empowering women : socio-economic development in...
TRANSCRIPT
Empowering Women : Socio-economic Development in
Post-Conflict Tajikistan
Hermine De SotoFebruary 23, 2004
Who is Targeted – Why?
Single Mothers and their familiesQualitative Poverty Study for the PRSP suggested this is the community’s most vulnerable groupObjective is to address multi-dimensional problems of these households and enable them to succeed in obtaining employment and/or starting micro-enterprises
Desired Outcomes
Decreased malnutrition and other health problems among women and their familiesIncreased incomes and employmentHigher education rates among members’ childrenBody of data to be used for scaling up purposes and for tracking association development/progressLower levels of corruption
Tools and Methods:CDD Approach- First Year
Hired field staffConducted Community Needs AssessmentTrained community members for additional needs surveysDetermined initiative groupsProvided trainings in various areas to increase skill level and competency:
! Community Mobilization, Credit, Business Management, Community Proposal Writing, NGO Development, Computer/Office Training
Tools and Methods:CDD Approach- First Year
Further efforts to develop association and foster independence:! Women take first loan, Oct. 2003! Development of strategic plan for how to organize
association! Establishment of resource library and Women’s
Association Newsletter! Humanitarian aid secured; monitoring taught! Site exchange visits within Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan! Weekly Thursday night discussions implemented! Hiring and training of child-care providers! Women begin their own jobs/business; training in
social enterprise development
Tools and Methods:CDD Approach- Second Year
Expansion of social enterprise development:! On-going market research! Business plan development! Bakery training/development! Poultry farm! Children’s clothing line! Educational seminars for children
Tools and Methods:CDD Approach- Second Year
Continued capacity building and more engagement with local level governance! Women leaders respond to requests for training, access
to information and other resources! Collaborate with male counterparts on community
issues, i.e. water management! Women leaders are developing a community business
plan for a health clinic! On-going civil society and community development
which includes: fund-raising for community projects, conflict resolution, teambuilding, and professional communication
Tools and Methods:CDD Approach- Second Year
Second phase of organizational development for Women’s Association! Membership requirements, rights, and responsibilities! Development of advisory board and strategic plan! Continued participatory monitoring and evaluation
using the following evaluation methods: ! Semi-structured interviews, key-informant interviews, focus
groups, community mapping, direct matrix and pair-wise ranking and scoring, and “pocket-charts” exercises
! Project expansion and replication
How are Voices being Strengthened
TrainingEducationPartnership experienceOn-going Civil Society and CDD trainingEngagement in community development
What has Worked
Women’s Association/Center was established in one of most difficult parts of Tajikistan
Patience, trust building, and showing respect to local culture was most important step for success
Challenges
Women were initially afraid, lacked self-esteem and did not trust one another
Social cohesion was very weak
Recommendations
Address entire community (not just main stakeholders)Ensure buy-in from local secular and religious leadersMaintain local/cultural sensitivityKnow the community before project begins and foster trust and support from 2/3 community leadersUnderstand in depth the community needs and get whole community involvedAddress social/psychological dimension