realization of rights for persons with disabilities end …
TRANSCRIPT
REALIZATION OF RIGHTS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
END OF PROJECT EVALUATION
November, 2015
SUBMITTED BY:
Institute for Management Development and Social Analysis (IMDSA)
1
Acknowledgements
Institute for Management Development and Social Analysis (IMDSA) recognize the
contribution of several parties, without which this evaluation would not have been possible.
First, we gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance from the Tilitonse Programme, and
the technical support provided by Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) in
making this end of project evaluation a success.
Special thanks go to the project team led by the Centre Manager and the Monitoring and
Evaluation Officer for providing the necessary technical guidance on every step in carrying
out the evaluation. We are greatly indebted to the field project officers in the catchment
areas, the direct and indirect beneficiaries of the project, the community leaders, media
houses, and all the survey respondents who generously gave their time to provide the
required information.
All errors are the responsibility of the author.
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List of Abbreviations
ADC Area Development Committee
DEC District Executive Committee
FISP Farm Input Subsidy Programme
FGDs Focus Group Discussions
MACOHA Malawi Council for the Handicapped
MEJN Malawi Economic Justice Network
NGOs Non-Governmental Organization
PEA Political Economy Analysis
PWD People with Disabilities
TA Traditional Authority
ToR Terms of Reference
ToC Theory of Change
VDC Village Development Committee
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Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 1
List of Abbreviations.................................................................................................................. 2
List of tables and figures ........................................................................................................... 4
Annexes .................................................................................................................................... 5
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 6
1 Background to the Proposal ............................................................................................ 10
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 10
1.2 Background Information on the Project......................................................................... 10
1.2.1 Project Background............................................................................................... 10
1.3 Objectives of the Project Evaluation.............................................................................. 11
1.3.1 Project Evaluation Approach and Methodology ...................................................... 12
1.3.2 Desk Review of existing documents/literature ........................................................ 12
1.3.3 Legal framework and Policy................................................................................... 12
1.3.4 Linkages with Other Relevant Policies .................................................................... 14
1.3.5 Sampling .............................................................................................................. 14
1.3.6 Key informant Interviews ...................................................................................... 15
1.3.7 Focus Group Discussions ....................................................................................... 15
2 Findings............................................................................................................................ 16
2.1 Project performance against agreed targets .................................................................. 16
2.2 Discussion of the results in terms of study objectives ..................................................... 19
2.2.1 Empowerment ..................................................................................................... 19
2.2.2 Engagement of duty bearers ................................................................................. 24
2.2.3 Resource allocation towards the disability sector ................................................... 27
2.3 Case Studies ................................................................................................................ 29
2.3.1 Enrolment ............................................................................................................ 29
2.3.2 Re-enrolment ....................................................................................................... 31
2.3.3 Role Model........................................................................................................... 32
3 Theory of Change ............................................................................................................ 34
3.1 Theory of Change......................................................................................................... 34
3.2 Political Economy Analysis............................................................................................ 37
3.3 Relevance of Theory of Change and Political Economy ................................................... 38
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3.4 Contribution to delivery of Tilitonse Results .................................................................. 39
3.5 Collaboration with partners .......................................................................................... 42
4 Sustainability of the project.............................................................................................. 44
4.1 Formation of Rights Groups .......................................................................................... 44
4.2 Influence of the Media ................................................................................................. 44
4.3 Local level structures ................................................................................................... 44
4.4 Resource allocation and lobbying tool ........................................................................... 44
4.5 Use of role models within the community ..................................................................... 44
5 Key Challenges................................................................................................................ 45
6 Lessons learnt and recommendations ............................................................................ 46
6.1 Interlink-ages............................................................................................................... 46
6.2 Cross cutting issue ....................................................................................................... 46
6.3 Sustainability ............................................................................................................... 46
6.4 Networking ................................................................................................................. 46
6.5 Lobbying strategy ........................................................................................................ 47
Annex ...................................................................................................................................... 48
List of tables and figures
Table 1. Summary of Project Performance against agreed indicators 17
Table 2. Source of information on empowerment 20
Table 3. Participation and mode of delivery on empowerment activities 21
Table 4. Focus of the trainings or sensitization meetings 21
Table 5. Specific topics covered during the trainings 22
Table 6. Percentage of distribution of individuals who engaged duty bearers on disability issues 24
Table 7. Contribution of project to education access 25
Table 8. Education indicators 26
Table 9. Budget trends 28
Figure 1.Illustration of implementation approaches 35
Table 10: Contribution to Delivery of Tilitonse Results 40
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Annexes
Annex 1. List of Rights Groups in the Project Areas 48
Annex 2. Number of PWDs reached 49
Annex 3: Map of Malawi Showing Project Districts 50
Annex 4: Map of Mzimba showing Project TAs 51
Annex 5: Survey tools 52
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Executive Summary
The Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) with support from Tilitonse Fund has
been implementing a governance project entitled: Realization of Rights for Persons with
Disabilities. The goal of the project was to improve access to education services for persons
with disabilities. In the two years and four months of implementation, the project focused on
empowering persons with disabilities (PWDs) so that they are able to claim their rights from
duty bearers, improve knowledge of duty bearers on issues affecting PWDs. The project also
advocated for an increase in resources allocation towards the disability sector. The project
was implemented in Kasungu District in Traditional Authority Chidzuma and Mzimba
District in Traditional Authority Mzikubola and Mzukuzuku.
MACOHA in consultation with Tilitonse invited qualified M&E consultant to conduct an end
of project evaluation for the project implemented by MACOHA. The overall objective of the
evaluation was to assess the extent to which the funded project has achieved its outputs,
outcomes and impact. The evaluation also assessed the extent to which the funded project
contributed to the achievement of the Tilitonse desired long-term and short term results with
reference to specific indicators in the Tilitonse Log frame. The evaluation study was
expected to provide information on relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of
the project and its achievements.
The evaluation used mixed methods involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
The qualitative methods included literature/document review, key informant interviews,
focus group discussion and case study analysis. The individual interview was the main
quantitative method used in the evaluation. A total of ninety individual interviews were
conducted, three case study analyses, six FGDs were conducted with rights groups and
twenty-five key informant interviews with focal points in key stakeholders. Key stakeholders
interviewed included MACOHA Staff, disability rights groups, teachers, radio producers,
primary education advisors, planning officers and district council staff.
Key findings from the evaluation are as follows:
7
The project increase enrolment rate of learners with disabilities by 17.05% against the
set target of 10%, 80 learners (37 females and 33 males) who were denied the right to
attend education enrolled back to schools. Key informant interviews with
headmasters from selected schools indicated an increase of 33% in class performance
among learners with disabilities in the impact area. The primary schools visited were
Chipata, Kamterwe, Luviri, Loudon, Mabiri, Chafisi, Kaungwe, Mgumila, and Robert
Laws Secondary School.
The project contributed to an increase of 80% in budgetary allocation towards
MACOHA from government in the past two years due to advocacy undertaken by the
project.
9 primary schools out of 16 in the target area have adopted and are now applying
minimum standards to equalization of opportunities for people with disabilities in the
impact area. These 9 schools now have ramps, disability friendly toilets and consider
putting learners with hearing difficulties in front so that they are able to follow what
the teachers are teaching.
Another positive but unexpected result of the Tilitonse funded project has been the
coming in of other organizations namely ECC (Ecumenical Counselling Centre,
COIDA (Community in Development Activities), NASFAM, Malawi Care, and PET
(Personal Energy Transport) from Zambia to support people with disabilities in the
project implementation areas.
In terms of providing access to information, the project distributed a total of 250
copies of publications on UN Standard to Equalization of Opportunities to impact
areas through the ministry of education, and department of special needs at national
level. At local and community level, the copies were distributed at the District
Education offices, District Executive Committee members, teachers and head
teachers and the rights groups.
The copies are used as resource materials for the duty bearers to sensitize the
communities on the rights of people with disabilities.
The study found out of that 63 percent of the interviewed individual households had
engaged the duty bearers on issues that affect the PWDs during the project period.
8
The issues claimed included improvements in school facilities, inclusion of PWDs in
social safety net programmes, and then enrolment and re-enrolment of children with
disabilities. Some of the key examples on engagement with duty bearers include the
construction of ramps at Chipata primary school, inclusion of PWDs as beneficiaries
for Farm Input Subsidy in TA Mzikubola, and the re-enrolment
The depiction of disability in the media plays a major role in forming the public
perception of disability. MACOHA partnered with four media houses, Zodiac
Broadcasting Station, Maziko Radio, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, and also
MBC TV in order to air programmes on the Realization of Rights for Persons with
Disabilities. Since the targeted media houses have a national coverage, it means that
the target audience was not necessarily in the intervention areas. It would have been
ideal to also engage community radios in the impact areas however at the time of
implementation, these were nonexistent.
With technical support from Malawi Economic Justice Network, a lobbying tool was
developed to engage policy makers and budget holders for increased budgetary
support to the disability sector, with special focus on MACOHA. The tool outlines
key budgeted activities, funding sources, and shortfalls. Based on secondary data
collected from a series of annual government budget documents, the trend shows that
as national budget was increasing over the reference period (2011/2012 to 2014/15
fiscal year) from MK300,093,000 to Mk800,742,00 so too was the budget for
MACOHA from 191,873,428, but inversely with budgets towards ministry of
disability and special needs education. However, Overall, the total budget for the
disability sector1 increased by 37 percent between 2011/12 and 2013/14 fiscal years
and it decreased by 23 percent in the following year.
1 The disability sector in this case refers to Ministry of Disability and Elderly Affairs, MACOHA and Special
Needs as it was not possible to isolate budget items from other Ministries on disability issues.
9
The evaluation finds that MACOHA’s project used five approaches in implementing
activities which are formation of rights groups, training of PWDs and other resource
persons including teachers and MACOHA staff, printing and distribution of IEC
materials on rights, developing and implementing the advocacy strategy and lobbying
meetings with Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament and Directors from Min.
of Finance on budgetary allocation towards disability sector.
Some of the key challenges encountered during the project implementation were that
communication with hearing and speech impairment was difficult. Another challenge was
that many teachers in regular schools have got no training in special needs education as such
much as inclusive education is being promoted but the challenge remains that the children
with disabilities might be going to school but will not be learning.
One of the key lessons has been that projects need to strengthen both the demand side and
supply side. In this project the demand was created through advocacy and training initiatives
on both the duty bearers and the people with disabilities who demanded improvements in the
resource allocation for better service delivery. However, the supply side fell short in terms of
overall funding allocation into disability sector whose budget decreased in the final year of
implementation.
