Vision for Vulnerable Youth Initiative

In 2022, a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) review was conducted to strengthen the curriculum and address youth gender-specific needs within World Vision Canada’s Youth Ready (YR) program. The aim of this collaborative process was to identify gender issues, inequalities and the needs of participants and staff to improve the YR curriculum content and implementation.

The review used both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to collect data from project coordinators, facilitators and youth participants in Bolivia and Colombia. Staff structured the GESI review of the YR process in two phases. The first phase was an extensive desk review of the four YR modules; the second phase focused on reviewing the administration of content, processes of implementation and program delivery. Both phases of the review process were critical in understanding the current gender and inclusion gaps within the YR project.

Overall, the GESI review created gender-responsive and inclusive education, economic and protection systems for vulnerable adolescents and youth. Through primary data collection and desk review findings, the report drew recommendations to ensure the project can address the needs of the most vulnerable youth. Recommendations around accessibility, systems, participation, decision-making, and well-being were drawn from the data collected in this study.

Figure 1: World Vision GESI Domains

Introduction and Background

Alarming trends in youth violence and risk behaviours have resulted in numerous efforts by the development community and national governments to develop youth-targeted interventions, integrating Positive Youth Development (PYD) frameworks for enhancing youth agency. In 2017, World Vision Canada (WVC) launched the Vision for Vulnerable Youth Initiative (VVYI) using a World Vision (WV)-created model called Youth Ready (YR).

Research commissioned by WVC and conducted by The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Latin America in 2022–2023 examined the effectiveness of the YR intervention on youth agency, education, entrepreneurship, and employment as well as studying context-specific relevance and program practices.

Study Design and Methods

To determine the effectiveness of YR interventions, the research evaluation selected Ecuador for South America and Guatemala for Central America. The research employed a quasi-experimental study in Ecuador and a pre-post study in Guatemala. The intervention and comparison sites were selected based on specific criteria to ensure comparability. The research was comprised of three components: (1) Quantitative baseline and endline surveys, (2) Qualitative assessment of the YR program with strategic stakeholders using Key Informant Interviews at endline, and (3) a desk review of evaluated grey and published literature on PYD constructs, YR frameworks and models, as well as existing survey instruments. This report provides a key outcome analysis summary from the research.

Conclusions

Overall, the findings demonstrated that the Youth Ready program in Guatemala and Ecuador has made significant progress in addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by local youth. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn from the key outcomes analysis process to inform the program’s progress and to improve the YR curriculum content and implementation.

Vision for Vulnerable Youth Initiative (VVYI) is a Barrett Family Foundation (BFF)-funded project that has been operational since 2017. It is implemented by World Vision Canada in collaboration with seven World Vision country offices: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru. The central objective of the Youth Ready-VVYI was to overcome obstacles hindering youth from pursuing education, obtaining employment, and establishing sustainable entrepreneurial ventures.

During Phase II (October 2019 to September 2023) of the VVYI program, a total of nearly 140,000 youth benefited from the project. Of these,11,000 (62 per cent female) are direct beneficiaries in the seven countries. During this period, 1,362 youth found employment, 4,789 resumed their education, and 2,078 started their business. (These figures exclude the number of youths who were reached through other funding sources.)

This endline evaluation reveals that the project has achieved its intended goals of improving well-being for youth and adolescents, and their families. It has created an enabling environment for enhanced access to services such as employment, education, and business opportunities. It has also provided social, mental and emotional support, and improved youth participation and decision-making. The project contributed to the sustainable local development agenda by working hand-in-hand with local community-based organizations, faith organizations, private sector actors, local implementing partners and government institutions.