Final Evaluation report: Education for Woman and Children (EWC) Somalia

Background:
The Education for Women and Children (EWC) Project was a three-year project funded by Norad and ADRA Norway, and implemented by ADRA Somalia. The EWC project was implemented in Puntland and Central/South Somalia regions. These regions had very high illiteracy rates, especially for women, as a result of decades of conflict. The project focused on empowering women through raising literacy and numeracy skills as well as livelihood skills and by creating awareness on cross cutting issues.

Purpose/objective:
To raise the literacy levels and general knowledge of both young and adult women by increasing their enrolment in, and completion of, literacy and numeracy courses in Puntland and Central/South Somalia.

The following results were to be achieved:
Result 1: Increased access to high quality Literacy and Numeracy courses for vulnerable women in the project areas through support to Adult Learning Centres and women’s groups.
Result 2:  Increased awareness and knowledge among women on cross cutting themes such as girls education, HIV/AIDS, hygiene, women’s rights and environmental issues.
Result 3: Strengthened management capacity of women’s groups, adult education teachers and local authorities to implement literacy and numeracy training for women and girls.

Methodology:
Various data collection methodologies were used, including review of project documents, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and observation. Household surveys were conducted based on a sample size of 424 households. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data.

Key findings:
Through this programme ADRA Somalia has contributed to the formation of a common literacy and numeracy curriculum which is already being used in level one and two of the training programme
Other key findings are listed below:
• Literacy rates among women in targeted areas increased by 87%. From a baseline of 30% the final evaluation showed 56% of respondents demonstrating a sufficient skills level.
• 3705 women and vulnerable children have successfully completed a literacy and numeracy programme in target areas. All these participants also received training in cross-cutting issues.
• 62% of random respondents were familiar with cross-cutting issues such as girls education, HIV/AIDS, hygiene, women’s rights and the environment, as taught through the EWC programme.
• 6 women’s groups demonstrated improved record keeping, financial skills, and project management                              
• 112 Community Education Committee members trained to support and monitor the performance of Adult Learning Centres (ALCs)
• 32 teachers trained on adult teaching methodologies
• 23 education officers from various levels trained in education management
• Targets achieved on average by 114%

Recommendations:
• For the women literacy, it is recommended that future interventions should consider equipping the ALCs with facilities to enable them to offer evening classes.
• It is recommended that any similar intervention should consider initiatives to provide market linkages for the products made by the students.
• As a sustainability strategy, all the Adult Learning Centres should be encouraged to initiate income-generating activities.
• The Adult Learning Centres should be encouraged to have open days where students can display their skills and products.
• National certification in adult literacy is crucial. In order to continue the high enrolments and retention, ADRA should support the Ministry of Education (MoE) to administer national examinations at Level 4.

Comments from the organisation, if any:
In the new programme in Somalia ADRA will:
• Continue to support the MoE regarding the finalization of a common curriculum and certification of courses.
• Provide evening classes to suit the needs of beneficiaries.
• Seek out income generation opportunities for learning centres, connecting them with local markets.