Empowering vulnerable youth and women in fragile situation to foster community Resilience and cohesion through peaceful co-existence and promotion of livelihoods initiatives

• Pupils, students and young men and women, teachers from the payams3 of CES, WES and EES. 
• Communities in the Equatorias as a whole. 

It must be noted that WPDI operates along a training of trainer’s model, which allows beneficiaries to participate in the implementation of the objectives. 

• Improve social cohesion in schools by mobilizing and training students and teachers to acquire conflict resolution skills.
•  Improve the capacity of communities to exchange, mediate and resolve conflict through dialogue to promote peace and prevent conflict. Create opportunities for women to voice their concerns and demonstrate their leadership capacity.
• Improve alternative livelihood skills for youth and women in conflict resolution, ICT, entrepreneurship, arts and craft. 
• Create opportunities for women and youth entrepreneurs to start small income-generating businesses as alternative livelihood.
• Promote social cohesion through sport for peace to cultivate a sense of reconciliation and unity for peace. Provide opportunities for women to practice activities outside their homes.
•  Address emergency needs by using crisis modifier resources. 

Expected results:  

1. Improve social cohesion in 115 schools through a training program in conflict resolution to 8,625 students and 575 teachers, and reach 17,530 people with advocacy campaigns. 
2. Promote peace and reconciliation at the local level through 32 Youth-led Community Dialogues and Trainings of Community Leaders. 
3. Disseminate peace-building and vocational skills and raise awareness on Peace and Human Rights through a network of 8 Community Learning Centres
4. Promote entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods by supporting 72 new businesses for the youth and women in Western Equatoria State (WES), Central Equatoria State (CES) and Eastern Equatoria State (EES).
5. Promote social cohesion through sport for peace targeting 88 youths distributed into 4 teams. 
6. Respond to emergencies when they occur.

Results from previous phases:  

Switzerland’s previous engagement2 with WPDI attains the following results:

• 4,468 students were trained through cohorts of trained youth peace ambassadors in 55 schools.
• 6,780 community members were reached with conflict resolution awareness and actions creating positive impacts in improving social cohesion among students, teachers and surrounding communities.
• With a view to promoting peace at the grassroots level, WPDI implemented 30 community dialogues after training 405 community leaders. This dialogue defused conflict and sort out dispute among feuding communities in the Equatorias.
• To create alternative livelihoods for the youth, WPDI supported 53 small scale businesses for the youth, a majority of them in the agricultural sector, which contributed to income opportunities for the targeted youth and addresses the issue of food insecurity prevalent across the country.