were carried out
from 2009. Before the visits, clear and pedagogic instructions and formats for progress reporting,
mainstreaming areas and documents showing upon the Diakonia project cycle and the
consequences for delayed reporting were submitted and communicated. However, with a few
exceptions the outcome was rather poor and the progress reporting was severely delayed, did not
take into account the mainstreaming areas, focused on output level, and was in many cases
inadequate. Moreover Diakonia took active part in partners’ annual stakeholder and round table
meetings, and also carried out targeted training in progress reporting for four partner
organizations’ staff. This has resulted in a better mutual understanding and communication. In
addition due to notification of financial irregularities of one partner in South Africa in 2010,
three targeted monitoring and training visits were carried out to Pretoria during the same year.
Agreement on a capacity implementing plan was reached and has since been partly implemented.
In 2010 a three months intensive assessment was carried out by an independent consultant, the
Diakonia CR and the FO for the purpose to evaluate and strengthen two possible new partner
organisations: YET and SCMZ. During this period six meetings and three training sessions were
conducted by the consultant and Diakonia jointly. An end evaluation seminar was also conducted
by Diakonia that showed successful progress and potential. A major lesson learnt from these
experiences and efforts is that Diakonia must (together with its partners) make increased efforts
in identifying new feasible ways and methods to work with capacity building and institutional
strengthening vis a vis reflect on its added value of having established an office in Harare.
Consequently in 2010 a new assessment and a special context analysis seminar were carried out
which gives room for that conclusion, i.e. an obvious need for reconsidering prioritisations,
identifying new feasible methodologies, and individualized and targeted approach that also gives
room for a somewhat more permanent function carrying out institutional strengthening, building
capacities together with the organizations on weekly or semi weekly basis.
Diakonia country office has carried out some advocacy activities together with its partners and
relevant civil society organizations operating in Zimbabwe and regionally. This has been carried
out foremost within the framework of two European networks for Zimbabwe and a regionally
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based organisation: Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN), European Ecumenical Network for
Zimbabwe (EZN), IDASA (Institute for Democracy in Southern Africa). Already at a planning
stage of the country programme in Nairobi 2008, during the frequent missions to Zimbabwe it
was discovered about considerable potential for carrying out advocacy and lobbying. The
information, knowledge and skills among the Diakonia partner organizations in this regard were
mixed, however the interest was high. Consequently based on the partner’s capacity, intentions,
and with additional input from other relevant civil society organizations, Diakonia took on a
coordinating role and facilitated several activities leading to declarations, resolutions, statements,
and changed positions and behaviour among various stakeholders and policymakers in Europe
and Zimbabwe. This was considered a successful exercise. However in connection to these
experiences for the purpose to contribute to partners’ own initiatives and enhanced sustainability
in this area, Diakonia has learnt that stronger efforts and initiatives to encourage more formalised
and structured networking and knowledge sharing among the partners is crucial. In addition that
Diakonia for capacity, credibility and enhanced performance purposes should consider more
formalized cooperation with a skilled advocacy organization strong on the European Union
(ZEN) and an organization skilled at public budget monitoring and tracking, and for that purpose
consider retaking its partnership with ZIMCODD.
The period under review can be characterized as a phase of planning, establishing and
consolidation of the programme and the country office with a strong output on programme
development, coordination with other donors, creating synergies and advocacy. Objectives that
have not been successfully met are mainly linked to capacity building of partners and
mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS and gender equality. Three major programme assessments
pertaining to gender and HIV and AIDS mainstreaming, conflict sensitivity and general
institutional capacity were carried out during the planning stage in 2008-2009. The findings that
showed upon technical constraints but high interest in particular within the framework of conflict
sensitivity, gave room for several activities initiated by Diakonia. Four seminars and joint
trainings on the mainstreaming areas were facilitated by external consultants and Diakonia staff
in 2009- 2010. With regard to conflict sensitivity the outcome was successful since all partners’
programmes are sensitized and there is an awareness and continued discussion within the
organizations. In relation to gender and HIV and AIDS, the result is poor and there is a lack of
understanding and also resistance within some of the faith based organizations to take into
account and address adequately some of these issues. Diakonia has learnt from self made
experience and other donor organizations that change of methodology and approach will be
crucial. A general conclusion is that in order to perform successfully in this area in the future the
programme must improve its prioritization, relocate resources and avoid making partners’
capacity building as annual or semiannual events, but to make efforts in contributing to more
permanent and regular support mechanisms. A direction that gives room for this kind of
permanent approach will be crucial for fulfilling the programme objectives and reach tangible
sustainable results whereas Diakonia has contributed towards building local capacities in the
Zimbabwean civil society
Diakonia has been encouraging information and knowledge sharing for enhanced cooperation
and collaboration between the partners and also opened up for external outlooks by liaising with
external and regional actors (IDASA, Sida Civil Society Center, ACT Alliance). However the
108
findings in the programme evaluation 2008 and the conflict analysis 2009 clearly points out this
as an area that needs to be further strengthened and developed. However concrete results are
visible. After coordinating meetings with Diakonia, ZCC, ACPDT and CA initiated cooperation
in coordinating Diakonia evaluations and monitoring visits to project sites. As a result of active
Diakonia participation in the ACPDT round table in 2009, facilitation of knowledge sharing and
book distribution happened between ACPDT, DHPI and UNICEF in 2010. Cooperation between
the two youth partner organizations YET and SCMZ have been encouraged by Diakonia and
Sida jointly in which a first step was evidenced in joint training activities and use of the Diakonia
produced advocacy DVD. These efforts have contributed to consolidating the programme and
creating a sense of “we” among the partners. In addition it has contributed to enhanced cost
efficiency by better using each others’ comparative advantages as an added value.
In connection to partners’ round table meetings and missions to South Africa, discussions have
been held with NCA about the need for future synergies (for cost efficiency) and joint
approaches towards common partners, ZCC and CA. The result is a scheduled coordinating
meeting amongst the donors for a common approach in connection to the next ZCC round table
in 2011. In addition in 2010 there have been comprehensive coordinating efforts among the
regional ACT members (NCA, DCA, Christian AID) in cooperating for the purpose of ensuring
acting with a unified voice in relation to an alleged fraud case. The cooperation has been
successful in dealing with the case and liaising with the partner leading to a mutual agreement of
the establishment of a forensic audit. However this exercise per see has also contributed towards
strengthening of relations contributing to possible future consolidated and more permanent
synergies. In addition Diakonia took the initiative in trying to identify possible ways to link up
with likeminded [and Swedish] organizations (SCC, Afrikagrupperna) to gain from their
experiences, utilise each other’s comparative advantages and avoid duplication. The result is
regular bimonthly meetings amongst the parties for exchange of information and attempts to find
common ground. Moreover regular visits to Pretoria and discussions finally led to close
cooperation with IDASA on risk management, conflict sensitivity and political context analysis
pertaining to all thematic Diakonia areas. The result was a two days context analysis seminar
with all partners and external civil society organizations facilitated by IDASA and Diakonia, the
compiling of a Context Analysis Report, and continued discussions on future common endeavors
and areas of mutual interest (research projects, thematic strengthening, capacity building).
Since its formation the Diakonia Zimbabwe CO has been liaising and cooperating on a regular
basis with the HO in Stockholm, with regard to advocacy and synergies pertaining to EU
networking. In 2010 a high level seminar including some of the most prominent Zimbabwe
civil society representatives (Christian Alliance, Crisis Coalition, NANGO, Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association) were carried out in seven European
countries with a final in Stockholm. The activities, foremost directed towards European
policymakers (MP:s, ambassadors, civil servants) and media resulted in the handing over of a
joint civil society declaration and recommendations related to the pending Kimberly Initiative
process. In 2010 a DVD on Zimbabwean youth peace building measures and an informative
leaflet about the Diakonia country programme and its partners were produced in dialogue with
HO, and handed over to Stockholm for information and advocacy purpose. This has created
109
awareness about the programme and contributed towards mitigating the Zimbabwe fatigue
among policy makers and the public. Three separate visits from Diakonia HO (Head of
Advocacy, Head of Africa, Policy Officer ) were carried out to Zimbabwe. The purpose has been
to understand better, to monitor and follow up, and discuss the future of the programme. These
efforts have resulted in enhanced mutual understanding that will contribute to more informed
decisions and a more fair picture of the Diakonia programme and the situation in Zimbabwe at
large.
8.8 Contribution to EU financed Programmes
No EU financed project was implemented in Zimbabwe during 2008-2010.
2010
Zimbabwe
Outcome/budget
%
97%
Appr budget
2,148,000
Revised Nov
2,213,000
Actual costs
2,146,162
OTHER DONORS
Sub-total other
donors
3,884,296
4,020,031
320,775
4,124,207
3,884,296
4,340,806
4,124,207
TOTAL
6,032,296
6,553,806
6,270,369
Appr budget
Revised Nov
Actual costs
Outcome/budget
%
5,973,000
5,807,000
5,480,599
94%
13,754,296
14,075,375
7,349,946
53%
CIVSAM
higher than 10%
96%
2008-2010
Zimbabwe
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
13,754,296
14,075,375
7,349,946
TOTAL
19,727,296
19,882,375
12,830,545
higher than 10%
In 2008 the Country was
involved in protracted political
activity (general elections) and
the resulting post election
conflict during the better part
of the 2008. This situation
provided a challenging
environment for implementing
Programme activities as
planned
65%
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9. Regional Programme: Social and Economic Justice
9.1 Summary of Diakonia’s SEJ ESA Programme.
9.1.1. The situation
Inspite multiple crises Africa achieved relatively high growth rates in the first decade of the
twenty-first century, culminating in a continent-wide average growth rate of 6.1 percent in 2007.
This relatively rapid growth was however not accompanied by growth in employment, as the
rates of unemployment increased in most African countries. Overall, at current rates, the
continent continues to lag on many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is thus
clear that more efforts are needed to ensure that economic growth actually contributes to
development and is channeled towards the fulfillment of the MDGs.
But progress has been made on e.g. primary school enrollment, gender parity, women’s
empowerment, and access to improved sanitation and safe water. Civil society at both regional
and national level has played a crucial role in bringing about this change and to monitor
government actions and progress.
9.1.2. How we work
Diakonia’s regional programme on Social and Economic Justice focuses on some of the most
important structural issues that need to be addressed to eradicate poverty in Africa:
fair trade rules, sustainable debt burdens, aid effectiveness, gender equality (especially regarding
economic issues), sustainable private sector investments and operations, and climate justice.
Diakonia supports regional organisations that do research, networking, mobilisation, lobby and
advocacy work in order to influence policies and practices of national governments, regional and
international institutions, such as the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank(WB), the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as of private corporations in key sectors such as
mining.
9.1.3. What we and our regional partners achieve
During 2008-2010 our partners managed to, among other things:
 Provide African negotiators with research, arguments and alternatives, which they in turn
used to push for fairer trade rules in the Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU.
 Convince the US Congress to approve the sale of IMF gold reserves that helped cushion
African countries from the effects of the global financial crisis.
 Convince the Government and donors in Kenya to incorporate civil society within the
structure for the implementation of the aid effectiveness agenda under the Aid
Effectiveness Group.
 Strengthen Southern African governments’ commitments to Gender and Economic
Justice by pushing them to sign and implement the SADC Protocol on Gender and
Development.
111


Empowered communities impacted by mining to engage in monitoring their environment,
utilise new social media and to have direct dialog with the corporations that affect their
lives.
Influence the positions of the African Group in the UN climate negotiations to push for a
fair and efficient climate deal.
9.2 Deviations from original plans
9.2.1 External
The biggest external challenge during the period has been the shift in discussions, both in
Sweden and many other countries, around what constitutes development results. When the
application was written and many of the contracts with partners were signed focus was on long
term goals and short term activities, since much of the work was around advocacy on structural
issues which take longer time to change. The change of focus is mostly positive, but may also
have negative effects in that it might steer development work towards “easy wins” where
partners could start to avoid working with long term, structural issues where it is more difficult
to show quick results.
The changes in the global aid discussion have also meant increased financial and administrative
demands from back donors such as Sida. Although it is very important to have timely and
accurate financial reports, the focus on administration has also meant that also programme staff
has spent less time on programme development and thematic interaction with partners. This has
reduced the possibilities of utilizing unique possibilities for synergies through closer cooperation
with partners and other programmes. To further tap into this potential more human resources are
needed, but this would in turn increase the costs of the programme.
It has been a challenge to get partners to report on more short term results as many of them have
not had appropriate monitoring and evaluation frameworks in place to e.g. systematically record
feedback from decision makers that could detect progress on a smaller scale. Progress in
reporting has however been made thanks to detailed feedback and discussions. Capacity building
efforts have also been initiated, but more work is needed.
Two of the partners included in the application were in the end not part of the programme:
 AWEPON who had problems in reporting their 2007 project, which led to Diakonia blocking
further payments, initiating a special audit and ending the cooperation since the organization
had not used the funds according to the agreed budget.
 SARPN which basically collapsed in 2007 and was non-functional during the period in
question.
In 2008 three new partners were taken onboard:
 AACC to work on churches involvement in the Aid Effectiveness debate. The cooperation
with AACC was however not extended into 2009-2010 because of lack of strategy from
AACC to bring their work from a church leader’s to grass root level.
 Gender Links and the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance to work on gender and economic
justice from a SADC perspective.
 SID to work on gender and economic justice from a EAC perspective.
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
Ufadhili’s work was also expanded to assist Diakonia’s Lake Victoria Programme with an
analysis of the fish value chain and to strengthen the economic empowerment component of
the programme.
In 2009 PACJA was taken onboard to compliment the programme regarding crucial issues such
as climate finance and ecological debt.
In 2010 Reality of Aid Africa became a standalone network (previously hosted by AFRODAD)
and partnering with them was a natural follow up of the aid effectiveness work.
To some extent Diakonia had set up too ambitious objectives, but increased financial demands
also meant that more time had to be spent on administration rather than thematic work. This was
unfortunate and one of the main reasons why the support to County Programmes never really
“took off”.
The change in SEJ ESA Programme Manager staff and the consequent gap of three months at the
end of 2008 created a backlog that hampered the work for some time during 2009. Change of
staff also meant challenges to the continuous follow up with partners, since it took time for the
new Programme Manager to “get to know” the partners well enough.
Not having a finance officer in the programme, but rather relying on support from the finance
department at the regional office proved a challenge due to overload peaks and lack of ownership
among finance support staff.
Diakonia has been struggling to create its own understanding of results based management and
therefore we did not give our partners adequate support in this regard, but capacity has been
building gradually. More work is however needed, especially to harmonise demands put on
partners in different programmes.
9.3 Programme analysis of outcomes and impacts per Result
Partners continued to highlight issues of fair trade regimes; debt cancellation; aid effectiveness;
gender equality in economic issues and private sector investments and operations on national,
regional and international agendas. All these issues also links to HO work around Global
Political and Economic Structures, and the private sector investments and operations also
connects to HO work on Conflict and Justice.
9.3.1 Result 1: Civil Society Organizations at the regional level are able to effectively
include SEJ in public and private sector agenda
Most partners used research as a basis for lobby and advocacy work towards decision makers,
often done simultaneously in several countries through their national members/networks. Some
of the highlights during the period were:
Several of our partners, such as EJN, SAPSN and Trade Centre worked actively to provide
African negotiators with research, arguments and alternatives, which they in turn used to push
for fairer trade rules in the Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU. Several countries,
113
such as Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi and Zambia, also opted not to sign the interim
EPAs as they judged they could hamper their development.
In the wake of the global financial crisis, our partner AFRODAD teamed up with Jubilee USA
and together they convince the US Congress to approve the sale of IMF gold reserves. This
helped cushion African countries from the effects of the global financial crisis, since African
countries could access to more funds that were used e.g. in labor intensive government
infrastructure projects to create employment. This showed that our partners can even create
results on a global level.
Mining is a key industry in Africa south of Sahara, but often it rather hampers than contributes to
development. Our partners Bench Marks, EJN and AFRODAD have all been involved in
organizing Alternative Mining Indabas and participated in official big mining industry meetings
to highlight social and environmental impact of mining. This has led to e.g. South Africa
redrafting its policy for mining houses to contribute meaningfully to development.
Through Reality of Aid Africa, first hosted by AFRODAD and then as a standalone network, our
partners produced a number of studies to investigate and examine the impact of the Paris
Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. Following lobby and advocacy work led to e.g.
the Government and donors in Kenya agreeing to incorporate civil society within the structure
for the implementation of the aid effectiveness agenda under the Aid Effectiveness Group.
Climate justice became a big issue during the period, since it became clear that development in
Africa will be severely hampered by climate change unless actions are taken and that financial
resources might be diverted to cover costs for adaptation rather than development. Our partner
PACJA has been recognized by both African and international actors as the civil society network
representing African CSOs in the climate discussions. PACJA also managed to influence the
positions of the African Group in the UN climate negotiations, through intensive lobbying and
cooperation with African parliamentarians, negotiators and ministers. African positions have
however had limited impact on the international negotiations where Africa’s voice is still not
unified and often not seriously taken into account by more powerful countries.
For more information please see indicator matrix.
9.3.2 Result 2: Civil Society Organizations at the regional level are able to effectively build
the capacity of marginalized groups of improving their standard of living.
Some of the partners in the programme also work on a grass root level together with the rights
holders to improve their standard of living through various capacity building efforts and sharing
of information.
Our partner Bench Marks have been working with youth in communities affected by mining.
Through training and enabling access to new social media youth have now become active
monitors of the situation in their communities collecting relevant data and spreading it on the
internet. Mobilization and organization of youth groups has also enable them to have more direct
dialog with corporations and local authorities that affect their lives. Although much of the
114
difficult situation remains in the communities many of the youth feel that the training has
changed their lives and empowered them to take action and control over their own lives.
Ufadhili’s coffee project has been based on the recommendations of the coffee value chain study
that Diakonia supported in 2007. Trainings for more than 200 coffee society leaders has
improved governance, reduced costs and improved conflict management within the societies, to
the benefit of members. For example clarifying different roles within the leadership of the
cooperative has lead to more effective division of labor and reduced travel costs. Peer learning
and membership in larger organizations representing coffee farmers has given small scale
farmers access to new information and knowledge. This has resulted in improved farming
practices and production. E.g. Charles Nyakundi from Orinde Farmers Cooperative Society has
increased his coffee production from four to six tons thanks to the training on production of
organic manure, which has led to an increase in profits of 175 000 KES
Ufadhli has also assisted Diakonia’s Lake Victoria programme with capacity building for
economic empowerment. Viable alternative income generating activities has made it possible for
communities around Lake Victoria, where the fisheries sector is in crisis due to bad management
and environmental problems, to start various businesses such as water hyacinth weaving,
horticulture, and poultry keeping. Various market options are now being looked at including
attending exhibitions, signing consignment contracts with companies in Nairobi and Mombasa,
visiting hotels and restaurants to look for orders, etc.
9.2.3 Result 3: Civil Society Organizations at the regional level are able to effectively
include gender issues in public and private sector agenda.
In 2008 the SADC countries took a landmark decision to adopt the SADC Protocol on Gender
and Development, much thanks to the lobby efforts of our Gender Links and their Alliance with
partners all over SADC. During 2009 and 2010 the Alliance followed up on the progress made
and produced a Barometer to measure progress towards the fulfillment of the Protocol. Although
there are still major challenges regarding gender justice, especially on the economic side, some
result have been recorded, e.g. the Zambian Ministry of Lands now reports gender disaggregated
data on land distribution aimed at ensuring that at least 1/3 of all new land holdings are allocated
to women; and in South Africa several policies seek to ensure equal participation of women in
policy formulation processes and the implementation of economic policies. The Alliance has also
conducted trainings for journalists in the region which has resulted in a number of articles/news
features that covers economic issues in a different angle- “Business Unusual” as they call their
work. All this has contributed to putting gender higher on the agenda both with decision makers
and media in the region.
Thanks to linkages of Diakonia the work in SADC has also inspired similar efforts within East
Africa. Our partner SID gathered baseline data and together with organizations from region
developed a draft Protocol for Gender and Development with a monitoring and evaluation
framework. Although no concrete results have yet been achieved on the political level, an
important basis and alliance has been formed to take this work further within EAC.
115
116
9.3.4 Capacity Building Result
Looking at the trends in the capacity building matrix it is at first glance difficult to see
improvement over time. The tool is however relatively blunt and the changes in evaluation is
remarkably different between the previous and the new Programme Manager. If comparisons are
made between 2007-2008 (previous staff) and 2009-2010 (new staff) it is still possible to see that
partners have progressed during the period. This calls for further elaboration of the tool to make
it more objective.
It is however important to note that since partners in this regional programme are spread out
across Africa it has not been possible to gather them for frequent capacity building sessions as in
many of the national programmes. Efforts have rather been made to coordinate trainings with
other programmes (e.g. Kenya and Lake Victoria) or other partners in the same geographical
location (e.g. Bench Marks and Gender Links) to strengthen capacity building in various
thematic and methodological issues. Individual feedback on reporting has also improved partners
focus and reporting on results, but in this regard it has also been a balancing act to provide
partners with tools/models/templates that would assist them but at the same time not limit them
too much in their ability to e.g. use the same report for other donor partners.
Partners have appreciated Diakonia’s feedback on reports and proposals, evaluations, and
discussions around focusing more on results (see above section 9.2.2) through visits, Skype and
e-mails. Capacity building efforts have also been initiated, sometimes in close cooperation with
Diakonia and in other cases with stronger ownership by the partners themselves or in cooperation
with other donors’ local methodology help desks, but more work is needed to assist partners to
move to a more results based management system.
9.4 Lessons learnt based on Selected Outcomes
In the strategic plan for 2008-2010 three main strategies were outlined: Knowledge/Awareness,
Organisation/Action and Influence/Advocacy which are in line with Diakonia’s Theory/Strategy
for Change.
Most partners also worked with all these strategies; generating research to create more
knowledge; generating awareness through seminars, workshops and media work; mobilising
people through meetings and actions; influencing decision makers and duty bearers through
lobby and advocacy.
Some of the partners did however not manage to fully follow up on all strategies. Some (e.g.
Trade Centre) saw themselves more as think tanks who’s role was to generate research while not
linking enough to regional actors who are good at mobilisation and advocacy which limited the
impact of their work.
Others (e.g. Ufadhili) did good work on the grass root level in increasing awareness and
mobilising rights holders, but this proved so resource intensive that aspects of advocacy were
117
somewhat lost. This meant that their results were limited to the people directly involved in the
projects, rather than amplifying their impact through changing structures.
It is therefore recommended that the future programme focuses more on regional organisations
with national membership/network representatives in various countries that can ensure that
research is taken further and followed up on at the national level. In such organisations division
of labour/roles/strategies is possible (and can even shift over time) and it ensures linkages to the
national level. Another recommendation is also for the regional programme not to get too
involved in grass root work, but rather focus on regional mobilisation and advocacy building
upon the work of organisations at a national level.
The linkages to international processes and Head Office work proved very useful and greatly
increased the synergies created by Diakonia. E.g. providing space for partners to influence
Swedish and European decision makers was very helpful to partners, at the same time as it has
been helpful in Diakonia’s advocacy work and has increased our clout. Partners have especially
appreciated this kind of close cooperation since it proves that our partnership is more than about
financial support and that we can operate on a more equal footing. Time was however a limiting
factor (see above 9.2.3) and the potential synergies could be greatly advanced if the programme
had more human resources.
The linkages to country programmes did however prove more challenging (see above 9.2.3).
Some common trainings, e.g. regarding budget monitoring and advocacy cycle management,
were conducted during the period, but time constraints created problems for both Diakonia staff
and partners. Changes in donor priorities in different countries also limited possibilities for
synergies further, when some linking partners were phased out. There is however still great
potential for synergies between country and regional programmes, but further human resources
are needed to materialise these.
118
In 2008-2010 there were a lot of synergies between partners in the SEJ Programme, e.g.:
Several partners such as Bench Marks, EJN and AFRODAD have cooperated around issues
related to mining. The different organisations have different entry points and complement each
other; Bench Mark looking at mining from a CSR/watch dog point of view, EJN focusing on
ecological debt and AFRODAD looking at aspects of tax justice. Diakonia has supported all
organisations financially and has encouraged cooperation through facilitating linkages. Since
mining is a key industry in Africa south of Sahara it is especially important to engage in
discussions around this to ensure that mining actually contributes to sustainable development.
This is even more relevant in an era where politicians look towards the private sector and foreign
direct investments to solve development issues and to eradicate poverty.
Diakonia has encouraged and promoted partners working on related issues to link up to the Pan
African Climate Justice Network. It has been especially encouraging that EJN, through their
work on ecological debt, has become very active in the climate justice movement and has played
a key role in involving national Christian councils and other Christian organisations in climate
justice issues. This has been key to mobilise civil society and churches, especially in Southern
Africa, in the run up towards COP 17 in Durban in 2011.
Diakonia linked our Southern African partners Gender Links to SID to give inspiration and
possibilities for experience sharing to Eastern Africa. This has been key in the development of a
draft Protocol for Gender and Development within the EAC region, where the political
discussions around gender equality face much tougher situation than in SADC.
Seeral of the regional partners, such as AFRODAD, EJN and PACJA have cooperated closely
with partners in Diakonia’s programmes in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Zambia (such
as the national Christian councils). Sometimes this has been encouraged by Diakonia, sometimes
it has been initiated by the organisations themselves. This kind of cooperation has however been
key to be able to advance partners’ work on both regional and national levels, to have a joint
agenda.
Ufadhli has greatly contributed to strengthening the economic empowerment component of
Diakonia’s Lake Victoria programme, which is a result of the cooperation between our two
programmes. In a previous evaluation the economic empowerment component was found to be
the weakest link in the LVLP programme, whilst now it is the strongest component with a lot of
promising results. The feedback from partners and communities in the Lake Victoria region has
been very positive, since changes have been recorded in a relatively short period of time.
Extensive coordination regarding climate justice was done within the APRODEV group, both
internationally and regionally. In ESA Diakonia cooperated closely with Norwegian Church Aid,
Christian Aid and Dan Church Aid through sharing information and experience, co-funding
activities and partners, especially in the field of climate justice.
119
Most of the partners in the SEJ programme also have other APRODEV members as donor
partners, thus sharing reporting formats, etc. But donor harmonisation and coordination could be
further advanced to the benefit of partners. Hopefully this will be processed further within the
ACT Alliance, now that Diakonia has decided to join. Time and human resources are key.
There are many links between the partners work and the work, especially at the Policy and
Advocacy Department, at Diakonia’s Head Office. Representatives from partners have during
numerous occasions participated in lobby efforts in Sweden and Europe together with Diakonia
and our European networks, e.g.:
 AFRODAD has a close cooperation with EURODAD and has worked with Diakonia at
many international meetings such as World Bank/IMF meetings, the Accra High Level
Forum and in specific projects such as China’s role in Africa. Strategies have often been
complementary, such as the work regarding a charter of responsible borrowing/lending.
 BENCH MARKS work with the Monitoring Action Schools has been featured in
Diakonia’s magazine Dela Med.
 EJN has worked closely with Diakonia and APRODEV, especially regarding trade issues
and climate justice.
 PACJA has worked closely with Diakonia and APRODEV to promote climate justice,
both at international UNFCCC meetings, in Africa and Sweden.
It has been very beneficial to both partners and Diakonia to have this kind of cooperation. Time
restrictions of the Programme Manager (as discussed above) has however been a limiting factor
in developing these kind of synergies.
No EU financed project was undertaken during 2008-2010.
9.9 Budget and outcome
2010
ESA SEJ
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance
donors
Sub-total
donors
Appr
budget
5 449 000
Revised
Nov
5 648 500
Actual
costs
5 594 927
0
0
0
0
0
0
Outcome
/budget
Comments
deviations
on
%
99%
higher than 10%
other
other
120
TOTAL
5 449 000
5 648 500
5 594 927
99%
2008-2010
Outcome/
budget
ESA SEJ
Appr
Revised
Actual
budget
Nov
costs
%
16 249 000 16 765 500 16 747 325 100%
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance
donors
Sub-total
donors
TOTAL
700 000
700 000
0
0%
700 000
700 000
0
0%
Comments
deviations
on
higher than 10%
other
other
16 949 000 17 465 500 16 747 325 96%
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10. Regional Programme: LAKE VICTORIA LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMME (LVLP)
10.1 Summary of Diakonia Lake Victoria Livelihood Programme
The situation in the region
Despite the huge potential for economic growth and social development, the Lake Victoria
region is one of the poorest regions in Eastern Africa, marginalized from many previous and
ongoing mainstream development initiatives. The region is characterized by a HIV and AIDS
epidemic with prevalence rates by far outnumbering national prevalence rates and high levels of
gender inequality with rampant human rights abuses against women, youth and children. There
are problems with ecological degradation and fish depletion of the lake combined with weak
institutional capacity at government level and low public participation in political processes. The
capacity of the fisher folk to organize and lobby and advocate around a joint fisher folk agenda
not least at national and regional level is weak.
