This case study focuses on BRAC’s experience and learning over the past 15 years delivering financial services to primarily adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Through its Employment and Livelihood for Adolescents program (ELA), BRAC offers savings and credit facilities, livelihood training and issue discussion services to youth aged between 14-25 years. The case outlines the evolution of ELA into the ‘Social and Financial Empowerment of Adolescents’ (SOFEA) program (which continues to be known as ELA in Africa), the challenges of providing financial services to youth, and the lessons BRAC has learnt and embraced over time.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Case Study on BRAC and Youth.pdf | 3.41 MB |
The report assesses economic and vocational training programs being implemented in the Burmese refugee camps near the Thai-Burma border to see what is possible given the Thai Government’s restrictions on refugees’ freedom of movement and their right to work. Findings note the protection failures of the Thai Government’s current policies and how these, in fact, place refugees at heightened risk for arrest and economic exploitation. The report also concludes that much more could be done by the humanitarian community to promote the self-reliance of refugees even within the camp settings.
The Women’s Commission traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in May 2008 to research Burmese refugee women’s economic coping strategies and how that impacted their vulnerability to gender-based violence. The delegation looked at programs currently being implemented by the humanitarian community in Kuala Lumpur in order to identify whether or not refugee women’s economic coping strategies were being supported by livelihoods interventions. Additionally, the delegation looked at whether or not those interventions include gender-based violence prevention or protection components. Finally, the delegation sought to better understand the unmet needs of refugee women and how they relate to their livelihood strategies and experience of gender-based violence.
The report presents the findings of a two-week field assessment that reviewed livelihood programs targeting returning internally displaced persons in the Midwest region of Nepal and Bhutanese refugees living in seven refugee camps in the southeast of the country. The report details some of the more creative interventions being implemented for both populations by international and local non-governmental organizations - such as relief substitution projects in the refugee camps and value chain interventions with forest users groups and off-season vegetable cooperatives. The report also highlights some of the opportunities that are being over-looked such as capitalizing on the existing in-camp economies and ensuring that vocational training programs are market driven.
This combined literature review and program review focused on the current and future role of microfinance and sustainable livelihood strategies in reducing adolescent girls' vulnerability to HIV infection in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Part 1 of the review focuses on youth-centered programs to prevent HIV infection among vulnerable female adolescents—including microfinance and sustainable livelihood programs. Part 2 analyzes the relationship between microfinance and HIV prevention in the general population, with a focus on women and the oldest adolescents in the target group. Adapting the traditional microfinance model to meet the needs of this sub-group could prove to benefit not only these adolescents but also the microfinance industry.
This study is a companion to an earlier study on Gender and Conflict in Mindanao that was heavily focused on the impact of armed conflict on women (including young women), and stems from a need to understand the situation of young men in the context of the conflict in Mindanao. It also complements a study conducted in early 2005 that examines the impact of the conflict on men, women and youth in five provinces of Mindanao.
The objective of these guidelines is to explain the importance of a gender perspective in emergency operations and assist emergency specialists in gender-sensitive planning
The Social and Financial Empowerment of Adolescents (SOFEA) project is a BRAC initiative aimed at providing adolescent girls with financial and social support to enable them to empower themselves.
There are 600 million teenage girls living in poverty in the developing world. The majority of these girls live under conditions characterized by prevalent inequalities due to subordination, early marriage, frequent pregnancy, abandonment, divorce, abduction, war, domestic violence, marginalization and exclusion from both financial and social systems. SOFEA evolved out of the need to serve these girls, aged 14-25 years. This group has remained vulnerable and highly underrated in terms of its potential to bring about immense positive change. These girls can change not only their lives but also that of the communities in which they live through their impact on future generations: their children.
The SOFEA program comprises of the following vital components:
- A secure place for adolescent girls to socialize
- Life-skills training
- Livelihood training
- Financial literacy
- Savings and credit facilities
- Community sensitization
The components complement each other and create the complete support structure needed by an adolescent girl. The secure place provides a much-needed socialization space creating social cohesion. Life skills training raises girls’ level of social awareness, allowing them to make informed decisions. Livelihood training equips girls with the skills they need to engage in income generating activities, starting them off on the path towards financial independence. The financial literacy course provides insight into the financial aspects of managing a small business. The credit and savings facilities are a source for seed capital for the girls to start small businesses. To garner support from their families and the community, the program engages in community sensitization to ensure that even after BRAC leaves, these girls will continue enjoying their rights, as well as receive the attention and support that they deserve from their family and community.
The project aims at empowering girls to make more informed decisions about issues that affect their lives. Over time, these girls become more confident and independent through social and financial empowerment. By educating them, the girls will lead a healthy life and be informed mothers bringing up healthy families in the future.
The project is also active in Tanzania and Uganda, where it is known as Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA)
Farzana Kashfi
Head of SOFEA Program
BRAC Centre
75 Mohakhali
Dhaka 1212
Bangladesh
farzana.kashfi@gmail.com
Location
FIELD Report No 2: Economic Strengthening for Vulnerable Children: Principles of Program Design and Technical Recommendations for Effective Field Interventions aims to begin to fill a knowledge gap between specialists in an array of disciplines including child protection, economic strengthening, health and education on how to most effectively work together and implement integrated programming. The resource illustrates best practices in economic strengthening for vulnerable children in a format that can be readily adopted and adapted by donors and practitioners for incorporation in their work.
