1. Appendix N – Overseas monitoring form TEMPLATE[Template guidance (to be deleted from final report):
Before sending this report to the organisation, please delete sections A and C
which are for internal information only. Keep one copy of the report as anexternal version and one copy as an internal version..]International Monitoring Visit Report [month, year]
Project Title

Your land your rights

URN

ICB/2/010420962

Grant holder

Feed the Minds

Partner organisation

Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA)

Organisation(s) to bevisitedHuman Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA)

Monitoring officers

Nicolas Croll, Christopher Manion

Date of trip

January 2014

Date of project visit

January 27th-29th 2014

Report Contents
Section A: Visit Details………………………………………………..
Section B: Project Details………………………………………….....
Section C: Visit Report………………………………………………..
Section D: Conclusions and Recommendations…………………...
Appendix - Notes of feedback discussions……..…………………..

Page 2
Page 4
Page 6
Page 15
Page 19

Section A: Visit details
Project Title

Your land your rights

URN

ICB/2/010420962

Grant holder

Feed the Minds

Partner organisation

Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA)

Organisation(s) to bevisitedHuman Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA)

Monitoring officers

Nicolas Croll, Christopher Manion

Date of trip

January 2014

Date of project visit

January 27th-29th 2014

Project Start dateJune 11th 2012

Project End dateJune 10th 2015

UK contact nameAdam Sach

UK contact email and tel

Unit 5/A, Park Place, 10-12, Lawn Lane, LONDON,
SW8 1UD

Overseas contact name

Job Ruzage Nzovu

Overseas contact email
and teljruzage@gmail.com 250 788623625

Country

RwandaProject area

Kamonyi District, Ruhango District

Reason for visit

Overseas Monitoring Visit

Reports received/due attime of visit

Mid Year Report, Year 2

Section B: Project details
Total project cost

£278,510

BIG award(capital/revenue)£270,004

Match funding£8,506 (in kind)

Payments made to date

£165,770

Grant variation
information

Risk reduced from High to Medium (August 2013)
Small budget changes (August 2013)

Current status

Active (Year 2 of 3)

Level of monitoring

Medium Risk

Risk information

This is a significantly larger project than HRFRA
have experience in delivering.
The issue of paralegal drop-out rates is also a
potential concern, although one that has been
carefully considered with plans to set up support
structures for paralegals to encourage retention.
The timetable of the government land rights
programme also represents a potential risk since
it is important that land rights are registered orcontested ahead of certificates having been
produced. Currently there are already delays in
the programme at phase one and there are no
confirmed dates of when the different phases will
begin or end. FTM are keeping a close watch of
the situation and HRFRA is in regular contact with
the Land Commission to monitor the process.

BIG outcomes met

Improved ability for the most disadvantaged toexercise their human rights.

Project Summary
This project, based in the southern rural districts of Kamonyi and Ruhango,
Rwanda, will ensure that rural women are aware of their rights to land andinheritance, and are able to defend them.
Over the course of the three year project 1,500 local paralegals will be
trained in constitutional protected rights. These include inheritance andland law; the new land policy; women's rights to land and inheritance andequality issues. Paralegals will also receive training in how to guide andsupport women through the legal process and advocacy and mediation
skills. Specific materials and guidance on land rights for the paralegals will
be developed and made more accessible. This will complement and expand
on the Paralegal Practice Manual.
Paralegals, supported by project staff, will offer training to rural women
through workshops on the importance of obtaining a land title and willencourage and support women to obtain legally valid land titles for theirland and ensure that their homes are registered. Complex legal procedures
will be simplified thereby ensuring the women are fully equipped tocomplete the process. Paralegal outreach will ensure that the mostdisadvantaged are able to access the service.
The paralegals will also support women who are facing the threat of illegal
eviction. When resolution is not possible through mediation the paralegals
will either seek the support of a colleague with more experience or the
Project Coordinator. 300 penultimate year law students will also support
the provision of legal aid to the women and will offer direct legal advice
alongside the paralegals. This will form part of their law training and exams.
Cases will be taken to the abunzi (local mediation committees) and thewomen will be supported in the process including with writing letters,
making a statement and filling out forms.
In order to maximise the impact of this project and ensure rural women will
be able to live securely in their homes and work on the land that is rightfully
theirs, the project will engage with men and local, as well as national,
decision makers. Existing community networks at district level will beutilised to ensure the whole community is involved.
A combination of existing partnership networks at a national, district andlocal level will be utilised to lobby the Rwandan parliament and engage key
decision makers. As the law is already favourable to women, lobbying will
focus on ensuring that the law is filtered through to the local authorities
and executed appropriately.

