Observation of action
Donors have a right to find out what was achieved with their money. It is easy to show with weight measurements or disease statistics that ecological vegetable production in school gardens and regular, balanced meals improve children's diet. However, it is more complex to prove that you also learn better and have better future chances. This is usually only evident when the project has been completed for a long time.
When reviewing the impact of projects, Terre des Hommes places great emphasis on the participation of target groups, i.e., those whose living conditions are to be improved through the project. One challenge in observing and documenting impact is to learn as much as possible about the mechanisms of action and the results while keeping the effort within reasonable limits. Therefore, it is good to regularly review your own practices, but it is not necessary to do so at every step and in every project. Once it has been scientifically proven that agrochemicals impair children's cognitive development, it is sufficient for the new project for Terre des Hommes staff on site to document the change in diet to healthy foods.
Terre des Hommes ' impact monitoring is based on project proposals that describe the initial status and targets using indicators. Typically, project partners submit reports every six months that provide information on progress and interim results.
Terre des Hommes experts on site analyze the reports and discuss the results with the partner organizations during regular visits every six months, during which the information is also reviewed randomly. Once a year, they prepare a summary report for the Terre des Hommes office in Germany. This office evaluates the information with regard to overarching issues and methods. If problems arise, specific issues or methods need to be further developed, or if larger projects are involved, additional evaluations are commissioned from independent external experts.
The more demanding a project goal is, the more important it is to implement it together with other actors and the more complex observation.
Terre des Hommes victims of violence with therapeutic services.
It makes a difference whether 50 children who were victims of violence were able to recover through a therapeutic program, whether a program reduced the level of violence in their communities overall, or whether a city administration established care facilities and implemented violence prevention programs in the schools of an entire city. The contribution of a Terre des Hommes project to changing people's reality cannot always be precisely documented. But it is clear that it must have contributed to the desired outcome.
Efficiency is an important criterion for observation of effects: What was caused with a certain amount? However, the effort in the collection of more precise numbers must be in relation to the sum that is available for the implementation of the measure.
When we build a classroom, we know that it will be used by 30 children in the future. Calculating how long it can be used and how many children will attend classes there is more complicated. It's even more difficult to determine how many children will be cared for by a health worker trained in a Terre des Hommes project, or how many children will actually benefit from a change in the law that promises them protection and assistance.
Terre des Hommes distinguishes between the number of children or young people with whom it works directly and those who indirectly benefit from the measure. The latter is the case, for example, when they benefit from a health station set up as part of a project or a successful campaign to protect waters where fishing takes place. As a general rule, the larger the scope of the project, the more difficult it is to collect reliable figures. To limit the effort, samples, estimates, or experiences and studies from similar projects are used. These figures are recorded in the project's annual reports. In key work areas, when there is a specific question about the effectiveness of a method, or in the case of large-scale projects, separate studies or evaluations are also prepared. Terre des Hommes conducts ongoing monitoring of the funded projects on the basis of the "Concept for Recording Impacts in Program Funding: Impacts and Impact Monitoring" adopted in 2010.
So your donation is used

With your donation of
- They provide 24 euros
- They send a child to school for 60 euros
- 120 euros to enrich school lunches with fresh vegetables.