Use of local structures, community role models, and formation of rights groups in project
implementation has been key in driving the disability agenda through awareness and
empowerment of the target population, as such the initiatives need to be sustained through
periodic follow ups from both MACOHA team and district social welfare team.
At national level, the collaboration and networking with Media houses and Malawi
Economic Justice Network (MEJN) in radio awareness and lobbying for resources proved to
be a success. This is evidenced by the continued airing of these messages in news bulletins
and other programs as well as by the budget increases in the current fiscal year. At local
level, it is evidenced through the use of the existing rights group which the Ecumenical
Counselling Centre is using to advocate for economic empowerment of people with
disabilities through income generating activities. As such networking needs to be enhanced
in future project implementation since disability issues are cross cutting.
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1 Background to the Proposal
1.1 Introduction
This report presents findings following an evaluation conducted on the Realization of Rights
for Persons with Disabilities Project under Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA)
with support from Tilitonse Fund.
1.2 Background Information on the Project
1.2.1 Project Background
The Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) with support from Tilitonse Fund has
been implementing a governance project entitled: Realization of Rights for Persons with
Disabilities. The goal of this project was to improve access to education services by persons
with disabilities thereby improving their livelihoods. In the two years and four months of
implementation, the project focused on empowering persons with disabilities (PWDs) so that
they are able to claim their rights.
The Project was formed on the basis that there was limited access to services by people with
disabilities as a result of challenges that are environmental, institutional, attitudinal and
economic in nature. The limited access to services by PWDs was basically linked to three
causes. The first one being limited knowledge on rights by PWDs thus duty bearers take
advantage of this ignorance by PWDs on their rights to continue denying them access to the
basic services required by all human beings. The second one was limited commitment and
knowledge of duty bearers and guardians on disability issues, rights and capabilities of
PWDs. The third cause was limited funding towards the disability sector and this was related
to the fact that government of Malawi does not recognize disability as one of the priorities in
the nation development agenda and as such the sector receives minimal attention from
government and consequently development partners.
The project therefore set out to empower people with disabilities so that they are able to
claim their rights from duty bearers. At community level, the duty bearers included parents,
teachers, agriculture extension workers, church leaders, health workers and local leaders that
included Chiefs and village heads.
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With reference from the baseline report, people with disabilities rated accessibility on
information and communication as very poor due to lack of well-trained providers which
resulted into limited sensitization on crucial issues on health and education.
The project was implemented in Kasungu in Traditional Authority Chidzuma and in Mzimba
in Traditional Authority Mzikubola and Mzukuzuku. The project aimed at delivering three
outputs stated below:
Output1: PWDs empowered and able to claim their rights from duty bearers
Output 2: Improved access to knowledge of duty bearers on disability rights and issues.
Output 3: Specific resource allocation towards disability within the Education sector.
1.3 Objectives of the Project Evaluation
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the extent to which the funded project has
achieved its outputs, outcome and impact. The evaluation assessed the extent to which the
funded project contributed to the achievement of the Tilitonse desired long-term and short
term results with reference to specific indicators in the Tilitonse Log frame. As such the
study has provided the required information pertaining to relevance, effectiveness and
sustainability of the project.
Specifically, the evaluation intended to achieve the following objectives:
i. To determine the extent to which project outcome and outputs have been
attained both quantitatively and qualitatively through comparison with the
baseline.
ii. To provide concrete evidence of the results the project has been able to achieve,
how the project achieved the results, and determine the extent to which this can be
attributed to the funded project. Further, identify success stories or cases that can
support the governance changes made as a result of the project.
iii. To establish the relevance of the Theory of Change, Political Economy Analysis
in relation to the project results.
iv. Assess collaboration and networking with other stakeholders, benefits and
challenges during project implementation
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v. To determine the contribution made by the funded project to delivery of
Tilitonse Programme results.
vi. Assess the systems and structures put in place for project sustainability.
vii. Identify and isolate lessons learnt, challenges and recommendations for future
programming.
1.3.1 Project Evaluation Approach and Methodology
The evaluation used a mixed methods approach using quantitative and qualitative tools. The
methods included literature/document review, key informant interviews, focus group
discussion and three case study analysis. The survey instruments and list of key stakeholders
to be interviewed were discussed and harmonized with MACOHA project team before
commencement of field data collection.
1.3.2 Desk Review of existing documents/literature
The consultant reviewed a number of documents that included the following MACOHA
project approved proposal, Baseline report, Annual and Quarterly reports, End of project
report, The Disability Act and Policy. The appraisal also included the Theory of Change
(ToC) and the Political Economy Analysis (PEA). The Review of these documents provided
the basis for the thematic areas tackled during the development of evaluation tools.
1.3.3 Legal framework and Policy
Persons with disabilities in Malawi, as in many other countries, face numerous challenges
that result in their exclusion from the mainstream of society, making it difficult for them to
access their fundamental social, political and economic rights. As highlighted in the
Equalisation Policy (2012), there is lack of reliable statistics on the nature and prevalence of
disability in Malawi. Malawi as a nation has people with several forms of disability.
According to a survey findings of 2003 conducted by FEDOMA approximately 500,000
people are disabled out of which 51% are males and 49% are females. The study findings
further shows that access to education is restricted to PWDs especially those with sensory
and mental impairments.
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It also observed that the level of unemployment among PWDs is higher and in general,
women with disability score lower on many of the indicators of the level of living conditions.
Individuals with mental/emotional impairments experience activity limitations in social
participation to a greater degree than do others with other types of impairments.
PWDs face so many challenges which keep them poor and there is a direct link between
poverty and disability. The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II (MGDS) also
recognize that poverty is widespread, deep and severe amongst people with disability (PWD).
Poverty amongst PWD is largely linked to marginalization and discrimination faced by PWD
which result in PWD having limited access to important services and assistive devices. This
prevents them from participating fully in and being included in the mainstream society. This
is generally attributed to inaccessible public and institutional buildings; expulsion, exclusion
and segregation from key social institutions and the prejudice of varying degrees to which
they are subjected.
However over the recent past years, disability has been repositioned as a human rights and
development issue with the recognition that they are equal citizens of Malawi and as such
should have the same rights and obligations as all other citizens. This was also evidenced by
Malawi ratifying the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which recognizes the inherent
dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the
foundation for freedom, justice and peace in society. It is now widely accepted that PWD
have a right to live a dignified and independent life-style within the community; to take an
active part in the general, social and economic development of the country; and to receive
education, medical care and social services within the ordinary structures of their societies.
The issue of disabilities was treated as adhoc in Malawi Government Programmes as
evidenced by the repositioning and assigning of disability responsibilities to different
Ministries and Departments in the past years. However, the National Equalisation law was
passed in 2012. The new approach stresses abilities, not disabilities. It promotes disabled
persons’ rights, freedom of choice and equal opportunities; it seeks to adapt the environment
to the needs of persons with disabilities; and above all it encourages society to positively
change its attitudes towards PWDs and assist them in assuming full responsibility as active
members of society.
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1.3.4 Linkages with Other Relevant Policies
Disability is a cross-cutting issue. It affects and is affected by all aspects of life namely,
economic, social, cultural, political, environmental and technological. A comprehensive
policy and action plan to address disability issues and their effects on persons with
disabilities should be based, therefore, on a thorough exploration and appreciation of its
relationships with other relevant Government policies and legislations. The National Policy
on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities is linked to a number of other
national policies, legislation and instruments such as the Constitution of Malawi which
prohibits discrimination on the grounds of disability and promotes the inclusion of people
with disabilities; the Vision 2020 and the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(MPRSP) as well as the Malawi Economic Growth Strategy (MEGS) which recognize the
need to develop the capabilities and potential of persons with disabilities to increase their
productive capacity; remove barriers which limit their participation in society; and improve
social, economic and environmental conditions that limit their access to decision-making
processes. It is also linked to the Education Policy which contains provisions for all learners
with special needs; the Handicapped Persons Act, 1971 which established the Malawi
Council for the Handicapped with the responsibility to promote the welfare of disabled
persons and to administer vocational and special training centres, as well as rehabilitation and
welfare services for people with disabilities. It is also related to the Employment Act that
prohibits any discrimination on any grounds, including disability in such areas as training,
recruitment, pay and advancement of people with disabilities. The Policy is related to Health,
which provides for the establishment of medical rehabilitation services in government
hospitals, and to provision of health services including mobility aids and appliances to people
with disabilities. It is also linked to Gender and Youth policies, among others.
1.3.5 Sampling
The survey collected two types of data; qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative data
was collected from sampled PWDs and those without disabilities. In this evaluation, a total of
90 individual interviews were done from the two districts, 60 PWDs with their guardian and
30 non-PWDs. The sampling size was at least 5% of the targeted population in the specific
traditional authorities. The sample takes into account 90 percent response rate and statistical
significance at 5 percent level.
15
While for the qualitative aspect, representatives of all key stakeholders in the project
implementation were interviewed as outlined in the following sections.
1.3.6 Key informant Interviews
Key informant interviews were carried out to collect quantitative and qualitative data
including perceptions and opinions on the four objectives in relation to the Terms of
Reference. The respondents will include the following:
i. Two MACOHA project staff at national level
ii. Three MACOHA field workers in the impact areas
iii. Six leaders of disability rights groups
iv. Eight head teachers from schools targeted by the project, and two Primary
Education Advisors and two focal points from the District Education Management
offices
v. Librarian from Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Planning officer
from Ministry of Disability and Elderly Affairs
vi. One producer from each of media houses (Zodiak Broadcasting Station, Maziko
Radio, and MBC, Radio One and TV)
vii. Two District Council staff
1.3.7 Focus Group Discussions
The FGDs give an insight into a group’s perceptions, attitudes, experiences and assumptions
on a defined topic. Six focus group discussions were conducted, two per catchment area. The
focus group members included both people with disabilities and those without disability. The
inclusion of non-disabled members was done in order to assess the extent to which the
project has created awareness and influenced them to support the cause for the PWDs. On
average, there were fifteen participants in each group, ten with disabilities and five without
disability, and included both men and women. The aim of the FGD was to collect data on the
knowledge on PWD rights and ability to hold duty bearers to be accountable and responsive.
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2 Findings
This chapter presents the key findings of the project evaluation in line with the ToRs
provided. The findings are presented in line with the key project outcomes.
