End line for project titled “Sangwari-Moving Towards A Child Marriage Free Society” Chhattisgarh
Request for Proposal
Background
Centre for Catalyzing Change, works to mobilize girls and women to achieve gender equality. Our vision is a future in India where girls and women are fully empowered and equipped to realize their rights, access opportunities and achieve gender equality. At the core of our work and approach is a belief that achieving gender equality is essential to development, democracy and progress. We address challenges that girls face in our country at different stages of their life cycle. For its work to impact the lives of adolescent girls, C3 follows an empowerment model, based on an integrated and holistic approach to empowerment of adolescent girls. Moving away from traditional approach of working with adolescents i.e. focusing on what is lacking in adolescents, C3 focuses on the potential of adolescent girls. At the centre of the model is the goal of developing a cadre of empowered adolescent girls- educated, healthy, economically empowered and capable of making informed and independent decisions in life, including retention in schools, and reduction / prevention of child marriages and early pregnancies
Since December 2022, C3 has been implementing Sangwari: Moving Towards a Child Marriage-Free Society across two identified blocks of Surguja district to address the persistent challenge of child marriage. These blocks are predominantly inhabited by tribal communities, where socio-economic vulnerabilities, limited educational opportunities, and deeply entrenched social norms continue to drive the practice of early marriage, limiting opportunities for adolescent girls and reinforcing cycles of gender inequality.
The project is implemented in Surguja where over half (55%) ofthe population is tribal (Census 2011). As per National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21),18.1% of the women get married below the legal age of 18 years as compared to 12.1% for the state and 23.3% for India, 37.7% of the women complete 10 years of schooling in Surguja compared to 36.9% for the state and 41% for the country. COVID 19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation in places like Surguja which faced a lot of reverse migration. Vulnerabilities of girls to child marriage has increased due to COVID 19, the school closures and lack of access to online education, Child marriage violates girls’ rights to health, education and opportunity and exposes girls to violence throughout their lives, and traps them in a cycle of poverty. Through the proposed project, the expected result is that girls will marry at the legal age by choice.
C3 has been supporting the state in implementation of Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) in Surguja since 2018. C3 leveraged the RKSK platforms of peer groups, Adolescent Friendly Health Services, Adolescent Health and Wellness Days and Adolescent Friendly Club meetings and the School Health and Wellness Programme for reaching adolescent girls through the proposed interventions.
The intervention aimed to increase agency among 10,000 adolescent girls in Surguja district by ensuring that they complete secondary education, acquire livelihood skills, and marry only after reaching the legal age. The intervention was designed to achieve multiple interlinked outcomes that contribute to the prevention of child marriage. It aimed to strengthen the agency and capacity of adolescent girls to resist and protect themselves from early marriage while fostering peer solidarity that enables them to lead collective action within their communities. At the family and community level, the programme sought to build a supportive ecosystem, raise awareness about the harmful consequences of child marriage, and promote positive alternatives for adolescents. Simultaneously, it worked to strengthen the commitment of key stakeholders to prevent and respond to child marriage by ensuring that child protection mechanisms are functional and responsive at all levels. The intervention also contributed to strengthening health, education, and child protection systems, thereby creating an enabling legal and policy environment that supported sustained action towards eliminating child marriage.
Key activities implemented under the project are:
- Supporting implementation of Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram in Surguja, which involved training of Peer Educators, extending hand holding and mentoring support to Peer Educators for taking sessions at the community level, smooth functioning of Adolescent Friendly Health Centers, organization of Adolescent Friendly Club meeting and Adolescent Health and Wellness Days and distribution of WIFS tablets.
- Mobilise adolescents at the community level to attend the RKSK peer group sessions
- Transaction of School Health and Wellness Program (SHWP) sessions in school including training of Health and Wellness Ambassadors
- Extend academic enrichment support to adolescent girls at risk of dropping out of school
- Livelihood training to at risk adolescent girls
- Raise awareness of families and communities about harmful impact of child marriage
- Promote birth and marriage registrations
- Increase commitment from stakeholders (School, health, ICDS functionaries and Child Protection Units to prevent and mitigate risk of child marriage)
Purpose of the End line Assessment
The assessment is aimed to collect data and information which will help in the assessing status of output and outcome level indicators of the project and suggested impact of the intervention. The current assessment adopts a quasi-experimental research design with mixed methods approach to evaluate the changes due to the program from the baseline to the end line by utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection.
Given the project’s intended goal and objectives, the key indicator for measuring the impact of the intervention is “completion of class 12 and delayed marriage”. The sample size decision for detecting changes depends on the power i.e. efficiency to detect and measure change, besides depending on level of statistical significance. The sample size for the quantitative survey have been calculated using standard parameters of 95% level of significance 5% margin of error, considering a change of 10% in the impact level indicator at the end of the project (i.e. increase in completion of class 12) from the prevalence rate of 10%. The quantitative survey with selected sample would be conducted using Structured interview schedule.
To unfold information related to status of key parameters of the project, the assessment will involve a qualitative component wherein Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) will be conducted with Parents and In-depth Interviews (IDIs) with different stakeholders of the project. For FGDs, the discussion will adopt participatory approaches to explore the key areas of enquiry across adolescents and stake holders.
Geographical area and Coverage:
The project is implemented in two blocks Batauli and Sitapur in Surguja, Chhattisgarh. Through this project C3 has reached over 10000 rural adolescent girls (10-19 years) in Batauli and Sitapur in Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh, as they are the most vulnerable to dropping out of school and child marriage. These adolescents reached through schools and peer groups in the community under RKSK. Apart from the school, C3 also reached front line workers to improve life skills of adolescents around delaying age at marriage. The project has implemented activities around RKSK framework and worked closely with system.
Assessment Questions
- Whether adolescent girls’ complete class 12 and delay age at marriage?
- Whether the lifeskill trainings helped adolescents to discuss marriage, completion of schooling and reduction in school dropout
- Whether in person meetings with at risk families lead to reduction in child marriages?
- What has been the contribution of livelihood training on age at marriage?
- How has academic enrichment contributed to school completion?
- Knowledge of legal age at marriage
- Knowledge of age of consent (legal age for having sex)
- Knowledge about where to report/seek help in case of child marriage 9. Understand consequences of child marriage
- Understand domestic violence?
- Realize that child marriage is a form of gender-based violence
- If they have faced violence
- If they have faced discrimination (education, nutrition, assets etc)
- Aspirations: Where do they see themselves three years from now (for older girls 15-19)
- It would help if we can ask them one way in which they think child marriage can be stopped
- Whether the increased commitment from stakeholders helped to prevent and mitigate risk of child marriage?
- Whether the enhanced leadership and management skills of Peer educators/champions led to their recognition among adolescents and other stakeholders for their work in child marriages and education.
Interested technical agencies should share the technical and financial proposal and the agency's credentials with procurement@c3india.org by 5.30 pm on/before June 10th, 2026 mentioning “PRN/PF121/2026-27/084” on the subject line of email.
For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.