“Strengthening Case Management of Unaccompanied Minors and Facilitating Family

Re-integration in Western Afghanistan”

End of Project Evaluation

Submitted by:

LUCE AGNES BULOSAN (International Consultant)

with the support of:

JAWID SADAT

(Local Consultant)

for

WAR CHILD - UK July 2015

Table of Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. i

Acknowledgment ...................................................................................................................... ii

Background ................................................................................................................................. 1

Evaluation Methodology ........................................................................................................ 2 Limitation of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 2

Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Relevance and effectiveness ........................................................................................................... 5 Efficiency ................................................................................................................................................ 7 Sustainability, Learning and Partnership .................................................................................. 8 Challenges ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Lessons Learned .................................................................................................................................. 9

Case Studies ............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................................. 10

Documents Reviewed ........................................................................................................... 15

Annex 1: Semi-Structured Questionnaire ..................................................................... 16

Annex 2: List of Respondents ............................................................................................ 20

i

Executive Summary This project on “Strengthening Case Management of Unaccompanied Minors and Facilitating Family Integration in Western Afghanistan” achieved tangible results that improved the protection of minors who were deported back to Afghanistan for illegally working in Iran. With the project’s support, 202 cases were managed by social workers until they reunited with their families. A quarter of them were able to access vocational courses where they learned skills in tailoring, motorbike and mobile repair and house painting. Furthermore, 1007 minors who were from Herat, Badghis and other provinces received psychosocial counseling either individually or with their families. Although the project could not fully control the fact that some of the beneficiaries would attempt to go back to Iran again, developing the technical skills combined with mental and emotional support minimized the number of minors deciding to take the risk of crossing the border to Iran for a second time. Meanwhile, social workers who registered, documented, traced the families and guided the teenage deportees agreed that the training, mentoring and coaching from War Child UK (WCUK) staff significantly improved their skills in managing cases and providing psychosocial care to deported minors. Training of trainers provided to border police and in coordination with the Regional Afghan National Police Training Center in Herat City is a step in the right direction towards ensuring the sustainability of efforts beyond the life of the project. Training tools developed through the project contributed to the institutionalization of child rights training in the police orientation curriculum. Updating the Standard Operating Procedures that was developed and initiated by Italian NGO – INTERSOS was completed by the project through a participatory process. It is in use awaiting feedback from international partner organizations and official endorsement of the Department of Refugee and Repatriation. Engaging community members to participate in the Community-Based Child Protection Committee (CBCPC) is a best practice that not only supported the re-integration of deported youth into the community but also promoted child rights and prevented further exploitation. It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. The project’s approach of involving community leaders, parents, mothers, elders and shura members has been beneficial in educating and upholding child rights. The project achieved its objectives but lessons from the project point to the fact that there is room to improve should the project evolve into a second phase. Formalizing coordination among organizations processing deported cases is of utmost importance. Multiple interviews that deported children sometimes go through with various national and international NGOs exacerbated their stress levels. Improved knowledge management and database sharing among actors involved in screening and supporting deported children will be a way forward.

ii

Acknowledgment This end-term project evaluation of War Child UK - Afghanistan was made possible through the cooperation and support of all the individuals and stakeholders involved with project. The management led by Ms. Helen Guillermo, War Child UK Country Director, and implementation teams of WCUK in Herat and Badghis and all other key stakeholders linked with the project openly accepted the plan, actively participated in the evaluation and also made all the required arrangements. Stakeholders participated in various meetings, group discussions and field visits scheduled and they honestly and openly gave their feedback. Project beneficiaries, their family members and service providers deserve special appreciation as they involved themselves and answered patiently all the questions and provided required information. We also want to extend special thanks to Mr. Shafi Karimi and Mr. Hosain Hashemi for organizing individual and group meetings. Thanks to Mr. Fraidon, for safely driving Jawid Sadat, local evaluator, in his interviews and meetings with beneficiaries and stakeholders. We are very thankful to you all. We present this report with the belief that it would contribute in shaping the project’s next phase and contribute towards the vision of better quality life for Unaccompanied Minors and their family members in the western region of Afghanistan.

1

Background In 2014, statistics from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reveal that close to 50,000 individuals, mostly young males have been deported from Iran at the Islam Qala Border. Adolescent boys particularly, have entered Iran illegally in the hope of finding employment and a better life only to be deported back again to Afghanistan. Together with the government, various international organizations are at the Islam Qala and Zaranj border to assist deportees, document their cases and help them re-integrate with their families and the community. The volume of cases is staggering reaching up to 1,600 – 1,800 a day. This is partly due to lack of capacity of government staff to manage the cases efficiently. Beginning in September 2014, as one of the international organizations working at the border, War Child UK launched the 10-month project “Strengthening the case management of unaccompanied minors and facilitating family reintegration in Western Afghanistan” with the aim of building the capacity of border staff in the identification, screening and provision of psychosocial support to unaccompanied minors (UAM) who are crossing the border to Afghanistan. More specifically, the project aims to:

1) Develop case management system for deported UAMs and separated children and update the existing standard operating procedures.