How we work in the region
The ultimate aim of Diakonia´s work is to support and achieve change- increasing people´s
possibilities of influencing the conditions under which they live, through influencing local,
national and international social, political and economic power structures. In order to achieve
lasting change Diakonia believes that solutions must come from people themselves, organized in
a strong civil society which is why Diakonia supports local partner organizations doing this
work. Diakonia has since 2006 implemented an innovative livelihood programme with two beach
communities and three islands of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda collaborating with faith based
organizations making a significant impact at community level among fishing communities. The
partner organizations are both Muslim and Christian of many denominations working in close
partnership. Diakonia recognizes the unique position of local churches and faith based
organizations to contribute to the fight against HIV and AIDS, social, political and economic
marginalization. The churches also have an important role in raising awareness about rights
issues and to effectively disseminate correct information, influence attitudes and values,
advocate with and on behalf of the vulnerable and reach marginalized communities.
What we and our partners achieve
Through an integrated approach of HIV and AIDS prevention and mitigation, social justice and
human rights as well as economic empowerment for improved livelihoods, the programme has
achieved reduced stigma and discrimination and increased number of people living positively in
a sexual/reproductive health rights context, increased access to voluntary counseling and testing,
trained paralegals increasing awareness and access to justice not least among women and people
living with HIV, religious leaders speaking out on HIV and AIDS and a number of income
generating activities creating alternative incomes for poor fishing communities with a focus on
women. The results achieved are seen as important contributors of increased skills of fishing
communities to exercise and claim their rights which hopefully will contribute to a deepened
process of democratization in the targeted areas around Lake Victoria.
10.2 Deviations from original plans during 2009-2010 (1/2 page)
10.2.1 External
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The linkages to regional advocacy work targeting and interacting with regional bodies with
leverage for fishing communities has not fallen through during the phase out period. A
component of harmonizing laws and policies at Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization level was
part of the contract signed with the resource organization Ufadhili Trust but revising priorities
and starting where the fishing communities are at, during 2009-2010, Ufadhili has worked with
the actual needs of fishing communities in terms of developing income generating activities,
capacity building and enabling access to financial services rather than focusing on high level
advocacy. However, there are also other reasons that contribute to an understanding to the
deviation. It has become increasingly clear that there is a lack of political opening for fisherfolk
to interact and influence regional bodies and regional issues. Diakonia has been urged by other
civil society actors to, in a continued programme, initiate and support a regional civil society
network with actual fisher folk representation and thereby legitimacy as this actually does not
seem to exist today. This in combination with the fact that the fisherfolk communities have been
poor at organizing themselves as to push for this type of political openings, due to traditionally
low levels of political mobilization and lobby and advocacy capacity at national and regional
levels around a joint fisherfolk agenda, has meant that it has been difficult for Diakonia to go
straight to capacity building partners and communities to partake in national and regional
networks should they have existed.
A no cost extension covering the period up to June 30, 2011 was signed with the back donor Sida
REED in 2010. There is a 14% balance that will be carried forward to this extended period of
implementation, majorly covering the activities of evaluation, development of programme biefs,
resource organization SEJ and other expertise as well as audit. The evaluation will be carried out
in 2011, at the end of the no cost period. As Diakonia realized during 2010 that it was far costlier
than anticipated to produce regional documentaries/ programme briefs, revised instructions for
the development of programme briefs and best practices for sharing with other stakeholders were
integrated in the ToRs for the evaluation and any such data will be collected by the evaluators as
they will be visiting all the partners, both at head office level as well as at all implementing sites.
The resource organization SEJ and other expertise disbursement deviated as a bigger workshop
will be held in April 2011 and the audit will be carried out after the end of the no cost period to
cover all costs incurred during the extended period.
10.2.2. Internal: Partners
There have been no changes in the partner composition during the reported period.
A new Programme Manager joined the programme some months into 2009. As anticipated it was
time consuming for a new programme manager to fully understand the programme, the capacity
of partners, visit all project sites as well as build relations to stakeholders involved in the
programme. However, the transition period was relatively short with a partner review and
planning meeting held less than one month after the programme manager had arrived at the
Regional Office and thus there were no major effects on programme implementation.
10.3 Programme Analysis of Outcomes per Result
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10.3.1 Result 1: HIV and AIDS- Incidence and prevalence of HIV and AIDS among the
fishing communities reduced.
The HIV and AIDS component has during the period of reporting increasingly been integrated
with the other components of rights and social justice, economic empowerment and
sustainability moving towards a truly holistic programme approach. To show achievements made
and to source for continued funding, three abstracts were submitted to the International AIDS
Conference in Vienna in 2010; two of them were accepted and selected for poster presentation.
The abstracts linked to the conference theme of “Rights here, right now” by showing how the
LVLP has worked through; a) interdenominational and interfaith cooperation to reduce incidence
and prevalence among fishing communities. This has resulted in religious leaders who were
previously not collaborating now jointly speaking up on HIV and AIDS issues contributing to
changed perceptions towards PLWHAS who increasingly are able to claim rights.
Misconceptions and judgmental attitudes have been challenged amongst the religious leaders
themselves contributing to declining levels of stigma/discrimination, increased numbers of
people seeking VCT and increased number of people declaring their HIV status and living
positively b) Through LVLP trained paralegals, significant results for human rights enforcement
have been achieved at community level where paralegals have initiated campaigns and advocacy
supporting PLWHA quest for privacy, confidentiality, freedom of expression and opinion rights.
Significantly, it has resulted in the community increasingly advocating for right based services
from providers while PLWHA have pursued inclusion in development initiatives and demanded
for shared confidentiality and privacy of medical information. As an example of integration of
rights, gender and HIV/AIDS, men´s underutilization of HIV services such as testing, treatment
and care / support services at Mfangano Island were found to be seriously undermining other
health preventive and promotive efforts planned and implemented. Therefore, ADS is now
placing a stronger emphasis on targeting training of men to men peer educators than initially
planned for, in order to increase male involvement in the HIV and AIDS component.
10.3.2 Result 2: Social Justice and Human Rights- Fishing communities empowered with
regards to awareness of rights, access to justice and good governance.
During the period of reporting, a noted shift in attitudes has been observed as partners and
communities are increasingly seeing themselves as rights holders and are also more actively
engaging in dialogue with duty bearers. Evidence of this was given at the Annual review
Meeting in 2010 where it was unanimously decided by community representatives from all sites
in the three countries and the partner organizations that a next programme should focus on rights
and not primarily on livelihoods and that lobby and advocacy towards duty bearers at different
levels should have a prominent role in a future programme. At community level, the
consolidation of rights awareness has continued. One example is that at Osiri, the LVLP
trainings and awareness interventions have resulted in the communities themselves taking
responsibility for the Rights education and awareness. Most outcomes realized under this
intervention were thus initiated at community level out of their own understanding of rights and
issues of governance. The paralegals and paralegal resource persons were only involved in
advice and steering of community initiated interventions that addressed the concerns for the
aggrieved. There was also increased qualitative involvement of women in community structures
handling matters affecting governance and their inclusion through regular baraza attendance and
facilitation of awareness by female paralegals, HBCs and other resource persons. In 2009, the
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awareness raising sessions and trainings on rights peaked with PLWHAs demanding and
attaining fair representation in the LVLP Project Committee, resulting in increased transparency,
participation and accountability for decisions concerning issues related to PLWHA out of which
the majority is women. At Ssese Island, the initially 26 trained paralegals have been able to use
an approach of the multiplier system, thus creating a team of 68 people by the end of 2010. All
of the 68 paralegals have been registered as full members in the Kalangala Human Rights
Defenders (KHRD), a CBO established after the paralegal trainings introduced under the social
justice component of the LVLP program. KHRD has 3 smaller associations which were formed
to enable them get funding for their program activities and further human rights trainings. Each
of these groups were able to access funding from Kalangala District Development Fund of
between 20 million to 22milion (Uganda shillings) each considerably empowering communities
awareness of rights and increase access to rights.
10.3.3 Result 3: Economic Empowerment- Fishing enterprises improved and other income
generating activities developed.
Diakonia notes a positive development at the level of the Economic Empowerment component.
From being identified as one of the weaker components in the programme, the component is now
coming forward as a strong and dynamic component, realizing change at community level
through a significant expansion of newly started IGAs. Through the continued collaboration with
the resource organization Ufadhili Trust, co-funded by the SEJ programme, the ability and
knowledge of the communities not only to participate in business but also operate sustainable,
sound businesses has been strengthened during the two years. Value addition and diversification
of IGAS, access to financial services and networking/linking/access to information have also led
to results such as development of new products like the water hyacinth products, increased
access to savings and loaning facilities as reported by communities and partners and increased
networking and learning with other stakeholders vital in their respective field. An innovative
pilot agreement was signed with The Swedish Trade Council in 2009 with the aim of joining
forces with a large regional private sector actor, linking to universities and research institutions
in Sweden and in East Africa, to increase programme capacity on business development and
economic empowerment. The collaboration has stood on two legs, a training component and a
long term business mentoring leg with activities such as business trainings at all sites, business
plan competition award ceremony, mentoring of community initiatives and linkages to markets
through the Trade Council network. A concrete example of a process that has taken off under
this component is the production of vegetables at Mfangano Island. At Mfangano, the numbers
of people involved in individual IGAs has tremendously increased over the years especially
among women moving away from the previous over dependence on fish as main source of
income to be done by men, leaving women dependent on men for economic livelihood. Through
the LVLP work on awareness raising of rights of women (an integration with the social justice
component), this is progressively changing as women now own assets which previously could
only be owned by men i.e. boats and fishing gear. The capacity building sessions on different
business lines has greatly benefited the community resulting into involvement of members in
IGAs. Group formation has been well embraced by community members and it has enhanced
networking and collaboration between community members themselves and the living standards
is also improving. Members who previously could not initiate a project on their own have been
motivated as a result of group work and sharing within the group and have made efforts to
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initiate IGAs. The savings and loaning concept picked up well in 2010 and the fear due to past
histories on saving schemes reduced notably. The loaning process has supported members in
improving their enterprises. In 2006, one kg of fish would be sold at 50/= the same one kg is now
sold at Ksh. 220/= due to the coolers supported by LVLP. This has altered power relations,
increasing the fisher folk ability to dictate the desired fish prices, not having to sell at under price
leading to improved livelihoods. Varieties of horticulture crops are produced in Mfangano as
compared to the early years of the project. There are cases of farmers leaving fishing and
focusing on farming as the main source of livelihood. When LVLP was initiated, the community
imported all horticulture crops from the mainland. Today the situation is reverse with Mfangano
farmers selling their produce both on Mfangano but also exporting to the main land and to other
adjacent islands.
10.3.4 Result 4: Sustainability- Community Structures (engaged in the project) taking
responsibility of development processes in the community (primarily the ones initiated by
the project and secondly other development processes).
The fact that the programme has had no secured funding after 2010, which has been known to the
programme since 2008, has resulted in the programme making substantial progress in relation to
sustainability of interventions as well as sustainable structures and collaborations at grass root level.
This has pushed the partners and communities, as well as Diakonia, to integrate thoughts on how to
move ahead without further assured funding which has been both challenging and capacitating. It has
also enforced increased community participation as sustainability is difficult to achieve without the
communities carrying the development of interventions and planning within themselves.
The resource mobilization was strengthened through the completion of a comprehensive donor
mapping facilitated by Diakonia and partners upon which an action plan was developed on how
to organize the resource mobilization within the programme. A Resource Mobilization
Committee constituted of elected representatives from respective partner organization, the LVLP
Programme Manager and Finance Officer was set up and has been intensively working
throughout the year with the help of a resource mobilization mentor contracted to the
programme. An outcome of this work has been a continuously updated resource mobilization
strategy that Diakonia Head Office has shared with other regions as a best practice and the
development of several concept notes for funding. The partners and communities are also cost
sharing in some of the resource mobilization work to enable finding future donors for a
continued programme. A notable process result is the increasing readiness and capacities of
partners to resource mobilize themselves which is a key objective of the resource management
plan both in terms of submitting proposals for funding at local level but also in consolidating
community structures such as functional, gender equal community committees and successful
lobbying towards local government to take over the responsibility and functions of services
previously advocated and provided for within the LVLP such as home based care providers
structure in Sio Port.
An outcome of this is that the partners and the communities have come up with several innovative
methods and have managed to think outside of the box, including identifying new stakeholders, new
collaborations, new arenas, not only focusing on implementing activities. The community
representatives and the partner organizations have identified a list of interventions that the partners
plan to continue with after the current external funding has ended in December 2010. Diakonia
supports this and believes that an exit strategy is not merely a check list or a set of activities to be
126
implemented (even though it has evident human resource, financial and reporting implications) but
an approach that is adopted throughout the partnership period where partners are encouraged to
maintain acquired networks as well as collaborations beyond the life of the actual programme.
Through these networks and collaborations, the partners are able to access information, knowledge
and contacts that provide new opportunities and feed into organizational capacity building as well as
help to consolidate and maintain results and progress in the programme. Some of the ways that the
partner organizations and communities plan to continue working together are; integration of LVLP
activities into the organizations overall resource allocation and utilization, using the integrated
approach between finance and programme staff to offer technical support and capacity building
within the organizations, exchange visits, mobilize already existing capacities to continue the work of
paralegals and home based care providers, use funds from various IGAs to support continued
programme activities, use success stories to mobilize resources from local government and other
stakeholder such as CDFs, making efforts to unite and bring together other faith based and likeminded organizations to mobilize resources for continued programme activities.
Another important outcome of the identification of these possible joint interventions is that both the
partners as well as the communities have been made aware of how much resources are available
within their own structures and that there is less dependency on external actors and donors than
previously anticipated. Needs expressed by the partners and communities in relation to the
achievement of above interventions, such as management skills, resource mobilization skills and
reporting and learning skills were incorporated into the capacity building plan for 2009-2010.
10.3.5 Result 5: Capacity Building
Capacity building has been provided to partners, but also to communities through community
representatives, within the framework of institutional strengthening as well as in other
programme management areas. A key strategy has been to promote and consolidate the
methodology of programme and finance being two sides of the same coin and that effective
programme implementation and management cannot be achieved without this symbiosis. Thus,
partner organizational capacity through closer collaboration between partner programme and
finance staff has been enhanced. Diakonia has achieved this by the Programme Manager and
Diakonia Finance staff making several joint visits presenting joint follow-up and planning
agendas to a combined team of partner programme- and finance staff. Partners are reporting an
outcome of increased capacity as programme and finance department staff has increased
implementation and reporting on finances. This has enhanced efficiency and timely activity
execution with less halts in programme implementation. Enhancing this work has also been
numerous capacity building interventions in terms of support to financial systems, development
and updating of different policies and guidelines at partner level which has sometimes been a
challenge as it questions how the organization is used to handling things. Focus has been on how
to implement such policies and guidelines, resulting in as an example increased awareness on
why and how effective audit processes can be used as effective tools both for partners and for
communities for increased accountability, transparency and good governance. A tailor made
training targeting faith based organizations and their boards for effective governance was
developed by Diakonia in the areas of understanding the role and function of the board,
understanding financial information, board evaluation and governing corruption prevention.
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The training has resulted in substantial changes in board structure and governance. Some
examples from ELCT/BAKWATA reveal increased involvement of the management in the
monitoring of the project implementation and a significant reduction of board members at COU
to enable a more effective board. At WRCCS, the board has improved in delivery of the audit
management letter which has given management staff an upper hand in day to day running of the
organizational affairs without too much of church bureaucracy. Cost effectiveness has been
improved as fewer signatories are required for signing cheques.
A monitoring, evaluation and learning training was held. The training has given good outcome in
terms in markedly improved capacity to use the log frame as a monitoring and reporting tool.
The partners are also capturing outcome and not mainly activities in the annual reports and other
documents.
The resource mobilization process as reported above has been developed and implemented as a
process of learning and capacity building both partners and communities
In line with the Diakonia position that sustainable development for poverty eradication must be
based on the empowerment of people and on their qualitative participation and that qualitative
participation is a means of real possibility to influence and thereby powerful vehicle for changing
of unfair structures, the LVLP lessons learnt are on the work of paralegals and the resource
mobilization process. Both of these examples enhance a process oriented approach showing how,
through process, rights holders in the fishing communities can be empowered change agents of
their own lives.
10.4.1 Community structures- Paralegal work
As identified in the contextual analysis on which the programme is based, the level of human
rights awareness and capacity to mobilize is low within fishing communities, especially
regarding key human rights for women and other marginalized groups such as PLWHAS and
youth. Through the continued community paralegal training at the sites, the theory of change
levels of awareness raising and knowledge, organization, action and advocacy work (although on
a local level) have been met. There is a noted increased capacity of identified community
resource persons to report and address basic human rights issues in the community. Examples of
this are partners/community members reporting legal and human rights cases showing a greater
awareness among communities of their rights, increased level of justice at community level
through court and police records and reduced incidences of rights abuses. The role of the
paralegal extends beyond legal and human rights awareness creation to include the
empowerment of communities to mobilize themselves for sustainable development. It has
become evident that in order to achieve community empowerment and sustainable socioeconomic change in the society based on legal and human rights, the paralegal component with
paralegals identified and selected by the community and implementing partner organizations
particularly emphasizing gender balance, should be present. The paralegals have distinguished
themselves as an important cog in the engine that runs the LVLP. Once trained, they have
replicated the trainings to add to their numbers; they have organized themselves into networks; in
Uganda even registered a human rights CBO and have been able to access funds to facilitate
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some of their activities. In Tanzania, villages and wards outside of the project areas are
demanding services of the paralegals. In most other places their role has been recognized by the
provincial administration and their collaboration is stronger. This is evidence of how crucial it is
to strengthen community structures for sustainability of development activities. Should Diakonia
have to exit from the programme, paralegals will remain a key pillar in consolidating the gains of
the last five years and also building on them. It is also of particular importance that duty bearers
are included in this process, for example by nominating and training key local government staff
and chiefs as paralegals. This broadens and strengthens ownership.
10.4.2 Capacity Building through Participation
There are also some interesting lessons learnt on capacity building from the resource
mobilization process that the LVLP has initiated during the reported period and that has become
a central component of the programme. Having access to a comprehensive donor mapping, the
programme was faced with the question of how to implement the findings of the donor mapping,
who was going to drive that process and be responsible for it and who should be participating in
the work? Diakonia saw this as an excellent process and opportunity to in practice implement the
principles of the rights based approach as used together with the theory of change. Consequently,
participation, accountability and transparency, non-discrimination and empowerment were built
into the entire resource mobilization process through the formation of a Resource Mobilization
Committee, comprised of representatives from respective partner organization as well as key
Diakonia staff such as the programme manager and finance officer. Important has also been a
consistent management support through representation by the Deputy Regional Director. It was
made clear and communicated to the communities and partners that the future funding of the
LVLP is the ultimate responsibility of this coalition of partners and Diakonia, where partners
need to allocate both time and resources through cost sharing for it to be successful. To ensure
the sustainability of the resource mobilization intervention, it was designed as a learning and
capacity building process intended to develop the skills and competencies of programme staff,
partners and ultimately also of communities and this was included in the ToRs of the resource
mobilization mentor that was contracted to support the programme. The Committee has met
numerous times which has resulted in a complete resource mobilization strategy developed after
trainings and mentoring of the participants, capacity building on writing of concept notes and
letters of inquiries resulting in partners drafting such documents that have been peer reviewed
and submitted to different donors as well as joint trainings of partners and communities on
resource mobilization and what it requires in terms of strategic analysis of areas of change
owned by the communities. This is both a lesson and a reaffirmation in LVLP that Diakonia
theory of change and rights based approach are two sides of the same coin with a reinforcing
effect on each other. Applied as an approach to our work it does indeed lead to qualitative
participation of rights holders and ultimately enhances ownership and responsibility in the
development processes.
The partners have met numerous times during the period of reporting. An objective of these
meetings has been to facilitate continuous learning and sharing between the partners. This
learning has been facilitated by the intensive resource mobilization work where the outputs,
outcomes and impact at each partner level has needed to be discussed within the wider group in
order to see how it how it can contribute and fit into a future programme. This has resulted in an
129
open discussion between partners on critical issues such as which interventions are regional,
cultural practices around the lake that drive transmission and susceptibility to HIV and AIDS and
human right abuses, techniques of implementation such as fishing techniques promoted, how
gender issues are addressed, why people living with HIV and AIDS have a right to meaningful
participation. This dialogue has contributed to making the programme implementation and
development a dynamic process for both Diakonia and partners and has contributed to continued
relevance at community level.
The entire programme group, including community representatives from each country, made a
field exchange visit to Mfangano Island at the annual meeting 2010. The objective of the
exchange was to share and learn from the unique experiences of Mfangano within the economic
empowerment component. Mfangano has managed to move from a fishing dependant,
agricultural produce importing island to a well diversified island economy with less dependence
on fish and an export of horticulture produce to the surrounding islands and the mainland, to a
great extend attributable to the diversification of IGAs within the LVLP.
Due to the intensive resource mobilization process, there has been a high level of interaction with
other donors in order to understand the regional donor context in East Africa as well as at a
bilateral level. The programme manager has travelled extensively to potential donors as
identified in the donor mapping and to follow up with contacts made at the AIDS Conference in
Vienna to inquire about possible ways of collaborating or to seek future funding. The programme
manager met with Christine Johansson, Country Director Embassy of Sweden in Uganda, Simon
Heck, Country Director of World Fish Center in Zambia, Dag Sundelin and Davies Chitundu at
the Regional HIV and AIDS Team for Africa, Lennart Hjelmaker, Swedish Ambassador to
Tanzania, Olov Berggren, Regional Coordinator Africa for RFSU and several other actors. The
Diakonia Deputy Regional Manager took part in most of these meetings in order to show the
potential donors and strategic partners the priority of Diakonia management commitment to the
LVLP. The outcome of the meetings has been positive responses from several of these actors,
ranging from both the possibility to develop joint applications, a formal agreement regarding
collaborating with RFSU as a resource organization on SRHR and male involvement in the
future programme, to marketing options of the ongoing/planned work of the LVLP in the area of
rights and SRHR when strategies for upcoming periods are being drafted.
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The LVLP has collaborated with Diakonia´s Head Office for the purpose of information and
advocacy in regard to participation at the AIDS conference in 2010. It was the first time for
Diakonia as an organization to have representation at this bi-annual, global conference and the
LVLP team, programme manager and two partner representatives joined forces with the Head
Office Thematic Officer on HIV and AIDS and Gender in Vienna. Information, summaries and
blog comments were posted by the Head Office Officer, with input from the LVLP team,
contributing to a discussion in Sweden on the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the politics around
prevention, mitigation and care and support. Staff at the Head Office Communications
Department contributed a lot to the production and printing of the two posters which was highly
appreciated as there are few communication resources available at Regional Office. A lesson
learnt is that to further improve an information and advocacy impact of Regional and Head
Office participation at such important conference events, there should be a joint information and
advocacy agenda coordinated by Head Office with sufficient resources allocated to not only
participation but of communication and advocacy staff to follow up and push for Diakonia and
partner views and experiences.
10.8 Contribution to EU financed programme
No EU financed project component was undertaken during 2008-2010.
2010
Lake Victoria
Outcome/budget
Appr
budget
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
Revised
Nov
TOTAL
%
0
0
0
3,246,224
3,271,224
3,705,040
Actual
costs
higher than 10%
1,014,280
3,246,224
3,246,224
4,285,504
4,285,504
3,705,040
3,705,040
86%
14% balance to be utilized during
the no cost extension period ending
30th June 2011
86%
14% balance to be utilized during
the no cost extension period ending
30th June 2011
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2008-2010
Lake Victoria
Outcome/budget
Appr
budget
CIVSAM
Revised
Nov
Actual
costs
%
higher than 10%
0
0
0
12,296,332
11,721,756
10,623,680
91%
12,296,332
11,721,756
10,623,680
91%
utilization of the budget of 91% is
regarded as satisfactory
TOTAL
12,296,332
11,721,756
10,623,680
91%
utilization of the budget of 91% is
regarded as satisfactory
OTHER DONORS
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11. Country Programme: Burkina Faso
11.1 Summary of Diakonia´s Programme in Burkina Faso
Despite the democratic reforms undertaken during the 1990’s (introduction of a multi party
system, of freedom of the press, etc.), and despite a steady economic growth rate over the last
few years, Burkina is still one of the poorest countries in the world, with 70 percent7 of its
population living in poverty, especially women. This makes Diakonia’s strategy to address
economic and social inequalities in the country extremely relevant, in order to promote a
sustainable development that the whole population can benefit from. There is a tendency
towards apathy / lack of interest among the population towards the public authorities who
despite having in place democratic institutions, fail to realize the rights of its people, including
the political participation of citizens, and who fail to address the often blatant impunity towards
human rights violations in the country. These are the democracy and human rights challenges
that Diakonia and its partners are working to overcome in Burkina Faso. The country has been
severely hit by the international financial crisis, and the conflict in the Ivory Coast, which has
resulted in rising prices of all essential commodities, interrupted business and trade, and inflows
of refugees with humanitarian needs.8 This has put further stain on the already weak capacity of
the Government to promote employment and provide public services, etc. This is why the
programme in Burkina Faso addresses also problems related to social and economic justice –
e.g. poverty, access to education, employment, the right to basic public services, and health
care, etc. through partners working on both a local, regional and national level.
How we work in the country
Diakonia is developing the capacities of its civil society partners to enable them to play
effectively their roles as a counter balance to the State, as human rights watch dogs, and as
promoters of democratic development, according to our Strategic Plan of 2007 - 2009. As
mentioned above, our partners work foremost in the area of democracy, human rights, gender,
and social justice (including education, food security, and livelihood/ Income Generating
Activities). All of them have activities at grassroots level9 and 15 of them on a national
level.10One important capacity building strategy of ours is provision of trainings for partners to
develop their advocacy skills, including how to use new information technology in this work (set
up of on line projects, web pages, etc.), as well as trainings on financial management. Another
strategy is the promotion of sharing of Best Practices and coordination of activities among
partners working in similar fields, through the organization of continuous meetings and reporting
workshops with our partners.
What we and our partners achieve
7
Sources: APRM report 2008; Preparatory texts of SCADD, DHD index BF 2010.
The permanent pace of information and communication also allowed the set up of the alert dispositions and adequate replies as
it was the case for TON in reply for the massive return of children from Ivory Coast.
9
Seven of our partners work only on a local level, namely: TON in Niangoloko, AMR in Gourcy, APROS in Ouahigoya, TinTua
in the East of Burkina Faso, ATTous, ALAVI and AFASI, and END in Ouagadougou.
10
At the beginning of the programme we also had one partner in Mali (CAD Mali) who worked on an international level, and
organized exchanges for CSO between Mali and Burkina Faso to Social Forums.
8
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Diakonia and its partners have contributed significantly to the changes of structures that are
generating poverty, oppression and violence in Burkina Faso. Just to mention a few important
results at the level of national institutions: In 2009-2010, key civil society stakeholders were able
to participate effectively in the development of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)
and in the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Sustainable Development (SCADD) with the
result that an axis on Good Governance as a prerequisite for accelerated growth was added
among the priorities.11 Throughout the years, CSOs have participated actively in national
advocacy coalitions on various themes, thanks to the support of Diakonia, and sometimes their
debates resulted in the establishment of new advocacy organs, such as the new National
Coalition on Climate Changes, which was initiated by our partners in 2010. On a local – and
community level, men and women increasingly demand the establishment of so called “Forums
for Dialogue and Community Awareness” in order to keep authorities accountable for their
actions (or lack of action) and to advance their ideas and interests. A similar feature is the
Parents and Teachers associations that have expanded their work in schools all over the country
to fight for access of their children to quality education. Impressive results have also been
registered in the area of Social and Economic Justice, where local communities have secured
their livelihood mainly in agriculture, in ways that are sustainable and that make them less
dependent on financial fluctuations on the world market.
