Think Creative - Issue 6

Field Notes

Community-driven conflict prevention

Guatemala // Peacebuilding Project

Countering Violent Extremism

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Indigenous communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala face historic tensions and social inequity that contribute to the outbreak of conflict and distrust among communities and the government. The USAID-funded Peacebuilding Project works with local leaders, including groups led by elders, women and youth, in 130

communities to identify causes of conflict and build “community visions.” These plans focus on conflict prevention and resolution, as well as improved social cohesion. The project will address four types of conflict that are prevalent in the region while repairing the social fabric to strengthen community resilience. n

Cameroon: Programme d’Appui à l’Initiative Communautaire Communities affected by violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin region have developed localized terms to describe the crisis, but these terms are poorly understood by authorities and community organizations. To help unify efforts across this region to prevent and counter violent extremism, Creative partnered with researchers at the University of Maroua to develop a standardized lexicon of more than 200 of these terms. Mozambique: Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!) Mozambique released its first nationwide bilingual education expansion strategy with support from the USAID-funded Vamos Ler! program. This major policy change will help more students learn to read in their local language before transitioning to Portuguese in later grades. Afghanistan: Afghan Children Read The USAID-funded Afghan Children Read project hosted 33 Ministry of Education officials from central and provincial levels for a workshop on the scale-up of the early grade reading program. The project collaborated with the ministry to create a workplan for a phased sustainability and scale-up. Somalia: Bringing Unity, Integrity, and Legitimacy to Democracy With double the staff and partners it had last year, Creative’s BUILD project, funded by USAID, is expanding to support the Women’s Committee and Electoral Law Committee in Somalia’s House of People and a network of professors to deliver electoral education throughout the country.

Community Visions to prevent

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Youth, Family & Gender-Based Violence

Natural Resources Conflict

Governance Conflict

Land Conflict

As the Varelas begin to see the results of these changes—clean water, healthier kids, income from crops—the project is working to ensure families have access to information to live healthier lives and achieve more economic stability, even after the project ends. A new radio program called “Vivir en el Campo” (“Living in the Countryside”) is dispatched every Saturday morning with segments on nutrition, healthy habits and farming techniques. When ACS-PROSASUR comes to an end in 2021, it aims to leave families with the tools, skills and knowledge to continue to thrive. The project is working with local governments to incorporate health and economic support activities into municipal development plans and to link vulnerable families to other municipal and international programs. n

In addition to these improvements, each family participating in both project components works with project counselors to develop health, hygiene and nutrition plans for diversifying their diets and keeping family members, especially young children, disease- free and healthy. In families’ gardens and fields, the project supports smallholder farmers like Varela to establish garden plots, access seeds to grow a variety of hearty, nutritious crops, and construct water harvesting systems to weather drought. Families work with counselors to establish food security plans and agricultural business plans. “They gave me technical assistance to plant the garden, where I now have yuca and from which I harvested corn and sweet potato,” says Varela.

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Infographic by Amanda Smallwood

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