General Report

PROJECT TITLE: Humanitarian, Development and Peace Initiative for Crisis affected Population in Uganda

OBJECTIVES 

• JUST SOCIETY: People live in more equal, peaceful and gender just societies based on inclusive democracies, human rights and accountable institutions
• LEAVING NO.ONE BEHIND: Crisis affected population in particular women and youth are increasingly safe, resilient and empowered
• Climate Justice: Increased capacity of refugee and host communities to mitigate conflicts associated to shared eco-systems

KEY ACTIVITIES 

• Three community structures have been formed to create awareness on gender-based violence (GBV), promote gender-transformative leadership, and foster peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities.
• One such structure is the Women's Forum, consisting of 80 women. The forum aims to empower women through leadership training and advocacy. The women in the forum have been trained three times on gender-transformative leadership, enabling them to take on leadership roles within the settlement and act as a voice for the voiceless. Their efforts have also empowered other women and girls to fight for their rights and strive for a better future.
• A group of 20 Male Champions has been established to support the women’s participation agenda. Their role is to advocate for gender equality and actively promote the inclusion of women in community affairs.
• The Cultural Alliance, composed of 20 members (16 men and 4 women), including cultural leaders, landlords, and religious leaders. This alliance works to raise awareness about peace and helps resolve conflicts within the community.

40 women (30 R,10H) from zone 1 under ICSS women forum conducted a joint zonal awareness session on GBV, teenage pregnancy, reproductive health and peaceful coexistence together with male champions, all the cluster leader in zone 1 and partners (REFUGEE LAW PROJECT, IRC, WINDLE INTERNATIONA AND OPM). The awareness session took 3 days covering cluster 1,2and 3 reaching out to 600 women and girls in zone 1. The focus was placed on educating the community about different referral pathways in case of identified GBV cases. The Women’s Forum together with the women zonal leader Zone 1 emphasized that such cases should be referred to IRC for further support. The partners (IRC, I CAN South Sudan, Refugee Law Project, and Windle International) addressed the dispelled concerns and negative mindsets among refugees, particularly the misconception that supporting teenage mothers encourages teenage pregnancies. They urged the participants to focus on good parenting to curb down the raising number of girls getting pregnant at atender stage. Male champions team took the lead in raising   awareness about teenage pregnancies, highlighting the dangers of early childbirth for young girls in the settlement. The IRC emphasized the importance of using family planning to reduce unwanted pregnancies, which are a major cause of poverty and subsequently lead to GBV in homes.  Refugee Law Project created awareness on peaceful coexistence and urged community members to report incidents such as land conflicts, GBV, and other issues to partners and the police. The RWC3   Mr. Malish   of Zone 1 and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) expressed their gratitude to the leaders and partners for their collaborative efforts in combating GBV and teenage pregnancy. OPM noted that this collaboration creates synergies among the partners, LEADERS    and the forum groups .

Beneficiary information

Summary of Beneficiary
				0 -4 years		5 -17 years		18-49 years		>50 years
S/N	Location	R	H	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M
1	CLUSTER 1	30	10					40
2	CLUSTER 2	30	10					40
3	CLUSTER 3	30	10					40

 

 

The women's forum in the zone created awareness on GBV (Gender-Based Violence) and peaceful coexistence among refugees and host communities, reaching out to 50 participants (40 women, 10 men) from the host community in Logiya village. Both men and women shared pressing issues causing GBV in their homes, such as disrespect and excessive labor. This discussion helped them understand the root causes of GBV, as they realized how they become victims. The participants were also able to identify the gaps among themselves that perpetuate GBV in their homes. The women forum members encouraged participants to report such cases to them, which could later be referred to protection desks for further action. The host community members highlighted that there are many conflicts between them and the refugees, including refugees stealing their collected firewood, the broken borehole in Logiya, which has forced them to fetch water from the refugee side, creating resource-sharing constraints. This   called for the forum to plan for the dialogue between refugee and host community at the centre of LOGIYA and zone 2.

Beneficiary information

Summary of Beneficiary
		INDIVIDUAL POPULATION		0 -4 years		5 -17 years		18-49 years		>50 years
S/N	Location	H	R	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M
1	LOGIYA	5	3					8
2
	Total	8

 

 

 

 

• The cultural and religious alliance successfully conducted a dialogue between the refugees and the host community in Village 2, focusing on peaceful coexistence. The event reached 50 participants (30 women and 20 men). The discussion centered on the equitable sharing of natural resources, particularly in response to increased tensions over land conflicts, grass harvesting for household construction, and firewood collection. The village leader emphasized that resolving land conflicts requires the involvement of community leaders during land rental agreements, with at least two witnesses from the community to ensure transparency and fairness  .A participant from Village 2   Alfred Mawa, expressed gratitude to the alliance for organizing these dialogues, noting that they help bridge the gap between hosts and refugees. He further recommended that similar dialogues be organized within the host community, and that refugees be invited to attend these sessions through exchange visits.

Beneficiary information

Summary of Beneficiary
				0 -4 years		5 -17 years		18-49 years		>50 years
S/N	Location	R	H	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M
1	MIJUTA CHURCH	6	4						10
2
	Total	10

 

 

 

·       Collaborations bring the forums, leaders, and partners together reaching out to a wider area.

·       Collaborations create more visibility for ICSS and its structures as they were able to move to cluster 1,2,3 in zone 1 Bidibidi settlement. The structures were introduced to the new leaders that they will work with making their work easier in all the villages of zone 1.

·       Involvement of leaders in activity implementation by the structures is very important as the village chairman helped in the mobilization of the beneficiaries and the turn up was good 

·       It is always good to bring women and men together if we want to reduce the rising cases of GBV.

·       Dialogues between refugees and hosts on peaceful coexistence reduces more conflicts because during these sessions it helps identify the root causes of the conflicts amongst members.