11.2.1 External
One major deviation in the implementation of the Democracy, Human Rights and Gender
Program (DHRGP)12 took place in 2009 as Diakonia submitted a proposal for a second phase of
the Programme to SIDA. SIDA approved the proposal only in the second quarter of 2009 instead
of the first quarter, which had for consequence a serious delay in the implementation of the
programme activities of all partners as they were not able to begin in January 2009. The reasons
for the delay were because of pro-longed negotiations between Diakonia HO in Stockholm and
SIDA. For the future, it should be noted that this potential “threat” had not been included as a
possible risk in the Strategic Plan of Burkina Faso. This also had consequences in terms of
deviations to budget for this contract.
The crisis in the Ivory Coast which began in 2002 and is still on-going (and which accelerated
further in November 2010, due to the presidential elections), affected especially our partner TON
who is working 20 kilometres from the border. Given the great short term needs of all the
displaced persons who arrived in Niangoloko, TON increasingly had to apply a humanitarian
approach in their work. The floods of 1st September in 2009 came with important humanitarian
needs and a lot of partners ask for help to assist beneficiaries in their areas. It also postponed
many activities due to a national pause in developing activities to carry out first the humanitarian
necessity.
11
The first draft of the poverty strategy reduction ignored governance as an essential and preeminent theme. Thanks to the
advocacy of our partners, this thematic is now integrated in the strategy as an independent objective including participation,
political, economical and local governance.
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The partner CCOS changed its name to now become CROISAD further to misunderstandings
with its original first partner, the GERDDES. They are both partners of DIAKONIA.
In 2008, the collaboration with the NGO RECIF was suspended because of embezzlement
(mismanagement of funds) discovered through an audit. Diakonia demanded the refund of the
amounts allocated (remaining funds still in discussion). The procedure is still on-going the case
file has just been put on the agenda of the Grand Instance Court house of Ouagadougou.
The Consortium RAME/ALAVI/AFAFSI was dissolved in 2008, further to internal issues,
despite the mediation of Diakonia. Since then, only ALAVI is a partner of Diakonia as they
agreed to follow the standard rules and the contract that manages all Diakonia partnerships.
Due to an unsuccessful collaboration, the partners MFR and FEPAB are about to be disengaged.
These partners did not carry out activities in 2010. Decision is to be taken at the end of the
CivSam bridge year of 2011: the evaluation of the bridging year will guide the decision and if we
decide to phase them out, we will accompany them in this process according to Diakonia rules
and procedures.
In 2010, Diakonia HO took the decision to close down the Regional Office for West and Central
Africa in Burkina Faso, and to turn it into a Country Office. This had for effect that 13
personnel13 were made redundant. The redundancies and the closing of the Regional Office, was
the result of a thorough human resource – and organizational assessment undertaken by an
independent consultant, in combination with the strategic decision of Diakonia HO to reorganize
their structure to have only one Regional Office for Africa (in Nairobi). Two of the old staff were
rehired again as the new Country Office of Burkina Faso was established at the end of 2010.
Moreover, the Country Office hired a new Country Representative and a new Programme Officer
in September. At the same time, a Programme Manager for francophone countries (Mali,
Burkina Faso and DRC) and a Finance Officer were hired as support personnel at the Regional
Office in Nairobi. Although there were some deviations in the implementation of the programme
because of the above events, all partners managed to carry out most of their activities, and
Diakonia undertook most of the planned capacity building activities, and monitoring and
evaluation / field visits. However, the following activities which were planned for 2010 had to be
postponed for 2011: The so called “Masculinity Study” of the PDDHG, and the annual capacitybuilding of the PDDHG partners on the theme of gender and HIV/AIDS. Still, during the World
AIDS Day on December the 1st the Office decided to engage partners in a full day event where
they discussed on the theme of the year – Universal Access - and where Diakonia HIV
Workplace policy was presented as a good example of how organizations can work internally to
prevent and respond to HIV and AIDS.
11.3 Programme Analysis of Outcomes Per Result or Theme14
13
The redundancies were made in accordance with legal frameworks (including social subsidies, etc.) in the country and
following Diakonia’s Human Resource Guide lines. To ease the transition, and to increase their opportunities further to enroll in
new employments, Diakonia offered each person micro loans and job coaching / mentoring, provided from a professional firm.
14
This Part has been divided into two: one section for the results that pertain to the so called “Economic and Social Justice
Programme” – which is funded by CIVSAM; and another section for the results that pertain to the Democracy, Human Rights
and Gender Programme, which is funded through a separate agreement, by the Swedish Embassy in Burkina Faso.
135
11.3.1 Theme 1: Democracy and Human rights
Result 1: The power balance role of the civil society has been reinforced15
Result 2:
The commitment of the CSOs to the process of decentralization has been
strengthened.
Actions initiated by Diakonia’s partners such as AMR have contributed to an increased
involvement of CSOs and citizens at the local level in the management of their communities.
Holding forums of appeal in the municipalities of Gourcy, Lèba and Boussou enabled local
people to further take ownership of the democratic process and better understand their roles and
their responsibilities in grassroots community management. Local elected officials recognize this
through their obligation for accountability on a periodical basis to citizens as regard their
management. In the mentioned municipalities, three committees were set up to follow up
recommendations from appeal forums. Their role includes ensuring that recommendations made
by the citizens are taken into account for a better inclusion of community interests in local
policies.
Result 3: The respect of human rights in all the projects or programs of development has
increased.
RENLAC, ADEP, CIFOEB, GERDDES, RAPPED, FAWE, RAME-AFAFSI-ALAVI, APME2A, Ton, AMR received training on a Human Rights Based Approach to programming (HRBA)
from 10 th to 14th November 2008. A framework for M&E that included specific indicators to
measure to what extent a HRBA have been implemented through the projects was developed as a
result of the training and put into use by Diakonia and its partner. Judging from the evaluations
ever since, Diakonia has observed positive changes among the partners, they are now much
better at integrating a HRBA. Similarly, trainings on HIV and AIDS introduced to our partners
for the first time human rights principles and national legislation related to HIV and AIDS. In
order to ensure the integration of HIV and AIDS and Gender in projects and programs, partners
APME-2 and APROS provided training sessions on gender and HIV AIDS to their members and
the staff members in 2009 and 2010. AMPE has integrated a perspective of HIV and AIDS in all
its work, and report each time on the impact of their activities on PLWH. Many of the partners
have also become much better at working proactively with the inclusion of women in their
activities (meetings, workshops and trainings) and some of them also use affirmative action in
order to fill the gap between women and men in different development areas.
Result 4: The economic exploitation of children has decreased
In 2009, child trafficking for economic exploitation significantly decreased in the areas of
intervention of our partner TON, as compared to previous years. This is due to increased
awareness of the population of the crime, and a more effective involvement of the police and
gendarmerie in the fight against it. A provincial network of stakeholders including public
authorities and CSOs organizations was set up on a national level in 2007. It was broken down
15
This result is not being implemented taking into account the fact that it was driven from the activities of the partners of the
democracy, human rights and gender (PDDHG) program. This program was suspended from 2007 to 2008, and resumed again in
July 2009. At this point the partners identified and updated a log frame where indicators of result 1 were incorporated into other
results, as shown in the indicator matrix (see Annex).
136
into 13 member associations in 2008 who are undertaking awareness activities, as well as
monitoring and protection of children and their mothers throughout Burkina Faso. Our partner
TON is a member of this network and is working to intercept, repatriate, and reintegrate child
victims of trafficking in the area of Niangoloko, which is only 20 kilometers from the border
with the Ivory Coast – where many of the children are trafficked for exploitation. Compared to
2007, the number of intercepted children in Niangoloko dropped by 41% in 2008, a result of the
work carried out by TON16 and the Network. Since TON is working also with uniformed
services and authorities, including border police, immigration officials, etc. thanks to their
awareness raising activities among these groups, the community has started to see changes,
where more child traffickers are now sentenced than before. As an illustration – in 2009, 6
traffickers, including 1 woman were intercepted by the police and taken to court sentenced to
two years of imprisonment.
11.3.2 Theme 2: Gender Equity
Result 1: Various forms of harmful practices and violence against girls and women have
been reduced.
In 2008, the Marche Mondiale des Femmes (MMF)17 / The World Women’s March conducted
the national campaign of “16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women” in
collaboration with other key women’s rights stakeholder in the country. The theme of the
advocacy work was domestic violence, and the main target groups were traditional and religious
leaders. During the campaign, MMF trained 30 journalists in gender analysis; journalists who
later produced and disseminated a radio show called “Mariam breaks the silence” to raise
people’s awareness of VAW as a rights violation and injustice.
The consortium ALAVI/AFAFSI conducted entertainment of sensitization sessions in the
framework of the fight against HIV AIDS to enable women to require from their partner to wear
a condom when they have sexual relationships.
Result 2: Economic and social equity between women and men has been increased.
The most important results that have contributed to this outcome during the last three years,
relate to the following indicators: number of women who have access to means of production
and decision-making positions in their communities. These are some of the most important
results registered in the communities of our partners’ interventions: In Ouagadougou, girls who
attended the professional skills trainings of ATTous (some of them thanks to scholarships) in car
mechanics and electronics, increased dramatically their chances to access jobs in areas that are
traditionally reserved for men, and some of them even moved on to open their own business after
the trainings. For example, one girl opened her own workshop in 2008. 18 A high number of girls
were also trained to become seamstresses – a service much sought after in Burkina Faso - many
of them gained employment afterwards (again, no exact data is available but TON is working to
improve this). As a parallel activity, ATTous undertook also awareness raising activities
targeting men in the surrounding community with the aim of changing their defensive and
judgemental attitude towards women who would like to work in “non-traditional professions.”
17
MMF is a democracy and human rights partner which has a balance of previous budget, which was used to complete the
implementation of their 2008 project in consultation with Diakonia.
18
ATTous has been requested by Diakonia to gather more precise data to see the exact amount of girls who gets employed or
who start their own businesses after these trainings.
137
These campaigns arguably created a more positive support environment for the girls both to
enrol in the trainings and to become employed afterwards. The two mills in Kain-Ouro and Dori
constructed by APROS in 2007 keep generating income for 26 women today – women who
before this project did not have any steady income and relied totally on their husbands.
Moreover, since the mills are also managed by women, they decide fully how to use the profits.
Since the equipment is of high quality, is working well and have been put in a very central
location, this has drastically reduced the works load of the women (physically and time wise)
which in turn has freed up time that are used by some women to attend community meetings and
trainings, as well as for setting up their own businesses. Similar, very positive results were
registered by our partner APME-2A where the training of women (and men) on soy production,
as well as the provision of land and seeds to women for their agricultural use resulted in both
improved harvests and increased revenues for women in Po (in the eastern part of the country).
In 2010, compared to 2009, the number of women farmers increased by 62%. An important
strategy here has been the set up of so called Entreprises de Services et Organisations de
Producteurs “ESOP” in the communities, and the fact that APME-2A has been working very
pro-actively to ensure that women are included in the planning, in the working groups, trainings,
and production networks related to the ESOP.
11.3.3 Theme 3: Social and Economic Justice
Result 1: The power balance role of CSOs has been strengthened in order to influence socio
economic policies.
Some very impressive results contributing to this outcome have been registered both on a
national and local level. Our partner CdC/PRSP has played a central role here (a national
network where most of Diakonia’s partners are members and that enjoys great legitimacy also in
the eyes of international donors), as well as our partners CIFOEB, the CCEB, the AMR,19 and
the RCC – also members of this network. Their strategy of complementing each others’
expertise, and to coordinate their activities and advocacy on both a local and national level has
turned out to be very successful. It has contributed to important gains for Burkina Faso in terms
of enabling civil society actors to keep State authorities accountable, and in terms of
strengthening civil society’s participation in political decision making. During the last three
years, the CdC/PRSP has established so called “Community Monitoring Committees” (SCD) in
all provincial capitals (they are local based organizations with CSOs representatives).20 They
have been trained on how to undertake monitoring and surveys to follow-up on the
implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in their communities – mainly
related to spending in the health sector, education, and related to the budget process on a local
level - as well as on how to undertake advocacy for change towards authorities based on the
evidence gathered. They have been feeding back the data collected to the CdC/PRSP who thanks
to this have been able to participate in technical PRSP reviews with experts at local and national
level, and who have used this evidence to influence the national policies and development
frameworks of the country. A concrete result here is that CdC/PRSP’s recommendations for a
19
AMR is working to set up forums where CSO and citizens have the opportunity to dialogue with and keep accountable local
elected representatives/leaders/decision-makers. Their actions have contributed to facilitate access to budgets and communal
documents by the citizens, including the publishing of minutes of Municipal meetings, as well as the improvement of tax
revenues in the towns of Gourcy, Lèba and Boussou, for example.
20
In 2010 there were 26 SCD in Burkina Faso (compared to 23 in 2008) who are meeting regularly to exchange information
gathered from their monitoring of the implementation of the PRSP.
138
standardization of health care centers, for equipment of classrooms, and for public dissemination
of municipal budget information were taken into account in the final version of the PRSP of
Burkina Faso. The SCD can be considered a success also because they have managed to bring
together both civil society actors, and State authorities, who have cooperated well and shown
their support. In 2010, the PRSP was replaced with the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and
Sustainable Development (SCADD) and our partners are planning to continue their work
strategy also in relation to the SCADD, and to scale up their work. --- As an interesting
perspective, SIDA has committed to fund the implementation of CDC’s strategic plan of 20112013 with capacity building support of Diakonia (2,5millions SEK for the first year, and with
good prospect of an additional contribution of Netherlands and Denmark in 2012).
Result 2: The income and the food security have been improved in the area where the
partners intervene.
Some important achievements have been registered in the areas where our partners intervene
during the last three years that have contributed to the above outcome: First of all, professional
skills trainings on soybean and rice production was rolled out in rural areas by APME-2A (in
Leo, Po, Diébougou, and Tenkodogo) and have resulted in that 3 565 producers, including 787
women, today have a steady income which allow them to fend for their families’ health,
education, and food needs.21 Some pilot-farmers have specialized in the production of soy bean
seeds, which will allow their ESOPs to have a buffer stock of seeds which in turn reduces their
dependency on the big suppliers in Burkina Faso. Lastly, as already mentioned, the impressive
results registered by APROS following the construction of two mills in Kain-Ouro and Dori
which are used mainly by women, and managed by women, have improved the income situation
for this group considerably (for more information about the ESOP and the mills see Result 2 on
5.) Second, partners interventions have also resulted in increased soil fertility and food
productivity in their communities: For example, thanks to the training rolled out by
ZABRBENEKOM on improved farming techniques, including mixed farming / agricultural
system, etc., 80 farmers including 55 women today witness an increase in their agricultural
productions from 4 cart loads / hectares in 2008, to 6 cart loads / hectares in 2009. Similarly,
APROS’ trainings have also resulted in an increased yield in its community: For example, before
when the community used a local variety of millet seeds they harvested 281 kg / hectares, but
now when they are using an improved version (IKMV 8201)22 they harvest 674 kg / hectares,
thus a positive variance of 393 kg. Third, some of our partners who are working with micro
credits have also registered good results: TON in Niangoloko, granted micro credits in
combination with skills training to 30 mothers of trafficked children in 2010, which helped them
to start their own IGAs and to fend for themselves (this in turn made them less prone to send off
their children with traffickers). Our partner CdC also struck a deal with the Credit Union (a
micro credit bank) in the area of Tanghin Dassouri, which resulted in provisions of grants
targeting women especially. Also APROS have registered good results from the work with micro
credits for women (see the results matrix). Lastly, it should be said that an important strategy,
especially used by APME-2A, has been the set up of farmer based organizations (for example the
ESOP) and proactive work for inclusion of women. Such organizations have for example
21
For example 849 men and women producers of Leo got on average 65.000 FCFA / producer in 2009. Comparatively, in 2008,
669 producers had attained an average of 75.500 FCFA / producer. Thus, even if the average income has decreased, there are
more producers who were affected by the project in 2009, or 180 producers.
22
IKMV-8201, has been identified as a short-cycle, disease-tolerant cultivar that has high yield potential without the use of
fertilizer.
139
allowed 36 producers out of 849 in Léo, to become owners of 13% of the capital of the company,
and also in Kain-Ouro and Dori, the women that are using the mills, are also in charge of its
management and of how to distribute the gains – e.g. a good example of economic empowerment
in practice.
11.3.4 Theme 4: Education
Result 1: The access to quality education has increased
The following results registered during 2008 – 2010 that have contributed to the above outcome
should be mentioned in particular: First, as regards the school enrollment rate (primary level), for
2010, the rates were 78, 3 % for boys and 71, 2%, for girls at the national level. Second, in the
areas where our partners are working, we have noticed an increase in the involvement of so
called “Parents and Teachers Associations” (PTA) in the management of the schools. The
CCEB23 is a key civil society education network in Burkina Faso and an important partner of
Diakonia here especially from a perspective of results impact and advocacy perspective: They
have decentralized structures (regional committees with provincial representatives) that are
responsible for the monitoring of the implementation of education policies at local level. During
these three years, they have worked to set up, and build the capacity of the PTA and school
monitoring committees at national level Also the work of partner FAWE has contributed to the
above outcome, through its mobilization and increased participation of parents in the
management and social and moral support to youth in the training centers. Taken together, this
has clearly resulted in a more effective functioning of the participating schools, including a
decrease in the dropout rate among youth.
Result 2: The technical and professional training of young people have been strengthened
for their best integration on the job market.
Some very innovative types of technical and professional trainings have been developed by some
of our partners with very good employment results as well. The important work and results of
ATTous in this field has already been described earlier in the report (see page 4) – and their work
has definitely contributed to an in the number of girls in centers for vocational and technical
training in Ougagdougou.24 FAWE recorded 15 girls participating in their trainings (11 in sewing
and 4 in electronics) in 2008-2009 against 0 in 2007-2008. Besides this, Tin Tua who is targeting
mainly illiterate girls in rural areas who have dropped out of school has set up training centres
for young people to develop skills in agriculture and animal husbandry. 15 boys and 18 girls
participated in these trainings in 2009. Among them, 11 boys and 5 girls were employed as
trainers in the training centers. Our partner END managed very well to integrate training in food
industry (how to produce pastry, jam, dried fruits, fruit juice) into their education curriculum and
trained 647 students (50 percent of them were girls) in 2009. It should be noted that awareness
rising on HIV and AIDS is also integrated into END’s school curriculum to prevent the students
from becoming infected with HIV. Lastly, on a national level, in 2010, the Ministry of Women’s
Development and the Ministry of Youth and Employment jointly organised an exposition for a
greater visibility of students and youth in Burkina Faso. Moreover, the so called CFIAM (Centre
23
The CCEB is positioned as a front line actor in advocacy and appeal to decision-makers for a quality education for all. It is a
network with 165 members (Associations and NGO) registered and is represented in 13 regions and 45 provinces.
24
The number of its female students in electronics doubled in 2009 (10 in 2008 and 23 in 2009) which is a consequence of its
intervention strategy that seeks to involve EPA executive committees and associations in the enrolment and follow-up of the
girls.
140
de Formation et d’Initiation aux Métiers)25 became a sub regional reference in professional
training for young girls, and every year it hosts other potential sleeping partners and company
executives. As regards results of work to promote small businesses initiated by young people,
especially AMR has proven some good results of their trainings in the agro-pastoral centres. For
example, in 2009, out of the 62 training participants (19 of them women), 33 persons (11 of them
girls) started their own income generating activities afterwards, mainly in the area of gardening
for markets. The same year, out of 34 trained persons, 11 men and 12 women did the same thing.
– The AMR has become a best practice for how to promote youth employment in rural areas.
Result 3: The literacy programs have been improved.
Among our partners only one is working in this very specific field, namely Tin Tua, who is active
mainly in the Eastern regions of Burkina Faso. One important result of their work during these
years are the development and publishing of education curriculum for illiterate persons in the
national languages gulimancema, fulfuldé, mooré, jarma, and jula. It is also useful to point out
that new literacy curricula have been elaborated by TinTua and the MENA (Ministère de
l’Education Nationale et de l’Alphabétisation), in national language for the CPAF (Centre
Permanent d’alphabétisation fonctionelle) and the AFFF centers (Apprentissage du Francais
Fondamental et Fonctionnel): Learning of fundamental Functional French to allow them at least to
read and count in French. To have access to these new education materials, printed in their own
languages have made it so much easier for teachers to educate, and for illiterate women and men
to learn how to read.
Moreover, Tin Tua has also registered good results regarding the employment of the students after
they become literate: In one class, out of 28 newly literate young persons, 6 became employed in
carpentry, 3 in hairdressing and opened their workshops, 10 in sewing, and 9 in agro pastoral.
11.3.5 – The Democracy , Human Rights and Gender Programme (DHRG)
a) Democracy
Democracy Result 1: The citizens (right holders) are actively participating and have
strengthened their control over democratic processes at different levels (National assembly,
regional, municipal, village councils, etc) in the society.
The sensitization and training actions in 2010 enabled an increase of the transparency and skills
of the local collectivities in terms of communication and management of communal affairs
through the accountability of the elected authorities towards the populations and the instauration
of a climate of confidence and community commitment for the development of the localities.
Furthermore, the municipal authorities gave the PCD (Plan Communal de Développement) /
Local Development Plan and community budgets to the members of the CUA (Comité Unitaire
d’Action), 25 members of the CUA participated to 12 sessions of the municipal Councils of 10
rural communities, roofs have been built for the classrooms instead of fencing the City Hall in
Nandiala, the populations were mobilized to collect aggregates for the construction of two (2)
schools in Pa and a health facility in Yamané. The citizens participated to the sessions of the
municipal Council in the comunities of Tougo and Bassi in the province of Zondoma. The
25
The CFIAM is a non-governmental centre set up by ATTous to train girls in professions that are traditionally only reserved for
men. Many enterprises are developing partnership with the CFIAM to recruit workers from the trained students or sponsor their
career as private operators.
141
organization of the EDIC by the AMR in Tougo and Bassi enabled the registration of a directory
mentioning the main problems of citizens in two communities, recommendations expressed by
populations on the communal management (need to be informed of the communal budget, the
recruitment mode of municipal agents, the local procurement process etc…). It is also
worthwhile mentioning a particular involvement of women through questions related to specific
measures pertaining to the woman and the child (unwanted pregnancies in high schools,
insecurity and the women’s vulnerability, the early school dropout of girls for marriage) and the
set up of monitoring committees of these recommendations. The edition of the report on the
situation of corruption in 2008 and 2009 and the publication of articles denunciation corruption
during the issuance of residence taxes and public procurement in the newspapers based on
investigations conducted by the REN-LAC enabled to obtain an administrative referral from the
MEF which resulted in the authorization for an investigation of the General Inspection of
Finance of that Ministry. This is the result of a complaint filed by a father who has been
sensitized by his daughter who read the cartoon Kouka N°09. An article of the REN-LAC
concerning the exaggerated practice of OTC markets further to the attribution of 16 attributions
OTC markets within 6 months in 2009 supported by a letter sent to the MEF enabled the
reduction in the number of OTP markets in 2010. Open Days of the CSPS organized by the
GERDDES in 10 communities of intervention enabled to obtain the removal from office of a
nurse who refused to take guards in Nandiala.
Democracy Result 2: Civil society organizations have strengthened their capacity and
organization to reinforce democratic principles (e.g. inclusiveness, fairness and
independence, etc) in the electoral processes.
The level of achievement of this result is globally satisfactory in terms of creation of synergy
between the stakeholders of the civil society. In particular, the coalition for the political and
institutional reforms set up in 2009, which include the GERDDES, le MBDHP, the RENLAC
and the CGD, elaborated analyses for the improvement of the electoral system regarding the
aspect of funding of the parties and the vote of Burkina citizens abroad. The coalition continues
its advocacy for the recognition of independent candidacies at the municipal and legislative
elections. Sensitization campaigns on human rights and citizenship in the framework of electoral
consultations conducted by the ATB in partnership with the MBDHP, the GERDDES and the
RENLAC also contributed to the capacity-building of the OCS for the promotion of democratic
principles. Evidence of that, is the increasing numbers and enrolment rates of populations for the
presidential elections in the three communities of Péni, Pa, Karangasso and Vigué.26
Democracy Result 3: The right holders have increased access to justice and are treated
fairly in front of the law and the democratic institutions irrespective of sex, age, HIV status,
etc.
The level of achievement of this result is satisfactory. Indeed, the partners of Diakonia did their
utmost for the promotion, the protection and the defense of the citizens’ right through
sensitization, the capacity-building of stakeholders and the denunciation of a number of cases
conducted by the MBDHP. Therefore, the citizens in the areas of intervention now take more
personal initiatives to contact relevant jurisdictions to claim their rights and in some cases they
26
In Péni, the number of voters increased from 5005 in 2006 to 8197 in 2010 indicating an increase of +63%. In Pa, the number
of voters increased from 3004 in 2006 to 3749 in 2010 indicating an increase of +24%. In Karangasso and Vigué, the number of
voters increased from 11325 in 2006 to17 437 in 2010 indicating an increase of +54%.
142
are reffered by the authorities to OCS such as the MBDHP at the level of the Centre d’Ecoute et
d’Appui conseil (CEA).
The advocacy initiated by the MBDHP for the structural reforms originated from a decision
made by the State administration to dismiss the Commissioner of the regional service of the
judicial police of Ouagadougou who was well-known for his torture practices and forced
disappearances. Similarly, a law pertaining to the definition and the repression of torture is
underway thanks to the joint advocacy of the stakeholders such as the MBDHP on the security
abuses mainly supported by the presentation of the Burkina report to the Commission Africaine
des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples (CADHP) / the African Commission of the Human Rights
and the Right of People, and the Commission des Droits de l’Homme des Nations Unies
(CDHNU) / the UN Commission on Human Rights. All these actions have made the populations
less afraid to contact the justice department. For example, the population of Gaoua formed an
association of victims and contacted the justice department in one case. The government has also
made commitments and started the process of abolishing the death penalty in Burkina Faso,
which is a new and welcome position, which has certainly been influenced by the submission of
the issue to the CADHP by MBDHP in 2010.27
Democracy Result 4: Civil society organizations and the media have strengthened their
capacity to promote and defend the press and the expression of freedom.
The results obtained are satisfactory on a global level. The actions of our partner CNP-NZ
especially, has contributed to capacity building of the media to advocate for the protection of the
freedom of speech and of press in 2010 through the implementation of the training program that
was elaborated in 2009.28 The commemorations of the Global Day of the Freedom of the Press,
and the anniversary date of the assassination of journalist Norbert Zongo sensitized over 1.500
persons on the right to freedom of the press and the place of women in media. The Club of the
Press involved a total of 626.463 persons. They have been informed and sensitized on 9 topics
relevant to the freedom and expression of the press during the Fifty Years of independence of
Burkina Faso. The organization of the 4th edition of the Award for investigative journalism
extended to all ECOWAS countries in 2009 allowed national journalists to be aware of their
weakness in investigative journalism and hence, their recommendation to keep up with the
international editions in the aim to improve their performance and to be qualified for the next
editions. The edition of 2012 will allow CNP/NZ to follow up the evolution of the investigative
journalism in Burkina Faso. Furthermore, during the 2009 FILEP, CNP - NZ has met with the
Prime Minister and has again questioned him on the issue of the journalists’ access to public
documents. As a consequence, the Prime Minister sent a circular letter to the administrative
bodies requesting them to allow journalists to access to the public documents. The follow up of
the effect of this circular will be done through a study on the situation of the freedom of the press
and the expression in 2011. As every year, December 13, 2010, the CNP - NZ, in collaboration
with organizations of civil society such as the MBDHP and the REN-LAC, commemorated the
12th year of the murder of journalist Norbert Zongo. They have again appealed to the authorities
27
At the 48th session of the CADHP in Novembre 2010, the MBDHP made a declaration on the maintenance of the death
penalty in Burkina Faso law towards the special reporter of the CADHP. The reporter questionned the Burkina government on
the question. The government has reacted and expressed that first of all the citizens of Burkina Faso must be aware of the issue
and against the practice, before they can amend the Penal Code of the country.