2.1 Project performance against agreed targets
The overall objective of this project was to improve access to Education services by PWDs
thereby improving their livelihoods. To attain this goal, the project had lined up strategies for
implementation and tracking of implementation progress in addition to determination of
results. A number of milestones were agreed on the project and on specific activities and then
on the overall assessment.
The project targeted to influence an increase in the school enrolment of PWDs by 10 percent
and by the evaluation period, the enrolment had increased by 17 percent. The increased
enrolment would have been of little use if the project did not also invest in improving the
PWD pass rate by 15 percent. The project carried out a number of activities in order to
improve the pass rate from 15 percent to 33 percent at the time of evaluation. This was
however coupled with a campaign on re-enrolment. The re-enrolment target was at least 30
PWDs are back in school by the end of the project. The project achieved re-enrolment of 80
PWDs (47 females and 33 males).
The project targeted to increase budgetary allocation to the disability sector by 10 percent,
however, the budget allocations to the disability sector has declined by 37 percent between
2011 and 2015. The budgetary allocations to MACOHA increased by 15 percent during the
same period. Thus, the project has not achieved it’s intend objective as the net increase in
MACOHA budget does not compensate the net losses in the disability sector.
The project set out to lobby for creation of a conducive learning environment for PWDs in
the schools. While the project managed to influence 9 schools against a target of 6 in
following minimum standards to the equalisation of rights, the achievement is below the total
number of schools in the area, 16.
The project set out to empower PWD through training in a number of areas and the target
was 60% and achieved 69%. This training was aimed at empowering PWDs in claiming their
rights using different approaches. One such approach was through advocacy meetings.
17
The project facilitated 15 meetings against 8. This initiative also focussed on staff training
from various key stakeholders. The target for staff training was not clearly defined across the
board as such it has been difficult to assess the achievement in this area. However, the project
trained 180 MACOHA staff against 150 and 52 teachers. In addition to training, the project
distributed 250 copies of a Minimum Standards to Equalisation of Opportunities.
Table 1: Summary of Project Performance against agreed indicators
Baseline Project
Target
Project
Achievement
Project Goal Indicators
Percentage increase in enrolment of PWDs in
government primary and secondary schools in
Kasungu and Mzimba Districts
510 Learners
with disabilities.
(M =262,F=248)
10% increase
17.06 % increase
in enrolment.
Passing rate of PWDs (Primary and
Secondary) in Kasungu and Mzimba districts.
Number of PWDs re-enrolled in Schools in the
impact area.
0
0
15% Increase
30 PWDs
33.03% increase.
80PWDs (F=47,
M=33)
Project Outcome Indicators
Percentage increase in the resources allocated
to disability sector at national level.
0.24% 10 percent Sector gone
down by 37%;
MACOHA
increased by
15%
18
Percentage of funds going towards the
disability issues at district level especially on
Education
0 5 percent Decreased by
7.1.
Number of schools at district level
(departments) applying the minimum
standards to the Equalization of opportunities
for PWDs.
3 schools out of
16
6 9 out of the 16
Output 1 Indicators
Percentage of PWDs trained on their rights
0 60 percent 69 percent
Number of advocacy initiatives involving
PWDs on claiming their rights from duty
bearers
0 8 15
Output 2 Indicators
Percentage of staff and teachers at district
level trained on the UN standards to
equalization of Opportunities for PWDs
0 60 52
Number of copies of publication of the UN
standards to Equalization of opportunities
printed and distributed to schools.
0 250 250
Number of key MACOHA staff members
knowledgeable on right of PWDs and UN
minimum standards to Equalization of
opportunities for PWDs
120 150 180
19
Output 3 Indicators
Percentage budgetary allocations towards
disability within the education sector.
0.27% (special
needs edu.)
0.5%
increment in
terms of
funding
towards the
disability
sector
-37% (However
budget towards
MACOHA
increased by
15%)
2.2 Discussion of the results in terms of study objectives
2.2.1 Empowerment
Becoming empowered is a right for everyone. This section presents the different modes of
empowerment used during the projection implementation that enabled people with
disabilities to claim their rights from duty bearers and the examples of how this was
demonstrated.
2.2.1.1Source of information on empowerment
The project set out to empower people with disabilities so that they are able to claim their
rights from duty bearers. At community level, the duty bearers included parents, teachers,
agriculture extension workers, church leaders, health workers and local leaders that included
Chiefs and village heads.
The study found out that the major source of information on empowering people with
disabilities to claim rights from duty bearers was through direct contact with MACOHA
officials (52 percent) seconded by Village and Area Development Committees at 19 percent
and only 2 percent indicated radio as a source.
20
Table 2: Source of information on empowerment.
Traditional
Leader
VDC/A
DC Teacher
MACO
HA
Community
Developme
nt Officer Radio PWD Other
PWD 9 (10%) 17 (19%) 6 (7%) 46 (52%) 5 (6%)
2
(2%)
1
(1%)
3
(3%)
Non-
PWD 4 (8%) 9 (18%) 2 (4%) 26 (53%) 4 (8%)
2
(4%)
0
(0%)
2
(4%)
Total 13 (%) 26 (18%) 8 (8%) 72 (52%) 9 (7%)
4
(3%)
1
(1%)
5
(4%)
In addition to source of information, the mode of delivery in imparting knowledge for both
people with disabilities and duty bearers in the project areas was through sensitization
meetings or advocacy activities (39 percent), trainings (24 percent) and also through the use
of disability rights groups (32 percent). Of the sampled individual households, 94 percent
reported to have at-least participated in one or more of these empowerment activities (Table
2).
With reference from the baseline report, people with disabilities rated accessibility on
information and communication as very poor due to lack of well-trained providers which
resulted limited sensitization on crucial issues on health and education. In addition, the report
noted that the most cross cutting problem to rights of PWDs was inaccessibility of
information and sensitization. As such through the training and use of local leaders, Village
Development Committees and Area Development Committees in empowering people with
disabilities the project has been able to lay a foundation with regards to sustainable access to
information and sensitization mechanisms.
21
Table 3: Participation and mode of delivery on empowerment activities
Participated
Sensitization
meetings and
advocacy
activities
Use of
disability
rights group
Training
s Other
PWD 57 (93%) 61 (29%) 17 (11%) 50 (32%)
39
(24%) 5
Non-
PWD 28 (97%) 22 (30%) 7 (9 %) 24 (32%)
15
(20%) 9
Total 85 (94%) 67 (29%)
24 (10
%) 74 (32%)
54
(23%) 6
2.2.1.2Topics covered during empowerment activities
The study further asked the individual households to mention the key focus of the trainings
and sensitization meetings. Almost three quarters reported to have been trained on human
rights and rights of people with disabilities while one tenth reported to have been sensitized
on the roles and responsibilities of duty bearers (Table 3).
Table 4: Focus of the trainings or sensitization meetings
Human
rights
Rights of
PWDs
Advocacy on
PWD
Roles and
Responsibilities of
Duty bearers Other
PWD 23 (23%) 52 (51 %) 23 (23 %) 9 (9%) 3 (3%)
Non-PWD 17 (36%) 24 (51%) 6 (13%) 2 (4%) 0 (0%)
Total 40 (27%) 76 (51 %) 29 (20%) 11 (7%) 3 (2%)
This was collaborated through the focus group discussions where the members expressed
knowledge of human rights issues such as right to education, employment, heath, and
freedom from exploitation. Furthermore, with reference to the quarterly field reports, the
specific topics covered during trainings, sensitization meetings as well as through the rights
group are as illustrated in Table 4 below.
22
Furthermore, with reference to annual reports, there were 5650 people with disabilities at
baseline and the project has been able to reach out to 2377 beneficiaries directly and
indirectly people. Directly through the face to face interaction with MACOHA personnel and
indirectly through being trained by 40 resources persons who were trained and equipped with
enough knowledge on how to claim rights from duty bearers through the rights group (See
Annex 1).
Table 5: Specific topics covered during the trainings.
Advocacy for disability PWD rights Support towards young PWDs in school
Gender and Disability Culture and Disability
Culture and Disability Disability Act 2012
How to eliminate Discrimination Support towards young PWDs in homes
Lobbying Community sensitization on PWD rights
Involvement of PWD in local structures Opportunities of PWDs in society
2.2.1.3Empowerment of persons with disabilities through the Media
The depiction of disability in the media plays a major role in forming the public perception of
disability. In addition, perceptions created by the media shapes the way people with
disabilities are treated in society. Official figures show that more than three quarters of
Malawian homes have a radio, and that the population spends considerable time listening to
it. As such, through the Tilitonse project, MACOHA partnered with four media houses,
Zodiac Broadcasting Station, Maziko Radio, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, and also
MBC TV in order to air programmes on the Realization of Rights for Persons with
Disabilities.
Some of the specific programmes included ‘Apatseni Mwai’ literally meaning ‘giving chance
to PWDs’, and ‘Tikambirane za Olumala’.
Since the targeted media houses have a national coverage, it means that the target audience
was not necessarily in the intervention areas as shown in Table 1 above.
23
It would have been ideal to also engage community radios in the impact areas however at the
time of implementation, these were nonexistent. However, it still contributed to knowledge
on the rights of people with disabilities, awareness and general governance issues related to
people with disabilities to the general population. This was evidenced through the active
participation through the phone in programmes where people with disabilities and duty
bearers such as traditional leaders were engaged in debates on topical issues such as the
participation of PWDs in community based programming, employment opportunities, and the
basic human rights.
Some of the key messages during these programmes included the recommended disability
language, equitable distribution of resources, access to public infrastructures, and
participation of PWDs in development structures such as VDCs, ADCs and local district
councils and. Through these programmes, people with disabilities were able to air out their
views and demand improvements from the duty bearers. For instance, PWDs in the impact
area are now asking for accessibility devices to be put in place in all public institutions to
enable PWDs access the facilities without difficult. During the evaluation, Loudon and
Chipata schools were observed to have been recently constructed with rams and inclined
planes to each access for PWDs.
2.2.1.4Empowerment through access to knowledge of duty bearers
Addition to empowering people with disabilities, the project also aimed at increasing
knowledge of duty bearers on disability issues. To this effect, it distributed a total of 250
copies of publications on UN Standard to Equalization of Opportunities to target impact
areas through the ministry of education, and department of special needs at national level. At
local and community level, the copies were distributed at the District Education offices,
District Executive Committee members, teachers and head teachers and the rights groups.
The copies are used as resource materials for the duty bearers to sensitize the communities on
the rights of people with disabilities. The radio programmes also complemented in equipping
the duty bearers with information, education and communication on disability issues.
