UK Aid Match project six month review template
Purpose of the review
The six month review is an opportunity for you and DFID to check the progress of the project, discuss any new or on-going challenges and risks, as well as any changes you would like to make to the project. It is also an opportunity to check whether actions agreed after the previous annual report have been implemented. The review will include a discussion with DFID either face to face or by phoneonce the review template has been completed.
How to complete the template
All reports: Complete the table below and either se’ction A or section B[A1] of the template. Expand boxes as required.
Initial report (i.e. in year 1 of your project): complete all questions in section A.
Six month reports for subsequent years: complete all questions in section B.
Name of organisation: Islamic Relief Worldwide / Project title: Climate-Resilient Livelihoods for the Pastoralist Communities in KenyaProject Value: GBP xxx (DfID contribution GBP xxx) / Review Date:30 September 2015
Project start date:1st April 2013 / Project end date:31st March 2016
Current quarterly forecasts for this financial year: (Note: the DFID FY runs from 01/04 – 31/03)
April – June:
July – Sept:
Oct – Dec:
Jan – March:[A2] / Project expenditure to date for this FY:[A3] / Revised annual forecast for this FY: (if applicable)
[A4]
- Initial six month report
A1. Please confirm whether the following project documents have been finalised. If documents have been produced or revisions have taken place since the start of the grant funding period, please attach new/revised documents. If documents have not been finalised, please explain what action you are taking to finalise them.
Log-frame: Y/N
Budget: Y/N
Project activities plan: Y/N
Risk Matrix: Y/N
Monitoring and evaluation plan: Y/N
Asset register: Y/N (see annex 5 of your accountable grant)
UK aid Visibility Statement (see para 21 of your accountable grant): Y/N
Inception activities
A2. Are all staff required to deliver the project in place? If not, please explain what action you are taking.
A3. Have due diligence assessments on funding partners been completed, and any recommendations from the assessments been implemented? Have funding agreements with partners been signed?
A4. Have all due diligence recommendations relating to your organisation been implemented? What action are you taking to implement any outstanding recommendations?
A5. What activities have taken place during the first six months of the project? How will activities contribute to the project achieving year 1 output targets? (include inception activities eg. baseline surveys, beneficiary sensitisation work).At this stage, do you expect to meet your year 1 output milestones by the end of year 1?
Reporting on your appeal:
A6. Have you delivered your report on your appeal coverage? (with actual OTV, broken down by channel, and visual examples)
A7. Please confirm the (estimated) number of donors that contributed to your appeal?
- Six month review for years 2 and 3
B1. What action has been taken in response to DFID feedback on your previous annual report? Are any actions outstanding? [A5]
DfID feedback on previous annual report was examined in the May meeting. Since then;- IRW responded to 31 July deadline actions on 12 August. Submission was to Cathy Welch
- IRW responded to remaining actions xxx[A6]
B2. Is the project on track to achieve output annual milestones? What monitoring data have you collected to support your assessment?
Yes,the project is on track to achieve its annual milestones as planned. Monitoring data collected to date at 30-month reporting stage is as below:Output indicator 1.1:milestone 3 (March 2016) 100%* 2,000 (male 1198and female 802) of agro pastoralist farmers access alternative sources of food production.
2000 (male 1328 and female 672) farmers successfully supported to adopted crop farming along the riverine as their alternative livelihood option.
- 1,455 (male 877 and female 578) farmers have realised outputs from the farm.90% of the agro-pastoralists were able to plant and harvest fodder, conserve and store them in bails to be used during dry seasons, during the drought periods. The surplus is sold to areas that are far away from the riverine and those that could not produce fodder for their livestock.
- The other 545 (321male and 224female) farmers received training on good agronomic practices and input support and recently started farming; September – December, 2015.
County / Male / Female / Total farmers
Mandera / 1198 / 802 / 2000
Wajir / 0 / 0 / 0
Total / 1328(59.9%) / 672(40.1%) / 2000
Surveillance reports by the veterinary department indicates improved body condition of livestock’s compared to previous dry seasons with reduced prevalence of animal deaths due to hunger. This is as a result of partly the availability of animal feeds from the fodder production and crop residues from the harvested farms which provides nutritious feeds to the livestock.
Years I and II farmers (1,455) have been able to access farm inputs from sales savings they had made. The training skills earlier received and experience gained has made them confident to continue with this farming enterprise.Mr. Noor was among residents of Neboi who took part in the farmer’s capacity training says “I can share a lot from my experience and farming training skills. Am sure I’ll harvest more in the next farming season.”
This milestone is 100% achieved.
Output indicator 1.2: milestone 3 140HHs (male 42 and female 98) adopt green house agriculture
60 farmers’ capacity has been built using greenhouse technology management.Three green houses have been installed benefiting three groups in Mandera (1) and Wajir (2).
The farmers are now producing high value crops mainly tomatoes, kales and spinach which fetch high returns over a shorter period.