28
In total, the CNP-NZ organized 24 training sessions on fifteen themes for 354 press professionals. Two (2) information and
sensitization meetings o the situation of the press and the right of access to information with the civil society and the civil
servants took place.
143
for a reopening of the case for which a sentence of nonsuit was passed by the court in 2006. This
illustrates the continuous commitment of CNP - NZ, the civil society and Burkinabe citizens to
fight until light is shed on this matter.
Democracy Result 5: Civil society organizations have strengthened the mechanism to
exchange thematic expertise on a regular basis
The result has been achieved on a satisfactory level, specifically as regards the partners that
Diakonia is working with in Burkina Faso. The partners have managed to set up coordination
frameworks to facilitate synergies in their work. This perspective has been consolidated further
by the holding of two workshops on advocacy including the benefits from the work in synergy
organized by Diakonia which enabled the partners to foresee joint thematic actions. (See Part
11.3 and 11.5 for the specific Results). In terms of quality of the participation, the Diakonia staff
have notice that women increasingly speak out during GA’s; give their piece of advice and their
opinions in meetings with partners. The implementation of the parity principles during the
training sessions and the fact to make them feel responsible, for example at the restitutions of
GERDDES, the organization and the direction of the coordination session at the level of the
AMR have contributed to encourage women’s participation in public debates and decision
making in the communities of intervention.
Democracy Result 6: CSOs, at different levels, have strengthened their capacity and
organization in acting for climate justice in social and economic policies
The overall level of achievement of this result is not very satisfactory in terms of advocacy.
However, further to the submission of the statement to the Minister of Environment by the
partners of the PDDHG in 2009, Diakonia and its partners participated in the creation of a
National Coalition for the Fight against Climatic Change in September 2010. While waiting for
its official recognition, it was represented by its President at the Conference of Cancun on the
climatic changes in December 2010. In the framework of the actions carried out by the ATB in
partnership with the CPF, the local monitoring committees and the municipal councils of rural
communities on the question of the organization for the safeguarding and protection of the
environment, and the promotion of rights and duties in terms of climatic changes takes an
increasingly visible position. The local committees take their responsibilities in terms of defense
of their environment such as in Gana and Lilbouré where local populations with the agreement of
the village authority, the CVD and City Hall formed a village police for the abusive cutting of
wood and the exaggerated exploitation of sand.
b) Human Rights
Human Rights Result 1: Civil society has strengthened their capacity to promote rule of
law which apply equally to all citizens regardless of class, gender, age and HIV-status.
Interesting advocacy, capacity-building, and sensitization and information initiatives has led to a
satisfactory result which in the future should integrate more clearly a gender perspective in its
analysis. Here it is important to note the continuous advocacy by ADEP supported by ten other
organizations towards the Minister of Justice, Minister of the Promotion of Human Rights,
Minister of the woman’s promotion, Minister of the Social Action ad Solidarity, Minister of
Secondary and Superior Education and Literacy for the adoption of a law against sexual
harassment in school. The MBDHP has undertaken continuous advocacy work through the
144
Association of the Fight against Impunity (main focus is the assassination of journalist Norbert
Zongo), and through the Coalition against High Prices (with a very active participation of
women). Also, REN-LAC has undertaken continuous awareness raising at the national level of
the government over “69 Non Comprehensive Factual Cases of Corruption” and on the
significant number of markets by mutual agreement.
The populations of Lilbouré, Gana and Sakuilga presented lists pertaining to children’s rights
during the community theater shows organized by the ATB which are subject to advocacy at the
level of the local authorities. Furthermore, in 2010, the sensitizations of the police headquarters
of Patte d’Oie and Baskuy on the situation of human rights in Burkina Faso explained in
MBDHP 2008-2009 annual report , the police precinct of Ouaga 2000 and the brigade of the
Patte d’Oie, pertaining to the situation of human rights in Burkina Faso, . In 2009, the training
sessions organized by RENLAC of 200 municipal policemen upon request of the Director of the
Municipal Police on the fight against corruption, the complaints filed by young girls victim of
non desired pregnancy and incest at the justice department in Ouagadougou, significantly
contributed to the application of more equitable laws. For example, a young girl was able to
enjoy her rights in recognition of paternity of her child as well as the payment of alimony as a
direct result of these awareness raising activities.
Human Rights Result 2: The rights based approach (RBA) is integrated in all the projects
and programs
The achievement level of this result is satisfactory. A partner such as ATB indicates that most
partners which require its services for actions of sensitization through theater are increasingly
focused on rights – they are mainly the partners of Diakonia - but also other OCS. Four training
sessions on the rights-based approach and human rights were organized by the ADEP and the
MBDHP for 10 members and the staff members among which 7 women and 3 men and
community-based organizations of the civil for who and the practical learning of target groups to
defend their rights through theater forums of the ATB enabled to build the capacities of these
very groups to claim their rights by using the judicial or advocacy channel. The advocacy actions
already mentioned in the prior result are also concrete results of training sessions pertaining to
the rights-based approach and advocacy.
Human Rights Result 3: The economic exploitation of children has decreased among the
rights holders and duty bearers targeted by our partners
The level of achievement of this result is satisfactory. Thanks to the prevention activities
undertaken by Ton), as well as the protection activities undertaken by RAPPED, ADEP and Ton
(vulgarization of laws and monitoring of the government commitments) and the response
activities (victims of child trafficking intercepted and reintegrated by Ton), only 28 children
victims of child trafficking have been intercepted by Ton in Niangoloko in 2010 - compared to
about 200 cases two years ago. The reinsertion / the allocation of small loans to six young girls
victims of early and forced marriage, the application of the articles 465, 466, 467, 468 of the
persons and family code forcing the author of a pregnancy to pay subsidies to a single mother
further to the interventions of the ADEP contributed to somehow reduce the number of
victims.73 youngsters including 36 girls and 38 boys placed in training centers in the field of
welding, carpentry and mechanic compared with 67 children, including 33 girls, placed in
learning centers in 2009 by RAPPED escaped from such prostitution, sexual violence and child
labor. The free enrolment of vulnerable children by school principals in primary school and
145
high schools and colleges and the experimentation of 5 hosting families in Niangoloko within the
population organized by Ton are also factors contributing to positive changes in the life quality
of children. At a higher and lasting level, the collaboration of Ton and the authorities (Police,
Law enforcement officers, City Hall) led the mayor to include the importance of respecting the
rights of children in their programs, plans and activities for Niangoloko.
Human Rights Result 4: The adaptation capacity of women and men to climate change has
increased
The result is satisfactory with regard to the awareness of stakeholders of climatic changes further
to initiatives carried out by ATB, ADEP and Ton. They have carried out sensitization and
information sessions during these three years for girls, students, and the general population, and
highlighted in their trainings the need to change behaviors that are threatening the environment.
Consequently, they have adopted adequate methods for the management of water, biological
agriculture, the preservation of the vegetal surface through the use of traditional techniques such
as the Zaï, half-moons, stone bunds and the use of improved seeds.- These methods have been
integrated in their trainings by the rural population in Gana, Lilbouré and Sakuilga. The decision
of 44 local departments of the GERDDES to set up pine trees was left unanswered by the 44
local departments of the GERDDES due to a lack of funds for the purchase of the plants and
their care. But on a positive note, the existence of a sensitization instrument on climatic change
such as the 7 minute short film called «The Long Trip of the Plastic bag » by AMR and the fact
that it is available for the other partners is very promising for 2011 – as it will surely contributed
to a better understanding among our partners and the population of how we can prevent climate
change.
c) Gender Equity
Gender Result 1: Physical and moral violence against women and girls have been reduced
among the rights holders and duty bearers targeted by partner.
From the perspective of reducing physical and psychological / moral violence, some of our
partners’ activities have surely improved the life situation of a lot of persons drastically,
specifically of girls. For example, regarding the common problem of unwanted pregnancies – the
number dropped considerably in 2009 and 2010 at the High School Marien N’Gouabi further to
awareness raising activities carried out by ADEP on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,
(including, HIV and AIDS, FGM, sexual harassment in school and early marriage). Another
example: In 2009, ADEP noted seven cases of unwanted pregnancies that had led to expulsions of
the girls from the family homes. Thanks to the support of ADEP, five of the girl were accepted
and returned back to their families, and the two other cases are about to be solved by the Justice
Department.29 The awareness of students on the topic has also increased in the area of intervention
of ADEP, who has undertaken awareness raising - and training sessions on violence against
women. They have also advocated in the schools where they are working, to adopt standards and
regulations to punish sexual harassments.
29
On a similar note, in 2009, as a result of the mediation undertaken by ADEP within the schools ”Cours placide Yaméogo” in
Koudougou and ”Lycée Vénégré” in Ouagadougou, 2 girls who were victims of sexual harassment in their schools and expelled
because of this, were able to resume their education. Today they have been admitted to the superior grade and are very
enthusiastic.
146
Also, MBDHP is an important partner in this area which has registered good results. Just to get
an idea of this: Ten cases were submitted by single mothers to MBDHP during one year, with the
aim of tracing the biological fathers of their children and to hold them accountable of their
parental duties and allowances. In eight of these cases, the Court ordered that allowances /
alimonies should be paid by the fathers to the mothers (their former spouses) according to the
law. This would not have been possible without the legal counseling support given by MBDHP,
including the training they provided to 52 men and 23 women on this same topic in Houndé.
ATB is another partner who is working through so called “Theatre Forums” to change negative,
judgmental and shameful attitudes and behaviors towards women. A few statements given by
men in their audience actually indicate that the theater shows of ATB have contributed to
changes in the attitude of men in the communities. After having seen the show that focus on
gender, some of the viewers made the following comments: « As far as I’m concerned my wife
was not allowed to speak but now it’s OK », « In the past I did not see the value of my wife until
the day I had problems and my wife helped me, this is when I realized that a woman has value,
let’s respect her », « I understood that a girl has the right to be educated », « I love my wife
more than ever, I’ll come home early », « I now let my wife participate to the village meetings».
The theme of “masculinity” and increased involvement of men in actions that aim to reduce
violence against women and girls is definitely high on the agenda of Diakonia in the years to
come.
Gender Result 2: Economic and social equality between women and men has improved
among the rights holders and duty bearers targeted by partners
During the first two years of the programme our partners registered results related to increased
awareness of the populations in the community of interventions regarding women’s rights and
gender equality, especially participation of women. In 2010, some additional results have been
registered mainly in relation to the promotion of the gender equity and increased involvement of
men, despite a bit discouraging statistics on the access of women to justice and their possibilities
to engage in IGA. Cases like the one of 300 women who collectively filed a complaint to claim
the payment of the agreed price of 3 365 000 FCFA instead of 2 000 000 FCFA that the buyer
wanted them to pay for the sale of gold is a positive example. First of all at the level of the CEA
of the MBDHP, then referred to the police, and finally filed at the justice department. As a result,
the buyer was condemned to pay indemnities to all of the women. 30 complaints filed by women
have been transmitted to the justice department thanks to the support of the MBDHP. Similarly,
42 women could file their cases through the so called “Rights Shops” set up by MBDHP. In 57
cases, they were ruling on alimony, recognition of paternity and inheritance. At the level of
economic equity, the inclusions of IGA by ADEP in the projects enable girls to improve their
economic and social situation. 30 young girls have been trained in the manufacture of soap in
Kokologho in 2010. The schooling of 36 vulnerable girls (orphans, poor, victims of forced
marriage) by ADEP including 15 in 2 primary schools of Ziniaré and 21 girls in high schools and
colleges in Ouagadougou and Koudougou also contributed to reduce the under schooling of girls.
Gender Result 3: Political equality between women and men has improved among the right
holders and duty bearers targeted by partners
A positive development at the national level was the law on the quota of 30% of women on the
electoral lists which was voted for and adopted on April 16, 2009. With the adoption of this Act,
a greater representation of women in parliamentary elections is expected in 2012.
147
3 plays created and performed 73 times by the ATB for 4625 women and 6938 men called « One
finger cannot pick up the flour » which promotes the woman’s rights to assume political
responsibilities -to be an elected councilor and mayor- which certainly increased the awareness
of both women and men in these rural communities were only few can read and write. In
addition to the plays, in total 424 speeches / points of opinions, were given by viewers after the
plays, which show that they became very engaged by the topic.
In order to prepare the young girls to fully enjoy their rights as citizens, ADEP created two new
clubs in the schools where they are working, in addition to the “boosting” of the 4 already
existing clubs in schools on the themes of women’s leadership, self-confidence, citizen
participation of young educated people and the promotion of gender equity. AMR undertook
1092 awareness raising activities (video projections, and instructive discussions) on women’s
rights and especially on political participation in local governance, for 27 944 participants
including 18 754 women. The topics included especially, the education of girls, the access of
women to land, to legacy and a better participation of men in household work.
11.3. Capacity Building Result:
In Burkina Faso, Diakonia is constantly involved in the capacity building of our partners through
“learning by doing approach”. In practise this means for example that all of the DHRG
Programme partners participated in the contextual analysis, planning, and development of the log
frame – this was undertaken jointly by Diakonia and the partners. This type of very participatory
approach is really the core of how we understand and work with Capacity Building of partners.
Besides these types of exercises, and the daily capacity support given to our partners in the form
of clarifications, feedback, consultations and field trips, the office in Burkina Faso has been
working with the following capacity building activities during 2008 to 2010: Several thematic
trainings were organized for the partners, in the area of HIV and AIDS and Gender, and RightsBased-Approach to Programming. The trainings were followed up by “on the job coaching” by a
consultant for three months.
Technical trainings such as Financial management30 was also organized by Diakonia and
facilitated by Worldaudit for the DHRG Programme partners (mainly finance / accountant staff)
in October 2010. A very innovative and appreciated technical training on advocacy skills31 were
undertaken with nine partners of the DHRG Programme in 2010. Besides enhanced skills in
advocacy and lobbying, and creation of synergies and coalitions, another outcome of the training
was the set up of Advocacy Groups among the partners and Action Plans with specific objectives
and targets to be implemented through advocacy activities and campaigns in their work.
Hopefully we will be able to see the results of these two trainings during 2011.
Lastly, Diakonia has also contributed to the capacity building of partners to advance their
agendas and expand their networks of contacts for information sharing and resource mobilization
through participation in key networking and advocacy events: For example, in February 2008,
30
It was very appreciated since it not only clarified technical aspects of the accounting and financial management (including
management of fixed assets and follow-up of management letters), but also gave them an opportunity to explain challenges and
best practices to each other and Diakonia.
31
The first session explained the advocacy concept, and the second session was practically oriented: how to communicate more
effectively and strategically towards particular target groups, and how to mobilize technical, financial and human resources.
148
Diakonia sponsored the participation of 8 partners32 in the International Conference of the
“Society for Women and Aids in Africa” (SWAA) on « Gender, HIV and AIDS human rights it’s time to react ». At the World AIDS Day of 2010, Diakonia organized a reflection day and
action on the official theme « STOP AIDS, KEEP YOUR PROMISE » - and opportunity that
was used also to present the internal Diakonia HIV and AIDS Workplace policy. Moreover,
Diakonia, GERDDES, AMR, and CNP/NZ also participated in the Constitutive General
Assembly of the Coalition of the Fight Against Climatic change in September 2010 thanks to
support by Christian Aid, UICN and SOS Sahel. Lastly, in November 2010 , the DHRG
Programme evaluated the monitoring support given by Diakonia, SIDA, and the Steering
Committee to the partners, and identified a number of capacity results that have evolved during
the years. The following results, which we find very positive, were highlighted: The partners
work very proactively; they are better at keeping deadlines now than during the first phase of the
programme; There is more inter-communication taking place between the partners than before;
The monitoring of SIDA contributes to enhancing the commitment of partners and to a certain
open-mindedness; The partners have improved their elaboration, management and project
monitoring capacities; The PTFs have agreed upon a number of working principles, including
joint audit reports, and joint request of a management and results-based reporting.
The first Lessons Learned relates to the DHRG Programme, and more specifically to the work
we had planned to undertake against Climate Change during the last few years. Initially, we had
planned to build the capacities of our partners (and ourselves) to undertake technical – and
advocacy work related to climate change and environment on a local level, towards local
authorities and CSOs. However, after some investigation, it turned out that many organizations
were already undertaking activities in this exact field. To avoid overlap and to see how we could
complement already ongoing activities, we initiated discussion with a group set up by Christian
Aid and managed by SOS Sahel for a better organization and coordination of actions related to
Climate Change. In hindsight, this exercise of coordination should have been done on a much
earlier stage, which would have saved us a lot of time and money. Still, our undertakings bore
fruit, and after many preparatory meetings, a National Coalition for the Fight against Climate
Change saw the light of the day in September 2010.33 This organization has not yet been legally
recognized, but in the meantime, the Coalition is continuing its work. Since we have learned
from our past mistakes, the first activity of the Coalition is to develop an advocacy – and
communication strategy that will guide the work of the group. In addition to this, we have come
to understand that not all of the partners of the DHRG Programme are keen to become involved
in this Coalition. For example, REN-LAC does not see how the theme of corruption relates to
Climatic Change. So, the lesson for the future is that whenever we take on for us “new
themes”, such as climate change, sexual and reproductive health, humanitarian aid, etc. we
should first of all undertake an mapping exercise to coordinate with already on-going
initiatives, as well as to see what specific issues to advocate for, and towards what type of
target groups and what type of partners to involve. Moreover, we also recognize that neither
we nor our partners had the relevant technical expertise to work on climate change when the
32
ADEP , RAME, ALAVI, MBDHP, CIFOEB, ATTOUS, FAWE, RECIF/ONG
Christian Aid financed this meeting where Diakonia and some partners participated. An executive board was put into place
during this event and GERDDES was elected responsible for the accounts.
33
149
programme started, we did not know exactly how to address it. Another lesson learned is thus
that when a new theme is “entering” the programme, it would be important to assess the
capacity of both Diakonia staff and the interested partners to see if they need further
training to be able to address it fully in our programme?34
Regarding the CivSam program, we have noted that in projects that focus on food safety and
empowerment of farmers, positive results have also been registered in indicators such as health
and education in the communities. Simply, men and women who have participated in livelihood
project and independent community cooperatives for agriculture have been able to fend better for
themselves and their families, and it has also allowed them to send their kids to schools, to
provide more and better food, and to take prevent and respond to health problems. However, the
challenge remain in the future for the programme to ensure a linkage between CivSam partners
(who work more on a community and local level) and DHRG programme partners (who work
more on a national / advocacy level).
Lastly, an important lesson learned is also that partners should to a greater extent strive to
include a gender perspective in their work. Some of them already have done this, especially in
the area of IGA, and in these cases we have seen significant improvement in the socio-economic
development of women in their communities, in relation to the men. However, the undertaking
of specific projects and activities for women only, is not enough, since it is a structural
problem in all areas of work – as such, gender needs to be mainstreaming into all projects
and activities of partners. Also, we would like to see a greater involvement of men in
activities that are at the moment mostly involving women (especially regarding violence
against women, and the civil and political rights of women). This is a lesson learned for the
future, and we believe that the Gender Manual which is currently being developed by the Office,
as well as the “Masculinity Study” undertaken by the CO and SIDA jointly in Burkina Faso, will
be much useful for the analysis of future programme, as well as in trainings of partners.
11.5 Synergies between Partners Facilitated by Diakonia
Besides the joint thematic trainings of partners already mentioned in part 11.3 in this report,
Diakonia has created a synergy of climate change action between partners35 through the
following initiatives: Concerning the CIVSAM partners, the synergies increased during 2010
through the various networks supported by Diakonia: The CdC/CSLP, the CROISAD, the
CIFOEB and the CCEB - networks which include most of the partners of Diakonia. Many of the
impressive results accounted for under the Democracy reporting in this report, was made
possible through these synergies. Moreover, an informal network on climate change was created
involving14 partners of Diakonia, including 10 partners of the DHRG Programme. A joint
statement was submitted by the partners to the Ministry of Environment in November 2009
regarding Climatic Change and consequences by the “Institut d’Application et de Vulgarisation
en Sciences” (IAVS). A joint declaration was submitted by the partners to the Minister of
Environment on 7 December 2009 in view of the Conference of the parties to the United Nations
Convention on climate change in Copenhagen as well as a press release to the media. The
advocacy trainings already mentioned in this report resulted in the formation of four thematic
groups for advocacy (rural development and food safety; education; health and HIV; and good
34
In the case of Climate Change and Environment, it should be noted, that the DHRG Programme partners all have Action Plans
in place that were developed following a so called Environmental Impact Assessments undertaken by SIDA – these should
definitely be part of the future work of partners in this field.
35
GERDDES ADEP, MBDHP, RAPPED, REN - LAC, CNP/NZ, RAJS, TON, AMR, ATB, APME2a, APROS, ZABNEK.
150
governance) with 2 – 4 partners working in each group. Moreover, as a result of the advocacy
trainings described in Part 11.3, some of the partners have set up a blog that will facilitate their
communication and exchange of Best Practices of work on this topic. Hopefully we will be able
to see good results of these groups in 2011.
During the 3 years, Diakonia has been very proactive in the coordination with other donors in
Burkina Faso, especially as regards other International NGOs. The collaboration between some
international NGOs and bilateral donors in Burkina Faso36 to fund initiatives related to
monitoring & evaluation and consultation of education, democracy, human rights, and gender
(PRSP themes) has been ongoing over the three years, and currently a Basket Fund has been put
in place for the MBDHP, REN-LAC and CNP/NZ as well as CIFOEB and TinTua. As a result of
this collaboration, since we are all providing core funds to these partners - we have shared
narrative and financial reporting formats, and held steering committee meetings together with the
other donors. This coordination which is in the spirit of the Paris Declaration and the Accra
Agenda for Action is very positive as it facilitates the monitoring through exchange of
information. In fact, there is a tendency of more and more donors leaning towards basket funding
in Burkina Faso, and this is the direction that also Diakonia is aiming towards. In particular,
Diakonia would like help some of our partners to mobilize funds to develop and implement their
strategies through basket funds, (CdC/CSLP, TinTua, and CCEB etc. are especially relevant
here).
An initiative was taken in March 2009 by the Deutsher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) that became
since 1st January 2011, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ),
Diakonia, the Schweizerische Normen-Vereinigung (SNV), the Groupe de Recherche et
d’Action sur le Foncier (GRAF), the Programme de Renforcement des Organisations de la
société civile de l’Union Européenne (PROS/EU), the United Nations Volonteer Programme, the
Projet de Renforcement de l’Interface Etat-Secteur Privé-société civile (PARECAP), and United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to establish a “Network for Support to the Civil
Society” (RASC). It is intended to facilitate consultation with CSOs and key stakeholders
working with capacity building of CSOs in Burkina Faso to be able to identify and develop the
most appropriate form of capacity support to CSOs.
Diakonia was the leader of the so called “Gender Discussion Framework of International NGOs”
from January 2008 to May 200937 and has therefore organised meetings for experiences sharing
in gender strategies. Diakonia also participate regularly in meetings organized by Association
des Eglises Evangéliques Reformées du Burkina Faso (AEERB), Christian Aid Burkina Faso,
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) Burkina Faso for the establishment of ACT (Action by Churches
Together) Sahel Forum and ACT forum Burkina Faso. The objective of the ACT forum is to
promote the exchange of information on programs of humanitarian aid and current development
on analyses concerning the country or region. At this stage, a memorandum of understanding for
36
The financial partners involved are Diakonia, the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, theSwiss Cooperation, the Embassy of
Denmark, Oxfam Québec, the DED, OXFAM Belgique, Intemon Oxfam, and FONAENF.
37
Seven NGOs are members of the network: Diakonia, Oxfam Québec, National Democratic Institute (NDI), Netherlands
Organization for Development (SNV), Italian Women Association for Development (AIDOS), Christian Aid, Aide et Action.
The Group was headed by Christian Aid from June 2009 and organized a meeting intended to share experiences in gender
strategies on 12th June 2009.
151
the establishment of Sahel Forum ACT and ACT Forum Burkina Faso has been developed.
Diakonia has also cooperated and coordinated its actions with Christian Aid in the set up of the
National Coalition for the Fight against Climate Change.
Lastly, in 2007, Diakonia funded jointly with the Swiss Cooperation, Terre des Hommes
Germany, the Embassy of France, the Institute of Research and Development, Aide et Action the
production of a documentary film called “After the emergency: The impact of the conflict in
Côte d’Ivoire on the education in Burkina Faso.”38 Thanks to the involvement of Diakonia in this
process, our partner CCEB reached an agreement with the Minister of National Basic Education
giving them the right to screen the film on national television, along with a presentation called
“Education in Question.”
In collaboration with the Head Office in Stockholm, the office received visits of 20 young
Swedish activists including 15 women, during two weeks in February 2009. These young people
are engaged in the advocacy for Diakonia in Sweden and information work. It provided them
with the opportunity to interact with grassroots communities on issues of Climate Change and
strategies developed to address it. This visit was also intended to prepare the activists for the
participation in the Copenhagen meeting in December 2009. In addition, information collected
by the young activists in Burkina Faso, also allowed fundraising at the headquarters of Diakonia
for their campaign in Copenhagen.
In 2009, a success story from our partner MBDHP was used by Diakonia Head Office during
fundraising campaigns in Sweden. This story was also put on the Diakonia web site.
Following an initiative of Head Office (including the provision of analytical tools to be used) the
CO has initiated the commemoration of the World AIDS Day every year. During these types of
events the partners are mobilized at the office to share their experiences on this topic, it is also
used as an opportunity to collect information on the situation of HIV in Burkina Faso, including
access to healthcare, prevention and treatment services.
11.8 Contribution to EU financed Programme
No EU financed project was undertaken during 2008-2010.
38
The film was made by JC Frisque, E. Lanoue & K. Sanou and was screened throughout 2008 at the PTF and to the team of
PDDEB and received positive reviews. Diakonia facilitated the contact between the technical partner of the film Manivelle
production and CCEB a strategic partner in the field of Education for the distribution of the film at national level.
152
2010
Outc
ome
/bud
get
Regional
Appr budget
Revised Nov
Actual
costs
%
CIVSAM
3,722,055
3,604,562
3,056,194
85%
OTHER DONORS
811,588
811,588
348,506
811,588
811,588
348,506
43%
TOTAL
4,533,643
3,404,700
77%
4,416,150
Outc
ome
/bud
get
Competence
development within
Diakonia
Appr budget
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
The deviation of 23% is mainly due to the balance of
the other donors from last year and the merging of
the two regions. In 2009, the embassy funds were
used for 7months due to late signing of the
agreement. The administrative part as well as the
program relative budget had therefore a huge
balance by December 2009. That important balance
was brought down in 2010 to raise the budget to a
certain level that could not be absorbed. In 2010,due
to the merging of the regions, some of the staff
working partly on the democracy program was
retrenched. A specific budget(retrenchment budget)
was put in place for the leaving staff. So the budget
of 2010 in addition with the brought down budget of
2009 became unfit for the needs of the region.
Revised Nov
Actual
costs
%
916,693
200,000
183,533
92%
35,000
35,000
0
35,000
35,000
0
0%
951,693
235,000
183,533
78%
The total deviation is 22%. This deviation is due to
the none used of the balance of Other donors .
The 35 000 sek were budgeted for CO-Mali
competence development (English courses) but the
cost was covered by the administrative budget
instead.
TOTAL
Outc
ome
/bud
get
Burkina Faso
Appr budget
Revised Nov
Actual
costs
CIVSAM
3,485,683
3,192,958
3,093,018
OTHER DONORS
4,802,899
4,802,898
4,400,796
716,428
5,519,327
716,428
5,519,326
4,400,796
%
97%
80%
The deviation for Other donors is 20%. The balance
brought down from last year has normally been
redistributed to the partners for the coming years. It
is due as we said above to the delay in signing of the
agreement since 2009.
In addition, two partners did not receive funds do to
late reporting and no new partner was added.
