Assessment of Project Impact Using the Most Significant Change Technique” – Family Development and Strengthening Project

Background:
The Family Development and Strengthening Project, as a pilot project, began
its activities in 2012 under the administration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and with
the support of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission with the aim of providing self-help skills
and skills for helping others to the Quechua, Aymara and mestizo population of Arequipa,
Puno, Cusco, Moquegua and Tacna. With its actions, it has sought to address the
problems of domestic violence, alcoholism, sexism, racism, drug addiction and prostitution
that undermine living conditions of the target population. With this standpoint, the activities
are divided into four main components: families, youth, children and pastors.
The aim of the project is “to reconcile and improve interpersonal relationships among
family members, church members and neighbors, through comprehensive training based
on solid principles and Christian values.”

Purpose/objective:
The main objective is to determine the degree of impact of the FDSP, during the March
2012-December 2013 period, in pastors, families, youth and children.

Specific objectives
• Review secondary information
• Design and apply significant change surveys to pastors, families and youth, in order to identify the most significant changes and representative testimonies.
• Design and apply additional questionnaires to pastors, families, youth, children and teachers in order to determine project impact and the opportunities for improvement.
• Analyze the results and provide conclusions and recommendations.

We applied significant change questionnaires and additional questions to the four target
groups in the city of Arequipa and to pastors in Juliaca; pastors, families, youth and children.

Methodology:
The Family Development and Strengthening Project has conducted a series of
interventions in favor of the participants of the Evangelical Lutheran church and the
community, including course programs, classes, meetings, focus groups, etc. The current
interest is to determine the impact of those interventions during the period March 2012-
December 2013, using questionnaires and assessing the significant changes reflected in
the testimonies of the participants.

Key findings:
1. It has been found that acceptance of the project has been resounding in all groups that have achieved the project activities.
2. The stories of the facilitators, volunteers of the project, reveal an important understanding of the extreme situations that can occur in society, as well as learning to treat and counsel victims. A change in their personal and reflective level is also observed, in addition to improving job skills.
3. In relation to the pastors and families who participated in the project it is perceived that they have strengthened their capabilities and improved in some aspects of interpersonal relationships.

Recommendations: 
1. It is recommended to speak with the facilitators about the allocation of resources and materials needed for the activities and to take any corrective action if appropriate.
2. The work with the participants of the program JOEL in secondary and primary level should be better accommodated to the schedules the students have in their respective schools.
3. It is important that during activities in Juliaca the local characteristics of the subjects are recognized, especially the cultural aspects. If not recognized it could reduce the effectiveness of the activities of FDSP.
4. It should be taken into account the opinions that the number of contributors/volunteers are insufficient and possibly improve the selection of facilitators.

Comments from the organisation, if any:
We found the evaluation to be very interesting and hope that the project is able to incorporate the recommendations into the next phase of the programme. The findings presented are very encouraging and we believe that the project has made a real impact on the community.