Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP) THE BALQEES INITIATIVE (TBI) Country: Yemen Governorates: Mareb, Shabwa, and Al-Jawf

Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP) Main Goal The overall goal of TBI is to establish a network of women’s leaders possessing the capacity, resources, and skills necessary to raise local level awareness around key development topics. In order to build such a network, TBI trains influential females in rural Yemen in leadership, facilitation, and conflict management skills, as well as critical development topics such as health, youth empowerment, education, and entrepreneurship.

Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP) Objectives Year 1 (Completed) 25 primary female implementers and 240 local female implementers recruited and trained. 4,000 community outreach events conducted by the trained female implementers during the local implementation period. 30,000 women and youth engaged and educated through the outreach and community mobilization efforts. Year 2 (Current year): 51 primary female implementers and 500 local female implementers recruited and trained. Maintaining a responsive and functional administrative network consisting of an overall governorate representative and designated regional representatives. No less than 9,500 community outreach events conducted by the trained female implementers during the local implementation period. This will include communities not engaged in year one of the program. No less than 80,000 women and youth engaged and educated through the outreach and community mobilization efforts.

Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP) Most Significant Changes Observed to Date Women involved as primary and secondary leaders now seeing themselves as stakeholders and drivers of development and community level change. Men (escorts) incorporated into the program, resulting in their willingness to support their female relative in the program and tell other men about what they have learned in the program. Increase knowledge of primary leaders: The 50 Social Facilitators showed an average improvement of 41% between pre- and post-test scores on the subjects of leadership, facilitation, conflict management, education & youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and health. Overall health benefits: following the program saw an increase in vaccinations in certain communities,

Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP) Program Challenges The rough terrain and isolated location of the targeted communities. The presence of male escorts (muhrams) at trainings for women. The TBI team was able to turn this challenge into an asset by providing separate training sessions for the men, transforming potentially suspicious male relatives into advocates for women’s role in development. However, once men were engaged, some thought the program was for them and caused administrative problems for the program team. The ongoing political crisis in Yemen, which has caused delays in implementing TBI activities.

Peacebuilding Evaluation Project: Peer Review of Women’s Empowerment Demonstration Project (WEDP) Funder and Evaluation Challenges Since August 3 rd, TBI has been under a Stop-Work Order due to the withdrawal of the responsible US Embassy staff from Yemen. We are not measuring any knowledge or attitude change in the ‘end user’ – the community member at the awareness raising session due to costs and difficulty. It is difficult, outside of anecdotal evidence, to know if there was any change at the community level as a result of the awareness raising sessions.