Think Creative - Issue 5

peace and microfinance

Crea t i ve Li f e A mission-driven community

“It isn’t really about having a job,” explains Alicia Greenridge, Technical Manager in Gov- ernance and Community Resilience at Creative and part of the GREAT project team. “The real issue is hope for the future and having your expectations met.” Greenridge says this explains why a person with an engineering degree who ends up as a cab driver is more likely to join a violent extremist organization than someone who wanted to be a cab driver. “What appeals to at-risk youth about violent extremist organizations more than money is a vision for the future or a perspective that aligns with how they view that the world is unfair,” she says. In the other communities, the project addressed local risk factors by involving vulnerable youth in community policing, supporting youth to build skills and access fulfilling employment, convening interreligious dialogues and commu- nity discussions on security and resolving land conflicts, among other activities. Motcho explains that the activities were devel- oped in collaboration with each community, noting that communitymembers had a keen interest in addressing their own peace and secu- rity challenges. Building business and resilience Likwatu AllyMshamu leads Edgar’s self-help group of around 30members. WhileMshamu instructs the group onmicrofinance—each member contributes a small amount that is then pooled and loaned to others as needed—he also leads them in discussions on challenges in Temeke and ways to address them. They talk about their budding businesses and then turn to the problemof violent extremism in the neighborhood or the tension between dif- ferent groups in the community or even within the group itself. “Wemostly discuss issues of economic empow- erment because we want to see everyone trans- forming their lives, but also when they come together, we ensure that there is something that motivates them frommoving into violence,” saysMshamu. We discuss “different ideologies so they can bring peacemoving forward.” Edgar says that the combination of business and peacebuilding is making a difference for him and others in his group bymeeting an important need. “The challenge youth are facing here is lack of people who can support their ideas. Some have the idea but they don’t have the support tomake their ideas into reality and so they fail,” he says.

Amina Abdallah (center) and members of her dance troupe, which provides members both income and purpose in the high-violence Temeke district of Dar es Salaam.

A member of the Peace Ambassadors group works on her own enterprise, building sandals and accessories that she sells in her small shop.

community,” says Baitani. The original group of Peace Ambassadors in Dar es Salaam, which totaled around 300 youth, used a “Power of Five” approach whereby each member was responsible for sharing their mes- sage with five other people. In addition, they conducted a door-to-door cam- paign, reaching 64 households and nearly 300 additional people, withmessages of understand- ing and tolerance. As they themselves succeed, members of the group are expanding their reach to evenmore vulnerable youth in the community, urging them to join the self-help groups and “change their lives,” explains Edgar. Others are reaching out through the businesses they launched with themicrofinance support. Amina Abdallah, amember of Edgar’s group, has been dancing as long as Edgar has been in the family poultry business. Amina, 25, started a dance troupe with a loan from the self-help group. Her ensemblemem- bers are youth like her, many of whomare at risk for or were previously involved in violence and drugs. The group, TGNCrew, performs at com- munity events for a fee, providing the dancers a small income. She says she has benefited from the regular meetings of the Peace Ambassadors “by getting knowledge and getting to come together with different people and understanding factors that affect the community, such as violent groups.” As themembers grow their small businesses and reach out to empower other marginalized youth to build peace, Baitani has faith that the impact of the initiative will grow. “I believe that if me, you and others work together, we can change or transformanything. I believe that everything is at the tip of our fingers,” he says. “Wemove, we learn fromother people and understand each other. Through peace, I think we can transform something.” n

The group gives its members a place to discuss their ideas, get financial and emotional support, and share what’s on their mind outside of busi- ness, such as their concerns for the community and their own futures. “I realized how to be an independent person, and about basic rights and the importance of peace in the community,” he adds. Two of his peers have opened small chip shops in the neighborhood. Another has expanded his business to two shops. Lifting others, reducing risk Livelihoods, fellowship and the push to build peace adds up to a substantial change, says Baitani. “By having these interventions, bringing them together and telling them: ‘You are not isolated. You can do better. You are not part of margin- alized groups.’ You canmake themunderstand that they have potential in transforming the

The women and men of Creative celebrated International Women’s Day March 8, wearing the day’s signature color purple and hosting discussions in DC and the field to raise awareness of progress toward equality and ongoing challenges.

Photo by Amanda Smallwood

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