Graduating to Resilience Quarterly Report FY2019, Quarter 1

The Activity is implemented by AVSI Foundation in partnership with Trickle Up Program, Inc and IMPAQ International, LLC. The project goal is to help extremely poor refugee and Ugandan households in Kamwenge graduate from conditions of food insecurity and fragile livelihoods to self-reliance and resilience. The Activity is implementing three variations of a standard Graduation Approach with the intention to identify the most cost-effective model for wider utilization globally. The main features of Graduating to Resilience by treatment arm are outlined in Table 1. The Activity is focused on improving food security and nutrition status of household members, as well as improving household economic status. The context in and around Rwamwanja has remained largely unchanged since the previous report, with no incidents affecting the operational capacity of AVSI or other humanitarian partners. However, the Activity has maintained a high degree of alert due to ongoing tensions in the refugee settlements in the north and the continuing inflow of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into Uganda. In response to the Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC, the Activity has issued Ebola awareness and guidance notes, disseminated to all staff, and taken measures to prevent the spread of the disease. As of the end of the first quarter of Year 2, the Graduating to Resilience team had completed nearly all refinement year activities and was enthusiastic to begin implementation of activities with the first cohort of participants. A total of 25,140 households were found eligible for enrolment into the Activity, with 11,000 households randomly selected for assignment to a treatment arm or a control group. Assignment of participants to treatment arms and control group was done randomly with a highly transparent and participatory process of public village lotteries. The Activity finalized its coaching curriculum, for both the individual coaching and the group coaching approach, and put into place the coaching supervision system. Technical contents for Core and Technical Skills transfer, for instance SPM and Farmer Field Business School (FFBS), were also consolidated and refined. Major decisions were made regarding consumption support amounts and modality, with SIM cards and Mobile Money accounts registered for 6,018 beneficiaries together with MTN, the mobile money operator selected for partnership. The Activity has made significant progress in the first quarter of Year 2, with key decisions made regarding the coaching curriculum and coaching supervision system, as well as consumption support amounts and modality. The Activity is now poised to begin implementation of activities with the first cohort of participants, with a focus on improving food security and nutrition status of household members, as well as improving household economic status. The Activity's life of activity timeline is outlined in Table 2, with the refinement year extended from 12 months to 15 months to coincide with the calendar year. The clustering of villages was made necessary by the fact that some villages on their own would not have had a sufficient population to have all three treatment arms, which was a RCT requirement. Figure 1 provides a view of the physical location of participating households, and Table 3 provides household composition (37,587 individuals). The Activity has a strong focus on monitoring and evaluation, with a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system in place to track progress and identify areas for improvement. The Activity is committed to learning and adaptation, with a strong emphasis on Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) principles. The Activity is also committed to transparency and accountability, with regular reporting and communication with stakeholders. The Activity's geographic focus is on Kamwenge, with a strong emphasis on improving food security and nutrition status of household members, as well as improving household economic status. The Activity is working with a range of stakeholders, including local government, humanitarian partners, and community leaders, to achieve its goals. The Activity is also committed to sustainability, with a focus on building the capacity of local institutions and promoting self-reliance among beneficiaries. The Activity's timeframes are outlined in Table 2, with the refinement year extended from 12 months to 15 months to coincide with the calendar year. The Activity is expected to continue until September 30, 2024, with a focus on achieving its goals and objectives. The Activity's recommendations for future action are outlined in the final section of this report.