Evaluation Learnings Search

Learning Description

Awareness Raising. Well-targeted, small-scale, and appropriately and repeatedly delivered awareness raising mobilizes people, solidifies messages, and changes attitudes in the long run. Project Dima-Adros’s direct beneficiaries—and their parents, siblings, neighbors, teachers, school principals, bus drivers, and local elected and appointed officials—all understand the dangers of child labor and the need for children to be educated.

Learning Description

Coordination with the GOM. Regarding sustainability and scaling-up potential, the project would have benefitted from a formal partnership or other similar arrangement with one or more relevant GOM entities, probably the Ministry of National Education or the Direction du Travail (Directorate of Labor). Project Adros, predecessor to Project Dima-Adros, was reportedly part of a tripartite partnership with these two departments, which seems to be perceived by the director of the child labor unit as a strong basis for collaboration toward achieving joint objectives, including national-level objectives.

Learning Description

Baseline Study. The holistic concept of the baseline study—as designed and conducted at the outset of Project Dima-Adros—produced an excellent tool that served multiple purposes, including data collection. Once analyzed, these data were used for “show and tell,” mobilization, awareness raising, and planning and reporting. The process appears to be replicable and adaptable to other similar projects.

Learning Description

The project’s afterhours tutoring program approach, delivered by associations, PTAs in particular, has proven its effectiveness through the beneficiaries’ improved scholastic performance, preventing them from early school dropout, and their potential engagement in exploitive labor. The program should be adaptable nationwide, conditional on the project’s submission of the results of the tutoring evaluation study

Learning Description

The Government of the DRC has been the weakest link in the chain of REETE actors. Measuring the capacity of the government to work toward effective changes in the education system and child labor issues was a key flawed assumption of the project.

Learning Description

The location of the project site is important in terms of reaching local authorities, especially in Mbuji Mayi, where REETE is located at the district level. In Mbuji Mayi, there were more interactions between the project and the provincial ministerial departments. Information was better shared among the members of the committee, and activities were more cost-effective. In Bunia and Kolwezi, however, the Ministries of Gender, Family Affairs and Children—as well as the Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Professional Education—did not feel involved in the project.

Learning Description

Community involvement at the inception stage can guarantee sustainability. In Mongbwalu, REETE was able to implement community groups, 7 RECOPE, parents’ associations, 11 children’s committees, 7 children’s clubs, and provincial committees in fighting against WFCL in Mongbwalu and Bunia. Community organizations showed more willingness to develop strategies to continue the project.

Learning Description

The USDOL initiative in rehabilitating schools was a driving force that encouraged other partners to support school construction. This has contributed to making school construction cost-effective.

Learning Description

The impact of the project is more tangible on the local NGOs, parents associations, and children. REETE was able to change the conditions of the NGOs by paying and training facilitators. The project has given more opportunities to child beneficiaries; however, the project’s impact was less significant on the Government of the DRC. There were no policy changes, and there was no government commitment to support child labor issues and increase resources to education.

Learning Description

Sustainability depends mostly on the Government of the DRC’s commitment of to take responsibility for waiving school fees and creating a legal environment that prohibits child labor by applying severe penalties.