CHF International Assessment on the Impact of USAID-Higa Ubeho Abahizi Clubs Job Vacancy in Rwanda

Request for Consultancy
Services

Terms of Reference (ToRs):
Assessment on the Impact of USAID/Higa Ubeho Abahizi clubs

Program Background
The Rwanda USAID/Higa Ubeho program is a five-year USAID/PEPFAR- funded program
with the goal to increase the use of health and related social support services
among the most vulnerable, including orphans and vulnerable children (OVC),
people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA) and their families. USAID/Higa Ubeho
presently operates in 16 United States Government (USG)-supported target
districts, CHF International leads this consortium with international partner
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and 8 Rwandan Partner Organizations (RPOs).

The program provides holistic support for vulnerable families through a wide
range of services that include a variety of psychosocial support and life skill
building interventions for both children and adults one of which is School based
clubs known as Abahizi clubs.  These clubs are a place for secondary
school students, especially vulnerable children, to meet, share experiences,
talk about overcoming challenges, set goals for themselves (Imihigo) and work
towards achieving these goals.  Abahizi clubs encourage youth to adopt
healthy behaviors and develop relationship through effective communication and
cooperation. This intervention provides important life skills education, peer
mentoring and psychosocial support for vulnerable youth.

The Clubs are managed by a teacher mentor and two youth mentors. The program
has developed curriculums and workbooks for teachers and youth mentors, in
addition to an activity brief for school administrators.  To date the
program has established 180 Abahizi Clubs in 16 districts by orienting and
supporting 180 teacher mentors as well as 360 youth mentors, each club has an
average of 40 students.

Objectives of the assessment

This assessment will assist the USAID/Higa Ubeho program to understand the impact
of the Abahizi clubs on youth, and to evaluate the quality of program
guidelines, training and services.

The specific objectives of
the assessment are:
1. To measure changes in confidence, skills and behaviors.
2. To assess the impact on academic enrollment, retention, and performance.
3. To evaluate the quality of program tools and services.
4. To identify promising practices within the Abahizi Club model.
5. To identify strategies for sustainability.

The information provided through the assessment will be used to support
learning as well as to guide future programming.  In addition, the
assessment will help the program to disseminate promising practices and lessons
learned from the implementation of Abahizi clubs.

Assessment Methodology

Throughout the research, the team will work closely with, and receive guidance
from CHF International. The methodology should include extensive consultations
with stakeholders including local authorities, beneficiaries, Rwanda Partner
Organizations (RPOs) and school authorities. The assessment should be designed
to include mixed assessment methods for purposes of triangulation and include
but not necessarily be limited to a selection of the following methods:
• Literature review of relevant program documents
• Questionnaires
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with selected Abahizi Club members
beneficiaries
• Key informant interviews at the school and community level

 Key Tasks
1. Conduct literature review.
2. Develop research proposal (including methodology, data collection tools,
timeframe and proposed reporting format)
3. Pre-test the data collection tools.
4. Collect data that ensures standard and rigorous data quality control,
through focus group discussions, questionnaires and key informant interviews.
5. Data entry and analysis.
6. Draft report.
7. Convene meeting to validate findings.
8. Finalize report based on feedback from stakeholders.
9. Provide the assessment data set to USAID/Higa Ubeho for future program
needs.

Timeframe
This assignment should be completed within 30 working days

Logistics
All logistical costs including transportation data collection and printing
costs will be covered by the consultant and should be detailed in the financial
proposal. All expenses will be reimbursed based on the submission of receipts.

Desired Qualifications

The research team shall be selected based on the following criteria:
– Minimum of Master’s Degree in relevant field
– Proven experience in design and implementation of participatory research
projects using questionnaires, focus groups and key informant interviews;
– Knowledge of school and community-based services especially youth programming
– Excellent report writing skills;
– Advanced computer and data analysis skills;
– Knowledge of the country context;
– Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda required.

How to apply
Interested applicants are requested to submit the following documents:

• Printed and bound technical proposal including cover letter addressed to the
HR Manager CHF International; Executive summary; Evidence of consultant(s)
qualifications; references for similar work done and proof of service(3);
Description of proposed services and methodology addressing the assessment
objectives and detailing how deliverables will be achieved.
• Printed and bound financial proposal detailing all costs associated with the
delivery of the above services.

Application files should be delivered to CHF International Rwanda, Country
office located at Kacyiru Nord, Plot 1091, alternatively, electronic copies can
be sent to info@rw.chfinternational.org.