153
TOTAL
9,005,010
8,712,284
7,493,814
86%
2008-2010
Outcome/
budget
Regional
Appr budget
13,862,063
Revised Nov
12,514,503
Actual
costs
12,551,869
OTHER DONORS
3,867,143
1,273,590
584,747
3,867,143
1,273,590
584,747
46%
17,729,206
13,788,093
13,136,616
95%
CIVSAM
TOTAL
Competence development within
Diakonia
%
100%
Outcome/
budget
Appr
budget
Revised
Nov
Actual
costs
1,908,693
1,619,572
1,653,112
OTHER DONORS
35,000
95,000
0
35,000
95,000
0
0%
1,943,693
1,714,572
1,653,112
96%
CIVSAM
TOTAL
The whole planned budget for
the new democracy programme
could not be used since the
signing of the agreement took
place in mid-2009.
%
102%
Outcome/budg
et
Burkina Faso
CIVSAM
Appr
budget
11,990,48
3
Revised
Nov
11,697,75
8
Actual
costs
11,613,283
OTHER DONORS
8,602,899
11,330,14
8
6,409,804
8,602,899
11,330,14
8
6,409,804
57%
TOTAL
20,593,38
2
23,027,90
6
18,023,087
78%
Funds planned for competence
development at Country level
were not used. The costs were
coverd by the administrative
budget.
-
%
99%
The important deviation from
the Other Donors is due to:
-
The late signature of the
agreement of embassy
funds
Two partners did not
receive funds due to late
reporting
No new organisation was added
in 2008 either in 2009 and 2010
as planned with specific
budgets
12. Country programme: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
12.1. Summary of Diakonia’s Programme in DRC
The DRC stretches out over an area as big as Western Europe with a population of 70 million
divided into a rich variety of ethnic groups who are speaking more than 200 languages including
French, Lingala, Swhahili, Kikongo and Tshiluba. Today we have fourteen partners who are
154
implementing projects in the following areas: the province of Kinshasa39, South Kivu40, and the
lower region of Congo / Bas Congo.41 (In 2007 we had a partner in the Katanga province as
well).42
The increasing democratization of the country that many were hoping for after the 2006 election
has not happened. Joseph Kabila's government has become increasingly authoritarian and a lot of
power has been gathered in a small circle around the president. Much of the country and the
economy are still beyond government's control. Because of the on-going conflicts (see below),
the economy is one of the least competitive in the world and has among the highest
unemployment rates. The country is considered one of the poorest in the world with about 80
percent of the population living below the poverty line of 2 USD per day. The war in DRC is
formally over since 2007, but a combination of ethnic tensions, corruption and a fight about the
extensive natural resources have continued and resulted in renewed violence which has claimed
about 5, 5 million lives since 1998. Hundreds of thousands of Congolese have been forced to flee
and the entire eastern part of the country is classified by the UN as a humanitarian disaster zone.
In early 2010 there were over two million refugees in the country. Arbitrary executions, mass
murder, torture and rape are very common, and sexual violence is rampant and used a strategy of
war: one woman is raped every two hours in the eastern province of South Kivu according to
UNOCHA in 2010. However, not all have been killed in connection with direct conflict. The
majority of victims are civilians, often children, who died from lack of medical care,
malnutrition and other indirect consequences of war.
Focus 1 – Democracy: A majority of our partners are working in the area of democracy, since
the situation in DRC ultimately is a result of weak democratic institutions and non application of
law. State corruption has become a commonly used tool to pursue personal and group agendas.
This is the reason why the programme43 is devoting a large part to strengthening of citizens'
participation in political processes at the local level, by providing a platform for dialogue
between local authorities and communities to demand accountability and to make proposals for
development. Men and women in the targeted areas
now have the possibility to discuss their problems and needs with responsible authorities, and in
many cases community members have used these forums to organize themselves to demand
improvements in the area of security problems, illegal taxes, the bad infrastructure and
environmental degradation etc.
Focus 2 and 3 – Human Rights and Gender: Human rights and personal freedom is not
guaranteed by the State, and discrimination of certain individuals and groups is common in DRC.
At the same time, the knowledge of men and women of human rights principles and of citizens’
participation is low. This is the reason why our programme includes a big share of awareness
raising and campaigns targeting the general population on their rights to basic services, to free
and fair elections, etc. In some cases, the spaces for dialogue described above have been used for
this, while in other cases partners undertake separate campaigns and trainings in other locations
such as schools, community committees, through the use of media, etc. The fight against
39
Our partners in Kinshasa are the following: ANMDH, FCDD, LICOCO, RECIC, RODHECIC, and UNAF.
Our partners in South Kivu are the following: RFDP Groupe Jeremie, AFEM, ASOP and CEDAC.
41
Our partners in Bas Congo are the following: CRONGD (not a partner anymore) and JP-Action.
42
Our parter in Kathanga province / Lubumbashi was ASADHO.
43
The number of democracy partners has increased from four partners in 2007 (RODHECIC, Group Jérémie, UNAF and
CRONGD) to seven partners in 2010 (RODHECIC, UNAF, RECIC, LICOCO, FCDD, RFDP, CEDAC). Two of them have
networks established on a national level, but Diakonia’s support is mainly for their work in Kinshasa (RODHECIC), and Bas
Congo (UNAF).
40
155
corruption, violence against women, and public mismanagement of natural resources (DRC has
some of the richest mineral reserves in the world) are common topics included here. Many of our
partners44 are preoccupied with women’s rights with a special focus on fighting impunity for
crimes related to sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), as well as related to civic and
political rights (for example, the right to vote and to marriage and birth registrations) as well as
to social and economic rights (including promotion of education and of Income Generating
Activities). Some partners pay particular attention to the minority group Pygmy, who are
severely discriminated in the country. The human rights and gender interventions on a
community level have certainly increased both men’s and women’s awareness of the important
socio-economic role that play women in the society and in some cases, women have become
financially independent of their men. The legal information and support given to victims of
human rights abuse have contributed to increased awareness in the targeted communities of the
legislation, legal counselling, and structures that exist to keep perpetrators accountable and
punished for their crimes and harassments – including police officers - and have to a certain
extent also helped reduce the stigma surrounding victims of SGBV, including the previously
very judgemental, shame – and blameful attitudes and behaviours that surrounded this type of
crimes in the communities of interventions.
12.2 Deviations from original plans during 2008-2010
12.2.1. External
The many plane crashes of local operators during the last years became a real obstacle for the
CO to undertake field visits as foreseen in the area of South Kivu.45 The HO decided to put a
ban on the use of local operators for Diakonia staff. This had for result that all staff needs to use
Kenya Airways or Ethiopian Air lines, which are flying through Kigali in Rwanda, which in turn
has increased the cost and time span of the field visits substantially.
12.2.2. Internal: Partners
Two partners were disengaged from the Diakonia programme in 2009, which had some negative
consequences for the implementation of the Strategic Plan, especially in the area of Social and
Economic Justice, and Conflict and Justice: First of all, our partner ASADHO which used to
monitor the human rights situation of people living in the mining zone of Tenke-Fungurume in
Katanga province were phase out in 2009. The reason for this was that they were no longer
permitted to access the mining premises (the dealers in the mining field refused to collaborate).
This partner was crucial also for HO to be able to carry out strategic advocacy work related to
human rights violations and social and economic injustice as a result of the exploitation of
mineral resources in DRC in Sweden as well as on a European level. The area of TenkeFungurume is especially relevant since Swedish investors are involved in the mining industry
here. As a result, an important door to access data from this area was closed to CO and HO, and
the CO also lost their strongest SEJ and CAJ partner. Second, the activities of our formed partner
CRONGD were deemed not to be in line with the priorities of Diakonia, and were consequently
phased out in 2009. As a result, the CO reduced their geographical area of intervention in lower
Congo. Lastly, the CO had planned to undertake an evaluation of the work of Group Jeremy and
CRONGD only, in 2010. But since the office has had difficulties to undertake an effective M&E
44
Six of our current partners are working in the field of human rights and gender: ANMDH, FCDD, ASOP, AFEM, RFDP, GJ,
and JP-Action. All of them are integrating a specific perspective on the rights of women in their work.
45
Our partners in this area are RFDP, Groupe Jeremy, AFEM, ASOP and CEDAC.
156
of some partners during 2010, they found it was relevant to evaluate all partners and the results
of their project during the period of 2008-2010.
In 2010, Diakonia HO took the decision to close down the Regional Office for West and Central
Africa in Burkina Faso, and to turn it into a Country Office. At the same time, an organization
development process was implemented by Diakonia in Africa, which had for the result that a
delegation of decision making took place that gave the CO an increased responsibility for
programme development, fund raising and resource mobilization. Also, the only regional office
for Africa is now in Nairobi, where a Programme Manager and Finance Officer were hired in
September 2010 to support the office in francophone countries (Mali, Burkina Faso and DRC).
These changes had effects especially on the internal administrative and financial work of the CO
in 2010, as well as human resources,46 but did not affect the implementation of the programme at
large – however, it will certainly change the way the CO is working in the future. Moreover, the
location of the RO in Nairobi instead of Ouagadougou is more convenient from a communication
perspective as well, since there are direct flights available. Also, the aspiration of the CO is to
link up more with other Diakonia Offices and partners in the Great Lakes region (especially
since the conflict in Eastern Congo is regional) and from this point of view, an orientation
towards East Africa is very relevant. It should also be noted, the fact that the change of staff /
recruitment of staff47 at some occasions took a lot of time, also brought with it some
consequences for the programme. More precisely, the CO did not have the capacity to undertake
all of the field visits foreseen during the period 2008 to 2010. This is an important reason why
the CO commissioned very thorough evaluations of each partner and their projects by
independent consultants at the end of 2010 (See Part 12.10 for more information).
12.3. Programme Analysis of Outcomes per Result or Theme
The most important results that have contributed to the strengthening of our partners’ and their
target groups’ capacities to act for development of a democratic structure and practice in DRC
are the following: New spaces were created, that enable a dialogue between citizens and
authorities that previously did not take place at all. Some examples of such spaces are the Multi
Actor Committees for the Monitoring of Local Governance (the “COMAS”), the Action Groups
for Popular Participation (NAPO), the platforms for the opinions of the people (les TEP), and the
establishment of Monitoring Mechanisms of Gender and Local Governance, the so called
“Listening Clubs”, and the Alarm Committees for Peace – the three latter ones are focusing
46
Besides the implementation of the Organisational Development Action Plans that were developed in cooperation with the HO,
induction training was also provided to the new Programme Officer, capacity building of finance and admin staff was provided
by the RO to the CO targeted to their new tasks and responsibilities, and Leadership and Anti-Corruption training was provided
to the Country Representative.
47
In April 2008 a Programme Officer (PO) was recruited for projects in South Kivu. The PO was promoted to the post as
Country Representative (CR) in August 2009, (replacing the former CR who had been there since 2007). A new PO was recruited
at that point, but only stayed for a year, when a new Programme Officer was hired in September 2010.
157
especially on the promotion of women’s participation. They were established on a local level in
eleven communes of Kinshasa, and in four territories in South Kivu.48
It is clear from our partners that these spaces have provided citizens with a new communication
channel to explain their needs, demands and ideas to local authorities - something that was not
possible before. Illegally imposed public service fees and local government taxes in harbours and
markets, police force misconduct, human insecurity (including banditry) and public sanitation
are among the most common topics brought forward during these meetings. The new civil
society and authority spaces for dialogue have also provided important new opportunities for
citizens to organize themselves and hold local authorities accountable for their actions and/or
lack of action: Especially, monitoring of public spending and local government budgets by
citizens has been made possible through the establishment of the above spaces. Some of the
result from this work deserves a particular mention here: In 2010, as a direct result of the budget
monitoring and lobbying done by citizens in the COMAS - local authorities had to resume public
work to restore the Kulumba avenue in Limete / Kingabwa. In 2009 in an effort to fight
corruption, partners pressured the Government to commission an audit of public spending in
Kinshasa. The findings revealed by the audit led to the dismissal of the Provincial Minister of
public works as well as the Vice Governor of the city of Kinshasa because of corruption charges.
Another direct result of citizens’ new political involvement and demands is the provision of
building materials by local authorities to communities for the improvement of public sanitation /
latrines, in Ngiri Ngiri and Makala in Kinshasa. This was also the case in Mikonga and Bibwa,
where authorities following citizens’ demands had to address public sanitation problems, and
make a complete rehabilitation of the market spaces. In 2009 a programme was put in place by
local authorities in Kisenso commune to fight banditry which lead to the arrest of several
criminals, and the mayor in Maluku decided to remove illegal fees in the harbour, etc.
Since most of the partners are working on a local level, results on the national level are naturally
fewer. And important result on the national level however, has been achieved by LICOCO which
has investigated the misuse of the so called HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) funds
allocated for education and health. Thanks to their advocacy on a both local and national level,
this resulted in the Congolese Government commissioned the Court of Auditors to undertake
audits of the spending of the funds. This in turn resulted in that 40 percent of the funds were
invested / returned allocated to the provinces in 2010. In 2008, LICOCO also released a report on
the use of health and education funds in the national budget for 2007 contributed to measures
taken by the government to audit the use of that money.
12.3.2 Result 2: Human Rights
The most important results that have contributed to the strengthening of our target group’s
capacity and organisation to defend and promote human rights are the following: Throughout the
three years, eight of our partners carried out information campaigns and awareness raising
activities (including trainings and workshops) on human rights and national legislation, targeting
the general population. Partner reports are witnessing of an increased understanding among
women and men of their rights to basic services, as well as to decent housing, and to human
security in their communities. These human rights projects target communities in the following
48
The eleven communes in Kinshasa are below Maluku: N’sele/Bibwa and Mikonga, Kimbanseke/Mikondo, Makala,
MontNgafula, Kisenso, Lingwala, Limete/Kingabwa, Kinshasa, Ngiri-ngiri and Lemba. In South Kivu the four territories are the
following: Kabare, Walungu, Kalehe, and Uvira.
158
areas in particular: In Lower Congo - Kasangulu, Vunda-Manenga; In Kinshasa - Nsele, MontNgafula, Kalamu, Maluku, Kimbanseke and in South-Kivu - Kaniola, Walungu, Kabare and
Kalehe.
There are some results that are standing out in particular in the area of promotion of civil rights:
Since 2009, the fees for marriage registration and for birth registration of children / birth
certificates have been reduced dramatically thanks to the lobbying work of these partners
towards local authorities, such as burgomasters and administrative civil servants in Kimbanseke.
In combination with awareness raising activities through community committees on political and
civil rights targeting women especially, this has resulted in a considerable increase in the number
of couples and children registered: In 2009 only 10 married couples in Kaniola /South-Kivu were
registered compared to 98 in 2010 for example. This advocacy work also provoked a change in
legislation at the national level allowing 90 days for parents to register their child instead of 30
days as previously. Also, state officials working in administrative offices in remote provinces are
now allowed to register children through a power of attorney from the Central Government. This
is a huge step since it increases the access for Congolese citizens to this civil service which
entitles the children and women to inherit also to access to allowances etc. These important gains
for the political and civil rights in DRC were a direct result of the advocacy undertaken by
FCDD, ANMDH and JP-Action towards the State Office for vital data/ vital records (les services
de l’état civil) at Kinshasa and Kasangulu. And it contributed to the revision of the “Family
Law” on the national level.
Important results were shown also by some of our partners who work with support to victims of
various human rights abuses through the juridical system. This is a crucial part to ensure the
realization of civil rights in DRC since most victims cannot afford to pay legal costs, and since
victims of sexual violence in particular risk to become stigmatized by their communities and
therefore normally prefer not to press charges. Particularly worth mentioning is the work of four
partners to fight against the impunity in DRC of perpetrator of sexual violence. This was made
possible thanks to the establishment of so called “legal centres.”49 The following is an indication
of the effectiveness of these clinics: In 2008, 173 cases of sexual abuse (3 of them boys) were
received at one centre. 53 of the cases were taken to court and in 12 of the cases, the perpetrators
were convicted. According to partners, each case helps to challenge the previously very lax
attitude in DRC towards sexual and gender based violence, since both men and women
increasingly consider it a serious crime, and since women have gained courage to press charged
towards their perpetrators.
Some other important results for the promotion of the realization of women’s rights in DRC have
been registered as well: In 2008 for example, 56 forums were organised in 28 villages to discuss
issues related to inequality between women and men, and related to violations of women’s rights
in DRC. Topics that kept resurging here were civil and political rights, such as birth registration,
and legalisation of marriages. In an effort to specifically ensure women’s participation in
conflict and peace negotiations in their communities (following the UN Security Council
Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security) our partner RFDP have continuously organized
special community dialogues - so called “Comités d’alerte pour la paix” for women and
authorities in the territory of Walungu in South Kivu.
49
The “legal centres” are providing judicial services for victims of various forms of human rights violations (in particular, related
to inheritance, domestic and sexual violence, resource conflicts in the communities, etc.). The para jurists who are working there
have been trained by FCDD for example, and they assist for free, the victims to prepare and lodge their complaints within the
court system in DRC. In Kinshasa they are managed by FCDD, and in South Kivu by ASPOP and Group Jeremie.
159
The newly established spaces for dialogue (see Part 12.3.1) have also turned out be very
effective for citizens to denounce human rights violations committed by authorities and
uninformed services in DRC (the national and foreign army and militaries, the Police Force, and
the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). One example for Sud Kivu, are the so
called “Listening Clubs” of the promotion of women’s rights, which once resulted in a group of
women dragging a police officer to a local police station for threats of extortion which led to
compensation for the women and imprisonment of the police officer. Lastly, one partner (ASOP)
has also achieved impressive results in the area of rights of prisoners50 in Walungu in SouthKivu, where local authorities thanks to the advocacy undertaken by our partner decided to
mobilize resources to address the pitiful conditions of prisoners.
Note: Since our partners in DRC are working with gender as a cross-cutting issue, some very
important results for this area have already been included in part 12.3.1 and 12.3.2 of this report
(including for example, response to SGBV and legal support to survivors, etc.). The results
presented below is thus only from partner work focusing very specifically on women’s rights.
More precisely, looking at the results matrixes from the year 2008 to 2010, the most important
results that have contributed to the strengthening of our target group’s capacity and organisation
to act for equality between women and men are the following: Several of our partners have
undertaken awareness raising activities and campaigns targeting women specifically, to increase
their knowledge of human rights and to develop their skills to undertake lobbying and advocacy
to put issues related to women’s participation and representation on the agenda. This has resulted
in an increased number of women on decision making positions in community structures, and
local governments, as well as on provincial and national level. An interesting and very effective
approach has been used by CEDAC and AFEM where they have utilized radio in rural areas in
eight territories in South Kivu, to sensitise especially illiterate women of their rights, including
the right to education, etc. In some of their projects, these women together with journalists have
worked together to promote female leadership in their communities. It has also brought to the
forefront the very common problem of police harassment and made women aware what actions
that can be taken on a community level to combat this. The so called “Listening clubs” (groups
of women from rural areas, assisted by AFEM to broadcast educative programmes about
women’s rights) have also strengthened their capacity to share and disseminate messages to
promote women’s rights.
Some interesting results have also been achieved in the area of promotion of women’s economic
empowerment: Partners (ASOP, CEDAC, and UNAF) have provided women with access to
rotational micro credits for agriculture, for livestock and small business to sell their produce in
the area of Walungu, Kalehe, and Kinshasa. This has given them more decision making power /
negotiating power at home towards their husbands and families and sometimes they have more to
say in meetings and decision making forums in their communities (although this does not seem
to happen each time). Pygmy women have been an important target group for CEDAC in the
2010 activities plan, in particular through the provision of fishing tools and trainings on IGA
(livelihood project).51Results have also been registered in the area of education for women:
50
Before the intervention of ASPO, it was common practice for policemen to request money from relatives to supply food and
comfort to the prisoners. As a consequence of this, many prisoners died from hunger.
51
In the Nyabibwe locality of Kalehe territory, pygmies were marginalized and lived in the forest. Due to army conflict, they
were obliged to flee the forest toward the city but were not accepted in their new communities.
160
Three partners in South Kivu rolled out alphabetisation activities for women. During one field
visit of the CO in Nyabibwe, a woman who had learned to read and write through these activities
was very touched as she showed a report written and typed into a computer by her.
Lastly, results achieved by partners to fight against violence against women, and against the very
common impunity of these crimes, involve an increase in the number of announcement made by
women, as well as an increase in the number of men sentenced for such crimes and this have
been made possible through the establishment of so called “legal clinics” (see part 12.3.2 for
more information). The legal clinics and campaigns against traditional and patriarchal costumes,
in cooperation with denouncement of discriminatory laws have also helped to reduce the stigma
surrounding these crimes in DRC.
12.3.4 Result 4: Capacity Building Results
In the beginning of the CIVSAM-programme, many of the partners showed weaknesses related
to project – and financial management. That is why four technical trainings were organised, and
two thematic ones. The positive results of these trainings are visible in the so called Capacity
Building Matrix attached to this report. It should further be noted that assessment of each partner
in the capacity matrix has been done on a yearly basis by the CO staff up until 2009 when the
method changed somewhat: During the 2009 CIVSAM reporting workshop, all partners were
consulted before the filling in of capacity matrix, which we believe have increased the reliability
of the information that year. In the future, the office would like to develop a more rigorous
method to 1) identify the capacity building needs of our partners through very participatory
assessments – including development of base line / bench marks, and 2) to follow up on the
capacity building results better with help of the base line / bench marks. Since most of the
capacity building that has been followed up by the country office consists of trainings, here
below follows a summary of the training results according to the country office staff:
Type of Training
Partner Results
Training on development of
 Increased understanding of how to develop a context
projects and report writing
analysis and identify problems.
(2008)
 Increased understanding of Results Based
Management: How to formulate project objectives; as
Participants: All partners
well as how to formulate outputs and outcomes – e.g.
the expected results.
 Improved skills in development of operational project
plans and budgets, as well as of how to undertake
internal work planning.
 Increased understanding of what is the key
information that donors are searching for in a report.
Training on development of
 Systems of monitoring and evaluation were put in
monitoring and evaluation
place in the strategic plans of the partners.
tools for projects (2008)
Training
on
Financial
 Improved presentation and analysis of partners
management (2009)
financial reports was clearly visible
Training on Gender and
 Partners are showing progress in the integration of
161
HIV
and
AIDS
mainstreaming (2009)
Training on Results Based
Management (2010)
Training
on
decentralisation (2010)
Participants : All partners
Training
on
research
methodologies and report
writing (2010)
Participants: LICOCO and
ASADHO
Workshop on Integration
into Public life of victims of
discrimination:
women,
indigenous people, and
person
living
with
disabilities, organised by
UMOJA Program
in
NGOZI /Burundi (2010)
Participants:
ANMDH,
FCDD, JP-Action, RECIC,
Group Jérémie, and CEDAC
Joint workshop on the
preparation
of
the
CIVSAM Annual Report of
2009 facilitated by the
learning Advisor of the
Diakonia Regional Office in
Nairobi. (2010)
except for two from the
South Kivu.
gender aspects and issues related to HIV and AIDS in
the planning of their activities (See Partner Capacity
matrix). But capacity building still needed clearly.
 Partners developed skills in elaborating projects with
clearly expected results and a log frame attached.




Increased knowledge of partners of key concepts and
the DRC context of decentralisation – both legal and
policy frameworks and the implementation of them.
This training was done by IPIS (International Peace
Information Service) for these two human rights
NGOs to reinforce their capacity in monitoring and
allow them to undertake surveys in the field and to
write more analytical reports.
The workshop contributed to improved understanding
of our partners of how they can work with individuals
and groups of persons that are especially vulnerable
to human rights violations and discrimination.
Thanks to the sharing of Best Practises during the
workshop they were also provided with practical
tools to use in their work.
The workshop strengthened the capacity of partners
to coordinate better their strategies and activities, as
well as for sharing of good examples and lessons
learned.
12.4. Lessons Learnt based on Selected Outcomes
In DRC the office tries to the greatest extent possible to work from a Rights Based Approach to
Programming (RBA) – e.g. to ensure that partners are address both rights holders and duty
bearers in their projects, as well as analysing the overall context of human rights in the country to
identify which unfair socio-economic and political structures to address. Despite some very
important results achieved during the years in the field of human rights – especially related to
access to justice and public service provision (see Part 12.3.2) it has been a challenge for the
programme to work also with duty bearers since the State institutions are also so weak and since
in many places there is a problem for application of law. Diakonia works foremost with capacity
162
building of Civil Society Partners and Community based associations, and most of our partners
in DRC are working on a local level: This may result in very effective awareness raising of
citizens on various human rights topics and in their increased organization to demand
accountability and change - but since the local authorities have very weak financial – and
administrative capacity and “know how” themselves, the partners’ interventions cannot ensure
that the provision of services, the restorations, etc. undertaken by the local authorities as a result
of the advocacy work, is sustainable and will continue after the end of the project. The weak
capacity of local authorities thus makes it difficult to apply a RBA in DRC – and more
precisely, to make demands towards duty bearers. This is a lesson for the future, which
might require a change in the strategy of the programme. Perhaps we should try to integrate
more advocacy on a national level for increased resources to CSO and authorities and local
authorities (see below) – this could be done in the context of the on-going decentralization in
DRC - as well as coordinating our partners’ activities better with CSO who undertaking also
capacity building of local authorities. In this way we might be able to strengthen the capacity of
both rights holders and duty bearers at the same time – which will increase the sustainability of
the human rights projects.
The programme should also make an effort to include partners that work with advocacy for
promotion of human rights on a national level. The legislation on the Family Code is a case in
point where huge revisions are needed which if they happen could have incredibly positive
effects on women in DRC (concerning marriage, heritage, succession, etc.). The fight against
State corruption must also be lead on a national level, since governance in DRC is in practice
still very centralized to Kinshasa. The need for increased involvement of advocacy partners
on a national level is thus another lesson learned for future programmes in order to create
an overall context which is conducive to democratization and gender equality.
Lastly, the dialogue spaces have proved to be very effective forums for resolving community
problems on a local level both between citizens and between citizens and the authorities. At the
same time, enormous challenges remain on a structural level which cannot be fully addressed on
the local level – such as poverty and the conflict in the Eastern parts of the country. It is hard to
undertake awareness raising activities on the right to vote / free and fair elections for example,
when people in the audience are hungry and fear for their lives. Often times urgent needs for
humanitarian assistance and service provision such as food, accommodation and medicines, etc.
is really pressing in the communities where our partners are working – especially in South Kivu.
This might call for an inclusion of a space for humanitarian action in the new Country
Strategy of the office – another lesson learned since humanitarian prevention or response
activities / recovery activities were not included in the old Plan.
Among the synergies between partners facilitated by the programme one is particularly standing
out: Our partners working in South Kivu (AFEM, ASOP, CEDAC, GJ, and RFDP) started in
2009 to meet on a regular basis (without the participation of Diakonia staff) to exchange
information and to analyse together the needs and demands of the population in the area, with the
aim of submitting proposals to Diakonia. This resulted for example in a joint project which was
co-financed by Diakonia and the OSISA (the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa) which
allowed about 100 women living in remote rural areas to participate in the global campaign to
163
end violence against women - the “World Women’s March” in Bukavu in October 2010. The
Annual CIVSAM Reporting workshop which was initiated by the Country Office in 2009 with
Capacity support from the Regional Office, also allowed our partners to coordinate their work
with each other, at the same time as it built their capacity in reporting.
Another good result in this area was achieved during the preparations for the operation of
revision for electoral list in 2009. Here, the Country Office took the initiative to coordinate a
joint project with some of our partners, including RECIC, CRONGD and RODHECIC, who in
turn involved the communities where they are working to undertake civil education on elections
and the set up and management of a call centres.
Lastly, many of the partners who are implementing their projects in Kinshasa also meet on a
regular basis in the capital since they are members of the same networks; in particular the CDCE,
the Dynamique de la Société civile, and the Réseau pour la Reforme Sécuritaire. As such, they
keep coordinating their activities to avoid duplication of the same type of activities with the same
target groups. They also exchange lessons learned and good ideas here. For example, our
partners ANMDH and FCDD are both members of UMOJA52 and as such they are regularly
participating in UMOJA trainings. In order to promote synergies as well as capacity building of
our partners, Diakonia has regularly financed the participation of other partners as well to these
trainings through our support to the partner Juristes Solidarités. This allowed for example,
RODHECIC, JP-Action and RECIC to take part in an UMOJA training organised in Kinshasa in
2009 on “Alternative Conflict Resolution through training of para-lawyers” and CEDAC and
Group Jeremy were sponsored to participate in another UMOJA training in Burundi in 2010 on
“Integration into Public life of victims of discrimination: women, indigenous people, and person
living with disabilities.”
