Phnom Penh (April 7, 2014) – Life with Dignity’s (LWD) Country Strategy 2009-2014 was in line with the Government’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy and substantially contributed to improving the livelihoods of the poor community in rural Cambodia, according to the preliminary findings of the evaluation presented at the workshop today in Phnom Penh.
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The results were presented by a joint independent evaluation team at a half-day workshop attended by representatives from the Ministries of Rural Development, Agriculture, and Environment, LWD staff members, ALWS, FCA and DCA.
In his welcome remarks, LWD Executive Director Dr. Sam Inn said the evaluation was conducted to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of LWD program as well as to assess the sustainability of the organizational development in particular after LWF became LWD, a local NGO, in early 2011.
Dr. Inn said the evaluation would come up with recommendations for developing LWD’s 3-year operational program plan and project documents 2012-2014. “This evaluation is very essential for LWD’s future,” he said, adding that it would reflect and assess who LWD was, what LWD was doing and how LWD worked with the community.
“It will help us to determine our future strategic direction, improve our program to be relevant, efficient and effective and to develop our organization towards sustainability for the sake of the people we serve,” Dr. Inn said.
The evaluation took three weeks and a half. The Team interviewed 1016 informants. They included Village Development Committees, Community-Based Organizations, women, youth, partner households, commune councils, district council/governor, Planning Investment Division/Provincial Department of Rural Development, MRD, MOI, local NGOs/ international NGOs, related agencies and LWD’s staff.
Ms. Jan Cossar, Team Leader, said according to the preliminary findings, LWD approach was considered by all stakeholders to be relevant and should be continued as the approach that LWD follows for the next three years.
She said most important changes of LWD’s target groups in terms of improved livelihoods and capacity identified in the findings included increased access to water source, increased educational opportunities, improvement in health, decreased in domestic violence and increased understanding on human rights, increased in agricultural skills, and so on.