Furthermore, through the project, MACOHA has been able to train 120 out of 300 staff on
rights of people with disability. The members of staff trained include top management,
middle managers, fieldworkers, trainers, clerks, security staff, as wells as ground workers.
24
In essence, the training targeted the general MACOHA staff, both with disabilities and
without disabilities, who at any point in time will interact with PWDs. Before the project,
only few top management staff had full knowledge of the rights of PWDs which had been
gained through their attendance in workshops and other international fora.
2.2.2 Engagement of duty bearers
As shown in Table 5, a total of 63 percent of the interviewed individual households had
engaged the duty bearers on issues that affect PWDs during the project period. The issues
claimed included the following, advocacy on PWD rights (in education, health, and other
economic activities), discrimination of albinos, construction of ramps, provision of business
loans, participation in cash transfer programmes and public works programmes and Farm
Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), and other safety net programmes.
In addition, 62 percent of the households reported to have been helped within reasonable
time once they engaged the duty bearers. Furthermore, a total of 4 advocacy meetings
organized by PWDs with duty bearers at community and district level claiming their rights
from duty bearers.
Table 6. Percentage of distribution of individuals who engaged duty bearers on
disability issues.
Yes No
PWD 64 (39) 36 (22)
Non-PWD 62 (18) 38 (11)
Total 63 (57) 37 (33)
2.2.2.1Access to education facilities
As outline at the beginning of project implementation, one of the key objectives was to
empower people with disabilities to be able to claim their rights from duty bearers. On the
education front, around 30 percent of interviewed individual households reported that PWD
had access to education facilities at baseline stage. Table 5 shows that 80 percent of
respondents reported that children with disabilities had physical access to education facilities.
25
It further shows that the project contributed 88 percentage to the change in accessibility
through training of local leaders, lobbying and advocacy for improved school facilities
through the ADC, VDC, teachers and the parents themselves.
Table 7. Contribution of project to education access
Accessibilit
y of School
facilities Change
attributed to the
project
What prompted the Change
Training of
local
leaders
Lobbying &
advocacy on
PWD rights
Parents
active
Participatio
n
PWD 49 (80%) 52 (85%) 40 (43%) 51 (54%) 1 (1%)
Non-
PWD 27 (93 %) 27 (93%) 17 (40%) 26 (60%) 0 (0)
Total 76 (84%) 79 (88%) 57 (42 %) 77 (56%) 1 (1%)
2.2.2.2School enrolment for people with disabilities
In Malawi, people with disabilities have a substantially poorer standard of living compared to
that of non-disabled people partly due to low education levels. As a key project outcome, a
total of 18 schools and their surrounding communities were targeted in order to improve
enrolment of school going disabled children and also to encourage re-enrolment for the drop
outs through the engagement of duty bearers such as teachers, parents and local leaders.
The study noted that the type of disabilities for the school going age were; hearing
impairment, speech impairment, visual impairment, epileptic, emotional and behavior
difficulties, albinism, physical disability and mental difficulties.
The study sampled 50 percent of the target schools in the impact areas to calculate key
indicators against the bench mark. However, due to the fact that data on education indicators
was not collected during the baseline, the study employed a recall provision of key indicators
which could only date back to 2013 from seven schools as depicted in table 4 below. Based
on the sampled schools, the overall enrolment of young people with disabilities went up by
17 percent while for the general students, the enrolment increased by 14 percent.
26
However, on young people with disabilities the enrolment is skewed towards Loudon
primary school due to having the all its teachers mentored into special needs education. On
average, there has been pass rate of 64 percent for young people with disabilities in 2015
compared to 61 percent in 2013.
With reference to the annual project reports there are now 533 learners with disabilities,
which representing 4.5 percent increase in enrolment compared to the baseline, and also an
increase of 24.15 pass rate of young people with disabilities primary and secondary schools.
Table 8: Education indicators
Name of
School
Enrolment
(All)
Enrolment
PWD
Re-
enrolment
PWD
Pass
rate
(All)
Pass
rate
PWD
No. of
Specialized
Teachers
2015
Chipata
900 (489
girls)
60 (35
girls) 4 ( 2 Girls) 80 50 2
Kamterwe
1013 (539
girls)
60 (35
girls) 4 (2 Girls) 80 60 2
Luviri
960 (525
girls)
6 (2
Girls) 1 70 65 2
Robert
Laws Sec. 351 10 0 95 50 2
Loudon
2259 (1216
Girls)
118 (54
Girls) 0 92 100
All trained by the
Mentor
Mabiri
756 (392
Girls)
12 (8
Girls) 0 60 60 1
Chafisi
605 (305
Girls)
47 (23
Girls) 0 80 60 0
kaungwe 734( 416)
15 (9
Girls) 0 70 55
All on basic
training
Mgumila
853 (468
Girls)
24 (14
Girls) 0 85 80 1
27
2013
Loudon 2201 (1157) 16 (9) 90 99 Mentor training
Chafisi 515(275) 47 (23) 78 50 0
kaungwe 560 (320) 29 (15) 15 (5) 80 50 0
Mgumila 766 (354) 29 (15) 8 (3) 70-80 50-60 0
Luviri 505 (410) 22 (10) 0 80 60 0
Kamterwe 1013 (427) 6 (4) 4 (2) 60-80 50 0
Chipata 843 (427) 35(20) 15 (9) 67 50 0
*Numbers in brackets are for girls
During the focus group discussions, the participants acknowledge that the project has been
able to influence increases in enrolment for young people with disabilities due to the
sensitization and door to door counselling, and improvements in school facilities such as
construction of ramps and rails. However no significant changes were observed on pass rates
mainly due to lack of special needs teachers.
2.2.3 Resource allocation towards the disability sector
With technical support from Malawi Economic Justice Network, a lobbying tool was
developed to engage policy makers and budget holders for increased budgetary support to the
disability sector, with special focus on MACOHA. The tool outlines key budgeted activities,
funding sources, and shortfalls.
Based on secondary data collected from a series of annual government budget documents, the
trend shows that as national budget was increasing over the reference period (2011/2012 to
2014/15 fiscal year) so too was the budget for MACOHA but inversely with budgets towards
ministry of disability and special needs education. As table 5 shows, the MACOHA budget
almost doubled (against a target of 10 percent increase based on the proposal) between
2011/12 and 2014/15 fiscal years while that of the ministry of Disability decreased by almost
60 percent.
Budget for Special needs education showed mixed trends, increasing in 2013/14 and
decreasing in the following year, with an overall it declined of 9 percent over the two years.
28
Overall, the total budget for the disability sector2 increased by 37 percent between 2011/12
and 2013/14 fiscal years and it reduced by 23 percent in the following year.
The gains registered in the MACOHA budget which averaged 15% over the period did not
improve the welfare of the PWDs since the net decline in the budget allocations in the sector
averaged 37 percent.
This shows that the lobbying tool has had a significant positive effect on MACOHA budgets
over the period rather than the disability sector as a whole. It was also observed that before
the implementation of the project, there was less engagement with the Ministry of Finance to
lobby for increased funding for the disability sector as it was not clearly seen as a key
development area but rather the increases have been clearly noticed to accrue to MACOHA.
Table 9: Budget trends
Year
National
Budget,
‘000 000
Min of
Disability and
Elderly Affairs
MACOHA
Special Needs
(Primary and
Secondary)
Percent
age
change -
Ministr
y
Percentage
change -
MACOHA
2010/11 309,995 313,158,817.80 191,873,428 80,128,567 0 0
2011/12 300,093 288,184,139.00 224,000,000 38,282,328 -8 17
2012/13 475,771 293,093,089.00 253,286,085 12,659,692 2 13
2013/14 648,283 333,079,140.00 385,767,575 34,970,478 12. 34
2014/15 800,742,
000,000 115,001,837.00 444,020,000 23,881,986
-190 13
2 The disability sector in this case refers to Ministry of Disability and Elderly Affairs, MACOHA and Special Needs as it was n ot possible to isolate budget items from other Ministries on disability allocations.
29
Following discussions with the focal points at District Education Divisions, budgets towards
special needs education increased by 0.67 percent and 1 percent in Mzimba and Kasungu,
respectively.
While at school level, the improvements in resource allocation towards the disability could
only be measured in terms of improvements in the learning environment.
This involved the construction of ramps, and increased number of visits by mentors or
teachers of special needs education.
2.3 Case Studies
The following section illustrates the cases that support the governance changes made as a
result to the project on enrolment, re-enrolment, and use role models within the community
for inspiration and learning of most important life lessons.
2.3.1 Enrolment
Chajaso Phiri is a young boy aged 10 years at Embangweni School for the deaf. He has
speech and hearing impairments. He is one of many
children that were not attending school due to the
stigma and discrimination against children with
disabilities in area.
The mother notes that Chajaso was born without any
disability like any of her other two children. However,
as he was growing up she noticed that he was failing to
speak but could only node when spoken to. Initially,
the community around thought the child of his age was
just somewhat rude not to be able to speak. However,
the situation got worse as time passed since Chajaso
could no longer hear. An operation through surgery
was recommended by the doctors but the father was reluctant to adhere to the advice of the
doctors because he believed that the boy would be harmed.
As is the case in many parts of Mzimba, some family members advised Chajaso’s mother to
visit a traditional healer because they thought the problem was to do with tongue failure to
30
help in word making. Traditionally, the remedy has been to cut off part of the tongue
underneath. The family then visited a traditional healer when the boy was about 4 years but it
was all in vain.
At the age of six, while his peers enrolled in the nearby primary school, Chajaso stayed at
home due to his condition.
However, in 2012, Chijaso enrolled in school as a result of enlightenment on the right to
education for young people with disabilities which was gained through his mother’s active
participation in the rights groups and also through the door to door counseling.
Chajaso now interacts and plays with his friends quite well using sign language. He has also
developed interest in fixing broken items like torches.
In 2013, through the support of MACOHA, Chajaso was relocated from Mgumila primary
school to Loudon School for the Deaf upon passing the entrance examinations as there are a
number of specialized teachers at Loudon. However the challenge that the boy faces at
school is tuition fees and transport costs.
Chajaso’s mother is a key member of Tilitonse rights groups which is also involved in
income generating activities as well as village loans and savings scheme. These activities are
aimed at supporting her child for all school related costs.
It should be noted that the need to have different specialized teachers is seen to be paramount
in making sure that access to education is improved among young people with different types
of disabilities as evidenced by the relocation of Chajaso from Mgumila primary school to
Loudon School of the Deaf.