Project outcomes A network of well trained rural paralegals is developed by the project
which will permanently remain as local resource persons in land rights
and justice related issues for rural women leading to the greater
capacity for rural communities to defend their rights.
 An improved environment in Kamonyi and Ruhango in which rural
women can exercise their rights, especially land and inheritance rights
due to better knowledge among decision makers and the community.
 Rural women are able to oppose illegal eviction by defending their land
and inheritance rights.


Rural women heads of household in Kamonyi and Ruhango will havetheir land registered and obtain title deeds which contribute toimproved personal, social and economic stability.

Section C: Visit report
C.1 Introductory note
The project visit was fully supported by the grant holder and the in-country
partner.
The partners designed an itinerary which enabled BIG staff to meet project
beneficiaries in both Kamonyi and Ruhango districts. We requested changes tothe initial itinerary so that we could meet paralegals and other project
beneficiaries in their own villages, in order to see the environment in which
they lived and worked. Feed the Minds and HRFRA were able to organise
meetings in response to this request.
We had the opportunity to question HRFRA staff and examine monitoring andfinance documents at their head office in Kigali. HRFRA also organised
meetings with staff and students at the university and other stakeholders.

C. 2 Relevance How are the poorest and most marginalised being targeted?
 Are the types and numbers of beneficiary groups consistent with the
Outcome Tracking Form?
 Are the project outcomes relevant to the needs of beneficiaries?
We talked to individual beneficiaries and groups of beneficiaries. Thesemeetings helped us to identify some of the key needs which they faced before
the project started and to determine the extent to which these needs were
now being met. It was clear that some of the women we met had been very
disadvantaged when the project started.
People in rural areas who do not own their land find it difficult to earn enoughmoney to feed themselves and their families. Without land, employment
opportunities may be limited to wage labouring which can be an unreliable
source of income. It is therefore important that they have proof of landownership. Women in rural areas are more likely to be illiterate. Many of thewomen we met were unaware of the laws relating to land rights before theproject started.
It is clear that the project has been successful in raising awareness andempowering women to claim their rights. This has enabled them to obtain amore secure income and improved their ability to pay for food, health andeducation services. In many cases the women were now more confident andfelt the project had helped to improve their circumstances.
The network of trained paralegals in the project areas has improved thecapacity of people in rural communities to defend their rights. It has also
improved confidence and feelings of self-worth amongst paralegals (PL)themselves.
 One woman we met in Kamonyi used to only till the land as she did nothave formal ownership. The new law gives women more rights to own
land. This woman identified a paralegal from her T-shirt. The PL helped
her to register her land (the process took eight months). Now she has
ownership of the land she can get credit from a bank and pay for her
children’s education and health insurance. She would be happy to
become a paralegal in order to support other women, while at sametime as running her own business.
We met a master paralegal (MPL) who was trained in 2011 and now supports
18 paralegals. She said that her experience, knowledge and popularity make iteasier for her advice to be accepted. She passes messages about the projectthrough existing forums such as cooperative meetings and umuganda(community service) meetings. The MPL has used her knowledge to help her
to resolve her own land issues. She does not earn money from the project but
is happy to be serving her community.
 The MPL told us about a widowed grandmother (78) who was helped to
get the title deeds after her husband died. The process took two years.
An in-law who was financially stable and able to afford a lawyer had
caused problems. The MPL was able to help with support from HRFA.
The MPL went first to a village official who gave a favourable decision.
The in-law took to the case to the sector court and got the decision
overturned. The MPL went to an abunzi court and with the help ofClarisse from HRFA won a final decision.
 A PL at the meeting told us that she supports marginalised groups suchas the Batwa. They do not feel that they are part of the community andthey believe that justice is against them. The PL was very emotional
when talking about her support for Batwa women.
 A beneficiary explained how the project helped her. Her mother diedleaving her with no title to her land. With support from a PL she took
the case to the land registry. Two months later she won her case and is
now able to grow crops to feed her family and sell surplus through a
middleman to pay for school costs. She also rents out some land. She
has not taken out a loan as this would mean using her land as

