“ToL programs not only benefited the physical and mental health of participants but also improved individuals’ lives, family dynamics and friendships and brought together communities as a whole.” – USAID external evaluators, The Cloudburst Group
Between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, long standing Tree of Life funders USAID Zimbabwe, commissioned a longitudinal Study on the long-term effects of Tree of Life’s core interventions: the Tree of Life Trauma Healing & Empowerment Workshop (TH&E) and the Psychosocial Awareness and Coping Skills (PACS) workshop. The study included over 800 randomly selected ToL beneficiaries, many of whom had participated in ToL workshops from as far back as 2014. Impressively, both interventions proved to have had a positive long-term positive effect (see USAID 2 pager synopsis in the reports section for more).
Key findings from the study:
1. Program Impact: The Tree of Life initiatives, specifically the Trauma Healing and Empowerment (TH&E) and the Psychosocial Awareness and Coping Skills (PACS) workshops, had a transformative effect on participants. These effects were observed in individual mental and physical health, family dynamics, and community cohesion.
2. Skill Utilization: Participants reported high uptake and use of skills learned in the workshops, applying them in various personal and communal contexts. The evaluation highlighted the flexibility of these skills, catering to diverse demographic needs.
3. Community Initiatives: Enhanced community cohesion led to various community-led projects such as drilling boreholes, building roads, and starting savings groups, showcasing the programs' extended benefits beyond the individual.
4. Youth Engagement: Both programs were particularly effective among youth, leading to reduced substance misuse, increased civic participation, and decreased violence.
Recommendations for Future Programming:
1. Program Expansion: It's recommended that the funder design a follow-on activity leveraging the successes of the Tree of Life programs to further enhance community and individual well-being.
2. Rapid Response Mechanism: Future programs should include mechanisms for quick deployment during crises, like political instability, to provide immediate support and refresher trainings.
3. Focus on Youth: Given the success with youth, new initiatives should especially target youth and school-aged children to maximize the positive impacts seen in these demographics.
4. Integrated Approach: A combination of TH&E and PACS should be employed to maximize individual healing and social cooperation benefits.
5. Integration with Other Programs: Future programs should align with other USAID initiatives in health and livelihoods to enhance overall impact, drawing on the positive feedback from integration in past projects.