- In Wagalla the mother to mother support group managed to save Ksh. 70,000 from the first season’s produce. The second seasoncrops are at fruiting stage and the group expect a much higher harvest due to improved skills. The group is now able to extend interest free credit facility to members with needs like payment of school fees and hospital expenses refundable within a specified period of time. This aspect of group saving and loaning is one of the unplanned achievement especially with the Wagalla group and it is positively impacting on the livelihood and wellbeing of the women in the group and an approach that will be promoted among the other groups for sustainability.
- 4 additional greenhouses have been procured and installed; the groups are now undergoing training and preparation of nurseries and seed beds in readiness for planting. Based on the learning from the initial green houses, this phase has engaged the government and the local community leadership to ensure that there is ownership of the intervention for ease of continuity.
County / Male / Female / Total farmers
Mandera / 10 / 10 / 20
Wajir / 10 / 30 / 40
Total / 20 (33.33%) / 40 (66.67%) / 60
This milestone is at 42% achieved and is on track to reach its overall target by the end of year 3.
The installation was delayed to give room for the project team to learn from the initial green houses before scaling up the activity in other areas. Meaningful lessons were drawn which are now making the establishment of the remaining four greenhouses more effective and efficient. Some of the lessons that were learnt include; the need to actively engage the government technical staff in all stages of the programme, need for an intensive tailor made training to the group members on green house management skills, site selection criteria must include the consideration for the availability of reliable source of water and mode of lifting the water to the green house. Additionally one key lesson learnt from Wagalla green house is that integrating the intervention with other programmes like nutrition and WASH is more likely to yield much result and positive change among the target community.
Output indicator 1.3: milestone 3 (March 2016) 450 (male 300 and female 150) of targeted farmers store food
Four cereal stores have been constructed and handed over to four farmers groups in Mandera. Farmers are now able to store their produce longer and safely.
- Assessment of sites for three more cereal stores has been completed with construction and handing over expected to be completed and handed over by November 2015.
County / Male / Female / Total farmers
Mandera / 261 / 224 / 485
Wajir / 0 / 0 / 0
Total / 261 / 224 / 485
This milestone overall achievement of storage facilities is at 57% but it will be achieved by December 2015.
Output indicator 1.4: milestone 3 (March 2016) 195 women trained to manage IGAs and received credit facility.
195 beneficiaries mostly women (94.87%) from 11 groups have been supported with sharia compliant micro credit facilities and are now in business; as an alternative means of livelihoods.
The beneficiaries are involved in a variety of income generating activities with about 78% new businesses, majority are dealing in retail shops selling household items.
One (1) out of eleven (11) groups has completed loan repayment while the rest are at different stages due to varying loan repayment cycles. The overall portfolio recovery rate is 88.5%. Anecdotal information indicates that slightly over 50% of the beneficiaries will be able to continue with their businesses after loan repayments while the rest are likely to face challenges.
The below table disaggregates the beneficiaries of this activity during this reporting period by gender and region:
County / Male / Female / Total HHs
Mandera / 0 / 90 / 90
Wajir / 10 / 95 / 95
Total / 10 (5.13%) / 185 (94.87%) / 195
This milestone is 100% achieved.
By design, the project wasto target only women, but during implementation 10 men who were most vulnerable due to taking care of orphans or sick spouse also benefited from this activity.
Through the interventions women have been able to open accounts with the local banks giving them the platform of future engagement with the banks to access bigger credit facilities, some groups are doing monthly group saving in addition to servicing their loans. Thegroup saving is creatinga capital portfolio from which the women are be able to self-lend themselves to upscale their business.In Wajir,Wagalla grouphasadopted the merry go round approach and this is boosting the economic wellbeing through re-investing the money received from their contribution to business. Additionally, the (merry goround) approach have strengthen their group cohesion hence enhancing the stability of their group.
Major challenge though is the in accessibility of sharia credit facilities that is line with their faith since most banks offer conventional loans.Further the understanding of sharia by the community, religious leaders and various scholars has made the process of promoting economically viable sharia products slow.
Output indicator 2.1:milestone 3 (March 2016) Ten community infrastructures rehabilitated.
Six community infrastructures have been rehabilitated such as desilting water pans, fencing water pans and clearing community access routes.
- Inter-clan conflicts interfered with water piping and drift rehabilitation in Rhamu. Stability has been restored in the area and the community will embark on the activity next quarter.
- As per the revised detailed implementation Plan, the remaining two cash for work activities will be implemented in the last quarter (January – March 2016) of the project.
Output indicator 2.2:milestone 2 (March 2016) 3,000 HH (male 1,500 and female 1,500) undertake CFW activities
1,740HH (male 940 and female 800) participated in the cash-for-work activities. The intervention created short-term employment opportunities for poor households which helped them improve their purchasing power for food and other basic family needs.All the rehabilitated infrastructures are still functional and managed by the respective communities.
Additionally, communities in Mandera and Wajir have already identified their priority cash for work activities with 800 HHs and 400 HHs selected to benefit from Mandera and Wajir respectively. In Mandera, water piping and drift rehabilitation to access routes to farms will be undertaken in the month of November 2015; while in Wajir, a water pan will be desilted in October, 2015.
