BUILD AFRICA has floated a tender for Consultancy for the Development of a Contextually Tailored Life-Skills Programme to Help Young Mothers Apply Their Literacy and Numeracy Skills. The project location is Uganda and the tender is closing on 28 Jan 2019. The tender notice number is , while the TOT Ref Number is 29906135. Bidders can have further information about the Tender and can request the complete Tender document by Registering on the site.

Expired Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Uganda

Summary : Consultancy for the Development of a Contextually Tailored Life-Skills Programme to Help Young Mothers Apply Their Literacy and Numeracy Skills

Deadline : 28 Jan 2019

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 29906135

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : Department For International Development

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : BUILD AFRICA
Block 245, Plot 431 & 424 Kabalagala, Central Zone, Off Gaba Road, P.O. Box 7224, Kampala Tel: +256 (0)392 551007
Uganda
Email :procurement@build-africauganda.org
URL :https://www.build-africa.org/

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Consultancy for the Development of a Contextually Tailored Life-Skills Programme to Help Young Mothers Apply Their Literacy and Numeracy Skills.

Terms of Reference

Consultancy for the development of a contextually tailored life-skills programme to help young mothers apply their literacy and numeracy skills at home and in community

1. Background

1.1 About Build Africa:

Build Africa is an international NGO with over 20 years of experience working in rural areas of Uganda, focusing specifically on two programme areas; Education & Livelihoods. Build Africa Uganda (BAU) is supporting projects in Kumi, Bukedea, Ngora, in the East and Masindi, Kiryandongo, Oyam, Nwoya and Buliisa in the West. BAU’s work in schools looks at a whole school approach. Build Africa field programmes are coordinated through two Area offices located in Kumi and Masindi.

Build Africa believes in the power of education to help end poverty. We work to give children the education they need and fight the inequalities that stand in their way. We partner with remote and rural communities where children are leaving school without vital basic skills. Our unique approach then helps parents and teachers to create sustainable, effective schools and to nurture their children's learning. For over 20 years we have ensured vulnerable children in Africa get the right infrastructure, teaching and family support so they can get the most from their time at school and go on to lead productive, healthy and happy lives.

1.2 Project Context:

Uganda has made strides in the past decade in its socio-economic development efforts, and was one of the first countries to develop its 2015/16–2019/20 national development plan in line with the SDGs[i]. Vision 2040 sets ambitious goals for the country around gender equality and economic prosperity[ii]. However, current figures tell us that women in Uganda are lower on the human development index than men:[iii] they go to school for an average of 2.3 years less[iv], are less likely to receive a secondary education[v] and are more likely to work without pay[vi]. Research shows that mothers with access to a full education go on to be healthier, more economically stable[vii], have children later[viii] and take better care of those children[ix], including sending them to school[x]. This in turn addresses one of the root causes of poverty, given that ‘each additional year of schooling raises average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.37%’.

The situation is hardest for the rural poor in Uganda, and young mothers, particularly those without partners, remain marginalised from economic and educational opportunities, as well as health services. Young mothers in Kiryandongo and Oyam sub-counties in Kiryandongo and Oyam Districts respectively do not have the education or life-skills they need to be active and equitable members of society. Women in Oyam are more likely to be married or have children than they are to be able to read[xi]. This limits their ability to adequately care for their children, disempowering them from participating in household and community decision making and perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Build Africa has therefore elected to work with 2, 243 young mothers (aged 19-29 with one or more child aged 3-9) in these districts. The lower age cap was selected to ensure we did not engage girls for whom a return to school remains a real possibility. We will address their poverty of access to health services, help to rectify their isolation from a full education which contributes to the on-going cycle of poverty for themselves and their children and the inequality of current cultural decision making structures in the home and community, including decisions on childcare and income generating activities in these agriculture dominated areas as ‘wages, agricultural income and productivity are higher where women involved in agriculture receive a better education’[xii].

Build Africa has been working in Oyam and Kiryandongo since 2002 and has formed strong linkages with these communities. We have engaged the communities in a participatory design process through guided exercises and focus groups. We will support the self-selection of beneficiaries through extensive community mobilisation conducted through traditional structures, community meetings and enrolment at mother-care spaces.

