Rasua

Socio – Economic Empowerment (ራሷ)

Timret Lehiwot Ethiopia aims to bring radical social transformation and empowerment among poor and underprivileged women and girls by increasing access and control over diversified income, increasing confidence and self-esteem and engaging men to unlock women’s’ potential to be decision makers.

The project uses vocational skill training centers to economically empower women and social groups as entry points towards bringing women out of their houses and cooperates with other women to be empowered and actively participate in decision making at all levels of decision making.

Besides, the economic empowerment which is one outlet for social empowerment, TLHE will organize social groups based on their location and proximity in addition to providing training on self-esteem, negotiation skills, confidence building, decision making and men engagement as well as using other podiums such as media, art and sports as implementation tools.

Hence it is designed to be a comprehensive means to equip and create all rounded empowered women and girls that will have all the necessary tools and ability to become community mobilizers, decision makers, change agents and voices of the society.

PROJECT GOAL AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Project Goal: Target women are empowered both socially and economically to exercise greater control over their lives

Long-Term Outcome: Target women are participating in formal and informal decision making at all levels

Specific Objective 1:To increase access and control over diversified incomes for1800 poor and underprivileged women by the end of 2021

Outcome1:Target women have technical knowledge and skills in sewing, embroidery, weaving and clay works 

Outcome2:Target women have acquired inputs such as business development skills , start-up capital  and access to microfinance

Outcome3:Target women are engaged in profitable income generating activities

Specific Objective 2: To increase confidence, self-esteem and decision making abilities of 1800 underprivileged women and their families by the end of 2021.

Outcome1:Poor and underprivileged women are members of social support peer groups

Outcome2: Poor and underprivileged womenbecome socially empowered to actively participate in their community through upgrading their skills of life skill, leadership, negotiation, confidence and self-esteem.

Specific Objective 3:To engage 1000 men as partners in women empowerment activities by the end of 2021

Outcome1:Target men partners, family members and key norm holders will be trained and engaged in family dialogues and forums, concerning gender division of labour and decision making at the household level

Outcome 2: Men will be supporting their female partners to participate and decide in all levels

Specific Objective 4:To increase community support for women participation on  

formal and informal decision making position

Outcome1:Women in target sub cities will be actively engaged in formal decision making at the Woreda and Sub City level

Outcome 2: Women in target sub cities will be actively engaged in informal decision making at the community traditional congregations like idirs

 STRATEGIES

Timret Lehiwot Ethiopia will implement a comprehensive approach to women and girls empowerment for decision making;

Economic Empowerment: The approach will serve as a springboard to lead women towards social empowerment and provide opportunities for the targeted women to have access and control over diversified income in order to increase their decision making power at all levels. The vocational training on Sewing, embroidery, clay work and weaving,  Business Development Skill Training and start up capital as well as the market linkage will help them to generate sustainable income.

Social Empowerment: The social empowerment will support target women to increase in assertiveness with high self-esteem, confidence and empowered personality to actively participate at all levels of decision making.

For this to happen women will be organized in to support groups based on their residential proximity and the empowerment should pass through the following levels;

Micro-level “Getting exposed”: to ensure the women to leave the confined environment of their houses. Teams of community agents including (TLHE Social Worker, Woreda women affair office representatives, women “Idirs” leaders, strong women cooperatives, health extension workers, leaders of traditional institutions, public figures, media personalities and religious leaders) will take part to recruit target women, facilitating family dialogues and spreading the information. Male involvement will also play a vital role to make sure women leave their home and join TLHE project.

Meso-level “Exercising spaces”: once the target women are aware and able to make financial contribution to their households, then, women spaces created to get social empowerment dialogues happening. It will focus around physical spaces where women will be found abundantly and plugging into already existing women led groups to have a collective power for action.

Finally, Macro-Level “Social Heroes”: in partnership and collaboration with Woreda women affairs offices and government affiliated organizations working on women related issues, the women will be assisted to led community based projects to apply the decision making at all levels.

Partnership and Networking: As women empowerment requires the involvement of all stakeholders, the whole project cycle is done in partnership with concerned bodies. Women Affairs at Woreda, sub city and city level, NGOs working on women, Women Associations, Community Based Institutions such as Idirs, Health Extension Workers, Health Offices, Small and Micro Enterprise, Addis Credit and Saving S.C. and women cooperatives take part in the design, beneficiary selection, implementation and Evaluation of the project. The committee comprising all the above is imperative to have an accountable and smooth operation and referral linkage through facilitating information sharing and generating synergy besides avoiding duplication.

Men as Partner: Timret Lehiwot Ethiopia has successful experiences in implementing Men as Partner approach. It is more wise and smart to address women empowerment through active participation of men. It considers men not only perpetrators of the existing status-quo, but also parts of the solution. Hence, the project encompasses sensitizing husbands, religious leaders and pioneering men to support women empowerment in their communities.

Community Support for Women Decision Making: Timret Lehiwot Ethiopia has successful experiences in increasing women participation in idirs as well as government local structures. Through focusing on community support systems to put women up front in decision making Hence, the project works to make women support groups to be a spring board to put members in different formal and informal decision making positions. The project also lobby sub city and woreda structures to put complementary women support rules and regulations including putting a quota in councils and local congregations.

Primary target groups: Under privileged women in the age group of 18-60, i.e. Marginalized and socially disadvantaged women

Secondary target groups: partners of direct targets and Influential men in their communities and other key norm holders such as religious leaders

This project is finacially and technically supported by Cafod, Sciaf,Trocaire(CST)