The fact that Diakonia in DRC is housed in the same building as some major international NGOs
working in DRC in very much the same areas as we do (democracy, and human rights
especially) has facilitated an information sharing of practices and lessons learned almost on a
daily basis. In particular with Christian Aid, 11.11.11 and COSI – are international NGOs that
have offices in the same building as us. This is one reason why in 2009, Diakonia became a
member of the consortium named “le Fond de la Société Civile“ – the DRC Civil Society Fund
for Good Governance (CSF). The CSF is an independent funding mechanism for support to the
civil society with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of citizens’ voice and
accountability. It is a major tool for donor coordination not only on the level of the four
participating international NGOs, but also on the level of bilateral donors - since it is funded for
four years by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Royal Netherlands
Embassy.53 Although it is yet too early to tell the exact synergy outcome and results from this
52
UMOJA (“united” in Swahili) is a project on rights and development in Central Africa which aims to support associations that
are working with legal services for people. Five countries are participating in this programme: Burundi, Cameroon, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, and Rwanda. The programme started in 2006 and the last phase of the
programme is stretching between January 2009 and January 2010.
53
Christian Aid has entered into Agreement with the main donor DFID, and Diakonia has a sub-contract with Christian Aid. The
budget is 24.9 million USD (61% grants to CSO), 18% programme management, 8% capacity building, 6% lesson-learning, and
7% administration. The Fund consists of 3 interconnected programme areas: A competitive grant making mechanism open to
applications from local CSO to conduct initiatives, and strategies in line with programme objectives; A comprehensive and tailor
made capacity building facility aimed at those awarded grants, involving training courses, coaching, etc.; and a programme
164
new cooperation, it is very promising from a perspective of Aid Coordination that Diakonia is
now part of the Governing Board together with Christian Aid (the lead agency), 11.11.11, and
COSI. This will certainly allow us to play a very active part in the leadership of the Consortium,
with a special aim to ensure that thematic areas and partners that are often “forgotten” such as
gender and human rights, women, youth and minority groups are also put on the agenda and
consequently included in the selection of projects, partners, studies and themes included in the
launch for proposals. The elections in DRC have turned out to be important occasions for
Diakonia to coordinate its democracy and human rights work in an effective way with
international NGOs that are working in the same area. More precisely, in 2008, together with the
Christian Aid, the Cordaid (a Catholic Organisation for Development Cooperation founded in the
Netherlands) and the Canadian Cooperation (a support unit of the Canadian International
Development Agency), Diakonia co-financed electoral observation and the evaluation of civil
education on elections in DRC (a similar initiative was rolled out prior to the elections in 2006
and might be happening also in 2011). Together again with Christian-Aid, Diakonia also
supported in 2009 a photo exposition on People living with HIV and AIDS in DRC, set up by
photographers living with HIV.
As already mentioned in Part 12.6 above, in 2010 Diakonia co-financed with the OSISA (Open
Society Initiative for Southern Africa) a joint project of partners in South Kivu for the World
Women’s March, and also coordinated its support with UMOJA for trainings of partners in rights
and development (see also Part 12.6). Lastly, the office in DRC is coordinating its programme
and work with the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden (MCCS) and the Baptist Union of
Sweden (BUS) since we share office space and administrative staff together.
12.7
Information and Advocacy
The CO received the visit of RO and HO regarding monitoring and capacity building in DRC
programme. This opportunity helped to understand the vision of Diakonia and to make the work
of partners known to Diakonia’s managers. They visited some partner organizations like JPAction, FCDD, UNAF, RECIC-Kin, LICOCO, ANMDH and RODHECIC.
In April 2010, a mission for the preparation of Diakonia’s campaign was conducted in SouthKivu by Joachim from Head Office who worked with CEDAC, AFEM and Groupe Jérémie.54
In September 2010, the Country Representative Anne-Marie was invited to Sweden by the HO in
order to present the situation of human rights in DRC as a contribution on the issue of
immigration. That visit gave the opportunity to Diakonia HO to advocate towards SIDA in
Stockholm on the topic of the importance to involve women in decision making and conflict
resolution in DRC.
In 2009, the CO also undertook advocacy towards the Swedish Embassy in Kinshasa due to the
arrests and death threats that were received by our human rights partners ANMDH, AFEM and
ASADHO in Katanga.55
Lastly, Diakonia DRC is member of EURAC, a network for INGO working in Central Africa
who are advocating on a European level for good governance and respect of human rights in
DRC. For example, in May 2009, the Country Representative participated in the General
focused on learning and sharing lessons and information arising from the work of civil society partners. The web page of CFS is
available here: http://www.fsc-rdc.org/node/2
54
Since these activities were initiated and driven by Head Office (with logistic assistance by the CO) and since the target groups
of the campaign are mostly located in Sweden, it is the CO’s understanding that the results of the campaign should be evaluated
on the level of Head Office in 2011.
55
Two women in the South-Kivu province, and one man in Katanga province and one man in Kinshasa had denounced human
rights violations committed on the population in their intervention areas.
165
Assembly in Bruxelles to hold a presentation on “Gender in DRC.” Also Head Office is involved
in the work of EURAC knows better the global results of the work of EURAC.
No EU financed project was undertaken in the DRC during 2008-2010.
166
12.9
Budget and outcome
2010
Outcome/
budget
Congo - Kinshasa
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance
donors
Sub-total
donors
Appr
budget
4 875 216
Revised
Nov
4 909 955
Actual costs
4 750 969
1 006 290
1 070 853
1 042 941
1 006 290
1 070 853
1 042 941
97%
5 881 506
5 980 808
5 793 910
97%
%
97%
Comments on
deviations
higher
than
10%
other
other
TOTAL
2008 -2010
Outcome/
budget
Congo - Kinshasa
Appr
Revised
budget
Nov
Actual costs
15 246 410 15 400 173 15 187 416
CIVSAM
OTHER
DONORS
Balance
donors
Sub-total
donors
TOTAL
1 694 795
1 615 070
1 532 762
1 694 795
1 615 070
1 532 762
%
99%
Comments on
deviations
higher
than
10%
other
other
16 941 205 17 015 243 16 720 178
95%
98%
167
Abbreviation List Annual Report 2010 DRC
Abbreviations should be translated only if there is an English equivalent. Partner names shall not be
translated.
Abbreviation
Signification
Country
Fonds PPTE (Pays Pauvre Très Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
DRC
Endettés)
Les
TEP
(Tribunes Tribunes d’Expression Populaire
DRC
d’Expression Populaire)
Les Comités d’Alerte pour la Local level committees that work to ensure the DRC
Paix(CAP)
participation of women in conflict – and peace
negotiation decision-making structures
ANMDH
Les Amis de Nelson Mandela Pour la Défense des DRC
Droits Humains
FCDD
Femmes Chrétiennes pour la Démocratie et le DRC
Développement
Ligue Congolaise de Lutte contre la Corruption
DRC
LICOCO
RECIC-KIN
RODHECIC
UNAF
CRONGD
JP-Action
Réseau d’Education Civique au Congo-Kinshasa
DRC
Réseau d’Organisations des Droits Humains et DRC
d’Education Civique d’Inspiration Chrétienne
Union Nationale des Femmes
DRC
Conseil Régional des ONGs de Développement du DRC
Bas- Congo
Jeunes Paysans en Action
DRC
AFEM-SK
Association de la Zone Afrique pour la Défense des DRC
Droits Humains
Association des Femmes des Médias du Sud-Kivu
DRC
ASOP
Action Sociale et d'Organisation Paysanne
ASADHO
DRC
168
OSISA
Centre d’Education, de
Documentation et d’ DRC
Animation Civique
Réseau des Femmes pour la Défense des Droits et la DRC
Paix
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
South Africa
NCE
Noyau de Club d’Ecoute
CSO
Civil Society Organisations
DRC
GJ
Groupe Jérémie
DRC
CEDAC
RFDP
DRC
Comité
de
Défense
des
Droits
et
Intérêts
de
la
Femme
CLPDF
DRC
AGR (Activité Génératrice de Income Generating Activities
Revenu)
DRC
Famille de Développement
FD
DRC
169
13. Country Programme: Ghana
13.1 Summary of Diakonia’s Programme in Ghana
Ghana, with its population of 24 million, is often considered a bastion of democracy with among
the highest rankings in Africa on political rights, civil liberties and press freedom. Civil society
is vibrant. Ghana’s economy and development trend is above almost all other countries in West
Africa, scoring 130 out of the 169 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index. About 28
% of the population is under the poverty line. However, there is a huge gap between southern
parts of the country and the three northern regions, where about 60% of the poor live. Ever since
the colonial period, the north has suffered from unfair distribution of resources, lack of basic
services like health, water and education and from a veritable drain of human resources to the
south. Subsistence smallholder agriculture is the main occupation here. Food insecurity prevails
for part of the year in almost all rural communities. This forces the population into seasonal and
semi-permanent migration. In order to accelerate the closure of the north-south development gap
by 2030, the Government launched an ambitious development strategy for the north in 2010.
13.1.2 How we work in the country
Diakonia has worked in Ghana since 2005 in collaboration with national civil society partner
organizations. As a consequence of the inequalities between north and south, Diakonia’s
programme is implemented in the three northern regions. Focus is on Social and Economic
Justice and Gender Equity. Three partners work mainly with local communities at grassroots
level, while the strategy of the fourth, SEND Ghana, is to follow-up and do advocacy to
influence decision making and implementation of pro-poor policies and government
programmes.
13.1.3 What we and our partners achieve
Through the partner SEND Ghana, Diakonia has contributed to the creation of 50 local citizens’
monitoring groups in northern Ghana. These groups follow up and check if the government and
local district assemblies keep their promises to improve the situation of the poor populations.
Based on this participatory monitoring, SEND Ghana has been able to influence for instance the
access and distribution of resources and means of production to smallholder farmers.
13.2.1 External
In March 2010, the decision was taken by the Diakonia board to phase out the Ghana
programme. The decision was based on an assessment of the cost effectiveness and the potential
of all Diakonia country programmes in relation to a number of external political and economical
factors, not taken into account among the threats identified in the Diakonia strategy plan, such
as:
170

diminishing aid budgets on a global level due to the financial crisis and shifts in political
priorities in donor countries, leading to increasing competition of development funds in
Sweden and at international level
 reduction of the number of countries benefitting from Swedish development aid and reduced
aid budget in Sweden
 increasing demands from back donors on control and demonstration of measurable results.
In order to enable partners to adapt themselves before the end of the Diakonia partnership, a
specific fund was reserved for the implementation of an action plan for partners’ capacity
building in the transition year 2010.
According to the Diakonia strategic plan, two additional partners were supposed to be identified
and integrated into the Ghana programme each year, in order to have ten partners by the end of
the strategic plan period. However, due to limited financial resources, this was not possible.
Because no partner with specific profile in gender based discrimination and violence was
integrated in the programme, there have not been any results in this area as expected in the
strategic plan. In addition to this, one partner, AGREDS, was phased out in 2009 due to staff
turnover and subsequent lack of capacity to implement the Diakonia financed project. As this
was the only partner primarily focussing on conflict prevention and transformation its phase out
considerably reduced the impact of the Diakonia programme in the peace and conflict area. In
addition to this, SEND Ghana did not receive any funds in 2009, because the organization
wanted to carry through an organisational development process before submission of a new
proposal in 2010.
As a consequence of the decision in 2010 to phase out the entire Ghana programme, two out of
three remaining partners, TRAX Ghana and ELDA, have been phased out by the end of 2010.
The partner SEND Ghana will however be kept as a Diakonia partner on a regional level. The
reason that this organization has unique capacity and experience in pro-poor policy influence and
advocacy, which fits well into the Diakonia regional work for Social and Economic Justice on a
regional level in Africa. It is also expected that this partner plays a role as a resource
organization for programme development, especially on advocacy and on Social and Economic
Justice issues in Mali and Burkina Faso.
In addition to external factors cited above, the decision to phase out the Ghana programme was
also motivated by Diakonia’s need to use its limited resources strategically and cost-efficiently
by focusing on a smaller number of strategic country programmes where there is a high potential
for Diakonia to have an impact. The country assessment came to the conclusion that the Ghana
programme was too small to be cost-efficient and that there is currently not enough internal
capacity to develop these programmes and find alternative funding.
As a consequence of the decision to merge the two Diakonia Africa regions into one, and the
subsequent retrenchment of staff at the Regional office in Ouagadougou, the staff formerly
responsible for the Ghana programme left Diakonia by June 2010. From then, the Ghana
programme has been managed by the regional advisor based in Bamako. The phase out of this
programme did not involve any close down of office, since the Ghana programme was managed
from the regional office in Burkina Faso,
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13.3.1 Gender Equality
13.3.1.1 Result 1: Various forms of practices and discrimination against women and girls
have been reduced
As exlained in 13.2.2 above no partners specialized in this area were incorporated into the
programme as planned due to financial constraints. Therefore there are no direct results to report
here, even though some partners’ work on gender equity and social and economic justice (see
below) had an indirect positive effect on dicrimination and violence against women.
13.3.1.2 Result 2: Economic and social equity between women and men has been increased
Lack of gender disaggregated data is one of the main challenges in the work for equity between
women and men. Therefore, one of the most interesting results attained in the Ghana programme
during this period is the introduction in 2010 of a new software that captures gender specific data
by the National Health Insurance Authority in Ghana. This is a result of a monitoring report
made by the partner SEND Ghana. The report raised specifically the lack of gender
disaggregated data as a weakness in the monitoring of the National Health Insurance Scheme - a
major pro-poor reform in Ghana. The new software, used across the country, enables the
authority in charge of the programme to identify gender disparities, in order to better follow up
and adjust inequalities in the access to health care between women and men.
Another monitoring work on gender made by SEND in 2008 led to the creation of women’s
lobby groups’ on district level. Their work to influence politics is yielding results. As an
exemple, the District Assembly of Kasena Nankani District have enabled women’s groups to
access loans from existing Medium and Small Loans centre to embark on income generating
activities. Also, five District Assemblies in the Upper East Region have facilitated access of
women farmers to tractor services provided at district level. For a smallholder farmer, unable to
invest in a tractor herself, the possibility to hire this service to for instance plough a field makes a
huge difference in terms of workload and yields.
In 2009, also as a result of SEND’s training and accompaniment of citizens’ lobby groups, the
District Assembly of the Bongo District decided that 80% of the food of the School Feeding
Programme (an initiative to reduce malnutrition among children in primary school) would be
procured from local farmers. Women farmers were particularily targeted. One exemple is
Bolgatanga in the Upper East region, where the Government purchases local rice from the Single
Mothers Association for the school canteens.
The combination of this advocacy work and the successful promotion of women’s socio
economic status, through enhanced means of production and micro credits made on grassroot
level by the partners TRAX Ghana and ELDA, was fruitful in yielding promising results in
gender equity within the Ghana programme.
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13.3.2 Social and Economic Justice
13.3.2.1 Result 1: The power balance role of civil society has been strengthened in order to
influence socio economic policies
SEND Ghana has contributed a lot to reinforce the watch dog function of civil society and
citizen’s control mechanisms in this period, through evidence based advocacy and lobbying,
preceded by participatory policy monitoring. SEND mobilizes right holders in HIPC/District
Citizen’s Monitoring Committees (DCMCs). The DCMCs serve as a platform for citizens’
engagement and participatory monitoring of government policies, in order to make sure that
these are designed and implemented to the benefit of the poor, i.e. a “pro-poor” approach. In this
period, SEND Ghana has formed, trained and accompanied 50 DCMCs in the three northern
regions. This grassroots’ based approach enhances the legitimacy of advocacy and empowers the
communities to undertake own initiatives to change injustices, thus enhancing the prospects of a
more sustainable civil society control.
A core strategy of SEND and the DCMCs is to monitor and advocate for a better implementation
of pro-poor government policies at local level. Often, good policies already exist, but an
important task for civil society is to draw attention on poor implementation. One successful
method for change has been the organisation of interface meetings between right holders and
duty bearers at District level, such as members of District Assemblies. Such meetings have been
institutionalized in this period. In April-May 2010 a series of meetings were held in five districts
in the Upper East Region, with overwhelming participation of policy makers and smallholder
farmers. The issue raised was the low investment in the smallholder agriculture subsector, based
on findings of the SEND agricultural budget tracking. As a result, the district authorities have
taken a number of initiatives to improve access and distribution of resources and means of
production to smallholder farmers. Another example from 2009 was the SEND second
monitoring report on the Ghana School Feeding programme, which became the basis for a major
national policy dialogue and generated several improvements of the programme implementation.
(See previous result).
Some of the above mentioned improvements in resource allocation and policy implementation
may not be sustainable, if there are no legal or other frameworks to ensure sustainability.
Nevertheless, the consolidation of the DCMCs and the improved confidence between civil
society and duty bearers is a solid basis for permanent change. The earlier mistrust and suspicion
from public office holders towards the DCMCs have been replaced by an increased willingness
to provide information. The importance of the citizens’ committees is today recognized by the
District Assemblies and other duty bearers, who increasingly see the improved accountability
and transparency in the allocation of public resources as an added value to their work. There
have even been demands from District Assemblies for the DCMCs to expand their work into
more policy areas. In order to ensure a continuous dialogue between duty bearers and right
holders SEND has created the Ghana Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation Network. This
network has had a pro-poor influence on for instance budget allocations to education and persons
with disability (PWDs). It is also an important forum for advocacy and dialogue between SEND,
the DCMCs and different government institutions.
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13.3.2.2 Result 2: Pro poor trade advocacy at all level has been supported
SEND Ghana has been very active in order to influence trade policies that have negative effects
in particular on the rural smallholders. The SEND strategy has been based on three main steps:
Firstly, participatory monitoring and evaluation of trade policy effects on the poor. Secondly,
dissemination of findings through publication of reports and media coverage. Thirdly, interface
meetings with decision makers and advocacy for greater consideration of vulenarble groups in
decisions. This strategy has had several important results, in particular in the agricultural sector.
In 2008, advocacy contributed to government placing a temporary ban on the importation of
tomatoes to minimize the competition that tomato farmers face. Moreover, the Millennium
Development Authority included domestic rice as one of the crops to benefit from a specific
subvention in order to increase its’ competitivity to imported rice and the income of 4869
women and 5293 men targeted in 169 communities in the North.
Several trade related reports have been elaborated and published by SEND. The most recent,
“Investing in smallholder agriculture for optimum results”, reflects growing concerns about the
effect of the Ghana’s Trade Liberalisation Policy on small scale farmers. It shows that these
farmers do not have the means to profit from the bigger markets as intended in the policy. It is
found that the government has not kept its’ promise to do necessary investments in the small
scale agriculture. Without such reforms, smallholders will fall short in the competition from
imported products. After this budget tracking, SEND Ghana has been invited to and participated
in pre-budget consultations of the parliamentary committee on poverty reduction. The Ministries of Food
and Agriculture, Finance and Economic Planning and of Trade and Industry have also made
commitments to establish a financing scheme for smallholder farmers to increase their
productivity and penetrate the sub regional market.
SEND also successfully raised the awareness of the potential effect of the Economic Partnership Agreements
(EPAs). A study entitled “Free Trade, Small Scale Production and Poverty in Ghana”, based on participatory
monitoring, combined with interface meetings with duty bearers in six districts contributed to postpone the signatory
of the full EPA between the Government of Ghana and the EU. The EPAs have eventually been signed by the Ghana
government, but the delay allowed for more public debate on it, and this subsequently informed and shaped the
negotiating position of the government.
13.3.2.3 Result 3: The income and the food security have been improved in the areas where
the partners intervene
Climate factors, human pressure on the land and a notorious underinvestment by the government
in the small holder agricultural sector contributes to soil degradation, poor harvests and
subsequent food shortage for a major part of the rural population in northern Ghana. Diakonia’s
partners TRAX and ELDA have however been able to bring about important changes in this
period. As regards the food security, 1 283 farmers (771 women, 512 men) in the Upper East and
Northern regions have been able to increase their yields substantially with support from TRAX.
One acre of farmland that produced 4 bags of millet and sorghum in 2007 now produces 7 bags
in 2010. ELDA using number of meals as a measure of food security, states that the number of
meals taken among farmers has increased from an inconsistent availability of 2 meals per a day
for 7 months of the year to a more consistent availability of 2 to 3 meals per day for about 10
months. This is the result of awareness raising and trainings, which have led to the adoption by
the farmers of bio-dynamic methods (LEISA techniques) to counteract the degradation of the
174
soil, such as compost manure, organic pest management and farm yard manure. There has also
been a particular focus on the fight against soil degradation. As a result, there is an important
decrease of bush fires, combined with an increase in tree protection and planting and
construction of stone bunds around the pieces of land in order to keep the rainwater and prevent
erosion. The disappearance of poor soil indicator species such as striga grass on farmers’ fields is
an indication of soil fertility improvement. Trainings in construction of energy saving mud
stoves have also had a positive effect on tree cutting as the workload of women and girls,
traditionally seeking for firewood for cooking.
In addition to awareness raising, trainings and access to means of production, another crucial
component of both the TRAX and the ELDA strategies is the organization of the targeted
populations into different kinds of groupings. Partners have been coaching the groups to
reinforce group dynamics and solidarity. TRAX also established revolving schemes for crops or
ruminants like goats. In such “pass on gift” systems, farmers who earlier received support
themselves, pass on one part of the yield or goats as soon as they breed. These group dynamics
have increased the social cohesion in the communities, which is an important factor for the
ability of these communities to undertake development actions themselves.
13.3.2.4 Result 4: The quality and the variety of the Income Generating Activities (IGA)
have been increased for the benefit of young people and women
The quasi total dependency of the rural populations in northern Ghana on smallholder agriculture
makes them very vulnerable to climate change, drought and floods. Therefore, regardless of the
encouraging results on food security in partners’ intervention areas (see previous results), there is
a huge need to diversify the income generating activities of rural populations..
ELDA has successfully targeted women and youth, including PLWHIV, to develop or boost their
small businesses and micro enterprises. Different trainings, including business management,
combined with well-designed credit schemes, have resulted in increased incomes and greater
financial independence, especially important as a strategy to strengthen women’s position within
the family and in society. As an example, 327 previously distressed micro entrepreneurs (276
women, 51 men, including 25 PLWHA) in Bolga municipality have improved the management
of their business after training in good business practices like basic book keeping and cultivating
the habit of savings,
Of specific importance is also the training of unemployed youth in employable skills. In 2010, 83
out of more than 300 individuals trained in business management by ELDA were youth (as
compared to 50 the previous year). The youth have been trained in various vocations of their
interest such as dress making, hair dressing and wood work. This has enabled them to start or
expand businesses in their own village/town instead of migrating to the urban centers for menial
or non-existent jobs – a very common scenario in northern Ghana. As a consequence, ELDA
reports a reduction of the migration rate among youth who benefitted from skills training, since
they see new opportunities to earn their living where they are. The training has created a new
hope and enabled the youth to see a future in their home villages.
TRAX Ghana has also succeeded to support farmers to diversify their incomes within the
agricultural sector. Dry-season gardening is one way to diversify income. Another is the “pass on
gift” revolving system. 44 farmers (32 women, 12 men) in two farmers groups in Mozio
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(Northern region) are involved in the revolving goats scheme, each initially given 3 goats and
later passing on another three to a new beneficiary who continues the revolving scheme.
13.3.3 Peace and Conflict Transformation
13.3.3.1 Result 1: The incidence of violent conflicts in Northern Ghana has been reduced
For reasons explained in section 13.2.2, the programme of AGREDS, focusing on peace and
conflict, did not continue after 2008. Therefore, it has not been possible to obtain the expected
results in Diakonia’s strategic plan as regards the recurrent conflicts linked to disputes of power,
land, and chieftaincy but also to ethnicity and religion. However, it is worth mentioning that
peace building activities carried through by NGOs such as AGREDS in 2008 did contribute to
the peaceful conduct of Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the Northern region that year.
Sustained public sensitization, involvement of key opinion and religious leaders including the
traditional women peace keepers (Mangazias) in carrying the messages of peace and timely
intervention of security agencies were all strategies that contributed to this improvement of the
conflict situation in northern Ghana.
13.3.3.2 The respect of human rights in all development projects or programmes of has
been increased
As mentioned in section 13.2.2, more partners were supposed to be added to the Ghana
programme in this period. One of the expected results where Diakonia has not been able to
achieve the expected results is in the domain of specific human rights work. All partners are
indirectly contributing to the fulfillment of Human rights through their work in the areas treated
above. As a direct improvement as regards the right to water, TRAX Ghana did with Diakonia
funding drille one complete borehole fitted with pump at Dachio Lower community in the
Dachio area in 2010. In an environment where there is often acute water shortage, this new water
source contributes importantly to the population’s right to clean drinking water. Earlier, the
villagers had to walk far to fetch water or had to depend on rivers, streams and unprotected wells
as their source of drinking water. Taking into account the many positive effects of clean water in
terms of improved health, reduced workload especially for women and girls and possible
increase in girls’ school enrollment, the borehole can also indirectly contribute to the enjoyment
of other Human rights as well. It will also serve as a source of drinking water for animals that
used to stray and often became stolen by thieves, thereby also contributing to increased food
security and income. An important factor to ensure the sustainability of this result is the good
functioning of the local Water and Sanitation Management Committee put in place and trained
for the management of the borehole.
13.3.4 Capacity Building Result
As earlier mentioned (see section 13.1.2), due to budget constraints, Diakonia has not been able
to expand the Ghana programme with new partners as planned. In adition to limited financial
resources, Diakonia’s human resources available for the management of this programme have
also been limited. As a consequence, the capacity building work could not be implemented in
accordance to the strategic plan. Since no organisational and institutional diagnosis of partners
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have been made as planned, it is difficult to appreciate the exact contribution of Diakonia to
partners’ capacity building. Since the number of partners is so limited it is also difficult to draw
any general conclusions based on the Diakonia tools for follow up of partners’ capacity. There is
an obvious difference in capacity and approach between SEND Ghana and the other three
partners. While TRAX Ghana, ELDA and AGREDS work mainly on a grassroots level, SEND is
profiled in advocacy and policy influence with quite path-breaking methods and results, awarded
and recognised at international level. Diakonia has not been able to integrate appropriate
advocacy and policy influence strategies in the projects of the other partners.
Although too early to see any concrete outcome, Diakonia did provide quite a comprehensive
capacity strengthening package as part of its phase out strategy after the decision to phase out the
Ghana programme in 2010. This capacity strengthening was focused on two areas identified by
the partners themselves: fundraising and advocacy. In collaboration with SEND as lead agency
and an excellent consultancy firm from Accra, a training was organized during five days, divided
equally between the two areas. Linked to the capacity building in fundraising, the same
consultancy firm also made a donor mapping for each one of the four partners, aimed at helping
them identify new partners after the end of the Diakonia partnership. All partners participated,
most of them with 5 staff members, and many expressed that the training became an eye-opener
to them on why and how to do advocacy and fundraise.
1. If we really want change, we should not stop half-way but go through with it
The Diakonia strategy for change consists basically of three steps; awareness raising,
organisation/mobilization and actions to influence for change. In the Ghana programme, the first
two steps have been well developed. All partners have successfully coupled awareness raising
with organisation. Organisation is undoubtedly a fundamental, indispensable and extremely
powerful tool in order to achieve change. There are several examples of how group formation
and consolidation contributed to change in the Ghana programme in this period. As emphasized
by the partner ELDA, group solidarity is a major success factor in micro credit programmes. In
the TRAX project, there is also increasing evidence of more collaboration not only between
members of the same group but also between different groups and different communities. Groups
exchange services by offering labour teams on one another’s farms, and they serve as a platform
for addressing members’ problems and sharing ideas on development issues. As a result of the
creation of community/farmers groups, members now feel more secured as there is increased
group solidarity and willingness to support one another. Such an improvement in social cohesion
is a very important driving force for development.
