Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluating (M&E) is a branch of the International Development (ID) field. All donors require that projects are reviewed for effectiveness. Therefore, ID projects must collect statistics that can be analyzed and used for project evaluation.

NMCF has recently submitted a report to USAID. With Farah, the M&E specialist, I traveled to projects in the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu Natal, gathering statistics for the USAID report. As many of the projects are very rural and unable to access computers and printers, the statistics were gathered via basic, one-page charts. The volunteer care-worker had to simply write in her (or his) information, the location of the project and then list every OVC (orphan and vulnerable children) that they attended to throughout the year. In the columns next to the OVC names, there were dozens of options to choose from, ranging from Grant Assistance, to School Work Assistance. The care-worker had to simply check off any activity that she performed with the OVC during the year. This gives us a simple picture of the services provided to the OVC by the care-worker.

(The care-workers in most projects did maintain a book in which they would make notes as they visited the OVC. They were therefore able to reference their books in order to fill out the form).