collateral. She uses her experience to help out other women withinformal legal advice.
 Another beneficiary lost her husband and her in-laws took the land.
The project helped her get title to the land. She is now remarried andhas a 7 year old child. She grows bananas, coffee and tomatoes, sellingthese at market to pay for school fees and help her repay a loan fromthe bank. She had travelled for three hours with a bad leg to meet us
and said she was very grateful to the project.
 During our visit a young woman arrived at the MPL’s house, saying she
had learned about the project from a leaflet and would like some help
in registering her family’s land.
 We travelled to a rural settlement where we met Gaudence
Yirirwahandi, a widow with four children who works as a paralegal. She
informs women of their rights in what is a very remote area wherechauvinistic attitudes are common. Gaudence joined the project in2012 after hearing about it from the district office. She has lost her
fear and feels self-confident. She likes helping other women. She keeps
detailed records of each case, which we are able to see in her
notebook. She is based a long way to the district office, more than anhour’s travel on a rough road. She goes out of her way to help but theamount she can do is limited by the difficulty of getting transport fromsuch remote locations. We met two of the women Gaudence hashelped: Epiphanie didn’t know the process for claiming succession rights. She
went to the sector level authorities to claim rights with the help of thePL. Her husband refused to recognise her rights and tried to sell her
land. It took her a year but she now has title and can sustain her
children. Her husband left and has another wife but Epiphanie still has
her half of the land. Gaudence said she worked with officials fromsector and cells levels. She highlighted Epiphanie’s poverty levels whentrying to persuade officials to help. Epiphanie now grows cassava,
sweet potato and soya beans, mostly for subsistence. She said she wasvery grateful to Gaudence. She was very emotional when talking about
the project.
 A second beneficiary, Cecile, lost her husband 7 years ago. Her in-law
Antoine took the property and left her with no land or income. With
Gaudence’s help she secured title. Cecile is semi-literate, so needed
extra support in what was a very complex case. Antoine forged Cecile’s
signature and produced a deed in his own name. Gaudence tried tomediate but Antoine was very spiteful. District officials eventually
helped to resolve the issue. Antoine was let off with a warning after
admitting the forgery.
In a visit to another village we met several more beneficiaries who had been
helped by the project. They told us about their experiences.
 One woman had been helped by a paralegal and now uses the land forher livestock business. Since she obtained legal title to her land she hastaken a loan of £600 from the bank secured against her land. She canbuy animals for around £2 and sell them for us much as £8. She is now
keen to expand her business.
 A second woman, Nasir, was the victim of an abusive marriage. She washelped by the project and after securing title, had the marriage
annulled. She now grows coffee to sell at market.
 Donata thought she had bought some land but it turned out that it
belonged to another person so the vendor was not entitled to sell it to
Donata. After many failed attempts to resolve the issues she contacted
the PL in December 2013. They are now waiting for the case to
mediated in the abunzi courts.
 A man at the meeting had taken legal advice from the PL after being
accused of assault. He paid a small fine now risks being fined £200 if heis found guilty by another court. He is taking advice from the PL.
 The MPL’s son was at the meeting. He said that the project covers a big
area and transport costs are high. He asked if BIG could contribute
more to paralegal and transport costs so that PLs can help more
women. Currency savings on the project have so far been used to fundadditional communication costs.
 Rebecca is separated from her husband and hasn’t got the title for her
land . With the support of HRFRA she is pursuing the matter throughthe abunzi courts. The PL, Lativa, will support Rebecca before she
testifies and help her prepare her case. She is now more confident
about the case and has plans to earn an income from the land tosupport her and her children if she wins.
 Eva nearly lost her land to her mother-in-law. With support from Lativa
she has secured the land title. She tills cassava and sells some of thesurplus to local industry.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