However, the changes achieved through group organisation and mobilization have remained
basically within the local community where a specific group is based. This is because successful
group dynamics have not always been coupled with strategies to mobilize these groups to take
action for change beyond the local level and their own immediate economic interests. I a context
of extreme poverty and vulnerability as the one in northern Ghana, there is a risk that activities
such as advocacy to address the underlying structural causes of poverty and marginalization are
considered as “the next step” to take once the basic needs have been sufficiently addressed.
However, by initiating strategies to address underlying injustice early in any intervention aiming
177
at change, the duty bearers get a chance to become more aware of the root causes of their daily
problems and thereby empowered to address these themselves. This is evident in the successful
participation of local duty bearers in the SEND projects. However Diakonia has not been able to
facilitate sufficiently across-fertilization between SEND’s strategies and the projects of the other
partners. The lesson learnt is that Diakonia and its partners should always, in every single
project, consider all steps in the change chain as we elaborate projects and programmes.
2. In order to be efficient, advocacy needs to be evidence based
The Diakonia partner SEND Ghana is currently one of the most successful Ghanaian NGOs
when it comes to policy influence. This is the result of a well-developed strategy for efficient
advocacy for policy change. The strength of SEND’s advocacy and lobbying work is first and
foremost that it is evidence based. Most advocacy activities are preceded by monitoring and
research work. By providing decision makers with well elaborated reports, reliable data and
convincing arguments, they more easily buy into the issues raised in the advocacy. One example
of how this strategy has been successfully used by SEND is the monitoring report of the Ghana
National Health Insurance Scheme, which revealed important weaknesses when it comes to
gender disaggregated data. This resulted in the adoption of a new software, today used across the
country, which enables the authorities to identify and follow up gender related inequalities in the
access to health services. Another illustration is the first budget tracking report of the agricultural
sector made by SEND in 2010, which highlighted the low investment in the smallholder
agriculture subsector. As a result, a number of initiatives have been taen by duty bearers to
improve access and distribution of resources and means of production to smallholder farmers.
Another important component of the SEND advocacy strategy is that the evidence is generated
with huge involvement of the concerned duty bearers at grassroots level. SEND has elaborated a
consistent strategy of participatory budget and policy monitoring. Ordinary citizens are involved
in the monitoring and collection of “evidence” to feed into subsequent advocacy and lobbying
actions. The key strategies are based on awareness raising and community organisation. By
mobilizing the right holders in so called HIPC/District Citizen’s Monitoring Committees
(DCMCs), SEND in strengthens the watch dog function in civil society. This approach enhances
the legitimacy of advocacy claims and empowers the communities to undertake own initiatives
to change injustices. Thereby this approach also strengthens the sustainability of civil society as
a promoter of change.
One major challenge linked to this approach is to follow up also the commitments made by
decision makers. In many cases, important commitments are being made at official meetings and
report launches when decision makers are being confronted with facts collected on the ground.
However, there needs to be a more systematic follow up of such declarations to ensure that they
are put in practice. It is equally important to give appropriate feedback of advocacy results to
civil society actors involved in the collection of evidence, in order to keep up their commitment.
Due to limited financial and human ressources available for the Ghana programme, Diakonia
could not fulfill its’ intention to follow up earlier trainings and exchange visits where SEND
Ghana provided capacity building support in participatory budget monitoring and advocacy for
Diakonia partners in Burkina Faso and Mali. When considering the weak integration of advocacy
178
approaches in the projects of three of the Ghana partners, it is obvious that Diakonia could have
exploited the possibilities for cross-fertilization between SEND and the other partners. Their
good results at local level could have been taken to a higher level if combined with strategic
advocacy work to change underlying unjust structures on a wider scale. The training in advocay
and fundraising organized by Diakonia as part of the phase out process provided an important
opportunity for sharing of experiences between the different partners.
Two projects have been one co-financed by Diakonia and other donors. The TRAX project has
also been financed by Self Help Africa (former Harvest Help). Within this collaboration, report
formats have been harmonized, minutes from monitoring visits have been shared and there has
also been collaboration in the analysis of TRAX’ reports. This coordination has saved resources
both for TRAX and the two donors.
SEND’s project have been co financed by Cordaid, Christian Aid, IBIS Ghana and, Diakonia.
The same audit, narrative and financial reports are provided by SEND to all donors. This has
caused some problems due to lack of coordination of deadlines in the different donor
agreements. There is a need for better harmonization in the coming period, for which SEND has
developed a new multi donor’s basket funding strategy. The idea is to enable SEND to have the
financial means to implement its strategic plan in a more independent way than in a conventional
project setting.
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In 2008 the SEND Ghana was involved in the organization of the Accra High Level Forum on
aid policies, also attended by Diakonia Regional office and Head office. The Diakonia study on
“China’s role in Africa” was presented at this meeting. As follow up, another meeting was held
in Härnösand in Sweden under the heading “Accra meeting, what next?” The West and Central
Africa regional office experience on donor coordination was shared with the participants of this
workshop The meeting in Härnösand was an important forum to strengthen Diakonia’s and other
Swedish civil society organizations’ capacity to follow up the implementation of the Paris
Declaration and the ACCRA Agenda for Action in Swedish international development
cooperation policy as well as in collaboration with civil society actors in other parts of the world.
In 2010, SEND Ghana was awarded the One Africa Award because of monitoring work of the
progress towards the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana,
specifically for its efforts in promoting good governance and gender equality in Ghana. , as part
of Diakonia’s information work, , Diakonia Head Office published a comprehensive article on
SEND’s work leading up to this award on the Diakonia website http://www.diakonia.se/send.
No EU financed project was undertaken in Ghana during 2008-2010.
2010
PROGRAM
CIVSAM
Comments on deviations higher than
Approved budget Revised Nov Actual costs Deviation % 10%
697 357
725 391
704 494
97%
OTHER DONORS
TOTAL
0
0
697 357
725 391
0 #DIVISION/0!
704 494
97%
2008-2010
PROGRAM
Approved budget
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
TOTAL
10%
There was an interruption in funding to
SEND in 2009, because SEND
preferred finalizing an internal OD
processbefore submitting a new
90% proposal.
Revised Nov Actual costs Deviation %
1 899 357
1 927 391
0
0
1 899 357
1 927 391
1 731 238
0 #DIVISION/0!
1 731 238
90%
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14. Country Programme: Mali
14.1 Summary of Diakonia’s programme in Mali
The instauration of multi party system in March 1991 meant new and promising opportunities for
the country to apply good governance through the use of democratic institutions, as well as to
promote sustainable and fair economic growth. However, the barriers to the reduction of poverty
and of social discrimination are still numerous. The economic and social governance is facing
serious obstacles because of the weak involvement of civil society in public governance, because
of the low awareness of human rights and difficulties in claiming the respect of rights, difficult
access to basic social services and means of production. Moreover, since 2008, the security in the
north of the country has been weakened by attacks, kidnapping of vehicles and expatriates by
armed gangs, members of the Maghreb Al-Qaida network AQMI.
How we work in the country
Diakonia is working in Mali since 1998 with civil society organizations at local, regional and
national level within five main areas: democracy and human rights, gender equity, social and
economic justice, and education. The nine partner NGOs of the Mali programme deal with
important issues like the weak democratic governance, the low access of the rural population to
justice, means of production, basic social services, as well as the gender inequalities violence
and harmful practices against women and girls, and the sustainable management of natural
resources.
What we and out partners achieve
During the period 2008- 2010, the Mali programme attained significant results regarding the
reduction of different forms of violence against women such as female genital mutilation (FGM),
an increased participation of communities, with a special focus on women, in local governance.
Some of the partner NGOs achieved interesting results in their efforts to support local
communities to monitor the use of public funds for health and education. For example, thanks to
the advocacy by the partner CAD Mali towards local municipalities, the HUICOMA cotton
factory stopped polluting the Niger River with chemical products in the Koulikoro Region.
14.2 Deviations from Original Plan During 2008-2010
14.2.1 External
A six month delay by SIDA to transfer the total budget of 2008 into the account of Helvetas, the
lead agency of the Local Democratic Governance programme caused a delay in the actual start of
activities and the accomplishment of an important part of activities planned by all partners.
However, though the activities of 2009 and 2010 it has to some extent been possible to realize
activities that were postponed in 2008.
Important to note is first and foremost that there was a reduction of six partners, along
with the reduction of the budget of the GLD programme by SIDA.56 This reduction of the
GLD budget for Diakonia Mali, motivated by the fact that Diakonia also has CIVSAM
money, had a significant impact on the level of achievement of results, in particular in
the areas of democracy and human rights.
56
End of contracts with DEMESO, WILDAF, MGF, PAP, Eveil, Consortium Six S/Grapes.
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Institutional and organizational changes (change of staff and board) initiated within the
partner CAD Mali since the end of 2008, have resulted in a weak internal functioning of
this strategic partner for the Mali programme, especially in the areas of advocacy. There
is still much to be done by the CSOs in order to achieve important progress in the
influence of socio economic politics.
In the Kayes region, the partner CAMIDE, has developed from a status as civil society
organization into a profit making micro finance institution, which resulted in the end of
the cooperation with Diakonia. As a consequence, the Mali programme performance in
the area of access to credit for women and the diversification of IGAs was reduced
during 2009 and 2010.
The arrival of a regional adviser based in Mali from 2009 supported the team in planning
processes, a progressive appropriation of working practices and tools according to instructions
available only in English, participation in meetings and discussions on work. The transfer of the
authority to approve Decision Memorandums and sign contracts has facilitated the work in Mali.
14.3.1 Theme 1: Democracy and Human Rights
Result 1: The power balance role of civil society has been strengthened /ameliorated.
During the period 2008-2010, the CSO have gained an increasingly important influence on the
decisions taken by political authorities during the elaboration of the local Social, Economic, and
Cultural Development Programmes, project management, the mobilization of resources, through
the exercise of citizen control to make the public management more “accountable”. Important
results from different advocacy actions were attained especially in the area of maternity care,
infrastructures for education and in the area of civil rights (see below).
The face to face interpellations of authorities and the advocacy initiated by CSOs following the
actions of the partners CAD Mali, AFAD, AMAPROS, AMSS and SDI as regards access of
vulnerable groups to basic social services (health, education, water) and to natural resources have
led to the improvement of the quality of services provided by municipal authorities. This is
reflected by the fact that a budget line has been included in the municipal budget to cover 50% of
the costs of evacuation of pregnant women to the health center from Douentza to Dallah, as a
result of the actions of AADEC (in the past, these costs were supported by women themselves).
In addition, 25 new class rooms in primary schools have been built in the municipalities of
Meguetan, Koula, and Tougouni (Koulikoro), 15 plantation grooves out of 20 grooves
accomplished have been granted to women by the elected officials of 5 communes of Goundam
and Diré (Tombouctou), 1710 birth certificates have been established in 2010 against 1543 in
2009 in Nara, that is an increase of 11%.
The visible actions and changes are the result of different trainings and actions of denunciation
and advocacy in which more than 3500 people took part including 86% of women. This
mobilization has facilitated the establishment and the functioning of focus groups and/or active
networks of interpellation of authorities on issues relating to democracy and human rights.
Result 2: The commitment of CSOs in the process of decentralization has been
strengthened
The majority of the partners works for the improvement of the living conditions of the
populations and participate thereby to the empowerment of vulnerable groups. Their
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participation in the definition and the formulation of development policies and in the process of
decision making within local governance improved during 2010. Partners have greatly
committed themselves and been involved in the process of decentralization as a result of the
information and awareness sessions organized on issues linked to decentralization, women’s
promotion, citizenship, HIV and AIDS and the preservation of the environment, for a better
involvement of women into the management of the municipality, the consideration of girls’
schooling in the elaboration of local Social, Economic, and Cultural Development Programmes,
as well as in the areas of child trafficking and abuse of children, in particular girls and violence
against women. A new dynamic and new relations in the management of local development
initiatives have been established between the community based organizations and the elected
councilors at local level. This new framework for has become operational in the municipalities
through the establishment of so called “Forum for democratic interpellation” – e.g. organized
interface meetings where the citizens can raise address decision makers with their
claims/inquiries in an organized setting. This has resulted in a better consideration of priority
needs of the women in the local Social, Economic and Cultural Development Programmes in the
project areas, especially during 2009 and 2010
Result 3: The respect of human rights in all projects or programmes of development has
been increased
The partners AFAD, AADEC, AMSS, CAD, SDI and AMAPROS deal with serious problems
affecting human rights in Mali such as gender discrimination, harmful practices and violence
against women and girls, low access rate of the rural population to justice, means of production,
basic social services (education, drinking water and health care) and the management of natural
resources. They are also members of many active networks for the promotion of human rights
like “the National network for fight against violence against women”; “Africa Debt and Human
Rights”; “the African Network for the Promotion of the Right and Food”; “the Education For
All Coalition”; “the Panafrican network for justice”; “the Climate network”; “the Network for
the organizations of civil society involved in literacy-Yeleen Bulon”.
Through this representation and thought trainings on human rights supported by Diakonia,
partners are well situated in the promotion of rights and they carry out concerted actions for the
respect of fundamental human rights in their respective intervention zones. Therefore, women
and children, in particular girls, increasingly evolve in an environment favorable to the
promotion of their rights through the reduction of violence and harmful practices, a better
representation of women in decision making authorities and the improvement of the rate of
girls’ schooling. As an illustration, the number of girls in the school of Foabougou (the
circumscription of Nioro) was 86 in 2008 against 109 in 2009, this a significant increase of
12%.
Result 4: The effective participation of the local communities in the decentralisation
process has been strengthened
The local development policies have been marked during 2008-2010 by the municipal elections
of 2009 and the partners AMAPROS, AADEC, AFAD, AMSS have given a specific support to
female candidacies and the capacity building of citizens and elected officials on local
governance. The significant progress during this period consisted in the increase of the number
of women elected as municipal councilors from 22 in 2004 to 42 in 2009, thus an increase of
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48% in 16 intervention communes. This demonstrates the increasing interest of women in
electoral positions. The improved relationships between elected officials, local organizations and
traditional authorities is another important progress. As an illustration of this improved
confidence and of awareness raising by Diakonia’s partners, people are getting more engaged in
tax payment. This resulted in the increase of recovery rates of taxes in municipalities like
Ouagadou (99% of recovery rates in 2010 against 85 in 2009 and 59 % in 2008) and Koronga
(59% in 2010, 18% in 2009 and 50% in 2008).
During 2008-2010, capacity building actions initiated by partners for local elected councilors
allowed them to elaborate local Social, Economic, and Cultural Development Programmes in a
participatory way, involving the citizens and thereby giving more priority to concerns and rights
expressed by vulnerable groups. It is also reflected through the participatory elaboration of intermunicipal conventions for the management of natural resources between 5 communes in the
region of Tombouctou, and through the regular holding of municipal sessions, (90.96% in 2009
against 78.9% in 2008). Strategies aiming the increase of female candidacies in elections,
training on decentralization and local governance, the establishment of participatory approaches
for the mobilization of local resources have contributed to the achievement of these important
results.
14.3.2 Theme 2: Gender Equality
Result 1:Various forms of practices and harmful violence against women and girls have
been reduced
The harmful health- and psycho-social effects of female genital mutilation (FGM) and early
marriage, generally based on traditional and religious values, are better known by populations as
a result of actions of AFAD, the partners Wildaf, SDI, PAP and the MGF network.
An important evolution is the commitment of some traditional, religious leaders in the fight
against the practice of FGM translating in of the preaching in some mosques by religious leaders
to denounce the common misunderstanding that female genital mutilation should be a religious
obligation. During 2010, five public declarations have been made by village and religious
councilors on the acknowledgement of “the right to physical and psychosocial integrity” of the
person regarding the practice of FGM.
Other important achievements from 2008 to 2009 are the elimination of the former taboo
concerning the FGM issue, the questioning of the utility of the practice translated by the
abandonment of the practice by three villages the Segou region, as a result of actions taken by
the partner SDI. The victims of health complications due to FGM are identified, treated and
accompanied by health workers in collaboration with local committees created to promote the
abandonment of the practice.
In 2010 the evolution consisted mainly in the consolidation of previous experiences, and in the
improvement of knowledge about the consequences of harmful practices and violence against
women and girls. There is also and change of attitudes and practices of populations from other
villages nearby the ones where the FGM is no longer practiced. This progress is illustrated by the
low rates of excised women in the different intervention zones of Diakonia. These results are the
fruit of synergies, dialogue and coordination between several actors intervening in the fight
against violence and harmful practices for women and girls: the establishment of networks for
the fight against FGM by CSOs including Diakonia partners and the establishment of policies
and programmes to fight the violence at State level of the State.
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In terms of fight against HIV and AIDS, the populations of the three municipalities of Douentza
have adopted behaviors involving fewer risks, by the establishment of three sale outlets of
condoms by women members of local women’s groups’ networks. Fruitful strategies like the
adoption of local and regional measures such as local and regional conventions in the absence of
national law, the involvement of permanent structures like local and regional committees for the
abandonment of the practice and community centers have led up to the accomplished
progresses.
Result 2: Economic and social equity between women and men have been increased
Further to actions of the partners AFAD, AADEC, SDI, AMAPROS, YAGTU, AMSS, the social
and economic status of women was reinforced during the period 2008-2010 in Nara, Douentza,
Segou, and Bandiagara. This evolution is translated by the increase in the number of legal
marriages by 40% in Nara, this an increase of 8% compared to 2009. In Mali, the access to land
in the rural areas is still a forbidden area for women, especially when it comes to succession.
However, women organized in CSOs develop their capacity in organization, representativeness
and participation within school management committees, cereal banks management committees,
water management committees, natural resources management committees, thereby becoming
more involved in the development of their communities and strengthening their access to
decision making positions.
This is how during the period (2008-2010), women have become represented by at least at 35%
within these different community authorities. In 16 intervention municipalities, the number of
women elected by the populations increased from 22 in 2004 to 42 in 2009, meaning an increase
with 52%. The strong presence of women within the decision making bodies has contributed to
the emergence of a strong female leadership and the strengthening of the respect and self
confidence of the women, increasing also the capacity and power to act and defend the interests
of other women. The involvement of women in decision making within households is justified
by the improvement of their economic power, through their access to micro credits and means of
production and the diversification of activities and income sources. These are the results of
actions taken by partners such as CAMIDE and YAGTU. The training and information of
women on their rights and responsibilities, the access to resources, in agricultural production and
in the management of natural resources and further on by forming advocacy groups, movements
and alliances, have conducted to collective actions of advocacy and influence regarding the
political and traditional authorities. Commitments have been made by these leaders to reduce
socio political and economic discriminations between men and women.
14.3.3 Theme 3: Social and Economic Justice
Result 1: The power balance role of civil society has been strengthened in order to
influence socio economic policies
Local CSOs, with the support of partner organizations of Diakonia like CAD Mali, have
influenced the process of political and strategic decision making in order to ensure better
transparency in the use of resources allocated to the health sector. If in 2008 and 2009, the CSO
partners played a role to voice and represent the local populations for a fair distribution of socio
economic resources through the establishment of Community Based Monitoring Committees, the
evolution in 2010 consisted in the establishment of strategic alliances at different levels (local,
185
regional and national) in order to better influence the policy formulation and political decisions
for a better distribution of allocated resources.
The corruption constitutes today a major concern for the economic governance in Mali. The
Diakonia partner CSOs are working to promote citizen control actions. The budget monitoring
carried out on municipal budgets, initiated by CSOs, has allowed an increase and adaptation of
funds allocated to the health sector thanks to the mobilization of local resources in urban
communes of Bamako, Kati and Koulikoro. In addition, the duty of elected officials to inform
the citizens, also vulnerable groups, about the local governance (“accountability”) that started in
2008 has been reinforced by pressure from citizens monitoring committees at the local level,
composed of citizens and local CSOs. This has allowed citizens to follow up the use of funds in
their municipality, though public presentations by the decision makers of their administrative
accounts for the year 2008 and 2009.
A popular demonstration in Bamako in 2010 in support of workers fired arbitrarily in the
privatization of the HUICOMA cotton factory, and the “Forum of People” of Badiangara in 2009
gathered about 2700 persons including parliament members, CSOs, ordinary citizens, media,
development organizations and activists. These events have been real areas of dialogue,
denunciation, education and popular debate for influencing socio economic policies. These
exchanges in workshops have been important moments of information, training and awareness
raising against unfair policies and corruption.
Result 2: Pro poor trade policy at all levels has been supported
Thanks to the support from the partners ICD during the period (2008-2010), small businesses of
milk and tontines of soya are developing into durable commercial organizations and reinforce
their position on the local market. In 2010 this evolution enabled247 breeders from five
cooperatives of milk and three enterprises of 781 producers of soya to make themselves heard, to
be recognized, take their own decisions and to improve their level of incomes. Producers of milk
for instance have been able to perceive for their produces a minimum guaranteed price assuring
them a stable income of 44 millions CFA in 2010 against 42 millions in 2009, thus an increase of
4.8%.
This is the result of better valorization (through food processing) of local production of milk and
soya by local consumers. The mini dairies and tontines are groups of producers of soya or cattle
breeders/producers of milk established to facilitate the access of agricultural producers to the
market. The added value of these groups resides in their capacity to generate incomes from their
production to finance the functioning and development of these groups and at the same time
providing the producers with an increased and more stable income.
The intervention strategy developed by ICD to get to this result is based on the construction of a
social capital through the organization of producers in small businesses and tontines, following
actions of awareness and information. Another important strategy is the mobilization to influence
national policies for better commercial conditions in the interest of small producers. These
influencing actions have facilitated the performance of 2010 advocacy actions at national and
sub-regional levels for a better consideration of concerns of rural organizations in the
development of the milk area.
The local initiatives are also coupled with advocacy for a change of global commercial policies
in favor of the poor through ICD’s support to the target group. The joint declaration of the non
governmental actors in Mali against the signing of the trade liberalization programme “the
Economic Partnership Agreement” (EPA) submitted to the National Assembly and to the
government, of Mali. This engagement of the civil society improved the position of decision
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makers to not sign this agreement with EU. Diakonia partners such as ICD and CAD Mali are
working with policy influence through studies and advocacy. Two sub-regional workshops on
the topics “the place of small rural dairies in the development of milk sector” and ”the impact of
the EPAs on the access to basic social services and the levels of incomes of agricultural
producers” have been held by the partners CAD Mali and ICD in 2010.
Result 3: Income and food security have improved in the areas where partners have
intervened.
The incomes of women and men are better secured as a result of actions supported by our
partners YA-G-TU, CAMIDE and ICD. The increased income has been used for family expenses
(food, health, education) and allowed producers to stock products and profit from the best period
of sale on the market. Also, the alternation of the cultivation of soya and dried cereals (millet,
sorgho, maiz57) has also contributed to the fertilization/regeneration of 30 ha of lands in Sikasso.
This resulted in the increase of the average agricultural production during the period 2008 to
2010.
In Badiangara 280 women organized within groups were able to get incomes enabling them to
invest properly in the improvement of the quality of meals in their households, as a result of the
micro credit activities initiated by YAGTU. This is a change in comparison with many other
women often obliged to sell off their harvests of millet or sorgho to meet the current expenses
during the period of food shortage. Also 448 persons (members of women groups and cereal
banks management committees) who have adopted technologies ECOFERME that consists in the
use of different technologies aimed at increasing agricultural production and productivity.
This progress is the result of strategies and collective actions of women and producer
organizations on the one hand, supported by partners, and, on the other hand, the introduction of
new technologies of protection and conservation of land allowing women and other producers to
improve their productivity and contributing therefore to food security.
Result 4: Quality and variety of the Income Generating Activities (IGA) have increased for
the benefit of young people and women
Community based organisations accompanied by the Diakonia partners CAMIDE, YAGTU,
AMSS, AFAD and ICD have initiated and/or developed economic and social activities having
procured considerable incomes and social profits. Many women and poor young producers today
see their social status improved as a result of their access to funding sources and training. The
evolution in 2010 consisted in building the capacities of women and producers to organize
themselves and to act together in order to multiply the opportunities of access to funding sources
at microfinance institutions. This is how small businesses of women and men were able to take
loans from micro finance institutions in Ouelessebougou. The soya business composed of 468
members and supported by ICD has benefited from a campaign credit near the BNDA of an
amount of CFA 25000000 (Euro 38 110). This opportunity is linked to a better organization of
local small scale producers and women thanks to the accompaniment of the Diakonia partners. In
addition to the organized enterprises about 3500 individual persons including women and young
producers have benefited from credits funds of about 9000 Euro to initiate IGAs like cotton
spinning, the sale of vegetables, the production and commercialization of milk and
soya(for80%in 2009 and 70% in 2008).The IGAs initiated have procured them an average
income varying from CFA 12 500 to CFA 167 500 per person. These revenues from IGAs
activities are generally used to increase the quality of meals, education of children, and the health
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of family members. Technical supports brought by the partners of Diakonia (training in female
entrepreneurship, business management, profitable IGA management) through the framing of
women and producers in groups are necessary encouraging factors of the channel of result during
these 3 years of the program.
14.3.4 Theme 4: Education
Result 1: The access to quality education of has improved; and Result 2: The quality of
literacy programmes have improved
Activities undertaken by partners AMAPROS, AADEC, YAGTU, and AMAPROS have resulted
in increased influence of civil society on local and national education policies and plans.
Especially advocacy actions towards the Government by CSOs such as the coalition ”Education
for All” (where four of our partners are members). At the local level, there is a tendency during
the period 2008-2010 of increased citizen control thanks to work carried out by local partners
such as the APE and CGS, especially in Tombouctou, Douentza and Segou. Thanks to their
advocacy work towards school authorities in the communes of Niono and Koulikoro, new class
rooms have been built and/or rehabilitated, schools have been endowed with health facilities, and
water points provided. The effective strategies used by the partners AMAPROS and AADEC
deserve special mention here: Through awareness raising activities, and efforts to mobilize the
inhabitants in various communes, they have managed to establish well functioning spaces for
dialogue between the communities and local authorities which have allowed parents to become
more involved in the management of schools. For example, during the period of 2008-2010, such
spaces for dialogues were established in Segou and Douentza. Our partners CAMIDE, YAGTU,
AADEC and SDI have contributed with important results as well in the area of education,
especially related development of training and teaching materials and curriculums, and related to
literacy classes for women and People living with HIV and AIDS. This has increased the chances
of these particular target groups to keep them informed of their rights and the decisions taken in
their communities, as well as to gain an income through employments that requires skills to read
and write.
During the period 2008-2010, Diakonia Mali worked with 8 NGO partners who all have shown
significantly improved results in terms of applying a human rights based approach - in particular
those of women. During the last year, the CO has organized capacity building of partner
organisation mainly through provision of trainings, including on Results Based Management,
Human Rights Based Approach, and Gender – and HIV and AIDS mainstreaming trainings. The
other form of capacity support provided by the CO included support from the staff on a daily
basis through mails, phone calls and visits, for example through advise on themes such as gender
and human rights, clarification of audit and procurement guide lines, on standards of reporting
and M&E, etc. The CO has also organised joint workshops for partners to allow for exchanges of
Best Practices and Lessons Learned, and has also sponsored partners to participate in network
meetings in Mali and abroad.
The fluctuations of the indicators in the Diakonia Matrix on Partner Capacity of capacity,58 is not
58
For example - internal democracy: 2.31 in 2008, 2.88 in 2009, 2.50 in 2010; administrative capacity: 2.50 in 2008, 2.75 in
2009 and 2.00 in 2010, and the technical capacity: 2.71 in 2008, 3.00 in 2009 and 2.71 in 2010.
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due to a real reduction in capacity of partner, but rather due to variations in the capacity of the
staff in Mali to apply the analysis of the PME Handbook of Diakonia. In particular, the new
format for project design and reporting put in place in 2009 allowed the staff to assess the
capacity of partners in a more reliable way. Another contributing factor are the new
responsibilities that have been assigned to the Program Officer and the Finance Officer who are
now in charge of assessing and scrutinizing narrative-, financial-, and audit reports from
partners, which has improved the analysis of partners’ capacities during the last year.
14.4. Lessons Learnt based on Selected Outcomes
Lesson 1: The socio-economic and political relations between men and women still remain very
traditional in Mali, despite partners’ efforts to put in place systems and mechanism based on
democracy and equal participation of women and men. To overcome this, the CO is committed
to continue to work to ensure that gender is mainstreamed into all of its partners’ work in
the years to come. It will also increase its efforts to include men to a greater extent into
partners “gender work.”
