Transition Initiatives: Rwanda Women in Transition (WIT)
Update: September 1999
Evaluation of WIT
In May-June 1999, a program evaluation of the WIT
Project was carried out. The evaluation was coordinated by
USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) and implemented
by DevTech Systems/Washington D.C. One of the primary objectives of
the evaluation was to comment on the efficacy and importance of the
WIT Program and explore the questions if WIT should continue, under
what status, and for how long. The evaluation team visited 13
communes, heard 160 women associations report on their funded
activities, conducted 11 focus groups, held round table discussions
with 19 NGOs, and met with numerous national and international
officials over a one month period.
The evaluation concluded that much of
WIT's success is due to the staunch support from
OTI/Washington and WIT's unusual
form, i.e., a programming unit with flexibility and adaptability
that is nurtured under a partnership between USAID and the Ministry
of Gender and Women in Development. The Ministry's influence
at the communal and prefecture level helps ensure local support and
transparency. USAID's umbrella
protects WIT from possible undue external influences and ensures
U.S. government standards in managing resources that enables WIT to
quickly reach and support isolated and impoverished areas throughout
the country. The evaluation concluded that because of the often
lukewarm relationship between NGOs and the Rwandan Government,
placing WIT under an international NGO could create a different and
less positive working relationship with the Ministry and rural
authorites. Spinning WIT off as an independent national NGO would
limit its effectiveness and ultimately its reach. WIT is not ready
to function independently as a micro credit institution, and the
search for funds would hamper program delivery. The evaluation
recommended that WIT continue in its present form for a 3-5 year
period and then be re-evaluated to determine if a need still exists,
and whether it would be appropriate to change its form at that time.
This extension would enable WIT to engage in a medium to long-term
strategy, which it has been unable to do in the past, due to yearly
funding and the prior undetermined impact of the program.
EVALUATIONS' LESSONS
LEARNED:
Some of the lessons learned place the results and
impact of the Women in Transition program in the broader context of
transition policy and OTI programming worldwide. These lessons grow
directly out of the Rwanda experience, but should influence
OTI's activities elsewhere in the world.
- Activities which promote and increase women's
economic empowerment can lead to political participation.
- Economic activities, particularly in groups and
associations, contribute to the reduction of tension and the
creation of unity in post-conflict settings.
- Activities which require that women
assume non-traditional roles in one area help them to acquire
the necessary confidence and self esteem to take on other
non-traditional roles.
- When women are seen as leaders and individuals with the
capacity to assist others to address their problems, they can be
elected to positions which would otherwise be filled by
men.
- Working in a post-conflict or post-genocide setting requires
flexibility and adaptability in programming. Many of
OTI's current mechanisms should be used as a model by
USAID itself, to better meet the needs of transition
environments. To remain relevant, USAID needs to develop more
flexible mechanisms for project implementation.
WIT's
FUTURE:
Following the evaluation and audit of the WIT
program, WIT submitted a two-year proposal to USAID/Rwanda for 2000
and 2001. If WIT is funded, it foresees a continuation of supporting
rural women associations and other vulnerable groups throughout
Rwanda and gradually diminishing funding activities in the
prefectures/communes initially targeted.
In 2000 and 2001, new consideration will be given
to women in prefectures that were not initially targeted by
WIT's operations, and communes that could not be reached
because of past insecurity. This strategy will respond to vulnerable
women, particularly in western Rwanda, who have received little if
any assistance for their basic needs and priorities.
Another cornerstone of WIT's future
strategy will be its work with and training of rural Women
Committees and Women's Communal
Funds (WCF). The creation of the WCF is an effort by the Ministry to
decentralize and ensure the extension of revolving credit to rural
women at the commune and sector levels. It is also a dual effort to
give rural-elected Women Committees and women structures more
involvement in funding determinations and management decisions. The
broad amount of field experience that WIT staff has gained over the
past three years equips them with invaluable know-how and skills to
provide guidance, training and assist in the establishment of
appropriate mechanisms and procedures for WCFs. WIT has already
started working with and training WCFs in 17 communes. Over the next
two years, it estimates it will work with and fund between 30 to 45
new WCFs.
WIT TODAY:
As of the first week of September 1999, WIT has
worked in 91 communes in 11 prefectures. It has funded 1,581 women
projects for nearly $3 million dollars. The total number of
beneficiaries is 179,218. Program data and charts are available upon
request.
If WIT is funded for the next two years, a new
Coordinator will be recruited. The new Coordinator will be more
involved in training and hopefully have expertise with micro credit
activities in developing countries.
COMMENTS ABOUT WIT:
"This funding (WIT's) is
not charity, but an investment in your future as you work for
peace and prosperity. I know you have struggled through many
hardships, and my wish is that you can live and work in peace.
You deserve to have peace."
—COS Dick McCall addressing 18 WIT-funded
women associations in Northwest Rwanda, December 1998
"WIT funds are especially helpful to women because they go
directly to the associations and do not pass through other
intermediaries...this gives associations absolute responsibility in
managing their funds and activities...I encourage other NGOs, donors
and even the Rwandan Government to use WIT's model in providing
assistance to Rwandans...I hope that WIT's assistance will encourage
other women to join or form associations as a unified means of
dealing with their problems..."
—Gisenyi Prefect, Captain Jean-Baptiste
Muhirwa, addressing WIT-funded women associations in Mutura Commune,
Gisenyi Prefecture, December
1998
"...when I arrived three years ago, part of my mandate as
Ambassador to Rwanda was to help support the reconciliation
process...the Women In Transition Program has played a key part in
Rwanda's reconciliation process..."
—Ambassador Robert E. Gribbin's farewell address to
USAID/Rwanda Staff, December 1998
"Women will
need additional support to be effective advocates for peace and
unity at the local level. WIT staff could have a greater impact
on women's political participation with additional training and
support."
—Evaluation Report of Women In Transition
Project, June 1999
"Most USAID programs work throughlocal and international NGOs
to deliver programs. WIT is an exception to this approach, and
indicates a real commitment to reaching remote areas and
especially vulnerable groups. The rural focus of the WIT program
means that assistance goes directly to rural women=s
associations, without the multiple intermediaries and associated
delays which are more typical of assistance to rural
communities."
—Evaluation Report of Women In Transition
Project, June 1999
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