Family life education program : evaluation report

Special evaluation covers the period 1978-9/80 and is based on document review, site visits, and interviews with personnel of Ghana"s Department of Social Welfare and Community Development (DSWCD) and with FLEP community facilitators and group members. Due mainly to the severe economic problems facing Ghana and the DSWCD, the project has not been able to achieve targeted outputs. Certain aspects, however, have been successful, most especially training of community facilitators, which is undoubtedly the single most important factor determining FLEP group success. Approximately 25 days of facilitator training were provided, some in local languages. Training of senior DSWCD staff was reduced in scope (only 4 of 12 planned workshops held) due to logistic and economic constraints. Only 7 new FLEP groups, vs. a targeted 25, have been established. Most groups (45 exist, 37 are fully active) are devoting more attention to economic activities than to literacy training or adult education (which were intended to be the primary FLEP activities). Twenty-five are involved in small-scale economic projects; these have received project loans ($500-4,000) and are, on the whole, doing well. Some 60% of the groups have initiated self-help (small infrastructure) projects, although none of the funds earmarked for this purpose have yet been disbursed. The low levels of literacy training being provided result in part from the project"s inability (due to lack of printing supplies and equipment) to disseminate the revised literacy materials which it has developed. The project, which was overambitious to begin with, should have been redesigned as soon as the effect of Ghana"s crippling economic problems on project resources (staff, money, vehicles, fuel) became apparent. Since FLEP"s economic activities have overshadowed educational efforts, a collaborative arrangement with a group (such as Technoserve) expert in small scale economics and marketing should be considered.