2) Strengthen the capacity of 20 GO and NGO staff working in the border and at the Gazargah Transit Camp in case management, providing psychosocial support and facilitating access to livelihood support for deported unaccompanied minors and their families.

3) Support the Regional Police Training Centre in Herat in developing and institutionalizing child protection in the police training curriculum.

4) Establish and support 15 community based protection committees in selected villages of Qala-e-Naw, Badghis Province to prevent, manage and refer child protection cases to Provincial Child Protection Action Network (CPAN) and provincial Department of Labour and Social Affairs.

In June 30, 2015 the project ended. Thus, it is an opportune time to conduct an end- of- project evaluation in order to draw lessons from the project’s achievements, challenges, and best practices.

2

Evaluation Methodology A 10-day1end of project evaluation was commissioned by War Child in order to respond to the following evaluative questions:

What is the degree to which the project has achieved its desired outcomes?

Who benefitted from the project and is there any evidence that the project contributed to successful case management of unaccompanied minors and separated children deported from Iran?

What impact has the project achieved? How effective were the interventions and was the delivery efficient and sustainable?

Are there good or innovative practices during the implementation of the project?

To what extent has the project contributed to the overall program of reintegrating unaccompanied minors to their families and communities?

To what extent have the project contributed to building the capacity of local actors to child protection and what value do beneficiaries, parents, and other relevant actors place on the activities and outcomes of the project?

What lessons can be learned in regard to case management systems and what recommendations can be drawn to further improve or upscale the project?

To operationalize the evaluation questions above and in consideration of the very short timeframe to complete the fieldwork for data collection, the evaluation team and project management agreed that the evaluation use qualitative method with key informant interviews and focus group discussion as the data collection tools. Semi-structured questionnaire was developed and used as a guide during the interviews and group discussion (See Annex 1 for guide questionnaire. Desk review of project document and monitoring reports were also utilized to complement findings from field interviews (See Annex 2 for the list of respondents to interviews conducted).

Limitation of the Study Due to the very short timeframe for data collection specified in the Terms of Reference (ToR) which is 10 days in total, with 2 days fieldwork, conducting a more thorough interview and representative sample of respondents was not possible. Respondents were conveniently sampled and therefore, findings, especially of the UAM beneficiaries cannot be generalized. In addition, not all of the objectives set forth in the ToR could be covered because of time and budget constraints. Some of the potential respondents especially partner international organizations could not be available for interview during the data collection period. Several attempts were made to contact them until evaluator ran out of time.

1Terms of Reference provided for a total of 10 days level of effort with only 2 days for field work

3

Security concerns also limited the evaluation team’s movement in Herat City and nearby district and it was not at all possible to visit Badghis Province. Only one interview was conducted with a social worker based in Badghis who so happens to be in Herat during the data collection period. Moreover, phone interview was also organized with Head of Department of Labour and Social Affairs and committee members in Badghis. Due to budget constraint, international evaluator was unable to travel to Afghanistan. However, a local evaluator who has extensive experience in project evaluation carried out the field interviews and group discussions as well as prepared field notes. Despite the limitations cited, the evaluation team is confident that the findings are reliable and useful for decision-making. Limitations were addressed by triangulating sources of information through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and analysis of project-related documents.

Findings

Achievement of project outcomes and objectives As articulated in the project document, the overarching objective of the project is to improve protection of UAM and separated children in Western Afghanistan. Table 1 below summarizes the project’s achievements against its performance indicators2. A scan of the last column the table indicates a high rate of achievement for this project. Out of the 24 indicators of the project, 3 indicators exceeded its target (highlighted in green) and 1 indicator – the number of project beneficiaries availing of livelihood training, was partially achieved. Failure to reach the target is because of the difficulty in reaching out to beneficiaries who live in remote areas, lack of trainers and lack of interest to participate in the vocational training. Table 1: Project performance against its targets Indicator Target Actual Remarks

Specific Objective/Outcome 1: To develop case management system for deported unaccompanied minors (UAMs) and separated children in Herat and update the existing standard operating procedures

Existence of a case management system in accordance to the Child Protection Minimum Standards on Child Protection and Case Management

