Save the Children TOR for Participatory Research to determine the Impact of Miraa Production on Children and Families in Meru North, Kenya

Terms of Reference

 

For Participatory Research to determine the Impact of Miraa Production on Children and Families in Meru North, Kenya

Miraa :-  Also known as khat, is a flowering plant native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Miraa leaves contain cathinone an amphetamine-like stimulant which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite and euphoria.

I. Background
 

Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since 1984, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners. Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and WASH. Save the Children has an operational presence in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Eldoret, Habaswein, Mandera, Meru and Wajir. 

Currently, we have a staff complement of approximately 230 staff and expenditure of approximately US$15 million a year.
 

With funding from CIDA and in partnership with four national organizations, Save the Children is currently implementing a five year programme named Children Lead the Way (CLW). This participatory child-focused programme focuses on working girls, boys and youth and children affected by HIV and AIDS with a view of securing the rights of girls and boys and youth to survival, protection, education, health and participation in Kenya. 

The project takes a stand in favour of working children and realizes that children above the minimum age of employment (16 years in Kenya) who must work for their survival are in need of access to decent work in terms of wages, working hours, and working conditions. At the same time, the project advocates strongly for the elimination of all Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) in Kenya.
 

A 2012 Save the Children’s participatory survey to determine baseline indicators for the CLW project undertaken in Naivasha, Meru North and Thika shows that children are greatly affected by various forms of work, particularly when their lives are compounded by the effects of HIV and AIDS and general poverty estimated at 46 percent In Kenya. A third (27.3%) of the children are forced to leave school in order to provide for their own or their family’s livelihood thereby making it difficult for them to develop into productive adults with relevant skills and knowledge. 

Meru recorded a highest with commercial agriculture being one of the push factors identified. 

Development indicators in the miraa growing region of Igembe South and Igembe North Districts of Meru North are particularly dire showing higher than average school dropout rates, low literacy rates (43.6%2), high absenteeism from school, lower transition rates, higher juvenile pregnancy, and higher HIV prevalence amongst young people not to mention higher rates of substance abuse amongst adults. Authoritative research on its specific effects is nonetheless missing.

II. Context
 

Economic
 

Miraa is a highly lucrative cash crop grown in specific areas of Igembe South and Igembe North in areas which have fertile red clay soil. Income from miraa is estimated to be millions of dollars annually, compared to such crops as coffee that has systematically been uprooted and replaced by miraa plants in Meru, Embu and Mbeere areas. 

Kenya is known for its premium quality miraa leaves which fetch top market price upon export to  neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, Middle East and European countries. 

The lush leaves chewed for their stimulant effect, are picked from short, weak-branched trees under chilly pre-dawn conditions by nimble fingers of little boys, packed in moisture proof wrappings, and then driven in fast pickup trucks to Nairobi airports for same day flights to the final destination within and outside the country. 

Commercial production expanded significantly the year the Government of Kenya legalized miraa as an export crop.
 

Social
 

The Children Lead the Way baseline information revealed that young boys as young as 6 years are chosen for the seasonal labour to pick miraa to earn income for themselves and their families.
 

Child labour in commercial agriculture, including miraa, is hidden and largely not understood.

Kenya’s Children Act 2001 and the 2007 Employment Act outlaw child labour for children below eighteen and sixteen years, respectively. 

However, the minimum age of employment is hardly enforced hence the difficulty of unearthing and addressing this type of work. 

Lack of data on child labour also does contribute to gaps in understanding specific types of labour and their ramifications on children.
 

Prior to 2005/06 when the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) included a module of child labour in the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS), the 1998/99 ILFS remained the most authoritative information source on child labour in Kenya. 

After the completion of data collection and analysis on the KIHBS, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) though KNBS supported a team of consultants to produce a child labour analytical report from the labour force data sets, a report which has been published (KNBS, 2008). 

This report indicates that the number of working children (children carrying out any work for pay) dropped from 1.9 million to 1.1 million in 2006 and those in child labour (work that negatively affects children in their growth and development including attending school) from 1.3 million in 1998/99 to 773,697 in 2006. 

In 2006 working children comprised 535,197 boys and 479,987 representing a significant drop from 1999 when 1.9 million working children comprised 981,833 boys and 911,930 girls. 

The 2008 report goes further to analyse the character, nature, size and other vital characteristics of child labour in Kenya in order to demystify major causes of child labour and by extension design new policies to address this egregious situation in Kenya.

Commercial agriculture, primarily in coffee, maize, tobacco, rice, tea, and miraa showed the continuity of the practice with minimal reduction. 

Given this analytical report is nearly five years old and the current geographic expansion of commercial miraa production into neighboring districts it behooves state parties and those concerned with child protection to thoroughly understand the dynamics of this commerce and address the causes.
 

III. Scope of the Research Study
 

This research will be carried out in Meru County - Igembe North and South Districts.
 

IV. Purpose of the Study
 

The purpose of this study is to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the nature and extent of children’s involvement in miraa Production and Trade and how this impacts on their growth and development. 

In addition, the study seeks to assess how households and communities perceive children’s involvement in miraa production and trade and how this involvement impacts on household and community livelihoods.
 