31
2.3.2 Re-enrolment
Matamando Mayilosi is a 17 year old boy from Chafumbutu village in Traditional
Authority Chidzuma in Kasungu District. He has
physical disability, due to water scuds on both hands
and fingers. According to Matamando’s mother, at the
age of 3 the boy got exposed to boiling water and had
water scuds on the hands and fingers while playing
with some of his friends in the village.
Due to his physical disability, Matamando did not
enroll in school until age 9 at which time some of his
peers were already in standard 3. One of key issue for
the delayed enrolment was discrimination. He notes
that his age mates used to say “don’t play with that
disabled boy because he will transfer his disability to
you especially when you associate with him, your
bodies will automatically be disabled like his, so be
careful”. However, Matamando dropped out of school after reaching standard 6, a common
occurrence in the area for young people with disabilities to drop out before completing
primary school.
Through advocacy, sensitization meetings and door to door counseling, Matamando re-
enrolled at Mgumila Primary School in 2013. There was some degree of discrimination
especially before the MACOHA Tilitonse project was introduced, many of his peers in class
and outside could exclude him in various school and community and activities. He notes that
he currently interacts quite well with friends and other community members though it has not
been easy for him to cope without fingers.
Matamando’s mother is not employed and depends on piece work (ganyu) and subsistence
farming to support the family. Learning materials have been very difficult to find, however
the teachers have been very supportive and encouraged the young man in different ways to
proceed in his studies.
32
Matamando has just been selected to pursue secondary education at Santhe community day
secondary. This has brought joy and hope to him and the entire family. Even though there is
such joy, he is not so sure whether he will continue with his education because of the various
expenses required at secondary school such as books, writing materials and uniforms since
the only bread winner is the mother. After completion of his studies, Matamando aspires to
join the civil service.
He notes that communities need to support the school development committees in improving
the school structures to be user friendly for people with disabilities.
2.3.3 Role Model
Blessings Nyirenda, aged 32 and hails from Traditional Authority Mzikubola was born with
a physical disability. He is a typical example of
a few people with disabilities that have
managed to acquire the Malawi School
Certificate of Education and is a role model to
young people with disabilities within
community. He completed his primary
education at Loudon Primary School and
secondary education at Embangweni Secondary
School.
Under the Tilitonse project, he volunteered to
support the rights groups, and people with
disabilities as a social worker as such he has been involved in the key implementation
activities such as village sensitization, training other people on the rights of PWDs, formation
of rights group, and providing guidance. He is seen as role model who inspires and motives
young people with disabilities to enroll and complete their education.
As he was growing up, he felt ashamed to play and stay with non-disabled people due to high
incidences of discrimination. He grew up mending shoes in order to raise fees for his
education.
33
Currently, Blessings works as a Librarian at the Loudon Primary School and notes significant
changes in the perception of the community as well as learners on how they perceive people
with disabilities.
Due to the sensitizations, advocacy meetings that he volunteers to support and in addition to
the follow ups that are made to parents with children with disabilities, enrolment in schools
has improved. He also observed that public social safety nets such as farm inputs under Farm
Input Subsidy Programs (FISP) are now being provided to people with disabilities.
He notes that since enrolment for people with disabilities has improved, the gains could be
maintained if government supported more teachers to be trained in special needs education.
34
3 Theory of Change
3.1 Theory of Change
During project design, MACOHA developed a Theory of Change which was explicitly
presented in the proposal. According to the Theory, the project would improve
responsiveness of duty bearers on disability issues by delivering on three short term result
areas and these are i) empower people with disabilities to be able to claim their rights ii)
improved access of knowledge by duty bearers on disability rights and issues iii) Lobbying
for a specific resource allocation towards disability in the education sector. An improvement
in the responsiveness of the duty bearers was then thought to lead to improved access to
education services by people with disabilities. We represent the Theory of Change for
purposes of the evaluation analysis as follows:
GOAL:
Improved access to Education services by PWDs
Output 1
PWDs empowered
and able to claim
their rights from
duty bearers
Output 2
Improved access to
knowledge of duty
bearers on
disability rights and
issues
Output 2
Improved access to
Output 3
Specific resource
allocation
towards disability
within the
Education sector
PURPOSE:
Improved responsiveness of duty
bearers on disability issues
increased
35
Figure 1.Illustration of implementation approach
The evaluation finds that MACOHA’s project used five approaches in implementing
activities which are formation of rights groups, training of PWDs and other resource persons
including teachers and MACOHA staff, printing and distribution of IEC materials on rights,
developing and implementing the advocacy strategy and lobbying meetings with Budget and
Finance Committee of Parliament and Directors from Min. of Finance on budgetary
allocation towards disability sector. In the short term, these activities enabled both citizens
and PWDs to become more organized, informed and empowered at the same time
government doubled the budgetary allocation to MACOHA for the period under review, as
well as to the disability sector3 between 2011/12 and 2013/14 fiscal years by 37 percent
however it decreased by 23 percent in the following year. Based on the sampled schools, the
overall enrolment of young people with disabilities went up by 17 percent over the reference
period
The realization of rights for persons with disabilities project adopted an integrated approach
of citizen-state interaction using a number of approaches as follows:
The project carried out sensitization campaigns in the impact areas in order for the
communities to know the project, its objectives and expected outcomes. The sensitization
meetings mostly creates awareness on the project and promotes beneficiary buy in.
3 The disability sector in this case refers to Ministry of Disability and Elderly Affairs, MACOHA and Special Needs as it was n ot possible to isolate budget items from other Ministries on disability allocations.
Forming rights groups
Training resource persons and PWDs
Producing IEC materials
Developing advocacy strategy
Lobbying government
Citizen awareness on disability rights
Empowerment for
people with disabilities
Increased allocation to disability sector
Increased
responsiveness of duty bearers
Improved access to
education services by PWDs
36
The project trained, directly and indirectly over 2377 (1131 Male and 1246 Female) members
on their rights, lobbying and advocacy.
The project facilitated the establishment of 39 rights groups to enhance citizen participation
and inclusion. The membership of the rights groups ranged from 15 to 70 and it included
people both women and men and also non-disabled people. The citizens and the project were
expected to engage into advocacy activities on the issues affecting PWDs. Three advocacy
meetings were done through the project initiative out of the planned 4. At local level, based
on the individual interviews and focus group discussions the project was able to facilitate
improves in education facilities through the construction of ramps by engaging the teachers
and VDCs, while on enrolment and re-enrolment the case studies show the impact of door to
door counselling and participation in rights group to have influence parents to have their
children with disabilities enroll in school.
The project built capacity through trainings to duty bearers and extension officers so that they
are aware and influence buy in. The project managed to orient 52 (40 males and 12 females)
teachers and staff at district level. In addition, the project provided the staff and teachers with
250 of copies of publication of the UN standards to Equalization of opportunities printed and
distributed to schools. However, the project seems to have targeted a few teachers in the
impact district and it is not clear how they lobbied with the Ministry of Education apart from
provision of the UN Standards to Equalization of Opportunities.
The project engaged the District Executive Committee through a presentation at the
beginning of the project for their buy in, however due to high level of staff turnover at district
level, there has been loss of institution memory on the key monitoring and supervisory roles
that the councils and education divisions were supposed to play. As such considerable time
had to be spent on reorientation of new staffing.
The combined effect of engaging duty bearers at local level and PWDs led to an increase in
the enrolment to 4.5% compared to the period before the project. It also resulted into re-
enrolment of 21 PWD (10 males and 11 females). The empowerment of teachers through
training resulted into an increase in the number of schools meeting minimum standards that
accommodate PWDs from 2 to 5.
37
The project did achieve a result in the increase in allocation of resources for MACOHA and
not in the Ministries of Education on PWDs allocations.
The allocations to MACOHA has been increasing over the project period where as the
allocation to special needs under the Ministry has been declining. This shows that there was a
gap in the engagement of the duty bearer from Ministries of Education and Finance in
allocation of resources towards special needs education.
3.2 Political Economy Analysis
The project has been implemented within the framework of rights based approach. The key
principles of the approach were Political Economy Analysis (PEA) and Theory of Change
(ToC). PEA in project intervention entails carrying out a critical analysis of the power and its
distribution across the stakeholders. In governance projects, it is imperative to identify the
duty bearers and understand how they use their power in influencing resources utilisation,
opportunities, incentives and motivation and how formal and informal rules operate.
The ToC entails a multidimensional approach through which interventions are used in
influencing change in the governance sector. The approach focuses on understanding the
linkages between an identified problems to the intervention aimed at addressing it. The ToC
takes a number of pathways such as citizen action, citizen-state interaction and participatory
governance. However, to effectively apply ToC, it is imperative to understand the root cause
of the problem of focus. In case of the project implemented by MACOHA, the key problem
was limited access to services. The limited access to services by PWDs is basically linked to
three causes. The first one is limited knowledge on rights by PWDs: duty bearers take
advantage of this ignorance by PWDs on their rights to continue denying them access to the
basic services required by all human beings. The second one is limited commitment and
knowledge of duty bearers and guardians on disability issues, rights and capabilities of
PWDs; lack of knowledge result in little or no effort to develop capabilities and potential of
PWDs to increase their productive capacity. The third cause is limited funding towards the
disability sector; this is related to the fact that government of Malawi does not place
disability as one of the priority in the nation development agenda and as such the sector
receives minimal attention from government and consequently development partners.
38
The realization of rights for persons with disabilities project adopted an integrated approach
of citizen-state interaction using a number of approaches.
The project used a mass awareness approach through establishment of PWD rights groups,
and training of duty bearers, and engagement meetings with key stakeholders. The project
carried out sensitization campaigns in the impact areas in order for the communities to know
the project, its objectives and expected outcomes. Thus the project facilitated interface
meetings between PWDs and duty bearers through advocacy meetings. Over 3 advocacy
meetings were done through the project initiative. The project also provided trainings to duty
bearers and extension officers so that they are aware and influence buy in. The project
managed to orient 52 (40 males and 12 females) teachers and staff at district level. In
addition, the project provided the staff and teachers with 250 of copies of publication of the
UN standards to Equalization of opportunities printed and distributed to schools. The project
also used the existing local structures such as the village development committees and area
development committees for sustainability and ownership.
