CONTEXT: A COMMON PROGRAM FOR 7 COUNTRIES
COHERENCE, understood as the contraction of social COHEsion and REsilieNCE, is the name of Caritas International and the Justice & Peace Commision’s five-year program. It is a program that covers seven countries: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, and Belgium. This program aims to strengthen rural communities within these partner countries, so that they are more resilient and better able to prevent and withstand crisis situations. Above all, we want to provide the most vulnerable people the opportunity to improve their lives, particularly women and young people.
The program was developed for the main concerns of the populations of the concerned regions, taking into account national specificities. Collaboration with local actors is essential to accomplish this.
In Niger, chronic food and nutrition insecurity affects 11 to 25% of the Nigerien population. The regions of Maradi and Zinder are among the most vulnerable, with crop failures every other year.
OBJECTIVE: ADDRESSING CRISES
The objective is to make the communities of Korahane, Goula, and Gaffati more resilient so that they can better cope with economic, political, environmental, security, and humanitarian crises. Thereby, empowering the most vulnerable, including youth, women, and people with disabilities, to seize opportunities, improve their well-being, and achieve their aspirations.
The expected results over the next five years are:
- Youth, women, and people with disabilities in the three municipalities having improved access to basic services and becoming active and responsible citizens who strengthen the community in many ways.
- Making the economic projects of youth, women, and people with disabilities sustainable and viable, so that they have decent, stable jobs.
- The three municipalities developing an inclusive, participatory, and functional system that enables the community to better cope with crises and disasters.
Municipalities and other stakeholders strengthening their capacity for joint analysis and action.
ACTIVITES
In order to achieve these objectives, we are implementing various activities to:
- Develop citizen committees to monitor investments of common interest.
- Help municipalities to develop participatory budgets.
- Develop water supply points.
- Train on negotiation techniques, female leadership, and conflict management.
- Support the creation of income-generating activities.
- Support SMEs and cooperatives.
- Assist municipalities in developing and financing emergency plans.
- Disseminate technologies and techniques based on agroecology.
- Supporting sustainable water management (market gardening).
- Promote techniques to protect the environment and cope with climate warming.
- Develop an inter-communal platform (analysis, coordination, learning).
WHO IS IT FOR?
This program seeks to aid rural populations whose main economic activities are agriculture and livestock. More specifically, 2,000 households (1,000 held by women, 600 by men, 300 by youth, and 100 by people with disabilities). This concerns people with very few sources of income and living with permanent food insecurity.
