CONSULTANCY TO CONDUCT ENDTERM EVALUATION OF THE JUKUMU LETU CHILD PROTECTION PROJECT IN THARAKA SOUTH AND IGAMBANG’OMBE SUB COUNTIES At ChildFund International

Introduction

ChildFund is an international child-centred development organization. We are a member of the ChildFund Alliance; a global network of 12 organizations that assists more than 15 million children in 58 countries around the world. ChildFund Kenya works through 13 local partners (LP’s) comprised of 38 community organizations in 26 counties. The thematic areas that we focus on are Child Protection, Household Economic Strengthening, Early Childhood Development, Education, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Emergency Response, Health and Nutrition. Our three-fold mission is to help deprived, excluded and vulnerable children improve their lives and become adults who bring positive changes to their communities: to promote societies that value, protect and advance the worth and rights of children: and to enrich supporters’ lives through their support of our cause.

Project Background

There are various protection risks that children in Tharaka South and Igambangombe sub-counties face exacerbated by deeply ingrained retrogressive cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. As a result, many children between the ages of 7-18 years (especially girls) have dropped out of school and died. Although Kenya has outlawed these practices, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of relevant legislations. Community attachment to culture at the expense of children’s wellbeing continues to make children more and more vulnerable where they are ideally expected to experience safety and protection. Weak and uncoordinated formal child protection structures significantly contribute to worsening the scenario.

In the target areas, not much has been done to enable children opportunities to openly communicate their needs. As a result, they often suffer silently despite the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’s provision on their right to participation. Coupled with the issues discussed above; Children’s frustration associated with growing up in such an uncaring environment has led them to take self-destructive paths such as engaging in drug and substance abuse.Research is now indicating that approaches that fail to engage the community are less successful in eradicating FGM and child Marriage. Recommendations are increasingly being directed towards approaches such as introducing alternative rites of passage, holding community discussions, engagement of men and boys; educating various target community members and engaging role models and mediators.Positive results have also been observed in approaches that are geared towards ensuring comprehensive and reliable data; advocacy to ensure implementation and enforcement of anti-FGM laws; combating cultural/social/religious norms that support the continuation of these practices and override the law; the medicalization of FGM; providing alternative careers for traditional practitioners and preventing the backlash against alternative rites of passage.

The project will therefore seek to implement such recommendations through putting key emphasis on strengthening community support structures to facilitate rescue and reintegration of girls from or at the risk of FGM and child Marriage, build the capacity of those community based child protection champions to prevent and facilitate response to all protection issues affecting children including engaging duty bearers to step up efforts in enforcement of relevant legislation, support efforts to enhance the capacity of the formal child protection mechanisms, and champion for multi stakeholder collaboration in delivery of protection services to children by the government. The project will support sustained, active and meaningful participation of children in curbing retrogressive cultural practices among other issues that are a threat to their wellbeing.

Goal: To mitigate the effects of retrogressive cultural practices on children in Tharaka Nithi County through strengthening the formal and informal child protection systems and advocacy.

Outcomes

• Increased responsiveness of the formal and informal child protection mechanisms
• Increased participation of children in their own protection within Tharaka Nithi County
• Decreased number of girls adversely affected by retrogressive cultural practices

Purpose of the study

The purpose of the proposed endline evaluation study is to**:**

• Review the functionality of existing formal and informal child protection mechanisms
• Establish the extent of retrogressive cultural practices in the project area especially for girls and indirect effect on boys.
• Establish children’s level of understanding on their rights to protection and how they maintain and utilize community-based child protection structures to address cases of abuse experienced by them.
• Establish existing Child Protection linkages between formal and informal community-based systems
• Review the project according to the OECD evaluation criteria (relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability)

Scope of evaluation

The evaluation will cover all project activities in Igambangombe and Tharaka South sub counties from 5th July 2021 to 30^th July 2021.

Evaluation approach and methodology

Upon a good understanding of the terms of reference, the consultant may propose a suitable methodology for this task.

Evaluation outputs and deliverables

• A 20-page inception report detailing the evaluation methodology, for the assignment (including activities, dates/timelines, expected products, data e.tc.) and draft data collection tools.
• Submission of Draft Evaluation Report, including analysis of data against required metrics
• Virtual Validation Workshop of evaluation findings with project stakeholders.
• Final Evaluation report detailing the achievements, milestones of the project indicators as well as qualitative nuances in activities such as advocacy and policy influencing.
• Other zipped documents/materials such as raw data files, quantitative data files, transcripts of FGDs, photographs taken, outcomes matrix.

Ownership

All documents, project designs, and other information shall remain the property of ChildFund and shall be always treated as confidential by the consultant(s). They shall not be made available to any third party whatsoever, in any form, without the prior written approval of a properly authorized employee of ChildFund. The utilization of all proposals plans and reports and other information provided by the facilitators to ChildFund’s Jukumu Letu project and the use thereof is solely at the discretion of ChildFund. All documents and other papers, whether in soft or hard copy and whether containing data or other information, provided by ChildFund shall be returned complete to ChildFund upon completion of the assignment. All documentation and reports written during and/or because of this training, or otherwise related to it in any way, shall remain the property of ChildFund and no part shall be reproduced or quoted, or otherwise used in any way except with the prior, express and specific written permission of a properly authorized employee of ChildFund.

Child Protection Policy

All facilitators(s) shall read, and sign ChildFund Child Safeguarding Policy as fully understood and in agreement to in all respects and shall follow this in all and every respect during the term of the facilitation.

Team requirements

• The lead consultant must have an advanced degree in any of the following, or related disciplines: Development Studies, Community Development, and should have demonstrated experience working with children in rural settings.
• Over 8 years’ experience in undertaking similar activities related to community based child protection.
• Demonstrated experience in use of child friendly and participatory methodologies.
• Have proven knowledge and practical experience in quantitative and qualitative research.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, facilitating and communication skills.
• Excellent report writing and presentation skills.

Management and coordination

ChildFund Kenya will be the contact points for the consultant with Child Protection and Advocacy Manager, Jukumu Letu Child Protection Project Officer and M&E Manager, overseeing the daily work of the consultant.

Evaluation work plan

Evaluation of the proposals will be made by ChildFund Kenya who may engage in interactive process with the would-be consultant to further specify the scope and methodology to be used as well as budget, deliverables and deadlines. Target date for contract award is 5th July 2021.The specific timeline and work plan will be specified in the agreement with 30th July 2021, as the target deadline for submission of final report.

Payment details

• Payment upon submission and acceptance of the Inception Report to ChildFund Kenya 40%**
• Payment upon submission and acceptance of Final Evaluation report by ChildFund Kenya 60%**

NB:

• The Consultant’s compensation shall be paid NET, within 30 days from receipt of a proper invoice unless otherwise specified.
• Payment will be made by cheque unless otherwise specified.
• The payment shall be subjected to 5% withholding tax and 16% VAT as required by the Law at the time of payment.