UNDERSTANDING ROOT CAUSES OF THE RAMPANT CHILD RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE SUB-COUNTIES OF BUTENGA AND KIBINGE IN BUKOMANSIMBI DISTRICT.

1. Introduction and Background

Rural Action Community Based Organization (RACOBAO) is a local NGO that was founded in 2008. RACOBAO then known as Rakai Community Based Organization was birthed out of Lutheran World Federation (LWF) initiative to localize its programs in Rakai and Lyantonde districts. Prior to this, LWF had since 1995 been implementing the Rakai Community Based AIDS Project (RACOBAP) whose major goal was to: reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS transmission and mitigate the social economic impact of AIDS. This process of transiting RACOBAP into a local NGO (RACOBAO) was started in 2006 after two external evaluations recommended that LWF comes up with an exit plan. With consultations from the local leadership including other key partners like Church of Uganda and the donors, this transition process was supported by DanChurchAid (DCA) for two years to ensure RACOBAO is a fully-fledged local NGO.

From November 2016 to October 2019, RACOBAO, in partnership with Kindernothilfe implemented a 3-year “HIV and AIDS community empowerment Project.” in Rakai District. This intervention has resulted into KNH agreeing to extend further support to RACOBAO to address Children rights abuses in a new Program area. It is proposed that the new intervention focuses on Bukomansimbi district; a district in Central Uganda neighboring Lyantonde, Rakai, and Masaka, with similar socio economic characteristics and challenges.

Bukomansimbi district has a total population of 151,413 people with a population density of 252 persons per square kilometer (Uganda Population and Housing Census, 2014). The District has a rich cultural heritage.  It has also diversity in ethnicity.  The majority of the people are Baganda (77%) followed by Banyankole (9%), Banyarwanda (8%) while the rest are small tribes.  Most of the tribes practice Buganda cultures.

Bukomansimbi district is selected as a focus district because it is among the districts with the highest overall prevalence of HIV in Uganda (8%); for instance, among ANC mothers (5.0%) leading to exposed babies turning HIV positive (8.6%). (Bukomansimbi District Health Office report, 2017). Similarly, Bukomansimbi like other districts in central Uganda suffers from high poverty with a large percentage of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture.

As such, 24.3% of the population are living below the poverty line where about 17.7% of the population consume less than 2 meals a day. This situation is responsible for the high OVC burden in the district whereby after the loss of the parents, children have dropped out of school due to lack of school requirements. The girls are married off as soon as they drop out of school yet the boys usually join child labor as a survival mechanism. (Bukomansimbi District Statistical Abstract, 2018/2019 xv).

In Bukomansimbi, the project will target 2 sub counties of Butenga and Kibinge. According to the national housing and population census 2014, Butenga and Kibinge Sub Counties have a higher population compared with the rest of the sub counties in the District. Butenga Sub County has a total population of 38,455 of which 22,007 are below 18 years yet Kibinge sub county has a total population of 32,797 of which 18,431 are below 18 years. Similarly, Butenga and Kibinge are some of the sub counties with a high number of orphans yet they are the least served sub Counties with high prevalence of child abuse cases including defilement and early marriages. Unfortunately, such cases are rarely reported to the relevant authorities (District Community Development Office report 2019). (Bukomansimbi District Community Development Office, 2019).

2.0    Purpose of the Baseline survey

RACOBAO now seeks the services of a competent Consultant to conduct a survey to understand the magnitude of child rights abuses in Bukomansimbi district and establish the root causes of the rampant child rights abuses in the 2 sub counties of Butenga and Kibinge. RACOBAO shall use the results of the baseline to develop a multiyear program that will respond to 1 or 2 child rights abuses identified by the baseline. The baseline will also point out specific recommendations relative to the identified child rights abuses. 

•  Specific Objectives of the Baseline survey

1. To establish the prevalence of the common child rights abuses in the sub counties of Butenga and Kibinge in Bukomansimbi District
2. Study and document the factors that are responsible for Child abuse in the communities in the sub counties of Butenga and Kibinge in Bukomansimbi District
3. To assess current mechanisms in place used in the prevention and protection of children within the communities and how accessible these are to children.
4. To make relevant and sustainable recommendations relative to the identified child rights abuses

• Scope of the Baseline survey

The survey will be conducted in Bukomansimbi District with specific focus on the prevailing child rights abuses in the district; form, prevalence, and causes.  The key stakeholders in the assessment will include: caregivers and children, teachers, Community Development Officers, Sub County OVC Coordination Committee (SOVCC), and the district Probation officer. Others will include cultural, religious, technical and political leaders and Civil Society Organizations in the district.  The consultant will visit all the 5 parishes in Butenga sub-county (Kisiita, Kawoko, Kyankoole, Kabigi, Kasebwera) and all the 5 parishes in Kibinge sub-county (Kiryasaaka, Kisojo, Maleku, Mirambi, Butayunja) and conduct interviews; both FGD, Key Informant Interviews, and others to ascertain the magnitude of the problem.

