Search For Common Ground (SDCG) and its consortium of partners are making significant progress in the implementation of an 18-month European Union funded peace-building project.
The project is titled, Community Centered Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta, and is executed across Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa States, spanning 66 communities in 33 Local Government Areas. It is aimed at strengthening peace through sustainable development and community empowerment.
A major component of the initiative includes the execution of various livelihood support projects designed to address both economic needs and local infrastructure gaps. These include the construction of cassava and palm oil processing mills, markets, lock-up stores, installation of solar-powered boreholes, provision of fishing nets, and the provision of solar toilets, etc. These interventions which were directly nominated by the project communities, represent a body of local solutions and responds to the sustainable development goals.
In addition to the various physical infrastructure, the livelihood initiatives also include human capacity development through targeted skill empowerment training. Beneficiaries are undergoing hands-on training in trades such as fashion design, information and communications technology (ICT), pipeline welding and fabrication, etc. All these empowerment initiatives are focused on the goal of improving employability and reducing youth vulnerability to violence and criminality.
In several communities, official project groundbreaking ceremonies have already been conducted, while in others, work on key infrastructure is approaching completion.
Community leaders and residents have expressed optimism that these interventions will not only improve livelihoods but also enhance social cohesion and long-term peace in the region.
The initiative represents a coordinated effort by Search for Common Ground and its partners to address the root causes of conflict through inclusive development and local ownership.
