The evaluation is a cross-cutting exercise that assesses to what extent and how the Kindernothilfe's (KNH) Self-Help Group Approach (SHA) has contributed to changes with respect to gender roles and effects of these roles on people’s lives. KNH has promoted the SHA for some 17 years. African, Asian and Latin American partner organisations have worked with this approach to empower individuals and communities, in particular women living in extreme poverty. The self-help groups – basically, women’s savings-and-loan groups – are expected to contribute to women’s economic, social, and political empowerment, as well as to improvements in the lives of their communities, in particular their children’s.

The evaluation examines both KNH’s overall SHA, as well as specific cases in four countries. Field studies are planned in Haiti, the Philippines, Zambia and India.