Lesson-71230-5

The project team recognized that in the majority of households, livelihood support would be most effective in promoting child welfare and reducing child labor if it was provided to the woman. Findings from the evaluation showed that many female-headed households suffered from extreme poverty and this affected the extent that project livelihood support could make a significant difference. Key informants explained that in many cases, the households included many children fathered by multiple men and described a cycle of dependence that often started with early motherhood, the father abandoning the household, taking a new partner, having more children and again, abandonment. When discussing the issue, project implementers thought that more could and should be done in future projects to empower adolescent girls to avoid early motherhood and strengthen the potential independence of woman breadwinners by improving women’s access to training, land and membership in producer groups.