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'Women in Dialogue' Project - Capacity Building Program for Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in Mafraq Governorate
Within the framework of the "Women in Dialogue" Project 'Future Pioneers for Empowering Communities - FPEC' and the Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung started in 2016 a program to provide Community Based Organizations (CBOs) key skills and confidence to run their organizations in a more strategic manner taking into account local resources, with greater responsiveness towards local needs and stronger leadership role in mobilizing the local community for meeting those. The program is continued respectively extended in 2017.
After an introductory workshop in 2016 on topics like 'Basics of project planning', 'Community mobilization' and 'Planning for community initiatives' in 2017 the participants should draw up annual plans for their organizations and develop their own local initiatives. How to mobilize local people and resources for addressing problems - taking into account that not always international donor money is needed for solving such issues, but oftentimes just joining forces locally can bring great results for community well-being - is the approach to be followed here.
The experience of working with local CBOs in the past years has shown that self-initiative of many organizations is missing. In many cases organizations are just waiting for that foreign donors come up with an idea and with the money and then, if possible, even organize the implementation. As soon as the so-called 'project financing' is finished, the project is also finished - sustainability looks different. In addition, the lack of ideas (even from foreign donors) for many projects is frightening. Of course, often the attempt is being made to determine the needs in a municipality or the needs of women. But if as a result of e.g. the lack of work for women a project is implemented that "all women learn how to make baskets' in order to enable them to improve the livelihood of their family, this is not very far-sighted. Most of these projects are terminated no later than no raw materials are any more purchased by the foreign donor.
Of course, women take part in these programs, they offer them the opportunity to leave their houses, but whether these projects also help to solve their everyday problems is rather unlikely. (Some projects of this kind may also be successful, but these are the exceptions. In the majority, expectations are aroused, which are not fulfilled, and disappointments and frustration are great afterwards.)
As a new element in the “Women in Dialogue” project the expanded program attempts to respond to the various requests received from the ground to lessen the local communities’ dependence on projects implemented by big national or international NGOs and instead provides the methods, tools and resources for local associations to do so.
Throughout the project implementation in 2016 a lot of stories came up about children and youth dropping out of school due to discrimination from the side of teachers and students, violence prevailing between student groups etc. It was also revealed that challenges related to transportation and safety on the children’s way to school limit especially the girls’ participation in education, while in many cases youth also drop out of school because of drug use and trafficking – without even parents knowing about it. Against this background it was decided to organize a simple community brainstorming (focus group discussions, September 24, 2016), with the aim of bringing together local students, teachers, parents and the hosting CBOs to discuss the underlying issues pertaining this problem, and most importantly, supporting the role of CBOs to take the lead in assessing such community problems and in collaboration with community members to find a solution to those. But how to deal with the problem, what can be organized and how - these questions often cannot be answered by the CBOs due to the lack of adequate capacities.
Through appropriate coaching selected employees from six Community Based Organizations - CBOs in Mafraq governorate will be supported to draw up annual plans including the associations’ vision, mission and goals, and to develop projects and initiatives (in 2017 especially on the topic of 'school-drop outs'), so that the CBO can take a their role in providing local women with crucial skills, in promoting women’s participation in the community life and in contributing to local problem solving. The goal of the program is to enhance the CBOs role as community mobilizers, promoters of women’s role and facilitators of inter-group relations.