We identified a lack of money for transport costs
as one of the main barriers on this project.
Several beneficiaries told us that the PLs could
support more people if they could afford totravel. If any money is saved as a result of
currency fluctuations BIG would be happy toconsider a request to use some of these savings
to subsidise transport costs for beneficiaries,
paralegals and master paralegals.
It is clear that the project has been very effectivein addressing the needs of beneficiaries specific totheir land rights. The PLs noted the difficulties dueto the demand for their services, however it was
impressive to see their commitment to theproject.
The use of t-shirts and promotional materials
appeared to be very effective, with numerous
beneficiaries indicating that to be how they wereable to get involved with the project.
The project outcomes are clearly relevant to theneeds of the beneficiaries. The project may
benefit from stronger links with otherorganisations who can offer further support,
around livelihoods and other legal issues inparticular.

C.3 Efficiency
C.3.i Project Management and Partnerships

Date and note of actiontaken Are roles and responsibilities of grant holder and partner organisation clear
and appropriate for project?
 Are lines of communication between grant holder and partner organisation
clear and appropriate for project?
HRFRA were able to explain in some detail how Feed The Minds support the
project from the UK. They provide advice on monitoring and assistance withproject management group.
FTM visits every year. They visit both project districts during a week-long visit
and provide additional advice and expertise. They advised on the productionof booklets and posters and on the use of log books to capture key
information, including demographic breakdowns.
FTM and HRFRA are in regular contact through Skype.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Date and note of action
taken

n/a
C.3.ii Reporting to BIG
 Do both organisations understand the BIG reporting process anddeadlines?
 Do project management structures enable effective reporting?
Both organisations appear to understand the BIG reporting process.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
n/aDate and note of action
takenC.3.iii Financial Management
Funds are held in the HRF account, and then requests made by Project Coordinator as and when expenditure is due to be incurred. PC requests the funds
and completes the relevant paperwork (copies seen), and this is signed andthen sent to the treasurer for signing, along with the Executive Director. A
cheque is then prepared which needs to be signed by the Treasurer plus either
the president or executive director.
All expenditure is tracked via the quickbook accounting system and receipts
presented for all expenditure before it is logged. Three examples were dipchecked. One example did not have the receipt attached, however this wasviewed as it was still in the file (10/1/14 printing of materials). The community
sensitisation receipt for 3/2/13 could not be located when requested, however
this appeared to have been mislaid within the filing. Records appear thoroughand genuine.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSACTION/DATEFeed the Minds should continue to dip-checkreceipts and records as part of their standard
monitoring.

C.3. iv Monitoring Does the organisation have appropriate monitoring systems in place?
(Please detail) Do the monitoring systems track both quantitative and qualitativechanges? (How?) Has the organisation integrated the outcome tracking form into its
monitoring systems?
We had the opportunity at the head office to look at copies of log books keptby paralegals and master paralegals. A PL helps up to 10 people a month andkeeps detailed records which feed into monitoring records.
Client forms are also kept at head office. There is a central registry with auniversal log. Records include name, location, case facts, progress reports andavailable remedies. Demographic data collected also includes age anddisability of paralegals. Records are kept of successful and unsuccessful cases.

We saw the training lists with details of the participants in each training
session.
The records appear to be appropriate for tracking progress with outcomes
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The data collection is appropriate. We were
impressed with the processes in place whichappeared both logical and thorough. It would beinteresting to see more detail in the annual
reports showing breakdowns of beneficiary
numbers by various categories.

