| dc.description.abstract | Tearfund UK in Ethiopia and Tearfund Ireland have implemented a programme of establishing and
facilitating a network of self-help groups (SHG) comprising the poorest people in Ethiopian Society
since 2002. The SHGs follow a carefully defined philosophy based initially on the self-help group
movement run by MYRADA India and adapted to the Ethiopian Context with the assistance of
Tearfund Netherlands, The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BuZa) and Irish Aid.
Previous research has examined the cost-benefit of Ethiopian self-help groups and found a very
positive cost benefit ratio (Venton, et. al., 2013). In 2016, in phase 1 of this project – jointly
conducted by Tearfund UK, Tearfund Ireland and Trinity College Dublin - we visited 10 SHGs in
Southern Ethiopia to evaluate the impact of SHGs on the psychosocial wellbeing of their members
and to elucidate the features SHGs which promote, and those that may hamper, achieving this
impact. A survey of individual members, a focus group with the SHG as a whole and interviews with
key informants served to gather qualitative and quantitative data about both the individual and the
SHG.
At time 1, we found that, as well as having a clear impact on the financial circumstances, SHGs are
also impacting members’ lives in a variety of ways. Older SHGs assessed the impact of the SHG as
being greater and they scored more highly on measures of psychological and social wellbeing,
indicating that the impact of the SHG increases over time. We identified several key elements of
SHGs that seem to be critical in achieving these positive outcomes. The defined rules and bylaws of
each SHG are complemented by a set of values and principles – of equality, sharing, mutual support
and forgiveness – and supported effectively by a strong network of facilitators.
Phase 2 of this research is reported here. We revisited the same ten SHGs six years after the first
visit to elucidate if the SHGs had continued to have an impact on the psychosocial wellbeing of their
members and, if so, what factors are influential. In particular, we were interested in whether the
longer involvement has continued to have an influence on SHG member wellbeing (older vs younger
groups) and whether the level of functioning of the SHG at time 1 (T1) would predict changes.
Additional objectives of phase two were: to examine how the SHGs and their members have been
influenced by the crises that have occurred since 2016 – COVID-19, political instability, inflation, etc.,
to explore role of SHGs vis-à-vis members with disabilities, promoting civic engagement, and
promoting spiritual and character development. 97 SHG members participated in both T1 and T2
surveys; 40 participated only in T1, 41 participated only in T2.
The SHG members continued to report very positive changes in their lives since joining the SHG.
Across most dimensions, they were slightly less positive about these changes than in 2016,
suggesting that the past six years have been difficult for many members. This was the case for
finance, family and social circumstances, health, and psychological wellbeing. However, the
participants continued to give the SHGs the substantial share of the credit for their improved
circumstances since joining.
By contrast to self-assessment, scale assessed wellbeing increased significantly for both age groups –
psychological and social wellbeing scales both showed significant increases since 2016, as did
meaning of life and team evaluation. The differences between younger and older groups in
psychological and social wellbeing at T1 disappeared at T2. This could be because the younger SHGs
over the past 6 years matured enough and attained high psychosocial and social wellbeing
outcomes.
The T2 team evaluation scale was a more meaningful predictor of outcome variables than the T1
team evaluation scale or the T1 SHG functioning score. Either SHG impact is not related to SHG
quality, or we are not effectively measuring SHG quality.
There was a self-reported increase, since joining the SHG, in civic engagement, voting & community,
more markedly for older groups. Members self-reported character changes: increased tolerance,
forgiveness & concern for others.
No disabilities were reported among members of the SHGs involved in this research, meaning it was
impossible to explore the experiences of SHG members with a disability. The focus groups reported
that the SHGs have been providing training on disability for its members, and the SHGs have become
more open to including people with disabilities and some SHGs assist people with disabilities.
Focussed research into the reasons for the absence of self-reported disabilities among SHG
members in this research would be valuable. This is at odds with Tearfund Ireland’s findings in
baseline and endline surveys. Based on the definition of Washington Group, they found 12.3% of
SHG members who are PWD (Tearfund, 2020).
The qualitative questions and focus groups provided a rich source of information to help interpret
the quantitative findings. Since 2016 the SHGs and their members have had to cope with political
unrest and ethnic tensions, high rates of inflation and COVID-19. These impacted the members’
ability to carry on their businesses in numerous ways. The social distancing and masks affected the
relationships among members and their perception of empathy toward others. They reported
separation from loved ones, loss of freedom to move and travel, uncertainty about the advancement
of the pandemic, lack of clear understanding about the real nature of the pandemic, and the
unavailability of vaccination at the beginning. The partial lockdown in Ethiopia disrupted SHG
meetings, but only for a few weeks before they were able to resume with protective measures. The
SHGs were active in helping their members cope with these crises. They provided facemasks,
sanitiser, etc. and encouraged their members to use them; they provided interest-free loans and
flexible repayments and direct financial support to those in particular need.
Overall, the SHG groups appear to be functioning well and continuing to play a positive role in their
members’ lives. The fact that most of the self-assessed dimensions of wellbeing have remained
stable, declined slightly or increased is testament to the resilience that the SHGs provide to their
members during a period of significant disruption. The significant increase in scale-assessed
wellbeing suggests that the SHGs may be having a greater impact than many members recognise.
That the older SHGs score higher on many items indicates that SHGs have an ongoing function for
them. The focus groups indicated some changes in the groups that promote this – becoming more
dependable and socially cohesive for their members, administering the finances better, adopting
more formal transparent working systems, power delegation and decision making through
consensus. The qualitative data continue to provide insight into how the SHGs are having their
impact. Further research is needed to quantify the impact of SHG activities and SHG quality. | en |
