Fifth and final annual report on a matching grant to Save the Children (SC) to support its Woman/Child Impact (WCI) program, aimed at empowering women and children to participate in their communities” social and economic development, education, and resource management sectors and linking them to existing child survival and maternal/child health programs. After 5 years, the program has become fully institutionalized at SC, and is now the accepted overall organizing approach for all SC programming. WCI core country programs are recognized for their quality and sustainability. During the final year, WCI sponsored a series of internal discussions to synthesize achievements and conceptualize future directions. WCI is now formalized in SC”s Three Year Strategic Plan and the International Programs Handbook, which guide program direction and funding priorities. Significant management changes over the last year included the consolidation of the former Program Development and Program Operations Departments into a unified International Programs Department which is moving consistently toward increased program decisionmaking at the field level, primarily through Country and Area directors. The most visible of WCI”s field initiatives in the last year has been FACETS (Family and Community Empowerment Training Systems). Through FACETS, 29 national staff from 20 countries formed 6 teams of women and men capable of providing field-level training and TA in integrated programming with a gender perspective. During the last year, FACETS has increasingly gained recognition as a leader in the field of gender relations analysis and continues to draw the attention of major donors and development practitioners. It has also received SC”s Presidential Award. Core program sectors are now identified and established. The Economic Opportunities (EO) sector completed the systems required for expanding its programs, including various manuals, descriptive documents, and a video. The EO Office also held four training workshops and a conference on Women”s Microenterprise Networks (WMEN) programs. EO programs now operate in 13 countries. In the education sector, the multi-grade schools developed in Bolivia are among the direct successes. Education programs are active in 20 countries through its WCI-type approach known as “Strong Beginnings.” With WCI support, in the last year, the Education Office held an international conference in which 50 staff participated along with many key partners. The conference enabled SC to strengthen the core Home Office team and renew partnerships with collaborating agencies. With greater public recognition, WCI has begun dialogue with numerous PVOs, multi-lateral organizations, and universities to exchange lessons learned from practice and research. SC”s first “Woman and Child Development for the 21st Century” conference provided the opportunity for rich exchange between representatives from over 100 partners and over 20 countries worldwide. A recent workshop facilitated dialogue between a range of representatives spanning the development continuum, from grassroots to multi-lateral policy makers. This year WCI was recognized by peers at InterAction as recipient of the Millie Leet Award for integration of gender in its programs. Includes country reports on recent activities in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Haiti, Mali, and Mozambique. Lessons learned during the fifth year of the program regarding impact assessment, the Home Office, core countries, partnership, and documentation, along with related recommendations are detailed in conclusion. (Author abstract, modified)