Lesson 2: Following the “Strategy of Change” - trainings, including awareness raising activities
of partners, have certainly contributed to important results of the programme in Mali: First of all,
provision of information, of training, and awareness raising and second, mobilisation to
influence public policies through functional frameworks of dialogue at different levels.
However, a lesson learnt is that only the first level of action is not enough to provoke
change of structures. Political and economical interests must be addressed by advocacy also
on a national level. This is something that the country office aims to promote to a much greater
extent in the new Strategy and Programme in the years to come. Advocacy must be paired with
capacity building of CSOs in Human Rights Based Approach in order for them to target more
effectively their advocacy and lobbying towards key duty bearers.
14.5. Synergies Between Partners Facilitated by Diakonia
Once a year meetings of exchange are organized between partners to discuss and share results,
indicators and changes achieved by their different projects. These meetings have allowed
partners to improve their understanding of the components of their various projects and
coordinate their work better. This includes also meetings where partners have gathered together
with Diakonia to undertake joint reporting, such as the CIVSAM Annual Reporting Meeting. A
good example of this is the meeting that took place within the framework of the ”Forum of
People” in Badiangara, organised by CAD Mali, who invited also the other partners of Diakonia
to participate in this activity.
14.6. Coordination with Other Donors
Since 2008, the main coordination has evolved around and with the partners that are working
within the Embassy funded Local Democratic Governance Program. For example, the ”Pastoral
Week” in Nioro du Sahel was a joined action of Helvetas, AEN (Norway Church Aid), SNV and
Diakonia for a more coordinated and better consideration of the interests of cattle breeders in
national policies. The same partners, including SIDA in Mali, have also participated together in
the Communal Area of Inquiry organized by AFAD partner of Diakonia in Nara (Koulikoro
region).
In the framework of the co-financing of CAD Mali, Diakonia has also coordinated its support
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and advocacy with the other donors, namely Oxfam/Novib. This was also the case when the so
called “Forum of People” was organized, as Diakonia co-funded this event with Oxfam
Solidarity, Oxfam Canada.
After negotiations in 2009 Diakonia Mali is member of the forum of International NGO in Mali
(FONGIM) and more precisely a member of the group working on the issue « Aid
Effectiveness ». In this group in 2010, the experience of CAD Mali as partner was shared and is
retained as action to be supported to make joint advocacy for national decision makers.
Prior to the World Summit on Environment in Copenhagen in Denmark in 2008, the Country
Office partners collected information from various projects related to environment which was
shared with HO to be used for advocacy during this event. The Country Office has also
supported HO with provision of data and stories from partners related to human rights abuses
and the work of Diakonia partners work on this topic (especially FGM).
No EU financed project was undertaken in Mali during 2008-2010.
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2010
Mali
Outcome/budget
Appr
budget
1,545,415
Revised
Nov
3,134,247
Actual
costs
2,906,098
OTHER DONORS
Balance other
donors
Sub-total other
donors
1,382,500
1,292,504
1,313,622
-89,748
-89,748
1,292,752
1,202,756
1,313,622
109%
TOTAL
2,838,167
4,337,003
4,219,720
97%
CIVSAM
%
93%
2008-2010
Mali
Outcome/budget
Appr budget
Revised Nov
Actual costs
%
CIVSAM
3,969,232
6,583,997
5,935,502
OTHER DONORS
8,956,743
9,037,801
6,633,204
8,956,743
9,037,801
6,633,204
73%
12,925,975
15,621,798
12,568,706
80%
higher than 10%
90%
TOTAL
See comment below
Deviations From Original Plans During 2008-2010
A six month delay by SIDA to transfer the total budget of 2008 into the account of Helvetas, the
lead agency of the Local Democratic Governance programme caused a delay in the actual start of
activities and the accomplishment of an important part of activities planned by all partners.
However, though the activities of 2009 and 2010 it has to some extent been possible to realize
activities that were postponed in 2008.
15. Country Programme: Senegal
15.1 Summary of Diakonia’s Programme in Senegal
Senegal, earlier considered as a stable democracy in West Africa, has in recent years experienced
setbacks linked to among other things accumulation of power by the presidential family. This
affects citizens’ confidence in democracy at all levels. However, civil society, the political
opposition and the media are active defenders of the democracy.
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In 2010, Senegal was ranked 144 out of the 169 countries on UNDPs Human Development
Index. In the 2010 OMD report, the poverty rate is estimated to 50.8 %. Rising food prices have
led to several popular uprisings. Women are especially affected by poverty, human rights abuses
and violence, but there is also important progress in promotion of women for instance in the
political arena. About 60 % of the 12 million Senegalese are below 20 years. High
unemployment and income gaps between urban and rural communities trigger huge internal and
external illegal migration, especially among the youth, involving high risks and human rights
violations.
In the southern Casamance region, poverty and human rights situation is worsened by a violent
independence fight, intensified in 2010.
15.1.2 How we work in the country
To ensure local ownership, sustainability and long term impact, Diakonia has worked in Senegal
from 1993 to 2010 in partnership with local civil society organizations in all regions of the
country. The partner organizations have implemented projects all over the country in local
governance, rural development and socio-economic justice as well as fight against gender based
violence and HIV and AIDS.
One of Diakonia’s most striking results in collaboration with its’ partners in Senegal is the
strengthening of women’s position in many different areas. Economically, women have got
income opportunities, which increase the family well-being and also improve the woman’s status
in the family and in society. Violence against women is increasingly contested and in the
political sphere there has been a remarkable breakthrough of women’s representation in local
decision making bodies.
15.2.1 External
In March 2010, the decision was taken by the Diakonia board to phase out a number of country
programmes by the end of 2010, among these, the Senegal programme. The decision was based
on an assessment of the cost effectiveness and the potential of all Diakonia country programmes
in relation to a number of external political and economical factors, which are to a large extent
among the threats identified in the Diakonia strategy plan, such as:
 diminishing aid budgets on a global level due to the financial crisis and shifts in political
priorities in donor countries, leading to increasing competition of development funds in
Sweden and international level
 reduction of the number of countries benefitting from Swedish development aid and reduced
aid budget in Sweden
 increasing demands from back donors on control and demonstration of measurable results.
As four of the five partners had come to the end of their contracts in 2009, contract amendments
were elaborated based on partners’ actions plans. The aim of this one year additional grant was
to consolidate earlier achievements and to avoid a too sudden end of the partnership and funding.
Important to note however, is that this fund was reduced compared to the levels of funding in
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previous years, and also the fact that the funds were released late because of the necessary
adoptions to the new situation. Therefore, the partners’ results in 2010 are quite limited. In order
to enable partners to adapt themselves before the end of the Diakonia partnership, a specific fund
was reserved for the implementation of an action plan for partners’ capacity building in the
transition year 2010.
All five partners of the Senegal programme, AJAC Kolda, APROFES, FAFD, Sida Service and
RADI, have been phased out by the end of 2010. This is not linked to partners’ capacity or
results, but a consequence of the decision to phase out the entire Senegal programme as
mentioned above. One partner, RHADDO, was phased out already in 2008, due to lack of clarity
in financial reporting, which brought about a reimbursement of funds.
The decision to phase out the Senegal programme was also motivated by Diakonia’s need to use
its limited financial and human resources strategically and cost-efficiently by focusing on a
smaller number of strategic country programmes where there is a high potential for Diakonia to
have an impact. The country assessment came to the conclusion that the Senegal programme is
too small to be cost-efficient. In addition, it found that Diakonia does not have the possibilities
and resources to develop and find alternative funding for this programme. For cost-effectiveness
reasons, the Senegal office was closed physically and the contract of one of the two staff
members ended in June 2010. For the rest of the year, the office was functioning from the
national representative’s home, and during her maternity leave with support from the regional
advisor based in Bamako. A separate plan was elaborated for accompaniment of the laid off staff
(funding of further training etc.).
15.3.1 Democracy and Human Rights
15.3.1.1 Result 1: The power balance role of civil society has been strengthened
One of the most important signs of CSO influence and civil society’s watch-dog role in the
period 2008-2010 is the veritable breakthrough of women in decision-making bodies in contrast
to previous years. This was a result of a long campaign led by civil society organizations such as
the Siggil Jiggen network and the Senegal women council, where the Diakonia partners RADI
and APROFES are focal points. CSOs were active throughout the whole process that led to the
adoption of the law in May 2010. After the municipal elections in 2009, the number of women
elected tripled for instance in municipalities of Diossong and Ndoffane (from 13 to 41). In the
Kaolack and Fatick regions 43 of the 153 members of the municipal councils are women (28%)
). An important progress is also the facts that in Kaolack 18 out of 20 health committees are
headed by women. However, important to note is that representation does not automatically
mean true influence. (See below result 2, Gender Equality.)
The increase of women in decision making bodies is the result of actions such as leadership
training, mobilization and advocacy initiated in 2007 and 2008 by civil society organizations
such as APROFES and RADI in the Kaolack, Thies and Fatick regions.
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Besides the promotion of women and defense of their rights, RADI and AJAC contributed to the
reinforcement of civil society as watch dog by enhancing the possibilities of ordinary citizens to
be involved and influence decisions that affect their lives. By making legislative texts available
in national languages and by targeting specifically local leaders, RADI and AJAC enable people
to participate in and influence the elaboration of the municipal budget in their communities,
thereby directly influencing the priority given to different sectors. Although difficult to show the
exact effect of this popular participation in discussions preceding the vote on the budget, there is
an improvement in the allocation to pro-poor sectors such as health and education. There are also
concrete examples of effects of increased participation of women and youth in local governance.
In Diossong, Fatick region, an old solicitation of the women to create a women center for
women’s meetings, literacy courses and other trainings, IGA etc, previously not taken seriously,
has now become a reality. Another example was the the protest march denouncing bad roads
organized by the youth in Ndoffane after their participation in a training on advocacy. As a
result, the road between Ndoffane and the regional capital Kaolack has been asphalted.
Important to note is also that the increased participation as such of the population in local
governance promotes a sound management of public funds.
15.3.1.2 Result 2: The commitment of CSOs in the decentralization process has been
strengthened
Various actions have been undertaken by Diakonia partners throughout the period to strengthen
the transfer of power from the central level to the citizens and their elected local politicians. As
demonstrated by activities realized by RADI, AJAC and FAFD, there is a true commitment of
civil society organizations to ensure that this decentralization becomes a reality. The first main
target groups are the ordinary citizens. Through awareness campaigns, literacy training and
translation of legal texts in national languages, people have become increasingly aware about
their right to participate in decisions concerning their own communities and lives. This
awareness has resulted in increased participation in local governance. In particular women and
youth have strengthened their positions and ability to influence local decision making. The most
striking result here is the remarkable breakthrough of women in the 2009 municipal elections, to
a great extent the result of CSOs accompaniment and promotion of women candidature in the
elections. The fact that people organize themselves in discussion groups and thematic networks
to exchange experiences and monitor local politics is another key factor which enables people to
denounce if there are irregularities in local governance and defend their interests in decision
making. Examples of issues brought up in these groups are citizens’ rights and obligations in
elections and governance and participatory budget making. These groups play an important role
in giving citizens the capacity to act in case of bad governance. There is also an interesting
reinforcement of civil society observed as a spin-off effect of a drilling project in Médina
Djikoyé, Kaolack region in collaboration with RADI. The local water management committee
set up after the drilling has become a platform for dialogue and coordination of different
development initiatives. This has contributed to an important impulsion of socioeconomic
development and to a reinforcement of the civil society organizations of the communities in the
area.
The other main target group in the reinforcement of the decentralization of power is the members
of the local councils at municipal level. Important to bear in mind is the fact that these political
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representatives are mostly ordinary citizens with limited knowledge in legal issues and political
decision making processes. Many are also illiterate. CSOs such as the Diakonia partners RADI,
AJAC and FAFD have played an important role in strengthening the capacity of local councilors
to participate fully in decision making. Literacy courses and trainings in legal texts on the
decentralization are key activities. Some activities such as coaching local politicians in
participatory decision making have been designed specifically to promote the involvement of
citizens in local governance. One result, as mentioned above, is that municipalities increasingly
adopt participatory approaches when elaborating the local budgets or local development plans.
The outcome is that issues and concerns of the populations are taken into account in a better way
in decisions at local level, thereby making the decentralization of power a reality (for concrete
examples see result 1 above).
15.3.1.3 Result 3: The respect of human rights in all development projects or programmes
has been increased
Partners in Senegal are increasingly mainstreaming Human rights approaches in their projects.
The Diakonia training in RBA in 2009 has contributed to this development. Most significant is
the work of APROFES to fight against various forms of violence against women (physical and
psychosocial violence within the family, female genital mutilation, sexual violence) – a
widespread but often hidden phenomenon aggravated by the harder living conditions due to,
amongst other things, the general rise of price levels The approach of APROFES, has moved
from merely protection of women victims of violence to a consideration of women as right
holders able to claim their rights vis-à-vis duty bearers. An illustration of this strategy is the
increased focus on accompaniment of women in legal proceedings
The work of Sida Service is another important example of how Human rights are increasingly
taken into account in partners’ projects. Sida Service, focused on the HIV and AIDS issue, not
only support PLWHA by offering medical counseling and care, but also by the creation of
income opportunities and discussion groups where they can meet others in the same situation.
This contributes in significant way to the restoration of their human dignity.
The Diakonia partners have also taken action to denounce Human right violation on a larger
scale. Most of the partners are today active members of Human rights networks, which serve as a
platform for actions to influence political decision making. One example was the national
campaign day against violence in 2009, when RADI and APROFES as members of the
Organization for Defending Human Rights (ODDH) and the Committee for the Fight against
Violence against Women (CLVF), made an appeal to policymakers about specific cases of
violence against women.
15.3.2 Gender Equality
15.3.2.1 Result 1: Various forms of practices and harmful violence against women and
girls have been reduced
There has been significant progress in the fight against violence against women during this three
year period. The most important results are reported from the partner APROFES, whose project
financed by Diakonia is specifically focusing on violence against women. Through rather pathbreaking strategies APROFES has succeeded to put the issue of violence against women on the
public agenda in this period. The organization is today acknowledged as one of the major actors
in this field in Senegal. The first step in APROFES’ strategy is to raise awareness about violence
against women as a crime and a Human rights violation through various campaigns and trainings
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reaching a huge number of people. As an example, 13 760 persons, most of them men, were
reached by awareness raising activities, also by radio, and by trainings only in 2009.
Secondly, APROFES accompanies the victims of violence by providing medical but also social
support that enable women to start income generating activities. More than 150 women have
received social and medical support only in 2010. This socio-economic support is a key factor in
strengthening women’s human dignity and independence . Earlier, the fear of social exclusion
was a major hindrance for a woman to denounce violence, often committed within the family, as
she was economically totally dependent on her husband and his family. APROFES’ also
empowers women by organizing discussion groups. The mutual support and exchange of ideas
and coping strategies in these groups strengthens the women’s capacity to take action against
oppression. The strategy to train paralegals that can accompany women being victims of violence
is one important factor behind a significant progress of the number of successful legal
proceedings by women in cases of violence. In fact, 89 legal proceedings facilitated by
APROFES in 2010 successfully punished the committers of the crimes, compared to 39 in 2009.
The third component of the APROFES strategy is to build alliances and influence key actors in
order to change the attitudes and policies towards violence against women. This is done by
awareness raising and close collaboration with the police, the justice, local administration and
religious leaders. Furthermore, APROFES has deliberately targeted journalists in order to
promote a better consideration and coverage by media of the issue of violence against women.
Protests marches like the one organized in Kaolack in 2009 have also contributed to
commitments made by authorities in 2010 to join APROFES to reduce the violence against
women.
15.3.2.2 Result 2: Economic and social equity between women and men has been increased
All partners are implementing activities directly supporting equity between women and men,
reflecting an awareness of the crucial role of women and their empowerment in any development
action.. Partners emphasize the importance of creating income opportunities by access to
financial resources and other means of production to women. As a result of credit programmes
and support to women’s IGAs, we observe a decrease of socio economic gaps between women
and men during the period. Women’s self-esteem and human dignity is also enhanced, as well as
her independence and bargaining power within the household. In many cases, women are also
becoming the bread-winners of the household. As an important strategy to reduce the risk of
tensions within the family when the woman gets a better economic status, the partners also
targets men specifically with awareness rising on gender equity. One illustration of the
successfulness of this strategy is an increasing recognition among men of the important role
played by women in development. FAFD reports that the men encouraged their wives in their
income generating activities, explicitly recognizing the importance of integrating women in the
economic arena and provide financial resources to them. In the social sphere, it is also very
promising to note that 40 % of the women seeking support from APROFES after being victims
of violence were accompanied by men.
There are also numerous positive effects on women’s socio-economic status as a result of the
drilling project realized in Médina Djikoyé, Kaolack, in collaboration with RADI. The radical
reduction of time spent by women to fetch water has liberated time for them to become more
involved in different development actions and in IGA. The reduced domestic workload has also
had a positive effect on girls’ schooling. In the area of girls’ education, AJAC has also
contributed to a significant increase in girls’ schooling rate in Kolda, Casamance region. For
196
instance, the percentage of girls in school increased from 51 to 55 % between 2008 and 2009 ).
This is the result of successful awareness raising in an area where boys are sent to school in the
first place, while the girls are denied education being kept in unpaid household activities.
One important strategy for the empowerment of women is also the promotion of women’s
organizations and the creation of women groups and associations. There is increasing evidence
that these groups serve as a “nursery”, fostering female leaders also on a wider scale. In 2010,
FAFD reports that 25% of the leaders of women’s groupings also occupy positions within other
decision making fora in their local communities or at regional or department level. This reflects
the significant increase of women’s representation in municipal councils after the elections in
2009, a change where the Diakonia partners contributed by promoting women to candidature.
However, important to note is that representation does not automatically mean true influence. On
the contrary, the fact that gender parity was made compulsory in the 2009 elections in Senegal
and subsequently adopted as a law in May 2010, might increase the risk of women being more or
less marionettes in decision making bodies.
While bearing this in mind, it is however very promising that partners do report a veritable
participation and influence by women in decision making bodies in 2010. There is evidence that
women do have a say in the political decision making. Their participation is important in order to
introduce and maintain issues specifically concerning women on the political agenda. The
legislation on gender parity on electoral lists was a result of the pressure from civil society
organizations, where RADI and APROFES were two of the leading actors. However, the fight
for a more gender sensitive legislation continues. Civil society organizations consider the law on
parity on electoral lists too limited as it is only promoting equity in political decision making
bodies. CSOs want to extend the debate on affirmative actions also to other areas such as
education and employment.
15.3.3 Social and Economic Justice
(Result 1 reported under result 1, Democracy and Human rights, see above.)
15.3.3.1 Result 2: Pro poor trade advocacy at all level has been supported
One partner, FAFD, a federation of 64 community development associations in the northern
Matam region, has been active in the promotion of domestic rice production during this period.
Local rice producers often have difficulties to sell their produce, because of competition from
imported rice. Senegal is the biggest importer of rice from Asia in West Africa with 900.000 tons
per year. The old colonial trade patterns with imported rice have persisted and consumers have
been reluctant to domestic rice. Through the intervention of FAFD, the demand for domestic rice
has however increased, which is demonstrated by an increase in the market price of domestic
rice. This has increased the income of the local producers, many being women. FAFD also
promotes improved organization of farmers’ and their networking with other farm-based
organizations in order to have more weight on the national market. One example is the
participation of FAFD in PINORD, a programme uniting several organizations for the promotion
of domestic rice, together with five other national organizations. As part of this programme,
FAFD participated in the International Fair of Agriculture and Animal Resources (FIARA), an
annual regional meeting of rural producers held in Senegal. This became an important
breakthrough for the demand for domestic rice among consumers in Dakar. Linked to the
promotion of local rice production, FAFD also organized one training for local council members
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and leaders of female associations in 2009 on the possible consequences for local producers of
the EPAs (the Economic Partnership Agreements between the African and Caribbean countries
and the European Union). This training held in 2009 has been followed up by awareness raising
sessions for 257 women on the EPAs in 2010.
15.3.3.2 Result 3: The income and the food security have been improved in the area where
the partners intervene
As one main obstacle to overcome extreme poverty is the lack of access to loans and credits,
most of the partners in Senegal have developed micro credit activities that have become very
successful both in terms of number of people involved and in terms of functioning of groups and
repayments. There is a significant increase in the number of groups and individuals that have
received micro credits during the period. Between 2009 and 2010 the increase is about 60 % for
FAFD, now involving 1 829 women in their micro credit programmes. The number of women
that benefitted from credits from AJAC increased from 60 to 135 (56%) during the same period,
while RADI expanded the number of women groups involved in micro credit schemes from 6 to
25. One important factor that has contributed to this increase is the success of some of the early
beneficiaries, serving as an example for others.
The benefit of the IGA started or expanded through the credit programmes improves the food
security directly by its effect on the household budget, or indirectly by being reinvested in
cultivation of vegetables, rice or other crops.
The community banks (Banques SARE) created by AJAC to overcome the lack of credits for
rural populations in the Casamance region, have become a role model for other organizations.
Successful interaction and advocacy work by AJAC has resulted in a recurrent grant from the
Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Researches (ISRA) in the form of quality corn and millet
seeds that increased the yields of the farmers considerably in 2009-2010. Important to note
however, is that this external support is not a sustainable solution to food security in the
Casamance region. Also, farmers have not had equal access to this support. There is a need to
improve especially women farmers’ position in the distribution of the quality seeds.
15.3.3.3 Result 4: The quality and the variety of the Income Generating Activities (IGA)
have been increased for the benefit of young people and women
This is explained by elaborated strategies by partners, involving training in business
management, support to a diversification of the IGAs, ranging from rice and millet trade and
livestock breeding to knitting, sewing and processing of local products. We also note the creation
of larger scale commercial activities with bigger exploitation units, mainly linked to processing
of vegetables.
One important outcome of this support to IGAs is the increased autonomy of the women.
According to FAFD and AJAC the sectors that were previously reserved for men have now
opened up to women. For instance, women are today trading rice and they cultivate bigger
parcels compared to earlier when women had access only to tiny pieces of land where they only
grew a little for their own household. They also participate more in fairs to sell their products.
(Result 5 reported under result 2, Democracy and human Rights, see above.)
198
During the period, the partners in Senegal have benefitted from Diakonia trainings on HIV and
AIDS and Human rights and also exchange workshops on vision, objectives, strategies and
working tools. The results reporting capacity has also been reinforced by a participatory process
for review of formats and also participatory reporting workshops. These activities have
contributed to a certain improvement of partners’ capacity towards the end of the period,
especially of their administrative capacity. However, it is difficult to talk about general trends
since the sample is based on only five partners. Worth mentioning however, is the rather low
score of three out of five partners in the important areas gender mainstreaming and target group
influence. Regarding gender, the weaknesses reflect the weak gender awareness in general in
Senegal as in the other counties of the region. For some partners, the trainings and coaching
provided by Diakonia has been the first and only coherent support in gender issues. However,
this support has not been enough to change a culture where gender has been treated merely as a
“women issue”. Partners are still not used to instinctively reflect in terms of gender
mainstreaming in for instance project elaboration.
By the end of the period the capacity strengthening activities have been intensified. As part of of
Diakonia’s phase out strategy, a comprehensive action plan was elaborated together with the
partners for a series of strategic capacity strengthening activities in 2010. This plan was an
important component the Diakonia exit strategy aimed at helping partners to adapt to the new
situation. The activities included: Four trainings (project elaboration & management,
fundraising, monitoring & evaluation and learning/capitalization), base line/context analysis, a
donor mapping and the production of a video and a brochure to facilitate for partners to increase
visibility and to “sell” their work to new partners/donors. While it is too early to see the outcome
of the capacity building activities of 2010 per se, partners do confirm that they have already
strengthened their capacity to organize trainings and other capacity building activities by the fact
that the Diakonia approach has been very participatory. All activities in the plan were identified
by the partners themselves. One partner was appointed lead agency for each activity, with
specific responsibility to organize the activity together with Diakonia and external consultants.
1. Diakonia should focus more on creating or strengthening partners’ own sustainability
strategies
Several partners in Senegal have considerably contributed to changed life situations for
vulnerable groups through the organization of people in village associations, women groups,
farmers associations, water management committees, etc. This has facilitated common action and
mutual support for positive change in communities and individual lives. It has also served as a
platform for a quite remarkable progress in women’s social status and prepared the ground for an
emerging female leadership even in conservative environments such as the northern Matam
region. However, there is a huge need to find strategies to enable this kind of local groups and
organizations to sustain themselves and become more independent vis-à-vis external actors. This
has been demonstrated by a study made by the partner FAFD in 2010 and by the evaluation of
the Water for All Programme It has become more apparent in Senegal in 2010 due to the fact that
Diakonia is phasing out its support. However, it points out a more general need for Diakonia to
focus more on sustainability when elaborating new projects with partners in any country. As a
199
good partner with the strengthening of local partners’ capacity in the foreground, Diakonia
should accompany partners also towards financial sustainability, at partner level and at target
group level.
2. Diakonia capacity building needs to be part of a consistent strategy, elaborated and
implemented in close collaboration with partners
The implementation of the Diakonia capacity strengthening plan in the phase out strategy
offered an intensification of common activities and contacts between partners. This did not only
promote synergies between partners but it also intensified communication and sharing of
methods and tools between Diakonia and the partners. Partners witness that Diakonia’s way of
involving and delegating responsibilities to them has reinforced their capacity to organize
capacity building activities themselves. An important success factor was the appointment of one
partner as lead agency for each activity, with clear partner responsibilities in preparation,
implementation and follow-up of each activity. Diakonia also appreciates this approach as a way
of strengthening the partnership as such and create space for mutual learning between partners
and Diakonia.
Important to note is that Diakonia has promoted synergies and capacity strengthening throughout
the entire period. However, it was not until the last year that there was a main strategy and an
intensification of this approach. From the dynamic collaboration and the satisfaction expressed
by partners of this closer and intensified accompaniment, we can learn that there is a great
potential for Diakonia to create an added value by integrating more common activities for
capacity strengthening and synergies between partners in the Diakonia programmes. Such a
strategy with common actions should be developed together with partners and launched already
in the beginning of a new programme period.
The contacts created or deepened within the Diakonia partnership have contributed to a number
of interesting collaborations between the partners. One example is an earlier national level study
made by RADI and AJAC with funds from Diakonia on the decentralization process, which has
become a reference study for actors involved in the decentralization (state actors as well as civil
society) in Senegal. This collaboration also contributed to a joint proposal made by these two
partners to the EU. Although it was not approved, this witness of a closer association between
the partners.
In 2010, the action plan for capacity strengthening contributed to boost of synergies between the
partners. One activity of the plan, directly aimed at reinforcing synergies, were exchange visits,
where the Diakonia funding enabled partners to identify and do learning visits at relevant project
implemented by other partners. All five partners have taken this opportunity, which has
strengthened the linkages and also offered an opportunity to identify possible future
collaborations. In addition to this, the fact that the partners met several times during the year,
especially at the four trainings organized by Diakonia, has offered many opportunities for formal
as well as informal exchange. The intensification of synergies and the enthusiasm of partners to
collaborate, also demonstrated in the production of a common video film on the achievements of
each partner, is one interesting unexpected result.
200
It can also be noted that the earlier discussions between the partners about the possibility to form
a network to further facilitate sharing of experiences and synergies have been intensified during
the different Diakonia meetings in 2010, although no concrete action has still been taken.
There have not been any co-financed projects or direct collaborations with other donors in the
Senegal programme during the period, although discussions have been initiated with some
organizations such as Save the Children Sweden. However, the video project realized as part of
the phase out action plan will be launched at a press conference and a following round table to
which media and strategic potential partners/donors are invited. In addition to this, Diakonia will
as part of the action plan elaborated in 2010, address specific recommendation letters of its
partners to identified strategic organizations in order to further facilitate the creation of future
partnerships.
No EU financed project was undertaken in Senegal during 2008-2010.
PROGRAM
CIVSAM
OTHER DONORS
TOTAL
Approved budget Revised Nov Actual costs Deviation % 10%
6 645 536
6 323 438
6 006 635
95%
0
0
0
6 645 536
6 323 438
6 006 635
#DIV/0!
95%
s
201

Final Report 2008-2010

Transcription

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