Evaluating the impact of an empowerment programme on the economic and social well being of out-of-school girls

Summary:  The education and social support system in Tanzania has been relatively ineffective in developing the social and economic well being of adolescent girls. Many girls drop out of school without developing essential life skills such as self esteem, leadership and healthy lifestyles. A new programme in Tanzania seeks to test the impact of “Adolescent Clubs”, an alternative learning environment managed by youth themselves which teaches life skills, entrepreneurship and provides microloans. The programme will help us understand what leads a young women in East Africa to raise her income and lead a more productive life.

Description:  The intervention to be evaluated is known as the "Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents" (ELA) programme and is currently being implemented in Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan by BRAC, one of the world’s largest development organizations. The goal of the programme is the self-empowerment of adolescent girls aged 13-19. Three distinct activities are offered to the participants: life skills training course to develop healthy lifestyles, leadership and social consciousness; income generation skills training in gardening, livestock, food processing and tailoring and appropriately designed micro loans for participants who successfully complete training. In Tanzania, services are delivered through 100 “Adolescent Clubs” throughout the country where young women can learn in a safe environment. The program is managed by trained Adolescent Leaders who conduct courses and manage all Club activities.

The main outcome that the ELA evaluation will assess is whether the programme increases well being, economic activity and incomes of participants. The evaluation is a randomized control trial across the three countries. Financing from YEN will be used for the Tanzania portion of the evaluation. The 100 villages selected to receive ELA in Tanzania were chosen randomly from a list of 150 villages. The remaining 50 villages form the control group. The 100 villages will be divided into 2 groups of 50, one which will receive training plus microfinance and the other which will receive only training. This will allow the evaluation to assess the real impact of microfinance.

Timeline:

Researchers: Prof. Imran Rasul, University College London, Prof. Oriana Bandiera, London School of Economics, Prof. Robin Burgess, London School of Economics, Dr. Markus Goldstein, World Bank, Mr. Munshi Sulaiman, BRAC/ London School of Economics.