Completion report [: grant no. 617-0133-G-00-5002-00] (January 1995-June 1997)

The project had three components: a Women in Small Enterprises (WISE) effort, implemented in conjunction with Peace Corps Volunteers; a school sponsorship program; and funding operating expenses for UWESO headquarters. In the WISE component, 23 Peace Corps Volunteers in 14 district-based branches worked directly with women who care for needy orphans, particularly girls. The Volunteers trained 3,700 women in business and income generation skills and linked them with technical agribusiness and financial services, including, inter alia, USAID"s Investment in Development Export Agriculture (IDEA) project, the Peace Corps" Small Project Assistance Program, the Poverty Alleviation Project, and the village banking program of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA). WISE also produced a training manual with lesson plans based on sessions conducted by WISE volunteers, a self-guided business manual for those already engaged in small business ventures, and a pamphlet on quality control in maize production for use mainly by women maize growers. Additional pamphlets on storage, handling, and marketing are planned. WISE Volunteers worked closely with the clients of the UWESO Savings and Credit Scheme, conducting weekly training sessions in marketing and bookkeeping. Overall, the WISE component played a crucial role in increasing women"s household incomes and thereby strengthening the extended family"s ability to provide for children under their care. Under the school sponsorship programme, 1,193 needy orphans (vs. a target of 835) acquired numeracy and literacy skills; 56% of those assisted were girls, a significant accomplishment given the difficulty of finding girls who will be released from their family responsibilities to attend school. A total of 207 girls were retained in school and were able to complete P.7, thus ensuring that they were able, besides achieving numeracy and literacy, to avoid early marriages and be equipped to avoid the AIDS epidemic. UWESO social workers made 40 monitoring trips to monitor school attendance, performance, and payment of school fees, and to counsel sponsored children. USAID support to UWESO headquarters enabled the organization to retain and continuously train staff, thereby improving its capability to deliver services to orphans. This expanded capacity also enabled UWESO to attract further donor funding, including a project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) which, after 30 months of implementation, is considered the best of all IFAD projects in the region.