Theatre for Development Trainer – Consultancy

About CARE International

CARE was founded in 1945 and currently has a presence in 111 countries. Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty, and achieve social justice. CARE International has been working in Zimbabwe since 1992. The organization’s focus in the country is poverty alleviation in the areas of Food, Water & nutrition; Climate change and adaptation; Gender, including education, Humanitarian response; Economic Empowerment; and Health.

USAID Takunda Program

Takunda is a five-year (October 2020 to September 2025), USAID-funded Resilience Food Security Activity in Zimbabwe. The program complements government efforts in building resilience to repeated shocks amongst vulnerable communities and is being implemented by a consortium of NGOs led by CARE International together with its partners: Bulawayo Projects Centre (BPC), Environment Africa (EA), Family Health International (FHI 360), International Youth Foundation (IYF), and Nutrition Action Zimbabwe (NAZ). The Program is supported by technical partners FANRPAN and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The primary goal of Takunda is to achieve Sustainable, Equitable, and Resilient Food, Nutrition, and income security in the Buhera, Mutare, Chivi, and Zaka districts.

This program aims to achieve its goal through 3 purpose areas, namely,

1. Increased gender equitable income among extremely poor and chronically vulnerable households, women, and youth.
2. Improved nutritional status among children under 5 years, adolescent girls, and women of reproductive age.
3. Reduced impact of shocks and stresses for extremely poor and chronically vulnerable households, women, and youth.

Takunda Social and Behavior Change (SBC) strategy.

Takunda works with program participants to promote behaviors and practices that support program outcomes and overall goal. The SBC strategy guides the implementation of interventions that address the obstacles and social norms that influence behavior adoption. To enhance behavior change communication across all purposes, Takunda will use various mass media communication channels. These will serve to sensitize communities on promoted behaviors and practices, raise awareness on where to access necessary knowledge and skills, and create demand for the services provided by Local Service Providers (LSPs) in program communities.

Community theatre is one channel the program intends to use to promote the uptake of behaviors. Community theatre groups identified from program districts will conduct monthly theatre performances at selected sites in each district. These groups will be capacitated on Theatre for Development (TfD). This dynamic process stimulates thinking and debate and has been used to enable children and adults to identify and act upon alternative solutions for problems faced by communities. TfD has been used in research, evaluation, monitoring, and advocacy. Through participatory theatre, TfD encourages dialogue and engagement of community members in identifying root causes of problems, promoting positive changes, and in negotiating with those in authority. TfD is, therefore, a powerful tool for education, awareness, and behavior change.

a. Purpose of the Assignment

Takunda seeks the services of a local Trainer to build the capacity of selected community theatre groups in Theatre for Development.

b. Objectives of the assignment

1. To support the identification of community-based theatre groups in the Zaka, Chivi, Mutare, and Buhera districts.
2. To train local community theatre groups in TfD, focusing on techniques and skills required to create and perform theatre that promotes social and behavior change.
3. To train groups on how to facilitate discussions and engage with the various audiences to promote dialogue and engagement.
4. To coach and mentor groups as they start practicing TfD by monitoring their work and providing on-the-job support.
5. To conduct four post-training monitoring visits to the groups, one in the first month following training with the Trainer participating in the first performance of each group, then quarterly monitoring thereafter.

c. Methodology

• The Trainer will support the selection of community-based theatre groups, across 4 districts and within a five-working-day period.
• The Trainer will deliver training at a provincial level, Manicaland groups, and Masvingo groups, over a five-day period for each province, excluding travel days.
• The Trainer will conduct two monitoring/ support visits of the trained groups, one in each quarter. The first monitoring visit will be done one month after the training for 5 days in each district. On job training will be conducted during these visits, as appropriate. Thereafter, monitoring visits will be conducted quarterly.

d. Duration of Assignment

The Assignment is expected to have been completed as follows:

1. Selection of community-based theatre groups, across 4 districts and within a five-working-day period. – 7 days (including two days of travel to and from the district)
2. Theatre for development training – 10-day training (5 for Masvingo and 5 for Manicaland participants) with an additional four days for travel to and from the districts. The total number of days is 14.
3. Monitoring/ support visits:
   • 1st visit (in 1st Quarter, Oct-Dec ‘23) – 10 days in Masvingo and 10 in Manicaland province = 20 days, including travel days
   • 2nd visit (in 2nd Quarter, Jan-Mar ‘24)– 5 days in Masvingo and 5 days in Manicaland province = 10 days, including travel

     Total = 51 days

e. Expected Deliverables

• The Trainer will provide a detailed selection criterion to aid with the selection of community groups.
• The Trainer is required to provide an agenda for the training plus any job aids for the participants, which Takunda will reproduce.
• The Trainer will also provide post-training reports as well as post-monitoring reports within 20 working days after each activity has been completed.

  Expected Communication Deliverables

• 3 images, per activity and as events unfold to allow live promotion of the activity. A guide and consent forms will be shared.
• 2 participant video testimonials (M & F) not more than 5 minutes long (can be recorded by phone) per training session and per district during monitoring.