Evaluation of the See Far II Programme: Supporting survivors in the Great Lakes Region
Evaluation of the See Far II Programme: Supporting survivors in the Great Lakes Region
From October 2022 to June 2025, medica mondiale and three partner organisations supported around 4,000 survivors of sexualised and gender-based violence and their children in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. A new evaluation summary is now available on our website.
Support in a region shaped by conflict
The See Far II Programme was carried out by medica mondiale together with MEMPROW (Mentoring and Empowerment for Young Women) in Uganda, PAIF (Programme d'Appui aux Initiatives Féminines) in the Democratic Republic of Congo and SEVOTA (Solidarité pour l'Épanouissement des Veuves et des Orphelins visant le Travail et l'Autopromotion) in Rwanda. It was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with approximately 2.8 million euros. The See Far II programme was guided by a jointly developed Theory of Change, a shared plan that set out how the programme's activities were expected to bring about lasting change, and worked across three areas:
direct support for survivors including psychological counselling, medical care, legal assistance, and financial support,
training police, health workers and community leaders to respond to survivors in a sensitive and supportive way,
strengthening partner organisations to advocate more effectively for survivors' rights.
In Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the M23 armed conflict repeatedly disrupted activities. Despite this, partner organisations kept finding ways to reach people in need.
Evaluation findings
The evaluation was carried out by FEIN Research and Consulting. It looked at six areas: how well the programme met survivors' needs, how well partner organisations worked together, what the programme achieved, how carefully it used its resources, what changed in people's lives, and whether those changes are likely to last. Across all six areas, the programme performed well. Survivors received support that made a real difference and partner organisations worked more closely together and became stronger voices for survivors' rights. Resources were used carefully, even under difficult conditions and many of the changes seen during the programme in individuals, families and communities show signs of continuing beyond it.
The STA – Stress- and Trauma-sensitive Approach® at the heart of the programme
One of the most important achievements was embedding the STA – Stress- and Trauma-sensitive Approach® across all three partner organisations. It improved the quality of support for survivors and helped staff look after their own wellbeing too.
Survivors grew in confidence, became more financially independent and took an active role in their communities. In all three countries, survivors formed their own support groups and took on leadership roles.
Looking ahead
The evaluation points to important lessons for future programming. It confirms that shared planning, including a jointly developed Theory of Change, build genuine shared ownership. Placing survivors at the centre as active leaders is one of the most powerful drivers of lasting change. At the same time, the evaluation calls for longer programme durations, more flexible funding and stronger formal coordination between services to keep the changes going after the programme ends.
Read the independent evaluation summary of our See Far II programme now and find out in detail what impact the programme has had and where further action is needed: Mediathek: Videos und Downloads rund um Frauenrechte
