Peace and conflict resolution community outreach

The project in brief

Implemented by

African Initiative for Human Development (AIHD2)

Country

Kenya

Duration

30 months - The project started on January 2020 and will end June 2022.

The renewal of the project depends on the funding availability.

Description

The peace campaign is a three day program that introduces and goes over the needs, importance, and implementation of peacebuilding skills. Kakuma, and other camps, face violent conflicts, quarrelling and fighting. As conflicts and insecurities led to many refugees fleeing their home countries, there is need to relearn how to live peacefully and promote conflict solving skills in the community and in families. 

Video: Understand Peace and Conflict Resolution community Outreach program

Project aims 

The main goal of the project is to empower community members with basic skills on Peace and Conflict resolution, and make them peacemakers in their communities. 

Resources used 

The organization comes up with Digital Printing Projects to support the program.

There is sometimes difficulties due to a lack of funds. The project depends on the individuals. We depend on the membership contribution, help from community members, there is no other sources of income for the organization.
 

Main activities of the Good Practice

Through the peace campaign community outreach project, we are running weekly campaigns in Kakuma and Kalobeyei camps. Our main activities focus on:

• How to promote peace, maintain social peace, the importance of peace. 
• How to solve conflict: the basic mechanisms of conflict resolution. 
• Monthly graduation for all participants where we award certificates of participation.
• With our team of volunteers, we cover Kakuma 1, 2, 3, 4, and would like to extend to Kalobeyei 1, 2 and 3. Most of our community campaigners are graduates from our Leadership, Peace, and Conflict Resolution Program, a three month course designed for those who have completed their high-school and did not get any opportunities for further studies.

Partners

No current partners.

Challenges and how they were overcome

Challenges

• Limited personnel
• Lack of transportation
• Motivation and financial incentive for the team 
• Having refreshments during the sessions  

How they were overcome

These challenges still exist. We have to sensitize our community members and staff of the necessity of having and attending sessions. A few members of our leadership program have been empowered to carry out the campaigns. There is still a need to reach out to everyone from Kakuma and Kalobeyei. Encouragement also goes through awarding certificates of participation. 

Results of the Good Practice 

We gave 5370 people access to learning basic Peace and Conflict resolution mechanisms between January 2020 and October 2021 and the project has proved to change and positively impact lives. Open conflicts between children fighting or quarreling, plot limitation and illegal eviction conflicts, intercommunity marriage, football games and water conflicts are fewer and less than before 2020. People are learning to be one another's keeper. They have become skillful in handling issues that used to disturb the peace of the community.

How the project meets the GCR Objectives

Objective 1: Ease the pressures on host countries

The project does not only focus on refugees. We also involve host communities and have staff from the host country in order to help in reaching out to the larger public. Recently, the project advocated the sponsorship of a host community girl who was not able to continue with her studies due to lack of money to pay school fees.

Objective 2: Enhance refugee self-reliance

The refugees working with us in the program are given on demand online opportunities. Their skills are enhanced in a professional field. 

Beneficiaries attending our programs are empowered through learning digital and soft skills to better their future. More still needs to be done for us to attain this objective. 

Objective 4: Support conditions in countries of origin for return in safety and dignity

Our main support is moral support. Community members consider the knowledge learnt and conflict resolution skills will be useful wherever they are, especially when they can return to their country of origin.

Next steps 

The vision is to extend the project. But it will depend on financial support we can get from anyone/ any organization. The project was conceived to run for a period of 2 years, with flexibility to extend it if we have support.

Our vision is to extend the project. This will depend on the financial support we can  get. The project was conceived to run for a period of 2 years, with the flexibility to extend if we get support.

Further support required for the project to continue or scale up

We would require technical and financial support,  as well as logistics, from other stakeholders to continue and scale up our good practice.