4.1 Findings
4.1.1 Action Aid International
4.1.1.1 Background
Action Aid was founded in 1972 by Cecil Jackson-Cole as a child
sponsorship charity for 88 children in India and Kenya with the objective of
providing them with education. In the 1980s, the focus of the organisation
shifted to tackling the root causes of poverty and not just its symptoms, with
the organisation working with different communities to boost agriculture
production, improve water supplies, gain access to healthcare and find new
sources of income. In the 1990s, the organisation launched campaigns in
education and food rights and for the past decade, the organisation has been
involved in the fight against poverty and has helped over 13 million people in
42 countries worldwide (Action Aid International, 2012).
4.1.1.2 Goals and Strategy
Action Aid International aims to achieve the following four goals
in its fight for the eradication of poverty (Action Aid International,
2012):
- Goal One: poor and excluded people and communities will
exercise power to secure their rights
- Goal Two: women and girls will gain power to secure their
rights
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- Goal Three: citizens and civil society across the world will
fight for rights and justice
- Goal Four: states and their institutions will be accountable
and democratic and will promote, protect and fulfil human rights for all.
To achieve the above goals, Action Aid's worldwide work is driven
by programmes and policies that follow the following five strategic objectives
(Action Aid
International, 2012):
- Promoting sustainable agriculture and control natural resources
for people living in poverty.
- Advancing the political influence of people living in poverty
to hold governments and corporates accountable.
- Improving the quality of public education for all children and
support young
people to become drivers of change towards a poverty-free
planet.
- Building the resilience of people living in poverty to
conflicts and disasters
and respond to disasters with people-centred, rights-based
alternatives. - Ensuring that women and girls can break the cycle of poverty
and
violence, build economic alternatives and claim control over
their bodies.
4.1.1.3 Sector of Activity
Action Aid's worldwide work focuses on the following sectors:
Women Rights, Education, Poverty Alleviation, Food and Conflict Resolution.
4.1.1.4 Project Selection and Management
Action Aid's project selection and management process follows its
Accountability, Learning and Planning System known as ALPS. The programme cycle
of all Action Aid projects consist of four different stages:
- Appraisal and Context analysis: new programmes should be driven
by Action Aid's strategy, they should contribute to advancing Action Aid's
theory of change
- Strategy: new programmes should be cost effective and should be
aligned with Action Aid general strategy
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- Implementation: programmes go through a value for money
monitoring throughout their implementation. Actions are compared to their
outputs, objectives to their outcomes and goals to their impact.
- Evaluation: the evaluation stage analyses the agreed terms of
reference of each programme and compares it to the outcomes. The evaluation is
under the supervision of the programme evaluation team.
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