OBJECTIVES

To conduct an operations research study, with the aim of assessing the feasibility and potential impact of adding livelihood activities to ASRH interventions. Providing vocational possibilities to low-income women can help free them from traditional gender roles, and thus help delay marriage. Also, it is believed that when women are contributing to their household income, they have more control over their sexual and reproductive decisions.

BACKGROUND

CARE India has worked in the area of ASRH in Indian slum areas, but received support from the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program, to introduce the additional component of livelihood activities. The Adolescent Livelihood Project began in January 2001 and continued for 30 months, until June 2003.

SCOPE

The area covered by the project is in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in a slum are called Allahabad. The project is being implemented in five slums, with nine slum areas forming the comparison area. The target area will serve about 1,000 adolescent girls.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

The Livelihood Activities (to supplement the ASRH component) Include:

• The same peer educator model of education and promotion is used with the vocational component, as was used with the pre-exisiting SRH component.
• Livelihood vocational counseling.
• Organizing training courses, and improving access to pre-existing ones.
• Financial assistance, such as payment of course fees and arranging and covering costs for transportation, for girls who must leave their slums to attend their training program.

MANAGEMENT FEATURES

Strategy

Oftentimes, ASRH educational approaches are undertaken with the aim of changing reproductive health behaviors, but no alternatives are provided for women to “work their way” out of the oppressive social and economic factors which lead to those unsafe behaviors in the first place. This project focuses on providing some alternatives to women.

Capacity-Building

The livelihood activities component of this project is based on building the vocational capacity of the project participants.

Mobilising Resources

Although the livelihood activities component of this project developed some new vocational programs, part of the project also involved increasing women’s awareness of already-existing vocational training resources—an excellent use of scarce resources.

Managerial Leadership

The project has provided an evaluated model in a critical area for expansion in ASRH interventions—vocational and livelihood activities.

EVALUATION FINDING

Evaluation data was not available as of the writing of this case study.