Mozambique

Youth-Led Action for Peace

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Mozambique, the Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace (CDJP), the Islamic Council of Mozambique - Cabo Delgado Delegation, in partnership with Helvetas Mozambique propose a 26 month project called Youth-Led Action for Peace (Youth-Led) with "Targeted communities in Cabo Delgado whose youth are resilient and engaged against violence, experience strengthened social cohesion" as an objective. Informed by our conflict analysis and gender protection, Youth-Led recognizes that youth are "at the center" of the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado as actors and survivors who must be part of the solution. Youth-Led's interventions will benefit 453,500 direct and indirect participants (233,929 women and 219,614 men), based on 2017 census data, with a specific focus on the districts of Ancuabe and Chiúre; and reach the other 13 districts of Cabo Delgado through youth radio programs.
 
Approach
Youth-Led uses the non-formal skill development approach of Helvetas Mozambique - the Cooperative Group approach - piloted over the last two years through the HOJE project (Habilidade mais Oportunidade resulta em Jovem com Emprego) in Nampula province and considered particularly suitable for the current conditions in Cabo Delgado province. The approach can include newly identified occupations, responding very quickly to changing needs and promoting the skills brought by displaced people, as it is administratively simple.
Suitable vocations include those that are not provided in local training centers, those that are very region specific or only need a few very specialized people, those that are needed in a remote area where there is no training center, those that have potential for self-employment with minimal investment, or identified in a growing sector driven by a leading private company that requires skilled workers, for example the mining, gas and oil industry in Cabo Delgado.
 
Key-stakeholders
These include central and local governments; police and security forces; criminal and/or illicit trade networks; mining companies; private security companies; the non-state armed group (mostly local Muslim youth); and international and regional actors with economic or ideological interests. The Southern African Development Cooperation has recently expressed interest in supporting efforts to resolve the conflict. The Catholic Church and the Islamic Council have continually called for constructive solutions to the problem. Humanitarian organizations, including CRS and Caritas in Pemba, are committed to alleviating the effects of the conflict.
 
Project Outcomes
Youth-Led pursues the following Strategic Goals and Outcomes:
 
  1. Youth of diverse identities (female and male, ethnic, religious, and other characteristics) in targeted districts experience a reduction in vulnerabilities that push them toward violence. Illustrative indicator: % increase in youth (direct participants) in targeted districts reporting that vulnerabilities pushing them towards violence have reduced due to project interventions.
  2. Youth, local government decision-makers and leaders of diverse identities (female and male, ethnic, religious, and other characteristics) in targeted districts have increased opportunities to collaborate and strengthen relationships in their communities for the common good. Illustrative indicator: % increase in participating community members reporting strengthened cross-divisional relationships as a result of project interventions.
  • Project Name
    Youth-Led Action for Peace
  • Funding
    Catholic Relief Services
  • Thematic focus
    Education and Vocational Skills