Determining the Baselines

World Renew’s CIDA and FRB projects in Mozambique. What is a baseline? A baseline is a starting point or point of reference.

What is a baseline?
A baseline is a starting point or point of reference. Setting a baseline involves fixing the time at the base – a benchmark from which you measure progress for the purpose of monitoring.

It was not surprising that a baseline survey was planned to be carried out by all World Renew partners involved in the project. This was to enable all stakeholders to determine the point from which the five year project is starting after all of the rigorous processes of proposal writing and signing of Memoranda of Understanding between World Renew and CIDA regarding the CIDA sustainable livelihoods project.

In Mozambique, staff of our World Renew partners (Anglican Diocese of Niassa and IRM or the Reformed Church of Mozambique Mphatso Synod) carried out the baseline survey between mid-December 2012 and Mid-January 2013. But before they embarked on the survey, partner staff were prepared with training on the techniques of baseline survey methods.

For IRM, a two-day training was conducted by World Renew Program Consultant Istifanus Gimba on December 4-5, 2012, to equip the staff for the exercise.

Baseline surveys are important for monitoring and evaluation purposes in every organization because they provide reference points from which the rate of progress can be determined.

…food scarcity affects children and leads to malnutrition and stunting.

IRM-RDD FRB Food Security: Mutarara Project
One of the problems highlighted and addressed in the IRM-RDD Foods Resource Bank (FRB) Mutarara Food security project in Mozambique is the ways that food scarcity affects children and leads to malnutrition and stunting. A key assumption was that as food supplies in a community improve, there will be more food available for children. In our conservation farming programs, our methods should take less time to prepare and plant the family farm, and free up the children’s time to attend school and even play. The program also targeted orphans and orphan-headed households to receive training and encouragement.

During the last rain-fed and irrigation cropping seasons, the project participants supported 63 orphans: 31 in Inhangoma community; 19 in Charre community; and 13 in Nhamayabwe community) across ten villages of Mutarara district. Each received about 10kg of food that was harvested from the Learning Centers (maize from rain-fed gardens and vegetables from irrigated crops).

Women Challenged to be Creative
Esther continued to work with her women’s knitting group in Tete to improve their skills and help them begin to earn income from their handicrafts. She added a new dimension to the program by encouraging the women to be creative in using locally-available resources. Some of the women decided to buy thick secondhand sweaters from the market at very cheap prices (5-10 MTS or about $0.17– $0.33) which they deconstruct and recycle into yarn to knit baby sweaters. In November 2012, Esther brought the group together to share what they had done and it was exciting.

Prayer Points

Pray for World Renew’s partners in Mozambique. IRM is passing through some leadership challenges. Ask the Lord to guide them and grant them wisdom in handling the situation.
Pray for the smooth implementation of the CIDA sustainable livelihood projects by the Anglican Diocese of Niassa and IRM-RDD.
Thank God for journeying mercies to Nigeria for Esther and I when we travelled for the burial of her late father last month (December 2012). Thank God also for His comfort.

Esther and I would like to conclude by expressing our deep appreciation to all of our World Renew supporters for your generous giving and prayers throughout last year 2012. We pray that God will continue to Refresh and Renew your strength as you labor to support His work in the coming year, 2013. Know for certain that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58.

Yours In His Service,