Finalizing the Case management system

The new case management system for the border and GTC camp developed

Achieved

# of UAMS benefited from improved case management systems

200 202+ Achieved

# of border and GTC camp 20 19 Achieved

2Data from this table is derived from the project’s M&E Plan provided by War Child M&E Officer

4

staff with improved case management skills

Expected Result 1.1: Existing Standard Operating Procedures for deported UAM and separated children reviewed, updated and in use

Updated and final SOP document

Updated SOP Updated SOP Achieved

Expected Result 1.2: Case management system developed and functioning

Case management system flowchart

Finalize case management system

New case management system for border in GTC developed and finalized

Achieved

# of border staff following the case management system

All border staff All border staff Achieved

Expected Result 1.3: Department of Labour and Social Affairs (DOLSA) and Department of Refugee and Repatriation (DORR) endorsed and enforce case management system

Adherence to and enforcement of the case management system

Endorsing the case management system

Case management system endorsed and used by relevant stakeholders

Achieved

Specific Objective 2: Strengthen the capacity of 20 GO and NGO staff working in the border and at the GTC in gender sensitive and age appropriate case management, providing psychosocial support and facilitating access to livelihood

support for unaccompanied minors

60% of UAMs in database register for 2014 provided psychosocial support

604 ( 60% of 1,007 as per IOM database for 2014)

604 Achieved

Expected Result 2.1: Twenty (10 male, 10 female) GO and NGO staff working in the border at GTC attended and completed training on case management and psychosocial support

# of male and female border staff completed training

20 19 Achieved

% of border staff and GTC staff showed improved knowledge and skills in case management

20 19 Achieved

Expected Result 2.2: Two hundred UAMs successfully reintegrated to their families and 25% provided skills training

# of UAMs re-integrated to their families

200 200 Achieved

# of UAMs accessed livelihood/skills training

50 38 Partially accomplished, 76% achieved

Specific Objective 3: Support the Regional Police Training Centre in developing and institutionalizing child protection induction package for border police

60% of border police showed positive attitude in asking questions and gathering information from UAMs

No specific target 56 Achieved

Expected Result 3.1: Child protection Induction module for police developed and pilot tested

Child Protection Induction Module developed

To develop CP Induction CP Induction module developed

Achieved

# of police officers trained in using the CP induction module

10 12 Achieved

Expected Result 3.2: Regional Police Training Centre used the CP Induction Module in training border police

# of CP induction sessions conducted

4 4 Achieved

# of border police benefited from attending

No specific target 56 Achieved

5

CP induction with roll out

Specific Objective 4: Establish and support 15 community based child protection committees in selected villages of Qala-e-Naw district in Baghdis Province addressing a range of child protection issues

# of community members participating in committee activities on raising awareness on child protection

150 150 Achieved

# of child protection cases identified, resolved, documented and reported by CBCPC to CPAN

No specific target 34 Achieved, No specific target set

Expected Result 4.1: Composition of 15 community based child protection committees (CBCPC) identified, roles and tasks of members decided and agreed

# of community members who expressed commitment and agreed to be member of the CBCPs

150 150 Achieved

Expected Results 4.2: 150 members of CBCPCs sensitized on child protection issues and coached in case detection and follow-up, referral, family tracing and facilitating family integration

# of child protection cases identified, reported, followed up and resolved by CBCPC members

No specific target 34 Achieved, No specific target

# of UAMs families traced through participation of the CBCPC members

No specific target 40 Achieved, All 40 children from Badghis province reintegrated with their

families

# of family mediation/awareness raising sessions conducted

No specific target 58 Achieved, No specific target

Relevance and effectiveness The project is of great relevance especially in the context of situation of vulnerable children who are deported from Iran. In a state of no/limited service availability, all the services delivered through this project was highly appreciated and valued by all children, their family members who benefited from this project. In addition, the project activities were appreciated by the relevant governmental organizations that are the lead agencies that will follow through structures developed by WCUK through this project. Services are responsive to the needs of the unaccompanied children who were deported. They have no resource or the technical knowledge to manage and setup their life independently. Government is not yet ready or willing to create and/or support systems to provide similar services to these children.