• Assessment methodology

The baseline shall adopt the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect information from primary and secondary sources. Being that the Consultant will be making contact with children, the Consultant SHALL sign against the RACOBAO CHILD PROTECTION POLICY. It is imperative also that the Consultant provides to RACOBAO a Certificate of Good Conduct.

Following the scope of the work, the consultant shall propose Data collection and management methods. Anticipated methods should include but not limited to desk reviews, key informant interview, focus group discussion, household survey and other innovative methods which are fitting for communities. Within a period of agreed upon by both RACOBAO and the Consultant, the consultant should be able to gather data and produce a report with all its anecdotal evidence. A detailed proposal responding to these ToR and justifying the appropriateness of the proposed methodology and tools is a requirement. A draft report from the Consultant will be shared with KNH for comments after which a validation workshop will be conducted.

• Deliveries

The consultant is expected to produce a comprehensive proposal as well as present materials for debriefing sessions addressing all tasks under the objectives of the baseline study. The followings deliverables are expected from the consultant:

1. Inception report including a detailed work plan and budget.
2. Cleaned qualitative and quantitative data set in a summarized manner
3. The consultant will prepare and submit a draft report that will be shared with KNH and other stakeholders for comments.
4. Facilitate a 1-day validation workshop targeting key stakeholders
5. Submit the final soft and hard copy Baseline reports with feedback from all stakeholders incorporated.

5.0    TimeFrame

The consultancy is expected to be done within a timeframe agreeable to RACOBAO from contract signing. The consultant shall develop a detailed work plan with clear timelines from the following activities

1. Literature Review of project documents and reports, feedback and learning
2. Development and submission of the inception report (includes detailed methodology, revised/final work plan, study tools)
3. Travel to study locations
4. Training of the data collection team
5. Data Analysis, report writing, and submission of the draft report
6. Feedback of KNH and other stakeholders received by Consultant
7. Facilitate a 1-day validation workshop and incorporate views from all stakeholders.

Finalization of the report, submission of both soft and hard copies and approval

6.0    Consultants requirements and Selection

To accomplish the objectives of the assessment, the consultant should have the following key qualifications and competencies.

a)         Possess a minimum of a Master’s degree in Social Work & Social Administration, Development Studies, Development Economics, or Monitoring and Evaluation and any Research related course.

b)         Have at least 5 years of experience in undertaking Child rights-related project assessments

c)         Demonstrated experience in conducting baselines and evaluation of Child rights related projects.

d)         Possess strong research and writing skills

e)         Have knowledge of the language of the target baseline participants (an added advantage).

f)          Demonstrable ability and experience in working with children

g)         Ability to analyze data sets in order to come up with valid and realistic findings and conclusions

h)         Fluency in English

7.0 Mode of Payment

The mode of payment shall be;

a) 30% on signing the contract

b) 30% on submission of the draft report

c) 40% on approval of the final report.

8.0   Roles and responsibilities

RACOBAO:

• RACOBAO will arrange transport for the consultant.
• RACOBAO will organize an inception meeting with the Consultants to discuss the proposed methodology and agree on timelines
• Mobilize and coordinate respondents
• RACOBAO Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will be in charge of quality assurance
• RACOBAO staff (2) will join the Consultants during data collection to provide backstop support.
• RACOBAO will share draft Inception report, draft tools, and draft baseline report with KNH for comments
• RACOBAO will organize a validation workshop and mobilize all participating stakeholders

THE CONSULTANT:

• The Consultant will review these ToRs and develop an inception report/Proposal comprehensively explaining the methodology plus the BUDGET
• The Consultant will develop appropriate data collection tools
• The Consultant will hire data collection assistants, debrief them, and supervise the data collection process
• The Lead Consultant will be in charge of quality assurance and ensure the assignment keeps on track and is aligned to the objectives of the survey.
• The consultant will provide fuel for Motor Vehicles and meals and accommodation to the data collection team.
• The team of Consultants will sign RACOBAO child Protection Policy and also abide by the policy
• The Lead Consultant will facilitate the validation workshop and incorporate feedback from the stakeholders into the final report.  

9.0       Proposals

Following these ToRs, the Consultant shall submit a technical and financial proposal. The technical proposal shall clearly indicate how the consultant understands the assignment, assessment approach, and methodology, work plan for the execution of the assignment as well as up to date CVs of the baseline core team.  At least 1 reference from a relevant recent baseline work should be attached to the technical proposal.

The Financial proposal should indicatetheConsultants’ daily rate inclusive of taxes, communication, supplies, enumerators and other costs to carry out the assessment. 

The Consultant should submit to RACOBAO both technical and financial proposals through email: Haq makumbi bugembe huqqer@gmail.com and hmakumbi@racobao.org   The deadline for submission is March 20, 2020, at 17:00Hrs.  Only applications submitted before the deadline will be considered