V. Specific objectives
 

Specifically, the study should:

1. Examine the scope (percentage of children involved, what jobs they do, remuneration, access to other benefits) of children’s involvement in miraa farming and trade as well as community perceptions of children’s involvement in the targeted areas
2. Establish the socio-cultural and economic factors driving children to work in miraa production and trade
3. Examine direct and indirect linkages between miraa production and trade and worst forms of child labour and hazardous work i.e. is there any link between miraa trade and sexual exploitation of children
4. Establish the potential social impacts (including health, HIV/AIDS, education) of children’s involvement in miraa production and trade
5. Examine the economic impacts of miraa production on girls, boys, families and communities
6. Establish the factors that can mitigate continued harmful work in miraa industry by children

VI. Methodology and Sampling
 

Save the Children is a rights based organization practicing Child Rights Programming, hence this study will be conducted using community participatory approaches. It will comprise a desk review, field visits for data collection and interviews with all stakeholders, including children.
 

The consultants will review existing secondary documents to acquire complete comprehension of the miraa commerce in Kenya, as well as project documents and studies. 

Using a rights based approach (i.e. ensuring all human rights including child rights are observed); the researchers will involve and utilize key stakeholders, especially children and partner project staff in all aspects of the research. 

Participation of institutions both at government (national and local) and community level is essential as they are key collaborators. All data will be gender disaggregated and a gender assessment will be conducted to determine specific impact on girls and women.
 

The field visits will include key informant interviews, focused group discussions among other participatory methods with individuals and household members, working boys and girls, employers, community based organizations, relevant government officers and other community gate keepers. 

Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected. 

The consultants will be responsible for designing the data collection tools for the study in consultation with Save the Children staff.
 

A presentation of findings to both stakeholders in the community and within Save the Children and its partners will be done.
 

The final report will be printed and widely disseminated.
 

VII. Services and deliverables
 

The consultants will assume the overall responsibility for designing, coordinating, analyzing and
reporting on the participatory study within the terms of reference.
 

The Consultants shall:
 

1. Design the study methodology. Save the Children expects that the study will draw on both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques, focusing on adherence to child rights. The proposed methodology will include appropriate sampling methodologies and provide the rationale for the adopted sampling design. The research design should employ participatory methods, including child appropriate techniques and consent gathering tools. Data will be disaggregated by gender. Save the Children will review and approve the study methodology within 10 days of submission, and prior to the collection of any data collection.
 

2. Develop tools. Develop the necessary documentation and tools for undertaking the study in consultation with relevant staff and partners; ensuring specific information on gender impact.
 

3. Collect data. The consultant will be responsible for the entire process of data collection and analysis. Collected data should be gender disaggregated and include a gender analysis; and presented in a format that can be readily utilized to strengthen the CLW project. Quantitative data will be described in terms of statistical significance and representation of all findings noted.

4. Present findings to Save the Children and key stakeholders identified by Children Lead the Way Project staff. The consultant will present the study findings using PowerPoint or relevant medium to both community and SC stakeholders within one month of finalizing the study. During these dissemination events, the consultant will collect feedback for consideration in revisions to the final report.
 

5. Submit a final report. Provide a comprehensive, clear, and detailed report in soft copy (PDF and Microsoft Word) and 6 bound hard copies within two months of the final data collection. Save the Children will respond with written feedback within 10 working days and final submission is due 10 working days upon receipt of the feedback.
 

VIII. Responsibility of Save the Children

• Develop the TOR and draw the contract for consultancy services for the study
• Provide necessary project background materials
• Comment on and/or approve the study methodology within 10 working days of submission
• Provide technical and logistical support to the consultants during the field visits and as otherwise required during the study period
• Through project partners’ support in project area, mobilize and schedule teams and programming staff to participate in the research study as appropriate
• Cover the costs of the consultants as per the contractual agreement
• Review and provide comments to the research’s draft tools and draft and final reports according to the set time frame
• Assist to organize validation presentations with communities and other stakeholders
• Approve the final documents

IX. Duration/timeline
 

The duration and timeline for this research shall be 21 days and between January 29th 2013 and March 31st 2013 respectively
 

X. Consultant’s Skills and Experience

• A minimum of a Master’s Degree in related field
• Extensive experience in conducting research, analyzing data and reporting high level knowledge of participatory data collection and sampling methodologies; superior writing skills
• Significant experience in research in the areas of children and gender in Kenya
• Proven experience using participatory approaches; in the field of working children and youth a plus

The Consultant must abide by the Save the Children Child safeguarding protocol, which is a statement of Save the Children’s commitment to preventing abuse and protecting children with whom it comes into contact. This extends not only to children with whom and its partners work directly, but also includes children whom staff is responsible for.

Save the Children believes that the situation of children must be improved through the promotion of their rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This includes the right to freedom from abuse and exploitation.

Desirable

• Knowledge of child rights, child protection and labour issues

XI. Instruction for submission of proposal:
 

Interested qualified consultancy firms are requested to submit the following by electronic means to the following address: Kenya.jobapplications@savethechildren.org not later than midnight 23rd January 2013. 

Save the Children reserves the right to refusal all documents received after this date. 

Applications will include the following:

• A cover letter expressing interest
• Company profile including capacity to respond to this task
• Recent CVs of professional(s) proposed to work on this study
• Three (3) recent references for comparable published research work
• A full proposal with a detailed methodology and approach to achieve the objectives stated in the TOR. The methodology should include a sampling plan as well as sample of the tools to be used to gather data
• Detailed work plan of proposed work
• A financial proposal in Kenya shillings outlining the overall budget required to achieve the task as outlined in your proposal. 

This should exclude cost of transportation, accommodation and meals during the field work.