Evaluation Trip

Last week I participated in the evaluation of the Reformed Church of Zambia's (RCZ)- Diaconia program, which Partners Worldwide supports. The current 3 year cycle of working in communities is about to come to an end so this is the time to evaluate the impact of the past 3 years. All the communities were surveyed last month so now we took a sample of those surveyed to hear directly from them.

We interviewed the community volunteers as a group then went into the communities to hear from farmers and from groups who care for orphans. I mostly observed as I had someone translating for me. A representative from RCZ's board conducted the interviews. Overall, it was very encouraging to hear about the changes that have taken place in their families and communities because of the Diaconia program. Here is a picture of the evaluation team interviewing a group of farmers.

Below is a sample of the questions and answers that I gathered:

1. As you look back over the past 3 years, what changes has RCZ-Diaconia brought to your community?

-New technologies and methods for farming (Conservation Farming techniques), which has resulted in an increase of food production; primary health training, which has resulted in an increase in healthcare; learned how to keep bees and fish farming; provided with good seed; orphaned children assisted with school materials and orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) groups assisted with goats. Pictured is a goat pen that holds about 5-7 goats.

2. How did Conservation Farming methods help farmers?

-Benefit through improved production; reduced hunger months; help get through drought; crop diversification (sunflower, groundnuts able to sell for income); taught that fertilizer is not good since its not sustainable and its expensive and to use manure instead.

3. How have the food security and health programs contributed to reducing hunger and malnutrition levels?

-They are growing higher nutrition foods and taught how to prepare the food in a healthier way; hunger has reduced so malnutrition percentages have dropped especially compared with communities that are not in the program.

4. What evidence is there that there is less HIV stigmatization than before?

-It is openly talked about now; people eat and do other activities with infected individuals; community helps remind those infected to take their ARV's (medication); the levels of new infection have reduced because of education; learned the importance of getting tested and how to prevent it.

5. What evidence is there to show that women are not sidelined in decision-making?

-Many women lead groups or have some role in the groups (Chairperson, treasurer, etc); Many times women are better treasurers-can be trusted more; More involved and have the ability to say no; still not at a point of equality as women can still be sidelined.

6. If RCZ-Diaconia were to pull out of your community, do you think there will be continuity of the programs that started?

-yes, since we have been given knowledge and knowledge is power; health volunteers will continue to provide community with training; fish and seed have helped them for the future; goat program will continue to grow as they will give them to families when they reproduce; some groups have started a savings program among themselves; some groups were not as confident that things will continue, at least not at the same level since they will lack support from RCZ.

-This is a big question since many other organizations and government programs come and go and do not last once they pull out. So if RCZ can empower the community and get them to a point of sustaining themselves it is a success. There were signs of that, but still there is work to do in this area.

Here is a picture of a farmer who leads a group of farmers as he trains and mentors them. He has a 'winter' garden that he irrigates using this pump.

7. In what ways could RCZ-Diaconia have done better?

-Many requested that the program should start giving out loans; asked for help in getting their group registered with the government (group certificates), which will allow them to access government money; the volunteers would like more incentive to be volunteers; program should offer more refresher courses; the support for school-going orphans should extend beyond Grade 7; seeds that they are given on loan are too few and not enough farmers receive them; offer more income-generating activities (IGA's); assist with water and sanitation; many also requested help with marketing since there is a lack of a market for their produce (this is a big problem since it demotivates farmers from growing more food; many farmers are also taken advantage of by buyers who offer very low prices for their produce since the farmers are desperate for money at harvest time).

-With some of these answers I noticed that there is still an underlying dependence on the program and the community thinks that they are not able to do things on their own. Its a process of educating and empowering and RCZ has laid a good foundation. One discouraging factor that hinders the process is other organizations come into the same communities giving out free fertilizer or other things that undermine what RCZ is trying to promote. These organizations, both Christian and non-faith based, probably have good intentions, but do not realize the dependency and attitudes that they have created.

Like I said, though, the overall feeling was encouraging as communities, families and individuals were being empowered and lifted up in the name of Jesus. Another encouraging aspect is that RCZ does not require people to be Christians to participate, but many people come to Christ as a result of being a part of it as they experience the love and care of the program and the groups as they learn what the motivation behind the program is.

These women have come together as a group to care for the orphans in their community. They were trained in keeping bees and now they have several bee hives that produce honey, which they sell to make money to support their orphans. They gave us some, honeycomb and all.

Hopefully this has given you a better idea of one of the programs that we partner with. My role has primarily been to consult with the program manager and to facilitate communication between the program and those that support it.