Developed Case management system In order to protect minors who have been deported, through War Child’s support, a system for identifying and supporting unaccompanied minors have been put in place. The project’s effort of leading the update of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) was timely and relevant

6

according to some key informants from the government. Stakeholders from government, non-government and international organizations were all consulted in the process. According to the project manager, update of the SOP is already completed but could not yet be fully endorsed by the government as the IOM and UNHCR have yet to provide their feedback. This is causing some delay in the approval of the SOP by the government. However, during discussions with stakeholders, they emphasized the importance of the implementation of this tool to avoid further duplication of tasks by actors involved in border affairs. They believe that because this tool contains clear definition of roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, it will help in ensuring coordination among all key actors at the border, especially among those involved in case management of deported minors. Meanwhile, since the SOP update was already completed, the project continued to include the SOP in the capacity building trainings given to social workers and relevant stakeholders. According to social workers participating in the focus group discussion, they have received training from War Child regarding the SOP. The training tremendously improved their skills in identifying unaccompanied minors thereby increasing the number of children who are being protected from further exploitation. They follow procedures beginning from screening of children, identifying their needs, finding their families, providing psychosocial support as well as assisting these minors to access vocational trainings. Strengthened capacity of 20 GO and NGO staff working at the border and Gazargah Transit Camp (GTC) In a baseline study reported by War Child in October 2014, it was revealed that majority of the social workers surveyed have a good knowledge of case management and the refresher course given by the project updated their knowledge on the process. They found the training in child protection as well as psychosocial support to deported children most useful. During the evaluation, social workers expressed that they have put to good use the psychosocial training when handling the UAMs. The psychosocial training was most relevant and useful because most of these minors are hesitant to go back to their families out of shame and embarrassment that they were deported and have no other means of employment or source of income. Psychosocial support provided to the deportees increased their interest and chances of reintegrating to normal lives with their families. The social workers interviewed also shared that continuous mentoring and coaching from project staff reinforced the knowledge they gained from formal training. This enabled them to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively as they were able to identify more cases of vulnerable children than they did before the trainings. Supported Regional Police Training Center in Herat in developing and institutionalizing child protection curriculum on police training According to the Deputy Head of the Regional Afghan National Police Training Center, War Child UK, through this project successfully trained 12 master trainers who in turn were able to train 44 other police officers. In a baseline study conducted by War Child, all 12 of the police officers interviewed replied that they have experience working as border police but have zero formal training on child protection. Thus the training provided by the project was well received as it raised border police officers’ knowledge about the rights of the child. The training not only improved the manner in which they identify and handle children crossing the border but because there are already master trainers within the regional training center, knowledge has

7

been transferred to the government who are in a better position to continue the effort even after War Child’s support. While, the training curriculum is referenced as part of police officer orientation, this could not yet be fully integrated into the police curriculum because this would require approval from the National Police Academy in Kabul. However, the Deputy Head of Regional Afghan National Police Training Center confirms that they have enough flexibility in their present training curriculums to use the external resources for adaptation of specific topics such as child protection; which will allow them to use the notes on child protection presented by WCUK. He has shown his full interest to use these resources for their future trainings and contribute in respect to the rights of children by border police. The Deputy Head further elaborates on the impact of the training on the police. He said: “As a result of these trainings, we already noticed positive changes in the behavior of the police staff which is very much different from the past. Children are highly vulnerable and ever since the police became aware of child protection, they also changed their behavior even towards their own children.” Established 15 community based child protection committees in selected villages in Qala-e-Naw, Badghis Province The project has successfully established 15 community based child protection committees in the province of Badghis composed of 10 members each. Through these committees, awareness of rights of child were raised, more community members were involved in child protection, and more cases involving child rights were either reported, mediated or resolved by the CBCPC. During the 10-month period of the project, the CBCPC handled a total of 34 cases. The cases included forced marriage, early marriage, child molestation, kidnapping and finding a shelter for orphaned children. Except for the kidnapping case, which is still in progress, all other cases were resolved and the 5 early/forced marriages were prevented through the intervention of the CBCPC.

Efficiency In the 10-month period of project implementation, about 1,232 individuals benefitted from the project (1,007 UAMs, 150 CBCPCs, 19 GO and NGO staff, 12 master trainers and 44 roll-out training participants). Considering the total project cost of US$267,225.00, on average therefore, the project spent about US$217 for each beneficiary. The benefits that the project has achieved are far greater than the cost per capita. This demonstrates project efficiency. Staff at all levels, especially at community level (social workers, psychosocial officer) are involved passionately. Furthermore, utilization of community led structures including shura and key community members led to further efficiency of the project.

8

Sustainability, Learning and Partnership At the core of any capacity building intervention is the transfer of knowledge and skills to government staff who has the mandate to protect children who are deported at the border with Iran. Through the Training of Trainers, War Child has successfully trained border police master trainers who are fully capable of sustaining training and orientation on child rights. The developed training materials on child protection will remain as a key and relevant tool for the governmental staff which they will and can use as reference document on child-friendly policing. The updated Standard Operating Procedures, once officially adapted by the DORR will guarantee that the case management system established through the project will remain even when the project comes to an end. According to key informants, the SOP is an effective tool for maintaining coordination among stakeholders operating at the border which is a key identified gap for the time being. In implementing its activities, the project maintained close partnership with government organizations (DORR, DOLSA-CPAN). Close coordination with international organizations is observed at the IOM and UNHCR especially in identifying unaccompanied minors and separated children as well as in facilitating the reintegration process. Partnership is likewise evident at the community level in Badghis Province through the CBCPC.