1.3 Project Description

The project, codenamed “Change the Story”, is a 3 year project to be part funded with UK aid from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and will be implemented in Kiryandongo and Oyam Districts. The project targets 2, 243 young mothers and is aimed at ensuring that they are able to better support their children's wellbeing and are playing a more impactful role in their homes and communities using new skills, including functional levels of literacy and numeracy. Build Africa will use culturally appropriate entry point of child-care skills for young mothers to then further equip them with literacy, numeracy and life skills, including financial management to enable them to take a more active role in their homes and communities, changing the landscape for their own children and leading to a virtuous development cycle beyond the life of the project. Build Africa is already working hard to help children in Uganda learn to read at school, but now we urgently need to break through the barriers they face at home – supporting young mums to learn life-changing literacy and numeracy skills, as well as access valuable health and nutrition services, so they can help their children not just survive but succeed.

2. The Consultancy

2.1 Purpose and scope:

The consultancy will result in a set of training modules that will be used by Build Africa to create a life-skills-focused programme that will help young mothers better support their children’s healthy development, and encourage them to take more ownership over their involvement in household and community activities. This life skills programme, inclusive of childcare elements will be delivered in tandem with functional literacy and numeracy skill development programme. By directing efforts towards family and income generation-oriented goals, women’s abilities to engage in such skill development can be viewed as positive through the community lens.

i) With Build Africa staff, form an advisory team to review the design of the content delivery and the content itself. Should be comprised of an outside life skills specialist and educationalist, a Build Africa HQ staff member (Head of Project Design and Innovation or Head of Project Implementation), and a project staff member from the Uganda team.

ii) Review the existing content on the relevant topics gathered by Build Africa to serve as the basis for most of the content required. Modify by adding or removing content as appropriate.

iii) Review the proposed outline of the sessions and modules contained therein, designed by Build Africa to ensure that we meet the envisioned outcomes of the project. Modify as appropriate.

iv) Create the content for a contextually tailored life-skills programme to help young mothers apply their skills at home and in the community. The content should integrate learning about:

a) how young mothers use their literacy and numeracy skills to help out at home (parenting, child care, nutrition, health and education of their children)

b) how young mothers use their literacy and numeracy skills for income generation, whether family business or employment opportunities

c) how young mothers use their literacy and numeracy skills to participate in community savings schemes, to help manage household expenses

v) Work with the consultant designing the literacy and numeracy curriculum to ensure the curricula are complementary.

vi) As much as possible, integrate co-design components that involve end users in the conceptualisation of the content and its delivery.

vii) Ensure that the design of the delivery is based on situated cognition and builds from the theory of cognitive apprenticeship. In other words, learners should be exposed to new ideas, have a chance to reflect together and individually on their meaning and application, make connections between the ideas and their impact on their lived experiences, and practically apply the theory in their everyday lives, before returning to the classroom to reflect on challenges and opportunities as a result of their practice. This suggests that the design of the delivery, should use a methodology lasting many months and cognizant of young mothers existing commitments.

viii) Relatedly,

a) Every attempt at pedagogy that focuses on student led appreciative and exploratory inquiry should be made.

b) Active learning inside and outside the classroom should be prioritised.

c) Relevance of the topic and the means of generating knowledge must be paramount.

d) Feed forward pedagogy should also be used: show them the right way to do something first. Then encourage them to model it, both in and outside of the classroom.

ix) Pilot test the content with trainers in a ‘table read’ environment before rolling out the full training of trainers to them.

x) Train Build Africa staff on how to train the trainers.

xi) Observe a few TOT sessions.

2.2 Key Deliverables:

a. Trainer’s manual for direct trainings: This manual will need to be developed in an accessible and simple manner with graphics to guide the trainer to key steps in his/her process of running a training, such as preparatory work, organising trainees, materials required, etc. See the IRC’s Healing Classrooms toolkits for examples of good trainer/facilitator manual design. The audience for this manual will be the trainers.

b. Peer to peer facilitation guide: Considering the evidence about the efficacy of peer-to-peer learning, design a complementary peer-to-peer facilitation g

Documents

 Tender Notice