The Leftemap Sista II project has promoted respect and equality in relationships, improving women's confidence, income, and leadership skills, and enhancing community services. The project has trained 254 people in gender issues and equal rights, held community dialogue sessions, and provided Good Relationships Free from Violence (GRFV) training. Evaluation of the GRFV training has shown improved awareness and understanding of healthy relationships and prevention of violence against women and girls.
Finding Your Voice training ensured inclusiveness, provided financial services to 381 people, and established new Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) groups in seven communities, including 198 members with total savings of approximately AUD $40,175. A high proportion of Women’s Economic Livelihood (WEL) group members have become members of VSLAs. The project has also involved 15 people with disabilities.
Sustainable measures have been established through reflection and learning workshops involving 215 people from five communities. The evaluation has shown that the project has empowered women and young women to engage in economic activities and achieve improved income-generating activities, including diversification and effectiveness. The project has provided technical support on handicrafts and agriculture, good governance training, Foundational Leadership training, Family Financial Management training, and GRFV training.
Community Involvement
This project has focused on educating women, men, youth and community leaders to change the social norms and ensure sustainability at the community level. Overall, the evaluation findings suggest that the project has made progress towards ending violence against women and girls while also highlighting the importance of long-term interventions for promoting changes to traditional cultural norms that define and maintain inequitable gender relations.
In the past year, seven communities were educated in Menstrual Health and Hygiene management.
Prior to the COVID-19 community outbreak, the team was ready to support the rollout of a new methodology for inclusive community-led advocacy activities in all project communities. When this approach became impossible due to COVID-19 public health restrictions, the team adapted the Good Relationships Free from Violence (GRFV) manual into 5 short episodes for broadcasting over radio. Episodes were broadcast through FM104 (Tafea community radio reaching communities 100% of west Tanna and 70% of central, west, south, southwest and north Tanna & south Erromango). This alternative approach provided excellent reach to communities (within and beyond the project target communities).
What’s Next?
The project’s strong focus on implementation in partnership with Vanuatu Government and local community support officers will also support the sustainability of the project outcomes. Project activities were all done in the context of the broader goals of project partners and participants were given a say in how activities were implemented – all aimed at the work continuing in FY23 under Pacific Partnerships for Gender Equality project.
The new Pacific Partnerships for Gender Equality project – operating from July 2022 to June 2027 – will continue to extend on this progress by developing community-led versions of this project’s activities in the context of stronger relationships with local authorities.
CASE STUDY
With your support, Leftemap Sista II has supported women and girls in Vanuatu's southernmost province, Tafea, to feel confident, respected, and safe as leaders and decision-makers.
The Australian Government funded Disaster Ready project complements this support by recognizing Vanuatu's vulnerability to environmental disasters. Being part of these groups has provided new spaces for women to take on leadership roles in their communities, as well as creating big changes at home, including more equal roles in decisions on family finances.
Margaret Rasai, from Tanna Island, describes the impact of her involvement in both the Leftemap Sista and Disaster Ready programs, saying, "The Foundational Leadership workshop has made me realize that I am confident in my leadership abilities. I can lead other women in my community to come up with initiatives that will support our community."
Margaret describes her husband as her biggest support, encouraging her to attend CARE activities. After the Family Financial Management workshop, which she attended with her son, Margaret returned home to discuss budgeting as a family. Subsequently, she established a fish nursery as an additional source of income, and she now teaches the skills she learned in the workshops to other women in her community who cannot attend themselves.
The project has empowered the women in her community—something that Margaret sees as just the start of better things to come. She says, "Women in our community support development. We work with men to make changes in our community because men cannot make a change by themselves."
By empowering women like Margaret, you helped break patterns of poverty and abuse and gave them the opportunity for healthier and happier lives.