The LEGACY Project in Liberia, an initiative of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), works to increase opportunities for formal schooling, skills training, and improved protection for children and youth. The project in Liberia supports the development of a vocational/skills training program driven by labor demand; enhances the quality of training in market-driven skills; creates linkages with the private sector and local businesses; enhances job-seeking abilities; targets marginalized at-risk youth, emphasizing gender equality; influences the design and monitoring of projects to ensure programs will give Liberian youth the requisite skills that will allow them to find work and earn a living wage; and builds networks of all the relevant stakeholders to increase their ability to influence policy and practice.
The main objective of LEGACY project activities in Liberia is to increase access of girls and traditionally excluded youth to quality and relevant technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Lofa and Nimba counties. This objective will be achieved by:
- Establishing a National Working Group (NWG) to set standards and advocate for increased quality and relevance of and access to TVET by girls and traditionally excluded youth;
- Increasing quality and relevance of TVET in targeted TVET institutions in Lofa and Nimba counties;
- Increasing access of targeted vocational training centers (VTCs) by girls and traditionally excluded youth; and
- Increasing the income levels of targeted VTCs and providing support for more girls to access vocational training on an ongoing basis.
These initiatives will promote increased accountability of the Government and NGO vocational training practitioners to provide marginalized older youth with safe opportunities to learn and apply marketable skills, working to ensure the relevance and impact of vocational training.
LEGACY Initiative
SEEP PLP for Youth and Workforce Development
Abu Macpherson
abu.macpherson@liberia.theirc.org
Carrie Berg
Youth and Livelihoods Program Manager
Carrie.berg@theirc.org
Partner Microcredit Foundation (Partner) is a multiethnic, inter-entity organization with 44 offices covering all of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). As of June 30, 2008, Partner has a gross portfolio outstanding of approximately 184 million KM, 257 employees, 159 loan officers, 59,682 active clients and 61,500 active loans. Mercy Corps began microcredit operations in Bosnia in April 1997, and then spun Partner off into its own organization in late 2000. Partner MKF provides services to microentrepreneurs both for registered and unregistered business activities. Partner's target population is rural women. Currently, Partner has the leading position in the microfinance sector with 19% market share in terms of active clients in BiH.
Partner’s mission is to provide accessible financial services to the economically active population with no access to the commercial financing sources necessary for the start up of new or improvement of existing businesses and improvement of quality of life. One of Partner’s main roles is to assist in creation of new workplaces; so far Partner has created over 60,000 new workplaces, while over 200,000 workplaces have been sustained, thanks to loans from Partner.
Partner MKF plans to introduce a mentorship program to its clients, as a value-added service to complement regular loans. Thus far, they have conducted market research with other NGOs, and have conducted a focus group with existing clients. Partner plans to develop a mentorship program in the summer of 2008, and begin a year of pilot testing in September 2008. In addition, Partner plans to participate in a worldwide Mercy Corps effort, funded by the World Bank, engaging in controlled studies on which components of youth programming (e.g. training, loans, mentorships) provide the most impact.
SEEP PLP for Youth and Workforce Development
Selma Cilimkovic
selma.c@partner.ba
The Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) is a BRAC initiative aimed at providing adolescent girls with financial and social support to enable them to empower themselves.
There are 600 million teenage girls living in poverty in the developing world. The majority of these girls live under conditions characterized by prevalent inequalities due to subordination, early marriage, frequent pregnancy, abandonment, divorce, abduction, war, domestic violence, marginalization and exclusion from both financial and social systems. ELA evolved out of the need to serve these girls, aged 14-25 years. This group has remained vulnerable and highly underrated in terms of its potential to bring about immense positive change. These girls can change not only their lives but also that of the communities in which they live through their impact on future generations: their children.
The ELA program comprises of the following vital components:
- A secure place for adolescent girls to socialize
- Life-skills training
- Livelihood training
- Financial literacy
- Savings and credit facilities
- Community sensitization
The components complement each other and create the complete support structure needed by an adolescent girl. The secure place provides a much-needed socialization space creating social cohesion. Life skills training raises girls’ level of social awareness, allowing them to make informed decisions. Livelihood training equips girls with the skills they need to engage in income generating activities, starting them off on the path towards financial independence. The financial literacy course provides insight into the financial aspects of managing a small business. The credit and savings facilities are a source for seed capital for the girls to start small businesses. To garner support from their families and the community, the program engages in community sensitization to ensure that even after BRAC leaves, these girls will continue enjoying their rights, as well as receive the attention and support that they deserve from their family and community.
The project aims at empowering girls to make more informed decisions about issues that affect their lives. Over time, these girls become more confident and independent through social and financial empowerment. By educating them, the girls will lead a healthy life and be informed mothers bringing up healthy families in the future.
The project is also active in Tanzania
Social and Financial Empowerment of Adolescents (SOFEA), Bangladesh
Farzana Kashfi
Head of SOFEA Program
BRAC Centre
75 Mohakhali
Dhaka 1212
Bangladesh
farzana.kashfi@gmail.com
