The summer heat has gone and now there is a crispness to the morning air. For students, summer vacation is done, and a new school year has begun. Alas! Autumn has come.
For World Vision, autumn brings a new financial year, and the chance to stop, reflect, and look both backwards and forwards. This year we have a particularly wonderful opportunity to look back, not only to the year just completed, but to the very beginning of the THRIVE (Transforming Household Resilience in Vulnerable Environments) program and model.
World Vision is pleased to present the results of the THRIVE Program Impact Study. Led by external evaluator, Limestone Analytics, this has allowed us to step back and consider all five studies of the THRIVE results as a whole body of work and synthesize the findings. We are pleased to invite you to join us on November 21 to discuss the study and unpack it, and you will find the information further on in this newsletter.
Soon we will add one final component, which is one of my personal bottom-line evaluations — What is the THRIVE program’s return on investment? We hope to have that available for the presentation.
Isn’t autumn a wonderful time of year?
World Vision's THRIVE Program Impact Study
World Vision is pleased to present the results of the THRIVE Program Impact Study. This study, conducted by Limestone Analytics, was commissioned to synthesize results of the THRIVE programs in Honduras, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia to better understand the overall effectiveness of THRIVE in building both improved and resilient livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
In preparation for the call on November 21, please click hereto read the document.
Selected highlights:
Improved incomes
Incomes increased from baseline to endline across all five countries during the program’s duration (see Table 1). This ranged from a median income increase of 1.3 times in Rwanda to nearly 10 times in Tanzania. In all cases, the change was positive and statistically significant.
On average THRIVE households:
Earn higher incomes—53.4% higher than comparison households at endline.
Improved their ability to support children— 18.7% more THRIVE households provided well for children without external help compared to non-THRIVE households.
Own more assets, including livestock—4.5 more livestock animals than the comparison group.
Save more money—70% of the households were members of savings groups, compared to only 15% of the comparison group.
Are progressing out of poverty—6.4% fewer households lived below the national poverty line compared to the non-THRIVE group at endline. This improvement is statistically significant and stronger than national-level trends.
Are more food secure—Results six times better than those often obtained from similar programs. These results would be considered ‘likely to be visible to the naked eye’.
Biblical Empowered Worldview
The meta-analysis results reveal THRIVE had a statistically significant positive effect on participants’ mindset and worldview, including:
Increased empowerment: The study showed greater improvement in the household decision-making empowerment score than the comparison group. This is statistically significant.
The qualitative data from across the countries revealed that participants universally appreciated the Biblical Empowered Worldview (BEWV) message as an enlightening and a motivating force.
As observed at endline, the findings demonstrate that THRIVE and BEWV programming are associated with measurable and sustained improvement in mindset change.
Improved child well-being
Improvement in household attitudes and incomes translated into more support for children. THRIVE significantly improves parents’ ability to provide for their children’s basic needs, like food, clothing, and paying school fees. Figure 2 shows that in all five countries, a higher proportion of THRIVE households provided well for their children compared to non-THRIVE households. On average, 18.7% more THRIVE households provided well for children without external help compared to non-THRIVE households.
From the study authors
“Our meta-analysis demonstrates that THRIVE has significantly improved attitudes, livelihoods, and support for children across various countries. The positive impact is not only statistically significant but also substantial, bringing meaningful changes to the lives of the participants.”
Dr. Christopher Cotton, Professor of Economic & Financial Policy, Queen’s University; Director of Research, Limestone Analytics
Conclusions and moving ahead
This study consistently shows that THRIVE has had a significant positive impact on participants’ lives across all measured areas. This success is due to the hard work of our dedicated staff who developed and implemented the THRIVE programs, as well as the generous support from our donor partners. As a result, we’ve observed substantial income growth, often exceeding our expectations. Parents are now able to provide more meaningfully for their children like sending them to school, ensuring access to nutritious food, and productively and positively contributing to their communities.
Mark your calendar
In the news
In the previous newsletter we reported on Typhoon Yagi hitting Viet Nam. We thought it might be instructive to see some photos from that event.
Partner with us
Give to the Economic Empowerment Global Fund: THRIVE 2030 to help us reach 10 million people in 10 countries with the tools they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Tools include Biblical Empowered Worldview, Savings for Transformation Groups, Local Value Chain Development, and FAST.
Praise God that World Vision has been able to respond quickly to the effects of Hurricanes Helene and Milton — in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We have seen both strong donor support, amazing church partnerships, and excellent and timely response by our US Programs team.
Pray for the THRIVE 2030 team in Viet Nam as they deal with the destruction and damage caused by Typhoon (hurricane) Yagi. We expect a fuller update shortly.
Pray for the THRIVE 2030 teams in Malawi and Zambia as they continue to struggle with the ongoing impacts of the drought.
Thank you for uniting with us in prayer and for your faithful partnership!
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