Challenges

Lack of coordination – At the border, several international organizations are involved in handling cases of deported minors. Respondents reveal that there are occasions when children go through several interviews with various organizations leading to confusion and frustration. While a system for case management exists, there is no clear system of coordination and sharing of information among international organizations.

Lack of a unified database – Each international organization present at the Islam Qala border maintains a unique database for registration of deportees. War Child itself has its own database with a format different from other international organizations. This makes cross-checking of information about a child difficult and could sometimes lead to lost information.

False information provided by the children – Social workers interviewed report that they have encountered many cases where the deported minors do not provide accurate information about their family background as well as their age making it difficult for them to trace their families. Difficulty of verifying demographic information from deported children increases the risk of child trafficking.

There are very limited opportunities to accommodate female beneficiaries deported from Iran, although limited female were identified as unaccompanied deported from Iran but this is still a valid concern that need to be taken into consideration.

9

Key informants from government lament that one of the challenges of the project in terms of providing training is making sure that those receiving training are the staff who are directly involved in managing cases of deportation. The camp manager at GTC expressed that sometimes those trained are not actually involved in processing deportees or that due to high turnover of staff, there is a need to constantly provide training on a rolling basis.

Limited technical and managerial capacities of key governmental staff especially DoRR in utilization of relevant resources facilitated by various organizations as well as ensuring effective coordination among involved stakeholders.

Vocational trainings require a longer duration than initially identified by the project. The types of skills training selected by the beneficiaries could be achieved within the project timeframe but considering the fact that most of these children require further follow up support and coaching to setup their own business, it would be worthwhile to consider training as well as follow-on activities into the project timeframe in future. This will increase chances of success and minimize the number of drop-outs from vocational trainings.

Lessons Learned

Holistic approach works – the project’s approach of establishing a system for case management and following it through with skills development minimizes chances of children re-considering another attempt to work illegally in Iran.

Engaging the community is a best practice – the CBCPC can be considered as the project’s best practice. Through this committee, awareness about child rights is raised thus preventing practices that curtail child rights, such as early marriage.

Building the capacity of border police and institutionalizing training in the Afghan National Training Center guarantees sustainability using the approach of ToT by WCUK.

Address the issue of child trafficking – although outside of the scope of this project, the case studies exposed that these minors sought the help of a middleman whom they paid a hefty amount to help transport them to Iran. Presence of child traffickers and lack of enforcement of laws against child trafficking contributes to this problem.

Considering the root of illegal movement of children to Iran is the poor economic condition and lack of work opportunities, provision of vocational trainings and follow on support to establish their personal business will encourage them to stay in the country.

10

Case Studies

Case Study 1: GhulamNabi

Name: GhulamNabi Father’s Name: Mohammad Mira Jan Sex: Male Age: 16 years old Marital status: Engaged Address: Guzara district GhulamNabi belongs to a family of 12 and because his father earns very little as a daily wage-worker, he never had the chance to go to school. He needed to work to help his family. He is a victim of forced deportation from Iran. He is only 16 years old and engaged at a very young age of 14. GhulamNabi relates his story: I was engaged two years ago and have to pay 600,000 Afghani (equivalent to 10,000 USD) as dowry to my bride’s parents before I can be officially married. During last 2 years that I was engaged, with my father’s support we managed to pay 200,000 Afghani to my father-in-law. Due to the fact that I could not find any job here in Herat, I decided to illegally go to Iran in order to find work there and save enough for my marriage. Nine months ago, after coordinating with a transporter and paying him 300,000 Afs (500 USD), I managed to reach to Tehran. Through the network of my relatives, I found a daily waged job as a construction work. Unfortunately, during my first working day, I was captured by the police and deported to Afghanistan. Upon my arrival at the border of Afghanistan, a border staff informed me that WCUK and IOM can provide me the support to reach back home safely. Through IOM, I received a hygiene kit and through WCUK social worker, I was briefed about my transportation back home and also for the next step for my future development. I learned that that WCUK can provide me support to learn a vocational skill.

GhulamNabi while being interviewed

11

When I reached home, I consulted with my family and decided to learn tailoring because this has a potential to earn good income in my community. I coordinated my decision with WCUK social worker who arranged to send me to a tailoring shop close to where I live. During my three months apprenticeship, I learned tailoring and how to manage my own business.

