Empowerment

The “CHOICES” for Children project aims to improve gender equity and rights for poor and rights for poor and vulnerable women and children through empowered planning, decision making and care. It works in a holistic manner emphasizing the need for local ownership and self-initiation in the change process and will focus on interventions that specifically support children who are the most vulnerable in their villages in the rapidly changing development context. While care for children is primarily the role of mothers and female caretakers, it is critical that household decisions are made in a joint, sensitive manner based on solid health and child development principles. 

The project utilizes lessons learned from prior projects, including the utilization of the REFLECT community empowerment model, to address identified risks and support opportunities related to labor and migration decisions, key nutrition and child health, and livelihood opportunities for the very poor segments of local villages. It is recognized that many of the target families, including prime emphasis on households in the government “ID Poor” category 1 and 2, migrate for significant periods during the year seeking work thus programs to be able to reach them while back home. Development Reflect Circle (RC) group activities will start with increasing capacity to understand and analyse livelihood options and the impacts/risks of these on their families. Group interventions also strengthen literacy, numeracy, public interaction and other communication skills needed for negotiation and maintaining rights.  Experience has shown that all households should be included in the RC regardless of the regularity of attendance.  Group facilitators are active in accommodating the variable schedules of various community groups and seek to draw traditionally marginalized households including those who migrate for parts of the year when they are available.

Activities listed below are expected to result in four outputs, grouped together as follows: 

206 Female and 126 male Community Development Facilitators identified and trained to guide the pro-child community behavior change and empowerment process. 

Activities: After initial baseline survey and other start-up activities the project is selecting and training village based RC Facilitators (RCF) and supervisors. RCF partners facilitation skills training, including both women and men, are conducted by ADRA Staff and integrate gender sensitization methods. It includes field cross visits to the ongoing ADRA SMILE/NFA nutrition project Reflect Circles (RC)s in Preah Vihear and Siem Reap and include training at Jombok Hoas adventure learning center in problem solving and group dynamic skills.  The current facilitators in the BWASH project villages receive refresher training in facilitation skills, nutrition/health promotion tools including Learning Through Play (LTP) based parenting skills, and livelihoods planning and promotion. New facilitators in the 30 new villages are trained in both facilitation and all technical health promotion and livelihood technical areas. All facilitators are coached on their role as community change agents and methods to reach out to the very poor, vulnerable, and disabled as well as working with households where family members migrate for significant portions of the year. Training and community activities is first being rolled out in the former ALIVE and BWASH project areas with the additional 30 new villages rolled out later in year 2. Child group facilitators are also selected and trained including LTP and child growth monitoring and rehabilitation of malnourished children using PD HEARTH methods in partnership with local health department partners.

6,500 Female and 3,900 male parents and child caretakers active in parenting, child care, and communication skills RC groups and outreach. 

Activities: After training, RC facilitators mobilize community members into multiple RC groups/areas per village. All hosueholds are included while specific emphasis is made to ensure that families with children 0-5 are participating. Groups use participatory key message activity “guideline” tools to identify and understand the root causes and influencing factors of both child and adult malnutrition including the impacts of poor sanitation and hygiene on children. Sustainable options for improving behaviors are learned based on the child’s ages and the families situation. Adult group members meet 2 to 4 times monthly to develop analysis and planning skills on livelihood choices and will target poor and vulnerable households have opportunity to join training interest groups (see Outputs 3.2 – 3.5).

To allow for all participants to fully contribute, feel confident to voice their opinions and actively participate, group sessions include both women as well as men in sex segregated and mixed sessions to allow for commonalities as well as differences to be highlighted enabling them to understand the importance of nutrition for both genders and leaving them able to act upon that knowledge. Child care and support is provided during groups sessions by separate Child RC facilitators to both model interactive parenting skills and ensure caregivers can fully participate in RC sessions. Home visits by facilitators are made to reach out to vulnerable families that do not regularly participate. Group facilitators also integrate communication skills learning into RC sessions as well as special group sessions for members of RCs in any one village needing more intensive functional literacy training.

3,000 Female and 1,600 Male parents and caregivers of girls and boys under 6 trained in Safe Migration and Anti-Trafficking planning.

Activities: Training for staff and RCF members is conducted by the CHAB DAI network organization that specializes in supporting programs on prevention and rescue of trafficked and abused persons.  Key message guidelines to lead discussions in RCs are used on both safe migration and anti-trafficking topics. In addition community wide awareness programs are conducted at times of the year when the majority of migrants return home around rice planting and harvesting time as well as major holidays. Emphasis is placed on child care during migration and preparation steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of abuse and rights violations and understand how local government and non – government agencies can assist them.