ACTION/DATE

C.4 Effectiveness Is the difference to beneficiaries achieved to date consistent with agreed
project outcomes?
 Have there been any significant external factors which have impacted on
the progress of project outcomes (either positively or negatively)?
As above, the project appears to be making a significant difference to the livesof beneficiaries.
The project is constrained by a lack of resources. The time and support costs
available to paralegals is quite limited given the number of potential
beneficiaries. With a lack of direct financial incentives for paralegals, long
distances and high transport costs the project is not necessarily supporting as
many people as it could in the project districts. The project is in some ways avictim of its own success.
PLs have used telephones to overcome some of the resource issues but this is
not an option available to all.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSACTION/DATE

C.5 Cross Cutting Themes
C.5.i Gender and diversity
 Has the organisation demonstrated an understanding of relevant genderissues and have they shown how these have been incorporated into theproject?
 Has the organisation demonstrated an understanding of relevant diversity
issues (e.g. disability, age, ethnicity, religion, language, culture) and have

they shown how these have been incorporated into the project?
 Are these systems consistent with the approach agreed in the Outcomes
Tracking Form? Yes / No
The project appears to be strong in its support for women both as
beneficiaries who receive advice and paralegals and master paralegals who
support these beneficiaries. We also met two female university students, who
as part of their course provide legal expertise to beneficiaries and paralegals.
The project helps women to address some of the disadvantages theyexperience.
Paralegals recruited by HRFRA included PLHIV, widows and people living withdisabilities. The master list of PLs can be broken down by age/disability.
Evaluation forms collect information on age, disability, education level andwhether the person is living with HIV.
The use of booklets, t-shirts and leaflets helps to publicise the project widely,
including to disadvantaged groups. Project branding was very strong withmany posters and t-shirts in evidence at meetings.
The project uses women in the community to identify and support potential
beneficiaries.
We saw a training workshop for paralegals which is part of the process of
empowering women
Men are also involved in the project. We met a man who had been helped by
the project with legal advice. There were also men at the training event we
attended.
HRFRA reported that men are supportive of the project as they are happy thatfamily members are benefiting. However some of the women told us that thiswas a conservative, chauvinistic area so we had some concerns about how
effective the project could be in addressing long held views on gender roles.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSACTION/DATE
We would like to see more details in end of year
reports on the involvement of men. What steps isthe project taking to sensitise men to thechanging role of women? How is opposition to theproject addressed? Are there any particular
strategies used in very chauvinistic areas?

Is it possible to conduct surveys of men’s attitudes
as part of the data gathering and projectmonitoring activities?

C.5.ii Participation
 Are there systems in place to enable beneficiary involvement in the design,
implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation of the project?
 Are these systems consistent with the approach agreed in the Outcomes
Tracking Form? Yes / No
Paralegals are drawn from the beneficiary communities and are often thefriends and neighbours of the people they support. They also benefit from the
project as they can use their learning to help them wither their own landissues. Paralegals are key to the success of the project not only for the
support they give but also for the detailed records they keep which feed into
project monitoring.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It would be helpful to learn more about the
involvement of other beneficiaries, apart from PLs
and MPLs in the development of the project. Do
they have opportunities to sit on project steeringcommittees or influence the way the project
develops and changes over time? Do PLs andother project beneficiaries have many
opportunities to learn from beneficiaries in theother district?

ACTION/DATE

C.5.iii Capacity building Whose capacity is being built through the project?
 How is capacity being built?
 Is the organisation’s approach consistent with the Outcomes Tracking
Form? Yes / No
The primary direct beneficiaries are women who did not have legal title to theland when the project started. Their capacity has been built, as has that of thewomen who support them.
The project gives students at the University in Kigali the opportunity to getfirsthand experience of helping women in the project districts. This is an
opportunity for practical first-hand experience outside the city which theywould not have without the project. The mutually beneficial link between the
project and the university was an impressive aspect of the project.
This project represents an increase in activity for HRFRA. The relationship with
Feed the Minds has provided opportunity to strengthen and support them intheir monitoring systems and project management. We were impressed withhow this was progressing, and the effectiveness of the project was driven by
the organisation and commitment of HRFRA staff.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSThe use of case studies for PLs, women supportedby the project, students and other stakeholders inreports and evaluations would be useful.