I am very glad to be a tailor and I believe it will help me grow up in my own community GhulamNabi’s father says: “Because of our poor economic condition, we are unable to establish the tailoring shop for GhulamNabi but we are trying our best to find some financial sources to help establish a shop for him. We all believe this is a great opportunity in our. GhulamNabi is reflective in the end and said: “I am no longer interested in going back to Iran for work. I am hoping to setup my own tailoring shop soon and I advise other children to work and study in their own country.”

Case Study 2: Ali Ahmad

Name: Ali Ahmad Father Name: GhulamSakhi Sex: Male Age: 16 years old Marital status: Single Address: Kababian village – Injil district In his own words, Ali Ahmad tells his story: I live with my poor family and have only reached 3rd grade of schooling. My father is old and suffers from chronic back and leg pain that needs continuous medication. My older brother who is 19 years old was engaged when he was 16 years old and he has to pay a dowry of 6,000 USD. He is in Iran working but he does not Ali Ahmad is sitting next to his father

12

send enough to help our family because he needs to save up for his own wedding. So the family decided to send me Iran too, to join my brother to earn income and save money faster for my brother’s wedding. Through our relatives, we managed to find someone who could take me to Iran illegally. I initially moved to Nimroz province and had to spend 14 days on the way to travel to Iran through the border in Pakistan but in the last few hours of my journey while I was about 2 hours to reach to Tehran, I was identified by the police and moved to a transit camp in Iran. During the time I was captured I had about 20$ in my pocket which was taken by the police. After spending about 2 days and night in transit camps of Iran, I was deported to the border of Afghanistan. I believe I was very lucky that I was deported to my country over period of 2 days and didn’t face many problems with the police in transit camp in Iran. Police informed me that this was mainly because it was my first time traveling illegally to Iran and I was warned that if I came back to Iran illegally again for the second time, I would face grave consequences. When I reached to the border of Afghanistan, someone from transit camp informed us that children younger than 18 can be supported by War Child thus, I managed to see the social worker of War Child who asked me few questions about my travel to Iran. They provided my transportation to Herat city and paid my taxi fare to reach home in Kababian. They also informed me that they could facilitate vocational skills development program so that I can gain skills to find employment in Afghanistan. When I reached home, I consulted my family and I decided to learn mobile fixing. I informed War child social worker of my decision and they coordinated the mobile fixing training with a mobile fixer in Kababian. I managed to complete a 3 months course where I and I can now fix destroyed mobile phones. Although I can now manage to have my own mobile fixing shop, I have seen a lot of trade related businesses in my community that are not successful. This made me decide not to open my own shop. I am still jobless and I am afraid I cannot continue to be unemployed. Despite the warning I received about returning a second time to Iran, I would like to take the risk again to find a way back to Iran but at this time we do not have the money to pay a transporter who would bring me to Iran.

This section presented two case studies of adolescent boys who received support from the project. With the support of War Child, they were successfully reunited with their families and received vocational training to prevent them from going back to work in Iran illegally. Their stories are similar and reflect a deeply rooted problem in Afghan society. It is complex and stems not just from poverty but also from a culture that condones early marriage and steep dowry for the bride regardless of economic status. The case studies also point to the fact that while the project had achieved its objective of re-integrating a child to his family, the ultimate outcome may still be different. Unless deeply rooted problem of poverty, lack of economic opportunities, child trafficking and harmful cultural traditions are not addressed, there will always be children who will be forced to cross the border illegally to Iran. A system for managing their cases is but palliative. Child protection in Afghanistan calls for a more holistic approach.

13

Conclusion and Recommendations Despite the limitations in the evaluation process expressed earlier, this evaluation provides ample evidence that the project has achieved its objectives and has positively contributed to protecting vulnerable minors who have been deported back to Afghanistan. Capacity and knowledge of government and non-government staff, especially border police officers improved and unaccompanied minors and separated children received at the border are better handled and properly integrated with their families. Sustainability of efforts has gained traction through provision of training of trainers, training curriculum, update of the Standard Operating Procedures, and application of case management system. There is enough evidence to demonstrate that the achievements of the project merit further funding in order to allow War Child to widen its scope and reach. In this 10-month period, it has re-integrated over 200 adolescent children out of which only 19% availed of vocational trainings. Unfortunately, project management and the evaluation team was not able to gather enough evidence to follow through on the extent of impact of the vocational training in improving quality of life of the minors supported by War Child, except for the 2 case studies that were presented here. Recommendations:

Upscale and continue the project but expand the project to investigate and address the root of causes why minors and their families are investing and risking their minor-aged children to work in Iran i.e. early marriage.