The below table disaggregates the beneficiaries of this activity during this reporting period by gender and region:
County / Male / Female / Total HHs
Mandera / 220 / 120 / 340
Wajir / 720 / 680 / 1,400
Total / 940(54.02%) / 800(45.98%) / 1,740
The low achievement was as a result of inter clan conflict in Eldas sub-County in Wajir County and Rhamu and Lafey sub-counties in Mandera County. Thiscaused the project activities to for a while and join partners in peace building to stabilise the security situation before restarting implementation.
The milestone is 58% achieved at the 30 month reporting stage, but is on track to reach the overall target in year 3.
Output indicator 3.1:milestone 3 (March 2016) Six district veterinary offices supplied with appropriate veterinary equipment and other supplies.
Six district veterinary offices supported with appropriate veterinary equipment and other supplies.
- Fourteen livestock disease surveillance and fourteen health outreaches were carried out by the veterinary departments in the six offices under support.
This intervention has been very useful as ithas strengthened the working relationship between the government and IRK and increased the visibility of IRK. The activity hasenabled the government veterinary department to plan well for livestock diseases associated with disasters like drought and floods.The reports from the surveillance are used to plan for appropriate response in terms of vaccination, deworming and treatment to help avert any anticipated livestock deaths.
Output indicator 3.2:milestone 3 (March 2016) 3,600 (2,520 male and 1080 female) households supported with de-worming, mass vaccination and treatment.
4055 HH (male 2823 and female 1,232) benefitted from the mass vaccination and treatment exercises affected by disease outbreaks with a total of 455,367 livestock, both large and small have been vaccinated.
The below table disaggregates the beneficiaries of this activity during this reporting period by gender and region:
County / Male / Female / Total HHs / Total No. Livestock
Mandera / 1391 / 799 / 2190 / 258,877
Wajir / 1432 / 433 / 1865 / 196,760
Total / 2823 / 1232 / 4055 / 455,637
The project benefited from good working relationship with the Department Veterinary services in both Mandera and Wajir counties with each party fully playing its role as per the spirit of the agreed Memoranda of Understanding. Livestock husbandry is the dominant livelihood activity among the communities and therefore the County governments also leveraged the support given by the project and so the target was surpassed by 26.49%. As explained by the DVOs, the intervention has seen the reduction in livestock deaths as well as improvement in production capacities.
Output indicator 4.1:milestone 3 (March 2016) 180 (135 male and 45 female) people trained in CMDRR and early warning.
161 community resource persons from five locations have been trained on community based disaster risk reduction.
- The trainings culminated in the formation of Disaster Response committees in every targeted village with an action plan for the implementation of the identified community priority activities.
- An additional 30 participants were mobilised and sensitized to participate in CMDRR training in October.
County / Male / Female / Total trainees
Mandera / 47 / 24 / 71
Wajir / 69 / 21 / 90
Total / 116 / 45 / 161
This milestone is 89% achieved at 30 month, with the remaining targetplanned for in October, 2015.
Output indicator 4.2:milestone 3 (March 2016) Six CMDRR action plans by four DRCs.
Five active Community Disaster Management Committees with action plans formed in the four villages.
- This approach has created strong links between the communities, DRR actors and relevant government agencies for future coordination and support.
- The action plans are expected to enable the community to better manage shocks within their communities using local resources and also have the capacity to be able to approach other stakeholders to support their development programmes.
Output indicator 5.1:milestone 3 (March 2016) 30 staff (21 male and 9 female) able to mainstream DRR in their programmes
- 16 (male 12 and female four) IRK staff trained on Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response. The staff are now equipped with skills to successfully develop and implement programmes with mainstreamed DRR components
The training of additional staff is planned for November 2015, to enable the staff adequately mainstream DRR in all the programmes.
Output indicator 5.2:milestone 2 (March 2015) One DRR and CCA strategy adopted and applied
- The project has planned for a capacity building workshop in the third quarter of year three which will culminate in the development of the DRR mainstreaming strategy for IRK
Monitoring and Evaluation
Continuous project monitoring are done by the project team at the field office with periodic monitoring, and joint supervision done together with the other stakeholders like County department of agriculture, livestock and National Drought Management Authority. Participatory rapid assessment techniques were applied to collect the required data which is triangulated and cross referenced through visiting programme field areas and programme document review.
During implementation process, the project team gathered data from activity, training and technical reports, photographic evidence and further verified with document reviews of contracts, registers, MoU’s, minutes of the minutes, payment records and work plans.
Discussion with beneficiaries and partners through interviews and focused group discussion was done to getfeedback from them and draw observations and lessons to be replicated.
Quarterly review meetings were carried out following a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan to collate their findings.From the review meetings, implementation strategies were reviewed in some areas following lessons learnt and feedback from the stakeholders.
Year 2 impact assessment was done jointly by IRK and IRW to access the project performance toward achievement of the project goal.
B3. Are there any changes which you have made plan to project documents(project proposal, logframe, budget, risk matrix) since the previous annual report? [A7]