Background:

GARIMA, which means dignity, is ChildFund India’s leading programme on Adolescent reproductive and sexual health. The program has presence in 9 states in India, helping adolescents, youth, and families build healthier and more informed futures.

GARIMA empowers adolescents aged 11 to 19, using a rights-based and gender-transformative approach, GARIMA works through peer educators, life skills training, parent engagement, youth-friendly health services and safe spaces.

Objectives of the Evaluation:

• Perceived Outcomes: Explore changes experienced by adolescents, youth, and families.
• Program Fidelity: Assess whether the program is implemented as designed and identify variations across states.
• Implementation Processes: Highlight barriers, facilitators, and cost implications for scaling.

Evaluation Methodology:

• Coverage: 4 states
  • Uttar Pradesh (Firozabad and Chitrakoot)
  • Rajasthan (Udaipur)
  • Odisha (Keonjhar and Bhubaneshwar)
  • Karnataka (Karnataka and Raichur)
• Approach: Most Significant Change (MSC) storytelling method to capture lived experiences.
• Collecting and analyzing powerful personal stories of change.
• Data Collection: Focus group discussions + in-depth interviews across 4 states.
• Dissemination: Sharing insights with stakeholders to refine findings and finalize the report.

“Before Garima, I used to use cloth during menstruation and hide it from everyone. Now I use sanitary pads and explain to my younger sister why it is important. I feel confident and no longer ashamed.”
– Adolescent girl, Participant in FGD, Uttar Pradesh

Trilochan’s Leadership (Odisha):
A peer educator who refused to give up on Muna, a Class 9 dropout who had migrated for labour work. Through persistent counselling and family engagement, Trilochan brought Muna back to school twice. Today, Muna passed his 10th board with first division, received a ₹10,000 scholarship, and is studying in college.

Outcome:

The GARIMA model contributed to meaningful improvements in adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, behaviours, and community engagement across diverse socio-cultural contexts. The assessment generated evidence on program effectiveness and documented key learnings and intervention outcomes. A comprehensive report was submitted to ChildFund India comprising three sections: (A) key findings and evaluation insights, (B) documentation of Most Significant Change stories highlighting program impact, and (C) annexures detailing the study tools, methodologies, and implementation guidelines used during the assessment.