ChildFund Australia: Rights, Respect, Resilience (RRR) in Papua New Guinea
Overview
ChildFund Australia is an independent and non-religious international development organisation that works to reduce poverty for children in the developing world. It works in partnership with children and their communities to create lasting change by supporting long-term community development, responding to humanitarian emergencies, and promoting children’s rights. We want every child to be able to say:
““I am safe. I am educated. I am heard. I have a future.””
Issues and Challenges
COVID-19 Impact
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the roll-out of the RRR project. Restrictions including a ban on inter-provincial travel, school closures, and social distancing have all caused significant delays in implementing parts of the program. Scheduled community and stakeholder meetings and training days have been postponed. This is a rapidly evolving situation and there is significant uncertainty regarding scheduling and timelines. Despite this setback, ChildFund PNG can work remotely to complete activities such as the review of the LRM mentioned in this report.
Memorandum of Understanding and CSD Framework Delays
Other issues the team has dealt with include the delay in finalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the release of the CSD framework. Progress is happening but at a slower pace than anticipated. The Project Team is in continual contact with the PNG authorities and feel confident that the updated LRM will be finalised in early FY2122.
Availability of Experienced and Reliable Local Consultants
Recruitment of a local consultant to lead the review and alignment process of the LRM was a challenge despite the effort put in to comply with the recruitment process to contract local consultants. There were not many suitable applications received for this consultancy. This was due to the lack of local consultants with expertise in this area. Thus, only one applicant was interviewed and selected to lead the LRM review process with the LRM review team put together by the project comprising Curriculum Officers from the Curriculum Development Division (CDD) and Teacher Trainers (TTD) from NDoE, YWCA, and PNG Education Institute representatives. Upon recruitment, the consultant was unfortunately unreliable and delayed the activity, hence the consultant contract was amicably ended.
However, in the absence of a consultant to lead the process, guidance and support were provided by the officers from the CDD. A schedule was drafted to guide the process during the two-week workshop to complete the LRM review and alignment.
ChildFund Rights, Respect, Resilience Project in Papua New Guinea
As ChildFund Australia continues to navigate the still unfolding challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are grateful for the steadfast support of the Women’s Plans Foundation. Women’s Plans Foundation’s generosity ensures that our work in Papua New Guinea (PNG) through the ‘Rights, Respect, Resilience’ (RRR) project continues so that girls and young women receive critical education in the areas of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), family planning, and contraception.
The COVID-19 pandemic in PNG directly affected project implementation. During the reporting period, school closures and restrictions on gatherings and cross-border travel all resulted in output delays that extend into the next financial year. However, there was much good work achieved and stakeholder relationships strengthened in the 2020-2021 Financial Year despite these COVID-19 driven delays. ChildFund Australia is pleased to present to Women’s Plans Foundation this annual feedback report demonstrating our achievements and challenges during the reporting period. Please find below an update on monitoring and evaluation activities and the delivery status of project outputs.
Monitoring & Evaluation
Baseline Survey
Following the reopening of schools in April, the baseline survey was conducted in May. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were held with students, teachers, and members of School Boards of Management in three target and one control school across National Capital District and Central Province, and with members of the Joyce Bay community. Qualitative tools were developed to establish an understanding of students’ and out-of-school young people’s knowledge and attitudes towards intimate relationships, issues young people face in their schools and communities including safety and equality that act as barriers to participation, and help-seeking behaviours including awareness of service providers.
Findings
The baseline documented a concerning level of corporal punishment in schools, which strongly reinforces the need for the RRR project as it provides teachers with alternative strategies for positive behaviour management. This is essential as exposure to violence can harm children’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Several barriers to the project were evident, including teacher attrition; limited community and parental engagement with schools; social norms discouraging female attendance at school; and a significant power imbalance between students and teachers. Within communities, the voice and agency of youth have been suppressed and there is poor communication with community leaders. Youth face serious issues, including crime, substance abuse, relationship problems, unemployment, low literacy, gender-based violence, and water and sanitation access. A positive finding was that community members are eager to be more informed about the RRR topics and service providers that can help them. Baseline/endline data will be supported with pre/post testing that will be conducted with each cohort of students and young people who receive the school - and community-based Respectful Relationships Learning Resource Material (LRM).
Project Objectives
Objective One: In-School and Out-of-School Youth
In-School Youth
Having finalised the Memorandum of Understanding between ChildFund PNG and the National Department of Education (NDoE), both parties commenced the update of the school-based LRM in the final quarter of FY2021. A series of writing workshops were held in June and July involving the ChildFund PNG project team and representatives from NDoE’s Curriculum and Guidance & Counselling divisions to revise the school-based LRM in alignment with the NDoE’s new Character and Social Development (CSD) curriculum that replaces its Personal Development curriculum.
Alongside alignment, these writing workshops reviewed all LRM activities to create two distinct LRMs, one each for younger (Year 9) and older (Year 11) students. These grade-specific LRMs are currently being finalised. Both ChildFund PNG and NDoE staff highly valued their collaboration in the writing workshops – an indication of their strengthening relationship.
Teacher training on the updated school-based LRM will take place in FY2122, followed by rollout in classrooms. Exposure sessions in the 17 target schools to raise awareness and build community support for the project will also be conducted at this time. Service provider visits will be conducted concurrently with LRM teaching.
The joint review and update of the Student Wellbeing: Support for Secondary Schools teacher’s manual will also be completed in the first quarter of FY2122.
Alongside updating the LRM and Student Wellbeing manuals, in the final quarter of FY2021 ChildFund PNG and NDoE consulted on the implementation of School Action Groups (SAGs), with the NDoE offering the support of school representative councils to strengthen student leadership opportunities in the 17 target schools. NDoE has also agreed to support ChildFund PNG to develop a student peer education guide linked to the LRM for use in the project schools.
Out-of-School Youth
The community-based LRM has been translated into Tok Pisin and a local consultant has been hired to design a range of supporting visual materials including posters and flipcharts. These additional resources will support peer educators to present key topic messages to young people in the community, particularly on SRH. Peer educator training, mentoring sessions, and LRM rollout in Joyce Bay and Gabi & Eleva communities will commence in the third quarter of FY2122. Service provider visits will be conducted concurrently with peer education sessions. Alongside this, ChildFund PNG is compiling information, education, and communication materials to be distributed to parents in the community on child rights, wellbeing, HIV prevention, and COVID-safe practices.
Objective Two: Youth Implement Community Level Initiatives
As indicated in the April 2021 report, outputs under this objective have been postponed to FY2122 due to COVID-19 related delays. These outputs include the community forum to introduce the project in new settlement areas, exposure sessions with parents and community leaders to form Community Action Groups with youth leaders, joint community-based activities led by peer educators and community leaders, and the annual community learning and reflection forum.
Thank You
Once more, ChildFund Australia expresses sincere thanks to the Women’s Plans Foundation. We are proud of what the Rights, Respect and Resilience project has achieved in PNG, aided by your generous support these past three years. ChildFund Australia anticipates more promising work promoting awareness, understanding, and cultural change concerning gender equality in decision-making, respectful relationships, and higher sexual and reproductive health literacy among students and out-of-school youth in PNG. We hope to rely on the firm support of the Women’s Plans Foundation in the years ahead.
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