Tender Description

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Procurement of Assistive Devices

Adolescents Girls’ Education in Somalia

(AGES)

Background to the Project 

The UkAid-funded Leave No Girls’ Behind (LNGB)-Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES) and with additional USAID funding the AGES-Expansion aim to promote education access through tailored, sustainable solutions to develop literacy, numeracy and key life skills for the most marginalized adolescent girls in South Central Somalia. It is a consortium comprising of CARE (lead agency), ADRA (international NGO), GREDO (national NGO) WARDI (national NGO) and KAASHIF (national NGO) responsible for project implementation, and FORCIER Consulting (international research and technology partner). LNGB-AGES will target the hardest to reach among out-of-school girls, specifically girls engaged in child labour, married and divorced girls, internally displaced persons (IDPs), girls with disability (GwD) and girls from minority clans, excluded groups and pastoralist families. The project aims to improve access to education, learning outcomes and retention of 80,475 girls from some of the poorest, most vulnerable and conflict affected regions of Jubaland, Banaadir/Mogadishu and South West Administration, and to improve the overall quality of education by building local capacity.

The Overall Goal

To provide tailored, sustainable solutions to develop literacy, numeracy and key life skills (financial literacy and knowledge of sexual and reproductive health) for 80,475 (AGES 42,000, AGES Expansion 38,475) of the most marginalized girls in South Somalia. It aims to target the hardest to reach among out-of-school girls, specifically girls with disabilities, engaged in child labour, married and divorced girls, internally displaced girls (IDGs), girls from minority clans and excluded groups and girls from pastoralist communities.

Project Outputs

1. a)Output 1: Strengthened economic situation of communities: VSL and scholarships will enhance    family capacity to support education costs and reduce the likelihood of child labour.
2. b)Output 2: Availability of quality learning opportunities tailored to the needs of ultra-marginalised girls
3. c)Output 3: Social change movement towards broader life opportunities for adolescent girls and boys
4. d)Output 4: Build institutional capacity for quality assurance in inclusive education
5. e)Output 5: Enhanced access to education for 2,000 additional girls with disabilities

Two thousand (2,000) of the overall girls being targeted by the project are girls with disabilities (GwDs) and are being reached through all three learning pathways: Formal Education, Accelerated Basic Education (ABE) and Non-Formal Education. Specifically, the project supports girls who live with disabilities ranging from cognitive/learning disabilities (such as dyslexia) to physical disabilities (girls with severe and moderate mobility disorders), to hearing and visual impairments (both mild and severe), neuro-behavioural conditions (such as autism spectrum disorder), mental illness (including depression and severe anxiety) and those with multiple disabilities. Wherever possible, girls with disabilities are mainstreamed into regular schools and ABE/NFE centers as part of the Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS) ‘Inclusive Education Strategy.’ Those children whose needs are too complex to be met in mainstream schools are enrolled in special needs schools in coordination with the local disabled persons organizations (DPOs). Girls enrolled in special needs schools will be provided with scholarships, and those with physical and hidden forms of disabilities (mental health issues such as depression and severe anxiety) have received transportation assistance to enhance their access to medical/social services as well as access to education.

The project offers different educational pathways to suit every girl’s different needs depending on her abilities, availability, and age: Formal Education for girls between the ages of 10-13, Alternative Basic Education (ABE) for girls between the ages of 13-16 (which is provided with a view to mainstreaming them into Formal Education), and Non-Formal Education for 17–19 year olds who are less likely to integrate into formal schooling.  Girls with mobility difficulties have been identified and enrolled in centers/schools near their homes to improve education accessibility. Where accessibility issues have been identified within schools, minor rehabilitation works have been undertaken (e.g., installing ramps and rails).

Additionally, under the AGES Expansion, this activity will target 38,475 adolescent girls and young women aged 15-25 who have never enrolled in school, have dropped out in grade 1 or had only access to short term courses without acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Background on Special Needs and Inclusive education

Support to children with special needs and disabilities is a major challenge to the education sector. The national education system has been characterized by inadequate systems and facilities that respond to the challenges faced by children with special needs and disabilities.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Articles 4, 20, and 26, asks States to promote the availability of appropriate devices and mobility aids and provide accessible information about them. The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities also call upon States to support the development, production, distribution, and servicing of assistive devices and equipment and the dissemination of knowledge about them.

Access to assistive devices is essential for many people with disabilities and is an important part of any development strategy. Without assistive devices, people with disabilities may never be educated or able to work, so the cycle of poverty continues. Increasingly, the benefits of assistive devices are also being recognized for older people as a health promotion and prevention strategy. Many people with disabilities depend on assistive devices to enable them to carry out daily activities and participate actively and productively in community life.

The context for supporting girls with a disability is informed by the fact that girls with disability in Somalia are considered to be particularly vulnerable and in need of support. Opportunities to access assistive devices are very limited and support for their education is very low in the communities.

The need to prioritize inclusive education beyond the boundaries of the school and classroom is real. A holistic and systematic approach is critical to strengthening the technical and institutional capacities of the MOEs to effectively deliver educational services to the most marginalized groups including out-of-school children and children with special needs.

Objectives of the TOR

The objective of this TOR is to assess a total of 80 girls with disability from Kismayo (45) and Biadoa (35) for the provision of suitable assistive devices depending on the outcome of the screening assessment by the service provider as below list of devices breakdown.

Scope of Work

The successful consultancy firm/service provider will be expected to undertake the following tasks:

• A physical assessment and screening of 80 girls with disabilities to ascertain assistive device needs.
• provide the appropriate assistive devices.
• Provide induction to girls with disabilities on the use and maintenance of assistive devices.
• Offer after-sales service by providing support to individual girls to maximize the full use of the product.
• Service the product if it becomes faulty and supply products that come with at least a 2-year warranty.

Time Frame

The maximum duration for this assignment is 3 weeks effective from the day the service provider signs the contract.

Deliverables

• Assessment report
• Procurement of assistive devices for 80 girls with disabilities.                

Preferred Qualification:

The bids must satisfy the following conditions among the minimum criteria for evaluation by being accompanied by the following documentation:   

• Must be a local expert with relevant training on disability psychometric testing and child functional screening.    
• Have Certified and Valid Copy of Registration Certificates/Trading Licenses from relevant Government Authority.
• Proof of valid tax clearance from the Ministry of Finance
• Proof of sound technical understanding of the scope of work in the form of detailed delivery and distribution plan
• Bidders must provide evidence and references from clients for the previous similar supplies of assistive devices – (3 certified copies of contracts/LPOs delivered Page 2 of 4 within the last 2 years)
• Three weeks lead delivery time for full supply.

Criteria Parameters to be used for assessment include the following:

• Bidders shall submit a duly filled financial proposal.
•  Bidders shall submit a duly filled technical proposal indicating methodology and workplan.
• Bidders shall submit a company profile that clearly indicates the company address

Further Information to bidders:

• CARE does not undertake to pay before delivery or in advance of delivery completion.
• Incomplete offers or offers which do not comply with any of our tender conditions will not be considered.
• Quotations should remain valid for a period of at least 60 calendar days after the closure of the tender.
• It is the Agency’s policy to keep all tender values in confidence.
• CARE reserves the right to accept or reject any offer before the award of a contract, or to cancel the bidding process and reject all offers at any time and is not bound to give reasons for its decisions.

Skills Required

Attachment

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