3.3 Relevance of Theory of Change and Political Economy
The project principles were based on influencing responsiveness on the duty bearers on
outstanding issues affecting PWDs. The focal issues were access to social services such as
education, health and social welfare. The specific goal of this project was to improve access
to education services by persons with disabilities thereby improving their livelihoods. This
Project empowered persons with disabilities through training and establishment of clubs so
that they are able to claim their rights. It also provided training and distribution of UN
standards to equalization of Opportunities for PWDs handbook to ensure there is improved
access to knowledge of duty bearers on disability rights and issues. This in turn would
influence debate and then increased resource allocation towards the disability sector within
the education arena in Kasungu and Mzimba. This approach aside form influencing the
changes in resource allocation, it also has the advantage of building capacity on rights of the
PWDs which will bear multiplier effect beyond the project area and period.
The project interventions sought to empower PWDs and communities in demanding the
rights of those with disabilities while improving the understanding on the issues they will be
advocating for.
39
This approach has multiple benefits as information is shared within and beyond the
communities over generations. The second benefit is that immediate results are realized with
an assurance of sustainability.
The project analysis of political economy guided them in the targeting of key stakeholders
such as local leaders, teachers, extension workers, District councils and others. The PEA
helped them to plan strategically on how the project would work with each key stakeholder
in order to achieve maximum benefits. The key stakeholders have different levels of
influence on the rights of PWDs but their collective effort is vital in the uplifting of the
welfare of PWDs and the communities. The project managed to influence action on the
allocation of resources where an increase of number of schools adhering to the minimum
standards to the Equalization of opportunities for PWDs in their work.
However, the project failed to fully adopt the proposed theory of change in that it failed to
reach out the key stakeholders in the project. The evaluation of the project did find weak
linkages with the District Councils, Ministries of Finance and Education. There was no clear
linkage with the District Councils apart from the entry District Executive Committee
meetings. Secondly, there is little evidence on the engagement with Ministries apart from
distribution of handbooks. The handbooks were meant to create awareness on disability
issues. The project needed to actively engage the Ministries on increased allocation of
resources but the evaluation did not find any evidence on this. The project failed to apply the
theory of change and any other approach to address the prevailing problems affecting PWDs.
3.4 Contribution to delivery of Tilitonse Results
The project contributed fairly to the delivery of the Tilitonse results in a number of aspects
such as awareness, meeting of minimum standards to equalization of opportunities in schools
and communities. The project reached out to about 4555 PWDs and empowered through
awareness on their rights and empowerment.
40
Table 10: Contribution to Delivery of Tilitonse Results
Tilitonse Indicator
Reported Progress
Verifiable
source of
progress
Number of organizations
collaborating in funded projects
10 organisations we have been
collaborating with in funded projects.
Collaborated with GEWE(Gender
Equality for women
empowerment):providing skills in
bakery management to groups,
COMSIP: Provided business
management training to groups, PET
Zambia: provision of assistive
devices to beneficiaries, MALGA;
consulted on representation at
decentralised level. Other
organisations are COIDA, Malawi
Care, ECC, NASFAM and MEJN
Quarterly
reports
Number of documented cases of
influence at national and
decentralized levels of government
and on non-governmental actors,
for instance in the private sector.
5 successful case of influence. At
national level (increase in resource
allocation to MACOHA).
At decentralised levels of
government; construction of ramps at
Chafisi Primary school, Mabiri
Primary school, and Chipata Primary
school. Employment of Mr Boyfax
Chunga,
Quarterly
reports,
MACOHA
management,
reports,
government
financial
reports
41
Quantity of information products
developed in the projects
562 T/Shirts, 3 banners, 500 Flyers,
17 Braille booklets, and 250
Manuals.
Quarterly
reports
Number of people informed
through funded projects about
their rights to public services
50561 people have been reached out.
Out of which 23160 are males and
27401 are females. Some of these
people are outside impact area as we
have also been using media; radio
and Television.
Quarterly
reports and
Population &
Housing
Census
Report 2008.
Number of instances of media
coverage of issues related to
funded projects
We conducting radio awareness on
Maziko Radio, Zodiak and conducted
television awareness on MBC; 124
slots and, 5 Television programmes
were aired. In addition, 5 instances in
the print media
Quarterly
reports,
Zodiak,
Maziko,
MBC TV and
Radio ,
Nation
newspaper,
and Fuko
Number of monitoring initiatives
undertaken that address services
and policy commitments to
excluded groups.
15 engagement monitoring meetings
with teachers, parents, councillors
and Members of
parliament(especially
Kasungu).District Education
Managers of Kasungu and Mzimba.
Budget Director of Ministry of
Finance and Economic Planning &
Development.
Districts
visitors books
and reports,
and quarterly
reports
42
Number of representations based
on monitoring initiatives made to
traditional leaders, officials
responsible for public service
delivery, MPs
45 representations made to local
leaders, MPs and Public service
officials
Reports from
rights groups
Number of advocacy initiatives
that promote rights and access to
services for poor and excluded
groups
15 advocacy meetings organised by
PWDs claiming their rights from duty
bearers at community level were
done especially after the training of
resource persons in advocacy and
lobbying, and the training of teachers.
Quarterly
reports and
rights groups
report
Number of practices and issues
promoted by CSO grant partners
that are adopted by other CSOs
and development actors
Formation and adoption of inclusive
rights groups (composed of people
with disabilities and without
disabilities) and these are used by
GEWE, COMSIP and others.
Quarterly
Report and
rights group
reports
Total Number of people that are
empowered to hold duty bearers to
account (by gender and district)
4555 People of which 2001 are
Males and 2554 are Females in
Kasungu & Mzimba district.
Activity
reports and
Monitoring &
Evaluation
Reports.
Source: MACOHA end of Project report
3.5 Collaboration with partners
Ten organisations we have been collaborating within funded projects. Collaborated with
GEWE (Gender Equality for women empowerment): providing skills in bakery management
to groups, COMSIP: Provided business management training to groups, PET Zambia:
provision of assistive devices to beneficiaries, MALGA; consulted on representation at
decentralized level. Other organisations are COIDA, Malawi Care, ECC, NASFAM and
MEJN.
43
Here are some organizations that the project networked with;
i. ECC (Ecumenical Counseling Center)-has offered resources and knowledge to
Chipata, Luviri and Ehehleni rights of T/A Mzikubola in Mzimba to start business in
bread baking and selling.
ii. COIDA (Community in Development Activities)- is working with rights groups of
T/A Mzukuzuku in Mzimba by offering training and workshops in human rights. This
organization has not formed rights groups but is using right groups formed by this
project.
iii. NASFAM- has provided farm inputs to Kamterwe rights group of T/A Mzikubola
because they established a communal farming land.
iv. Malawi Care- is working with rights groups of T/A Mzukuzuku in promoting and
protecting human rights.
v. We have networked with MALGA and MEJN to learn more on how to lobby duty
bearers.
vi. PET (Personal Energy Transport)-Zambia has helped in the provision of assistive
devices to people with disabilities.
vii. In addition, Tupwenge right group of T/A Mzikubola linked with COMSIP where
they learned business management skills.
44
4 Sustainability of the project
4.1 Formation of Rights Groups
The project phased out in January 2015, however other rights groups continue to be formed
and these are being supported by the MACOHA field workers and social welfare volunteers
in the impact areas. Furthermore, other partners such as Ecumenical Counselling Centre are
using the same structures that were formed by the project to advocate for empowerment of
people with disabilities through income generating activities
4.2 Influence of the Media
The media houses continue to air messages through other non-sponsored programmes and
news bulletins such as Thumba la Tambe, Tamva kantchentche and Tili ndi Mau. This is also
done through established listening clubs which continue to advocate for disability rights.
Production of the radio programmes involved other key stakeholders in the district who will
continue with the work.
4.3 Local level structures
Since District and local level structures (ADC/VDC/NGOs/DEC) were trained on the rights
of PWDs, this set up will continue to advocate for disability rights. Furthermore MACOHA
members of staff will continue to work on the ground.
4.4 Resource allocation and lobbying tool
With the lobbying strategies in place, it is envisaged that MACOHA will continue to get
significant financial resource allocation from government and development partners in
subsequent budgets though the continued engagement with the budget holders.
4.5 Use of role models within the community
The use of role models in the implementation of activities usually leaves a lasting mark on
target population. In this case the use of educated people with disabilities within the
communities in the sensitization and advocacy initiatives on the right to education, will
continue to inspire and motivate young people with disabilities to enroll in school since they
are able to directly see the benefits of education.
45
5 Key Challenges
A few challenges were encountered during the project implementation as outlined below.
Communication with PWDs that had hearing and speech impairments was a
challenge since the majority of duty bearers have very limited knowledge on sign language.
Some education and governance indicators such as pass rate need a lot of time to
measure their impact hence it was a challenge to see the impact in two years and four
months.
The newly formed rights groups will require training on disability rights but the
challenge will be availability of resources for follow ups.
Many teachers in regular schools have got no training in special needs education.
Much as inclusive education is being promoted but the challenge remains that the children
with disabilities might be going to school but will not be learning.
In some areas the handout syndrome is high, the expectations of the beneficiaries
were to receive material donations such as bicycles and blankets rather than just
concentrating on advocacy and awareness issues.
The tranche system of fund disbursement meant some delays in implementation of
some activities as well as receiving less amount of funds compared to the proposal.
High turnover of key staff at district council level as well as district education
management office during the project implementation resulted in loss of time. Time and
resources were spent in orientating of new district staff on the project. This resulted in loss of
momentum, limited supervision and guidance from the district level due to loss of
institutional memory.
46
6 Lessons learnt and recommendations
6.1 Interlink-ages
One of the key lesson has been that projects need to strengthen both the demand side and
supply side. In this project the demand was created through advocacy and training initiatives
on both the duty bearers and the people with disabilities who demanded improvements in the
resource allocation for better service delivery. However, the supply side fell short in terms of
overall funding allocation into disability sector whose budget decreased in the final year of
implementation.
At local level, this was depicted through the lack of teachers trained in special needs and
inaccessibility of school infrastructures. However, great strides have been made based on the
nominal budget increases to MACOHA during the project implementation. Since disability is
a cross cutting issue, the lobbying strategy used by the project should be taken on board by
the responsible ministries. Otherwise, young children with disabilities might be going to
school but will not be learning.
6.2 Cross cutting issue
As a cross cutting issue, disability activities need to be linked to government’s programme on
social safety nets as well community based participatory programming and resilience
building initiatives such as Village Savings and Loan.
6.3 Sustainability
Use of local structures, community role models, and formation of rights groups in project
implementation has been key in driving the disability agenda through awareness and
empowerment of the target population, as such the initiatives need to be sustained. This
should be done through periodic follow ups from both MACOHA team and district social
welfare team.