Extend support to accompanied children - some children are accompanied but due to the focus on UAMs, accompanied children are neglected and do not receive a much needed psychosocial and economic support.

Immediately seek the official endorsement of the Standard Operating Procedures by the Department of Refugee and Repatriation.

Extend the 3-day case management training to at least 5 days to provide more practical and hands-on training to participants.

Develop criteria for selecting training participants to the training to ensure that those who receive training are the most relevant and involved in case management at the border to Iran.

Institutionalize coordination meetings among international organizations working at the border in order to share information and best practices. Initially, this effort could be supported by NGOs but ideally, such coordination forums should be led by the relevant governmental departments.

Support the establishment of a common database of cases for all local and international organizations operating at the border in order to avoid duplication of efforts.

Establish mechanism for monitoring cases even after minors have been reunited with their families and received vocational courses.

Advocate for stronger enforcement of policies against trafficking of children and raise community awareness about this issue.

14

Establish a support group for youth who have worked in Iran and actively document and disseminate stories of minors who have successfully returned and re-established themselves in Afghanistan.

Focus on sensitization of government officials on child rights and extend counseling to family members especially to parents of reintegrated children to prevent them from escaping again to Iran.

Special focus needs to be done in building the technical and managerial capacities of DoRR team as the key lead agency on border issues.

15

Documents Reviewed Baseline Study. Unaccompanied Minors Service Providers (Social Worker and Border Police), Herat City, Afghanistan. October 2014. Case Management Database Project Document. Strengthening the Case Management of Unaccompanied Minors and facilitating family-reintegration in Western Afghanistan. Project Logical Framework and M&E Plan

16

Annex 1: Semi-Structured Questionnaire

“Strengthening case management of unaccompanied minors and facilitating family re-integration in Western Afghanistan”

SEMI-STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE

The case management of unaccompanied minors implemented by War Child UK for a period of 10 months aims to roll out the case management system and enhance the capacity of border and transit camp staff in the identification, screening and provision of case management and psychosocial support to deported unaccompanied minors and separated children and strengthen the collaboration between the border staff, border police and other organizations providing services to unaccompanied minors and separated children deported from Iran (Source: Project Document) Specifically, the project has the following objectives:

1. To develop a case management system for deported UAMs and separated children and update the existing standard operating procedures

2. Strengthen the capacity of 20 GO and NGO staff working in the border and at the Gazargah Transit Camp in case management, providing psychosocial support and facilitating access to livelihood support for deported unaccompanied minors and their families

3. Support the Regional Police Training Centre in Herat in developing and institutionalizing child protection in the Police training curriculum.

4. Establish and support 15 community based child protection committees in

Selected villages of Qala e-Naw, Badghis Province to prevent, manage and refer child protection cases to Provincial Child Protection Action Network and provincial Department of Labour and social affairs

As defined in the RFP, this end of project evaluation will seek to respond to the following key questions:

What is the degree to which the project has achieved its desired outcomes?

Who benefitted from the project and is there any evidence that the project contributed to successful case management of unaccompanied minors and separated children deported from Iran?

17

What impact has the project achieved? How effective were the interventions and was the delivery efficient and sustainable?

Are there good or innovative practices during the implementation of the project?

To what extent has the project contributed to the overall program of reintegrating unaccompanied minors to their families and communities?

To what extent have the project contributed to building the capacity of local actors to child protection and what value do beneficiaries, parents, and other relevant actors place on the activities and outcomes of the project?

What lessons can be learned in regard to case management systems and what recommendations can be drawn to further improve or upscale the project?

To operationalize the evaluation questions above and in consideration of the very short timeframe to complete the fieldwork for data collection, key informant interviews and focus group discussions will be the data collection method. Semi-structured guide questionnaire is developed below for each or the key stakeholders and beneficiaries.

A. Questions for border and transit camp staff, GO and NGOs who have received training in social work and child protection (psychosocial officer and social workers)

Did you receive training on this from War Child project regarding the Standard Operating Procedure for UAM? When did you receive?

Can you please describe the content of the training what do you think was the most important part of the training? What was the least important or useful?

In what ways did the training help you do a better job in handling cases of deported children, providing psychosocial support and facilitating access to livelihood to deported unaccompanied minors? What did you do before that was different from what you are doing now ever since your received the training supported by War Child UK?

Have you received a similar training before from other projects? If yes, how is this training supported by War Child better? Are there areas that need improvement in the training?

In your opinion, what has changed in system for managing cases of unaccompanied children deported from Iran since the support of War Child?

In your experience of handling deported children? Please describe how the system ensures that the rights of children are protected and how is this system made gender sensitive? How are girls cases handled differently from boys?

