Overview

A UKR  zone is usually a district on maps called a 'ward,' and is usually an area of about 2,000 households. In every new zone UKR adds, 30 to 35 vulnerable families are chosen for Family Care program assistance. 

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In these communities , the average person is very poor by global standards, living on several dollars a day. But those are not the people we serve. The process of choosing families is much more involved. 

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Family Care Nomination Process

When entering a new community ‘zone’, UKR works with the local governmental officials. With their blessing, village managers, colloquially known as 'village elders' are then called, as well as door-to-door Community Health Practitioners. It is these people, who know each corner of the zone very well, who are tasked with identifying the most vulnerable families. An exhaustive assessment process then narrows down which families are the very neediest, qualifying them to be chosen for our Family Care program.

 

Family Care Assessment Process

Every nominated family is visited and assessed across five domains that align with our Five Guiding Stars: health, home conditions, education, farm productivity, and family income & livelihood.  

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A twelve page, 80+ question assessment form helps UKR staff members determine a family's situation, history, strengths, and challenges.  Staff members grade a family's wellbeing under several subtopics for each of the domains. After the assessor's impressions are keyed in, a score of need is produced by the portal. And at the same time, responses to the 60 questions, covering everything from home conditions to farm animals and children's schooling, yield a computer-generated score of need that is used as a counterbalance to the staff score.  The combined approach, with both subjective and objective information used, ensures that no family is overlooked. 

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Click here to see a (unfilled) UKR Family Assessment Form. The questions asked say a lot about the kinds of situations many families are in.

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Family Care Selection Process​

Poverty and financial need are criteria, with need-based scores produced from both staff input and computer analysis of survey data. But selection is also contextual. Every family’s case is carefully discussed and deliberated. The toughest decisions are made in a very human way, through a discussion among the whole team of staff who conducted assessments.  
 

UKR looks for situations where it can catalyze the greatest change. Often, that means families in extreme poverty with additional challenges - from the recent loss of a breadwinner to raising children with disabilities or chronic health conditions. In many ways, the process seeks families in a great ‘moment of need’.

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Why we're so meticulous about family selection

Poverty is everywhere, and we won't solve it all. That's why we focus on the most heartbreaking situations, and try to permanently break the cycle of multigenerational poverty among them.  It takes significant effort to identify those families who truly need help most, but we think it's worth it.

 

Our goal for impact is all about depth. We'd rather catalyze a major impact for some families than a small impact for ten times more. 

 

Because we serve the very neediest families rather than a whole village, our program is able to focus its energy and resources on catalyzing massive change that is truly lasting and transformational.