6.4 Networking
At national level, the collaboration and networking with Media houses and Malawi
Economic Justice Network (MEJN) in radio awareness and lobbying for resources proved to
be a success.
47
This is evidenced by the continued airing of these messages in news bulletins and other
programs as well as by the budget increases in the current fiscal year. At local level, it is
evidenced through the use of the existing rights group which the Ecumenical Counselling
Centre are using to advocate for economic empowerment of people with disabilities through
income generating activities.
6.5 Lobbying strategy
There has been a significant budget increases for MACOHA due to the engagement of
budget holders through the use of lobbying as a strategy. As such it is recommended that
MACOHA should showcase the lobbying strategy to other key disability related institutions
to have one lobbying strategy for increased funding towards the sector.
48
Annex
Annex 1. List of Rights Groups in the Project Areas
No. Name of Rights Group Male Female TA District
1 Chafumbulira 15 12 Chidzuma Kasungu
2 Nyemba 20 12 Chidzuma Kasungu
3 Kapala 14 16 Chidzuma Kasungu
4 Kholanakumba 16 14 Chidzuma Kasungu
5 Kaunge 21 16 Chidzuma Kasungu
6 Katambosizala 10 13 Chidzuma Kasungu
7 Sayikogadama 19 33 Chidzuma Kasungu
8 Mdzunda 14 16 Chidzuma Kasungu
9 Mgumila 77 44 Chidzuma Kasungu
10 Msipu 13 21 Chidzuma Kasungu
11 Mlangali 32 22 Chidzuma Kasungu
12 Syaya 7 10 Chidzuma Kasungu
13 Dzilambirana 46 23 Chidzuma Kasungu
14 Sinde 45 31 Chidzuma Kasungu
15 Katudzu 10 19 Chidzuma Kasungu
16 Wanangwa 8 12 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
17 Kanyenyezi 16 6 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
18 Tikoleraneko 12 8 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
19 Tikhole 8 12 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
20 Matikija 9 11 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
21 Mabiri 7 13 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
22 Etchiyeni 6 17 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
23 Emphangweni 4 19 Mzukuzuku Mzimba
24 kamtwere 14 29 Mzikubola Mzimba
25 Luviri 7 15 Mzikubola Mzimba
26 Kazingirira 12 22 Mzikubola Mzimba
49
27 Hoho Zabron 23 10 Mzikubola Mzimba
28 Chamanji 15 21 Mzikubola Mzimba
29 Tupwenge 15 14 Mzikubola Mzimba
30 Kamwamba Kanthu 16 19 Mzikubola Mzimba
31 Chimwemwe(Esgondhleni) 28 32 Mzikubola Mzimba
32 Ehleheni 51 34 Mzikubola Mzimba
33 Chathale 20 34 Mzikubola Mzimba
34 Kamatawo 26 30 Mzikubola Mzimba
35 Ndawa 19 36 Mzikubola Mzimba
36 Chipata 40 46 Mzikubola Mzimba
37 Zulanga 18 28 Mzikubola Mzimba
38 Kaulusi 29 38 Mzikubola Mzimba
Annex 2. Number of PWDs reached
AREA MALES FEMALES TOTAL
T/A Mzikubola-Mzimba 463 357 820
T/A Mzukuzuku-Mzimba 226 240 466
T/A Chidzuma-Kasungu 432 659 1091
Total 1121 1256 2377
50
Annex 3: Map of Malawi Showing Project Districts
51
Annex 4: Map of Mzimba showing Project TAs
52
Annex 5: Survey tools
Individual Questionnaire
Guidelines:
QUESTIONNAIRE IDENTIFICATION PANEL
Name of Research Assistant: ___________Time Started__/__/__/ Time Finished__/__/__/
Date __/__/__/ Contact Number : _________
Supervisor name: ______________________ S ignature : _________
Date checked : ______________________
SECTION 1: RESPONDENT IDENTIFICATION
SECTION 2: HOUSEHOLD SIZE
Q9 Q10 Q11
Question Relationship to the head of the
household
(Use codes below)
Sex
1= Male
2=female
Age
Please give me the names of the persons who usually live in
your household and eat from the same “pot”, starting with the head of the household
01
02
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9
Name of Village Name of
GVH
Traditional
Authority
(TA)
District Sex
(1=M
2=F)
Age
(in yrs)
Marital
Status
(code 1)
Primary
Occupation
(code 2)
Education level
(code 3)
Code 1:
1= married
2 = not married
3=divorced/Separated
4=Widowed
5=Other (Specify) -----77 = N/A
88 = Do not know
Code 2:
1=Salaried employee
2=Family Business worker
3=Smallholder farmer
4 = unemployed
5 =Dependant
6=Self-employed
7 =other specify77 = N/A88 = Do not know
Code 3
1 =Primary 2 =Secondary
3 = Vocational4 =Tertiary
5 =Adult literacy
6 =None 77 = N/A
88 = Do not know
53
03
15
Code for relationship to the household head: 1 = head
2 = Wife / husband
3 = Son / daughter
4 = son in law
5 = grandchild
6 = Parent
7 = Parent in law
8 = Brother / Sister
9 = Niece / nephew
10 = Co-wife
11 = Adopted/foster/step child
12 = other relative
13 = Not related
77 = N/A
88 = Do not know
54
PART A: Knowledge and participation in the project
Section 3: Knowledge. Participation and Perception on PWDs
Question Responses
Q12
Have you ever heard of the Realisation of rights for Persons with Disabilities
Project implemented by MACOHA?
1 = Yes
2 = No
Q13 If yes to Q12, what were the sources of information on the project?
(MRQ)
1 = Traditional leader
2 = VDC/ADC
3 = Teacher
4 = PEA
5 = MACOHA staff
6 = Community Development Officer
7 = Religious leaders
8 = Other. Specify -----------------------------
Q14 Have you ever participated in the project activities? 1 = Yes
2 = No
Q15 If yes to Q14, in what way?
(MRQ)
1 = Attended sensitization meetings
2 = Joined one of the disability clubs
3 = Participated in trainings
4 = Participated in advocacy activities
5 = Other specify
Q16 If you were trained by the project, what was the focus of the training? 1 = Human rights in general
2 = Rights of the PWD
3 = Project management
4 = Advocacy on PWD issues
5 = Roles and responsibilities of duty
bearers
6 = Budget monitoring
7 = Other specify
55
Q17 When did date you enroll into MACOHA disability clubs? Month ___Year___
Q18 What are the functions of the disability clubs
Q19 How many times do you meet as club members?
Q20 Have you ever engaged the duty bearers on issues affecting the PWD? 1 =Yes
2 = No
Q21 On what issues did you engage the duty bearers?
Q22 Did you get any response on the issues raised 1 =Yes
2 = No
Q23 How long did it take the duty bearers to respond on the issues? Weeks__________________
Q24 Has the perception of the community changed on the PWD?
1 =Yes
2 = No
Q25 If yes to Q24, what has changed?
(MRQ)
Q26 Are satisfied with the change in the perception of the community on PWD?
1 =Yes
2 = No
Q27 If no to Q26, give reasons why you are not satisfied with the change in perception
of PWDs?
1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 6 = 7 = 8 = Other, Specify_______________
9 = Not Applicable
Q28 What should be done in order to improve the perception of the community on
PWDs?
1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5 = 6 = 7 = 8 = Other,
Specify 9 = Not Applicable
56
Section 4: PWDs access to social and public facility
Question Responses
Q29 Are health facilities accessible to PWDs? 1 =Yes
2 =No
Q30 If No to Q29, what are the major reasons? 1 =PWDs are not fairly handled
2 =The facility is very far and inaccessible
3 = The facility infrastructure is not user friendly to PWDs
4 = Other, specify ______________
Q31 Has there been a change in the accessibility of health
facilities as a result of the project?
1 =Yes
2 =No
Q32 If Yes to Q31, what prompted the change? 1 = Training of local leaders
2 = Lobbying and advocacy on PWDs’ rights
3 = Other, Specify______________
4 = N/A (committee not available)
Q33 If No to Q31, what has created the inaccessibility? 1 =
2 =
Q34 What should be done in order to improve access to health
facilities to the PWDs?
1 = Training to health staff on PWDs rights
2 = Lobbying and advocacy in the health sector
3 = Removal of current staff
4 = construction of new structures to reduce the distance
Q35 Are school facilities accessible to PWDs? 1 =Yes
2 =No
Q36 If No to Q35, what are the major reasons? 1 =PWDs are not fairly handled
2 =The facility is very far and inaccessible
3 = The facility infrastructure is not user friendly to PWDs
4 = lack of materials suitable for PWDs
5 = Other, specify ______________
Q37 Has there been a change in the accessibility of school
facilities as a result of the project?
1 =Yes
2 =No
Q38 If Yes to Q38, what prompted the change? 1 = Training of local leaders
2 = Lobbying and advocacy on PWDs’ rights
3 = Other, Specify______________
57
4 = N/A (committee not available)
Q39 If No to Q38, what has created the inaccessibility? 1 =
2 =
Q40 Has the enrolment for PWDs changed for the nearest school? 1 =Yes
2 =No
Q41 What has influenced the change in enrolment of PWDs? 1 = Training of local leaders
2 = Lobbying and advocacy on PWDs’ rights
3 = Availability of PWD materials
4 = Other, Specify______________
5 = N/A (committee not available)
Q42 Do the PWDs compete fairly with other students at school? 1 =Yes
2 =No
Q43 If no to Q42, what factors have made PWDs not to be
competitive?
Q44 What should be done in order to improve the enrolment of
PWDs?
SECTION 5: Community Participation and Inclusion in Development Activities
Q# Question Responses
Q45 Have you ever participated in community led activities?
1 =Yes
2 =No
Q46 If Yes, in what activities 1 = Community development meetings
2 = Community elections
3 = Member of a local governance structure
4 = beneficiary of a community led project
5 = Beneficiary of a government project in the community
6 = Beneficiary of an NGO project in the community
7 = Other, Specify______________
Q47 Do PWDs elected into leadership positions in the
community?
1 =Yes
2 =No
Q48 Which committees have PWDs as members of the
committees?
1 = ADC
2 = VDC
58
3 = VAG
4 = School committees
5 = Health committees
6 = Natural Resources Management Committees
7 = Other, Specify________________
77 = N/A
88 = Do not know
Q49 Has there been a time when PWDs stood up for their rights? 1 =Yes
2 =No
Q50 If yes to Q49, What was the reaction of the community in
general?
