External Evaluation of the Community Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Baqa'a Camp, Amman, Jordan

Background

The Norwegian Association of Disabled (NAD), in partnership with Swedish diakonia, has since 1994 provided financial and technical support to local NGO partners that comprise the Rehabilitation Program (RP) in Palestine. The RP has developed into a broad-spectrum rehabilitation program with the aim of promoting social inclusion of children and adults with disability within Palestinian society. The Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program is the cornerstone of the RP and one of its six inter-related components. The CBR program has been part of a long-term strategy aimed at strengthening the rehabilitation sector in Palestine as a whole in order to address the needs of disabled people. Full community participation and the use of local resources are key aspects of the CBR program. Another of the six components is regional cooperation, which aims to share the RP's and the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) program's experiences with other community rehabilitation programs in the region. Under this component, NAD and diakonia have established a relationship with three Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, providing support to their implementation of CBR projects. This external evaluation was commissioned in order to assess the CBR project implemented in one of these camps, Baqa'a Camp in Jordan. The study was carried out in September 2004.

Purpose/objective

The purpose of the study was to assess the achievements, review plans and recommend any necessary amendments to the plans of the Community Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Baqa'a Camp. The Terms of Reference for the study were to assess i) the role of CRC in identifying and meeting the needs of disabled persons in Baqa'a Camp, ii) the approach of CRC in service provision and quality of services, iii) the linkage between CRC and both the community and referral services, iv) the competence of human resources and their development, and identify v) recommendations for developing the role of CRC in the camp. The study also considered beneficiaries' satisfaction.

Methodology

The evaluation employed qualitative and quantitative research techniques. These included data/document review, observations of all sections of CRC, field visits to schools, discussions and meetings with key stakeholders and specialists, and structured interviews with beneficiaries and their families.

Key findings

The evaluation concluded that there has been some progress in terms of CRC project management and administration. The local community committee, which provides overall administrative and financial management and supervision to CRC, has had a number of achievements since its activation in 2002, including improvement of CRC's administrative and financial structure, initiation of some awareness raising activities, and the integration of disabled children in schools. Project 'volunteers' revealed that they are generally satisfied with their work, but dissatisfied about their status as volunteers; low salaries and lack of benefits are de-motivating and staff turnover is high. Technical supervision and direction are weak, as are recording, reporting and monitoring practices. Staff view home visits as the only prerequisite of a CBR program.

The project is able to demonstrate relevance and impact at the level of beneficiaries and their families, primarily in relation to the activities of daily living. However, there was no clear impact or change in their socio-economic or educational status, work opportunities, or social integration. There was no evidence of CRC work directed towards the organization of disabled people.

Recommendations

Recommendations for the CRC project included the following:
- Review and revise the project's approach to CBR and develop a more strategic vision and plan.
- Recognize that different CBR models may be implemented according to community needs.
- Recognize the role of and involve the community, families and disabled people themselves within the CRC and in promoting the human rights of people with disabilities.
- Shift focus from service provision to a more comprehensive approach to rehabilitation in order to realize social integration and equalization of opportunities.
- Take steps to motivate and build capacity among CRC 'volunteers'.
- Improve service delivery through coordination with other service providers and better technical skills.
- Improve strategic planning processes and monitoring and reporting procedures.
- Improve targeting of beneficiaries, especially among children.