What improvements did you see in the case management system? In what ways have there been changes in services proved to children such as the psychosocial support, re-unification with families and supporting skills training for children?

In your opinion, how is this system sustainable beyond the life of the project? In what ways do you think so?

18

B. Questions for police/ War Child Project Management

Is the training module for Juvenile Justice and Police training on child protection already integrated in the curriculum of police training? What updates were made and issues did the updates address?

Have you received training on the module?

In what ways has the training changed the way you support management of cases of deported children?

Specific question for police master trainers – Have you already had the opportunity to train other police officers? How many police officers were trained by master trainers? How many are males and how many are females?

C. Questions for IOM/UNHCR/UNICEF

How is War Child UK coordinating with your office in the management of cases of deported children?

In what ways has the case management improved as a result of the project?

What are the benefits, intended or unintended, resulting from better coordination among international agencies handling children deported from Iran?

Are there better ways of coordinating and managing the system?

What improvements do IOM/UNHCR/UNICEF has seen as a result of War Child project?

D. Questions for Child Protection Action Network and shura members/CBCPCs

How many CPAN were established with the support of War Child?

Please describe the process on how members were selected?

What is the composition of the existing CPAN? How many are women and how many are men?

What support are you aware of that War Child has provided to CPAN?

Have you received any training at all?

How have sensitization and informal discussions on child protection helped you to support cases of deported children? In what ways are you or the CBCPC able to help?

Could you please share specific cases where CBCPC has been able to help a child protect a child and reintegrate him/her to his/her family?

E. Questions for Project Management

Has the SOP for deported UAMs been updated?

What support did War Child UK provide to update the SOP

Please describe the process that War Child took to update the process?

19

Who were the stakeholders involved and how were their inputs/feedback incorporated into the updated SOP

Has this SOP been officially endorsed by the DORR and DoLSA

F. For children and their families (case studies)

Questions the children

How old are you?

In what grade level are you in? Are you going to school now? How old were you when you went to Iran?

In your own personal view/account please relay the story of your journey to Iran and back. Why did you go to Iran?

Please describe your experience at the border when you were deported? Who received you? Who documented your case? Who helped you?

What sort of support did you get from the border staff? From the day that you arrived until the time that you were re-united with your family, please tell us your story? How long did it take you to be re-united with them?

Are you taking vocational course now to improve you skills? What is it and how is this helping you and your family?

If you compare your life now and your life in Iran, is your life better or worse

What are your plans now that you are back with your family?

Based on your experience, is there anything you can suggest to help other children like you?

For the parents

How long were you separated from your child since he/she left Afghanistan

How were you contacted by social workers about your child?

Are you aware of War Child’s project to support families who have underage children deported from Iran?

If yes, what support did the project give you?

How did this support help your family and your child?

20

Annex 2: List of Respondents

List of people interviewed for the evaluation

Date Name of the person Position Organization Location of the meeting

08-Jul-15 Mr. Ali Elahi CPAN Technical Advisor UNICEF DoLSAMD office

08-Jul-15 Mr. Ainadin Aslami Camp Manager - GTC Government -

DoRR GTC camp

09-Jul-15 Mr. Shafi Karimi Project Manager WCUK WCUK office

09-Jul-15 Mr. Wasim Yusofi Social Worker - Badghis WCUK WCUK office

09-Jul-15 Mr. Barkatullah Munib Social Worker - Islam Qala border WCUK WCUK office

09-Jul-15 Mr. Ahmad Rafhat Shakibani Social Worker - Islam Qala border WCUK WCUK office

09-Jul-15 Mrs. Mina Amiri Psycho Social Officer - GTC WCUK WCUK office

09-Jul-15 Mr. Zalmai Sultani Social Worker - GTC WCUK WCUK office

09-Jul-15 Mr. Mobin Qaderi Camp Manager - Islam Qala border Government -

DoRR WCUK office

12-Jul-15 Mr. Hekmatullah Karim Deputy Head of Regional Afghan National Police Training Center Government Police Training Center

12-Jul-15 Mrs. Aqlima Hamdard Head of CBCPC in Abgarmak Shura Phone interview

12-Jul-15 Ghulam Nabi Project's beneficiary Beneficiary Gozara district

12-Jul-15 Mr. Mohammad Naim Mohalim Zadah Head of DoLSAMD - Qala e-Now Government Phone interview

14-Jul-15 Mr. Sultan Mohammad Wafakish Field Worker in Islam Qala boarder AIHRC AIHRC office

14-Jul-15 Mr. Khatibi Head of DoRR - Herat Government DoRR office

14-Jul-15 Mr. Ali Ahmad Project's beneficiary Beneficiary Kababian village