1 = Never supported them
2 = Community supported the PWDs
3 = The community started addressing the issues of concern
4 = the duty bearers responded swiftly
5 = Duty bearers never gave the PWDs a chance.
6 = Other, Specify
Q# Section 5: Impact of the Project
Question Responses
Q51 Do you think the project has made any
difference in the community with regard
to the PWDs rights??
1 =Yes
2 =No
Q52 If Yes to Q51, in what has changed in
relation to PWDs?
1 = PWDs are included in development
committees
2 = PWDs access to social facilities has
improved
3 = PWDs are consulted on their in
development planning
4 = Infrastructure has been redesigned to
accommodate PWDs
5 = The perception of PWDs has improved
6 = Proportion of Perpetrators of violence
against PWDs has declined
59
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS TO DISABILITY GROUP/CLUBS
QUESTIONNAIRE IDENTIFICATION PANEL
Name of Research Assistant________________ Time Started ____/___/____ Time Finished ___/____/____
Date: ___/___/____ Contact Number:______________Supervisor’s Name ________________
Signature______________Date _______________________________
District__________________TA_______________________GVH______________________Village name____________
Group Type Participating: ____________________________________
Number of women…………………………Number of Men………………………………Total……………
Q1. Do you know about the MACOHA project? Yes No
7 = Other, Specify______________
Q53 If No to Q53, what has not changed? 1 =
Q54 In your opinion, What should be done to
improve the status of the PWDs in this
community?
1 =
2 =
60
Q2. When did you join into MACOHA disability club? -------------------------
Q3. Did you receive any training on PWD’s rights in this area? Yes No
Q4. What were the key activities you participated?
Q5. How many advocacy initiatives have been involved PWDs on claiming their rights from duty bearers?
Q6. Do you have incidences where PWDs have demonstrated their empowerment? Yes/No If yes go to Q7 and if no go to
Q8
Q7. What were the incidences (Please list)
Q8. What was the total number of PWDs targeted?
Q9. What was the total number of PWDs benefited?
Q10. Which were the coalitions that provided better platform for engaging with duty bearers/government in the advocacy of the PWDs rights?
Q11. What is the level of coordination among Disability Peoples’ Organizations (DPOs) or clubs in this area? Q12. (a) To
what extent are the PWDs consulted and involved in the planning and implementation of developments at individual level?
(b) To what extent are the PWDs consulted and involved in the planning and implementation of developments at
community level?
(c) To what extent are the PWDs consulted and involved in the planning and implementation of developments at
District level? ___________________________
Q13. Do you have policies of deliberate inclusion of non-disabled community members in committees and as resource
persons at community level? In VDC OR ADC do you have people with disabilities
Q14. To what extent are decisions/resources allocated to ensure that every individual has equal opportunity for participation? (both at school and district level)
Q15. Do PWDs have access to health care, education and employment opportunities in this area? Yes/No, If no go (please
explain why)
Q16. Are you involved in decision making processes on key issues affecting disability rights in this area? Yes /No, if no
please explain why
Q17. Do you have access to loans and grants for starting small scale business? Yes or no - if no please explain why
Q18. Are assistive devices like Braille materials, hearing aids, ramps, and rails available for accessing information and other
services? Yes /No
Q19. Are there any reported cases on forms of exclusion and discrimination on the part of PWDs? Yes/No, If yes go to
Q19, if no go to Q20
Q19. What are these cases? ____________________________________________
Q20. Are there any reported cases of children with disabilities in your area being locked up in homes unattended to while
their non-disabled colleagues are attending schools and their parents or guardians are out to work in gardens and attend to other businesses? Yes/ No
Q21.What challenges are face with PWDs on their rights to access to the basic services required by all human beings
Q22.What strategies could be put in place to eradicate these challenges in your area?
Q23.How has the project promoted rights for women and girls rights?
Q24.What best strategies could be applied to ensure greater impact of the organizations working in your area on Disability
rights?
Q25. What is the general perceptions on Disability Rights after the project? Q26.What has changed as a result of the project?
Before and after project in terms of atttitude
61
GENERAL COMMENT/SUGGESTIONS:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH HEAD TEACHER ID of the Research Assistant: _____________________
Date of data collection: _______________
1. Do you have specialist teacher’s (qualified in special needs) i.e. itinerant teachers, If yes, what’s the number?
2. What are the types of special education needs? (hearing difficulties, visual difficulties, physical disabilities, health
conditions, speech and language difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties)
3. What is the general enrolment of students at the school (disaggregate by gender), re-enrolment?
4. What is the enrolment PWD at the school (disaggregate by gender)? Re-enrolment?
5. What is the current pass rate of students at the school?
6. What is the current pass rate of Persons with disabilities at the school?
7. Number of staff teachers within the Catchment area trained on the UN as well as local standards to equalization of
opportunities for Persons with disabilities ,
8. Are the school structures suitable for persons with disability
(Ask and observe)
9. Mention key activities that the teacher (s) participated in during the project implementation
10. What are the other partners that support PWD at the school
11. Mention the teaching and learning materials available at the school (Availability of assistive devices (e.g. Braille
materials, hearing aids, ramps, and rails) to access information and other services)
12. What significant changes has the project achieved for persons with disabilities at the school? With regard to
decisions and resource allocation? What could be done more to increase access to Education
13. Do you know if there are PWDs who are not attending school for various reasons? Probe for any reported cases
on forms of exclusion and discrimination on the part of PWDs.
Before and after project in terms of atttitude
KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH District Social Welfare Officer
ID of the Research Assistant: _____________________
Date of data collection: _______________
1. Institutions / Departments/ Civil Society organisations that have been oriented the UN Standards on Equalization
of opportunities for PWDs
2. Total number of persons with disabilities targeted and benefitted from the project.
3. Mention key activities that the social welfare unit participated in during the project implementation
4. What are the other partners that support PWD in the District
5. Number of schools at district level applying the minimum standards to the Equalization of opportunities for PWDs
in their work
62
6. What significant changes has the project achieved for persons with disabilities? With regard to decisions and
resource allocation at the district?
7. What could be done more to increase access to Education for PWDs?
8. What are the Key challenges being faced? Any short term, medium term or long term solution?
9. Do you know if there are PWDs who are not attending school for various reasons? Probe.
10. What are the Monitoring and evaluation systems of the PWDs
11. Trends of budget allocations to Educations vs all other sectors, special needs educations vs total allocation to
Education budget.
12. Are there any reported cases on forms of exclusion and discrimination on the part of PWDs? Probe for Access to
services by PWDs health care, education, employment,
13. Do the PWDs participation in decision making processes on key issues affecting them - access to loans and grants
for small scale businesses
14. To what extend are PWDs are consulted and involved in planning and implementing developments- at community
level and district level.
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR KII
QUESTIONNAIRE IDENTIFICATION PANEL
Name of Research Assistant________________ Time Started ____/___/____ Time Finished ___/____/____
Date: ___/___/____ Contact Number:______________
Supervisor’s Name ________________ Signature_______________________
Date _______________________________
INSTRUCTIONS
1. This guide must be administered to officials from the Macoha Project Staff.
2. Please administer the guide only with the consent of the respondent. Inform the respondent that the interview is
voluntary and their identity will remain anonymous. If for some reason, the respondent is not comfortable to be
interviewed, politely end the interview and go to the alternative member provided.
3. Please record all the responses within the interview session. Reserve some few minutes at the end of the interview to cross check the responses you have not clearly understood/recorded.
4. Hand in all your completed guides for each day to your supervisor for checking.
5. Thank the respondent for their participation as you begin the interview and at the end of the interview
INTRODUCTION
Hello. My name is __________________and am here representing the IMDSA. I would like to speak to you in your
capacity as an official from MACOHA.
I would like to ask you some questions regarding the extent to which the funded project has achieved its outputs, outcomes and impact. Views generated from this discussion will be used to document key lessons from the project intervention and
also to help design of similar projects in future.
This interview will take between……………to……………minutes. All information that you provide to us will remain
confidential and your answers will not be shared with others.
Q1.What were key activities participated in?
Q2.What proportion of PWDs trained on their rights?
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Q4. How many advocacy initiatives have been involved PWDs on claiming their rights from duty bearers?
Q5. Do you have incidences where PWDs have demonstrated their empowerment? Yes/No, if yes go to Q6 and if no go to
Q7
Q6. What were the incidences (Please list)
Q7. What was the total number of PWDs targeted?
Q8. What was the total number of PWDs benefited?
Q9. What are some of possible changes in rules of the game (formal and informal) towards equitable, transparent and
inclusive power relations?
Q10. Which were the coalitions that provided better platform for engaging with duty bearers/government in the advocacy of the PWDs rights?
Q11. What is the level of coordination among Disability Peoples’ Organizations (DPOs) or clubs in this area?
Q12. (a) To what extent are the PWDs consulted and involved in the planning and implementation of developments at
individual level?
(b) To what extent are the PWDs consulted and involved in the planning and implementation of developments at community level?
(c) To what extent are the PWDs consulted and involved in the planning and implementation of developments at
District level? ___________________________
Q13. Do you have policies of deliberate inclusion of non-disabled community members in committees and as resource
persons at community level?
Q14. To what extent are decisions/resources allocated to ensure that every individual has equal opportunity for
participation? (both at school and district level)
Q15. Do PWDs have access to health care, education and employment opportunities in this area? Yes/No, If no go (please explain why)
Q16. Are you involved in decision making processes on key issues affecting disability rights in this area? Yes /No, if no
please explain why
Q17. Do people with PWD have access to loans and grants for starting small scale business? Yes or no - if no please
explain why?
Q18. Do you receive enough funding and support from the Government?
Q19. Are assistive devices like Braille materials, hearing aids, ramps, and rails available for accessing information and other
services? Yes /No
Q20. Are there any reported cases on forms of exclusion and discrimination on the part of PWDs? Yes/No, If yes go to
Q19, if no go to Q20
Q21. What are these cases? ____________________________________________
Q22. Are there any reported cases of children with disabilities in your area being locked up in homes unattended to while
their non-disabled colleagues are attending schools and their parents or guardians are out to work in gardens and
attend to other businesses? Yes/ No
Q23.What challenges are face with PWDs on their rights to access to the basic services required by all human beings
Q24.What strategies could be put in place to eradicate these challenges in your area?
Q25.What best strategies could be applied to ensure greater impact of the organizations working in your area on Disability
rights?
Q26. What is the general perceptions on Disability Rights after the project?
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Q27.What has changed as a result of the project in the area/district?