Tracking and measuring the impact of our intervention efforts is an important long-term objective. One year after the tsunami aftermath, our charity partner BLESS, commissioned a survey to measure the impact of our livelihood support efforts and identify areas for future intervention.
The objectives of the survey were to:
The survey findings reveal that CAF India's intervention programme has helped improve the social status of men by making them boat owners where earlier they were fishing labourers. This change in the ownership status among the fishing community is perhaps the most positive influence in the lives of the beneficiaries.
In the pre-tsunami period, fishermen paid 60 per cent interest on borrowings for renting boats. As boat owners they are now able to use this money to invest in nets, repair their homes and improve their general standard of living.
Women have been able to organize themselves into self-help groups and increase their household savings and reduce their debt burden. Prior to the tsunami, only 11.7 per cent of beneficiaries were part of self-help groups.
With fishing being the primary source of income, a large percentage of respondents feel the need for more fishing nets as this will help them increase the volume of fish caught. This will also ensure a more effective utilization of the FRP boats.