ACTION/DATE

C.5.iv Influencing Opinion Is the organisation trying to influence the policies, practices and attitudesof decision and policy makers?
(Who and how?) Is the organisation’s approach consistent with the Outcomes Tracking
Form? Yes / No
The project links with a government scheme for land registration. Where
appropriate PLs refer beneficiaries to the government schemes and land
registries
The project helped communities to fight a mining company which wanted totake over land. The MPL helped to fight the case and even the mayor got
involved.
We met a government official who knew about the project and was
supportive.
It is noted that there are potential restrictions on NGOs working in Rwanda,
meaning influencing opinion is not always possible.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The project provided some examples of links withstakeholders. As the project progresses it would
be very good to know about how these links arebeing maintained and enhanced.

ACTION/DATEC.5.v Alliances, Networking and Collaboration
 Is the organisation developing alliances/networks or collaborative
approaches with other stakeholders (for example, to share learning or
improve coordination)?
 Is the organisation’s approach consistent with the Outcomes Tracking
Form? Yes / No
It was noted that a number of beneficiaries were considering, or had alreadyused their land titles to assist them in securing loans. Although outside theproject’s remit, the possibility of linking these beneficiaries up to livelihoods
support could enable the project’s successes to date to be capitalised upon.
The PLs are often approached regarding matters beyond specific legal issues in
the project outcomes. Again, a referral system for further support on theseissues would be beneficial to track more holistic support that comes about asa result of the project.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSACTION/DATE

C. 6 Evaluation
 Are mid term and final evaluations planned?
 Are internal or external evaluations planned?
 If applicable, have recommendations from the mid-term evaluation been
incorporated into the project?
 Are there plans for dissemination of lessons learned from evaluations whois the audience?
The project management group carries out an annual evaluation. A full
external evaluation is planned for the mid-term and project end.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSACTION/DATE

C.7 Sustainability (considering difference of sustainability of impact andsustainability of activities)
 What are the key factors for sustainability of the project activities?
 What are the key factors for sustainability of project impact?
 Has the organisation demonstrated that there are appropriate plans inplace either for sustaining the project beyond BIG funding, or for exiting the
project?

Concerns:
 There is a need to identify local suppliers of IGA support and advice inorder to ensure that beneficiaries who have secured land through thisproject can get an appropriate level of support and guidance indeveloping small enterprises, without the risk of taking out loans which
they are unable to pay back.
 The lack of money to pay for transport costs appears to be limiting
paralegals and other beneficiaries from taking full advantage of theopportunities offered by the project.
 The demand for paralegal services exceeds the supply. The projectappears to be a victim of its own success. We would be keen to see thegrant holder and partner explore additional sources of funding to help
the project expand its reach and extend its duration in some form.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSACTION/DATE

Section D: Conclusions
D.1 Has the grant holder complied with terms andconditions of grant?
D.2 Summarise the findings of your visit in the
Recommendation box of the Monitoring visit work
step in Merlin. Explain why the results of the visit
were satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
D.3 If the visit result was unsatisfactory explain why:Yes (satisfactory)
No (unsatisfactory)
CompleteD.4 How far do your findings from the visit match what the grant holder has
told us on their annual progress reports? Indicate by ticking the appropriated
box below.
Findings resulting from the visit match information contained in annual
progress reports
Annual progress reports omitted minor pieces of information.
Annual progress reports omitted major pieces of information.
Information provided in annual progress report bears little relation toactual findings of the visit.
D.5 Recommendation Summary (please collate in this section a list ofrecommendations made in the report)D.6 Recommended action
Please indicate what action will take place now by completing the table below
Review Results
ActionFurther comments
Increase level of monitoring
No further action required
Minor action required
Reduce level of monitoring
Resolve query (provide
timeframe).
Meet with UK grant holder.
Add additional terms andconditions
Process variation/change toproject
Change payment frequency
Signpost project as bestpractice
Send warning letter
Internal dispute
Increase level of monitoring
Please note that if you raise an internal dispute as theresolution to a query arising from this review, you mustclear the monitoring event associated with this visit on
Merlin. The dispute co-ordinator will register a dispute
against the grant which will prevent further paymentsfrom being released.
Signature

Date