Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa.pdf - Project Ploughshares

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Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa4. UgandaPETER SIMON ESAKU / World VisionThis photo, taken in 2003, depicts families and children displacedfrom the Tubur ADP area by the LRA conflict.The goal of the peacebuilding project was to build sustainable,local capacities for peace through schools and communitystructures, creation of awareness and community dialogues.The objectives were:1. peaceful reintegration of ex-combatants, especiallyabductees, some of whom were considered traitors.2. discouraging the use of guns abandoned by rebels bycreating awareness in the community.3. supporting other means of resolving such conflicts asland disputes and domestic violence by involving localleaders and councils.4. creating a framework for peace in 2006. Structures likeclubs and drama groups continue today and have beenmainstreamed into the ADP.To disseminate peace messages to the community, the projectestablished and used such structures as peace clubs for children,football and netball teams for youth, and radio talk-showprogrammes. These structures are still active. One focus groupnoted that World Vision advances “sensitisation” for peacethrough radio programmes. This medium is particularlyeffective because almost everyone has a radio and there are fiveFM stations available, some in local languages.The Tubur peacebuilding project also undertook• Training of peace committees to address and settledomestic violence and land “wrangles”;• Awareness training and sensitisation of communitygroups, which included teaching women and childrenabout their rights, assisting participants to acceptreturned displaced people, and discouraging the use ofabandoned guns;• Psycho-social and other support to ex-combatants tofacilitate reintegration.The testimony of the majority of interviewees familiarwith World Vision projects formed a prevailing image ofconstructive peacebuilding in both the Kitgum and Sorotidistricts of Uganda. Peace project activities in both districtswere reported to be welcome and effective. We summarise theirpositive impact below.We also explore the contributions that the projects were saidto have made in reducing armed violence in particular. Weconclude with additional considerations for peacebuildingprogramming (and indeed development programming morebroadly), which were solicited from interview informants.Peace project activities in both districtswere reported to bewelcome and effective.48
Addressing Armed Violence in East Africa4. Uganda4.4. Reducing Armed Violence:The Impact of World Vision PeacebuildingInterviewees in the Kitgum and Soroti districts of Ugandacommonly expressed the view that the constructive techniquesof World Vision peacebuilding projects provided positive andtangible results. At the outset, it should be noted that it was notpossible to construct a complete picture of project impact inthe visited districts because responses were obviously guardedin some instances. Several peace project participants appearedreluctant to reveal all that was known, especially about gunavailability and use in the districts. Nevertheless, it wasgenerally apparent that the WV peacebuilding projects enjoyedconsiderable support and success. Participants consistentlynoted that the projects had affected positive changes in theircommunities.Informants identified peacebuilding components andactivities that they believed had strengthened and unified thecommunities, and contributed to the capacity of local peopleto reduce and resolve violence. In Soroti district we were toldthat the peace project built community trust and unity andimproved relationships among residents. According to one localNGO representative, the sports, music and dance activitieswent a long way to building bridges among schools, especiallybetween schools where “there were problems related tounexplained conflicts”. A focus group told us that when youthmeet in football games it creates friendship. Traditional dancesalso build unity and help to resolve inter-clan conflicts. Localmembers of a ADP committee 18 in the Kitgum district notedthat, as a result of peace project activities, there was more unityamong school children and youth, especially among the ADPyouth, who are assembled from many places.School peace clubs, whose activities included performing forchildren and adults, reinforced messages of peace for childrenand parents and other members of the community. We weretold that the poems and songs of children touch the parents andencourage discussion about ways to resolve domestic conflict.The peace projects also helped to sensitise parents abouttheir responsibility to engage with their children’s schools.These interventions helped them to move away from the ideathat the government must do everything when it comes topeacebuilding.Northern Ugandan youth, participants in a peace club, builda pyramid to demonstrate that peacebuilding is not the work ofone, but of many.SIMON RICHARD MUGENYI / World Vision18 An ADP committee is comprised of community members (volunteers) whowork closely with WV staff in the implementation of the ADP.49
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