COSAP

Monitoring and Evaluation for Consortium of Self Help Group  Approach Promoters (CoSAP). 

The data collection tools that were implemented included Focus Discussion Groups, Wealth and Wellness Scorecard, the Hope Scale and a Photo Project. 
          A total of 16  Self Help Groups (SHGs) were visited in the capital of  Addis Ababa and Oromiya Region.  The SHGs where selected based on their performance as high, middle and low performing with special emphasis on newly established SHGs as they were crucial for baseline data. Scorecards targeted the evaluation of women’s assets, savings and access to resources and services such as healthcare and education for children.

A total of 67 scorecards were collected among all the SHGs. The team used the standard Hope Scale with some edits to fit the local context which was translated into the national official language, Amharic. 62 women volunteered to participate in the Hope Scale measurement which was used to measure the emotional resilience as well as the problem-solving skills of the women members. In the photo project, a pilot in the IFP, six women were given disposable cameras and asked to take a series of pictures to show the different challenges and opportunities they faced in their daily lives.

The CoSAP/New School IFP team was able to deliver a full report by the end of our summer in Ethiopia with a detailed analysis of the data collected. Our findings including numerous interesting distinctions between rural and urban SHFs, as well as older and newer Self Help Groups too. While the details of the assessment show many diverse discoveries, major findings support CoSAP's Theory of Change and indicate that the SHGs have a tremendous positive impact on the psycho-social as well as the economic lives of members.