Skills Development for Enhanced Livelihoods and Peace
In 2022, with support from Enabel under the Skills Development Fund, Rwenzori Forum for Peace and Justice (RFPJ) partnered with Bulhalho Foundation to implement a project titled “Enhanced livelihood skills of 135 urban youth and 90 vulnerable women in and around Fort Portal Tourism City through small scale urban farming.” The project offered urban farming skills to 225 (44 males & 181 females) local farmers in rabbit farming, piggery, vegetable, mushroom, and watermelon growing in 12 Wards in Fort Portal City and 03 Sub-Counties in Kabarole District. The project strengthened the capacity of the beneficiaries in selected small scale agricultural enterprises, enhanced their entrepreneurship skills, and supported them with agricultural inputs and tools to start small scale agricultural enterprises for sustained livelihoods.
Overall, the project sought to enhance market-oriented skills among the beneficiaries through offering work-based learning and by extension, to enhance their employability and graduation from vulnerability to resilience. It extensively achieved the following result areas; improved market-relevant agro-enterprise skills; improved competitiveness in the agricultural trades undertaken by youth and women; and enhanced livelihood options as well as social and economic resilience of selected vulnerable youths and women within the target area.
All successful project beneficiaries were assessed by the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) and were certified as trained farmers in Fort Portal City and Kabarole district.
Amplifying the Participation of Women in Peace Building processes in the Rwenzori Region
With support from the UN WOMEN under the Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), the Rwenzori Forum for Peace and Justice is implemented the “Amplifying the Participation of Women in Peace Building Processes in the Rwenzori Region project”. The project was intended to improve women participation and influence in post 2021 general elections peace building processes and also amplify the role of women in fronting governance issues that affect them and the society.
The project directly targeted grassroots women leaders and women organizations for purposes of building and strengthening the role of women in conflict prevention. Other stakeholders include formal and informal conflict prevention structures including cultural institutions, religious structures, electoral commission, political parties and security agencies with the mandate to contribute to electoral conflict prevention. The project specifically focused on collaborating with formal and informal structures in conflict identification and prevention processes. Over a two year period, the project was implemented in the districts of Kasese, Kabarole, Kyenjojo and Bundibugyo.
Harnessing Youth’ Potential for Peace in Uganda
RFPJ implemented “The Harnessing Youths’ Potential for Peace in Uganda Project” targeting Uganda’s conflict-prone region of Rwenzori. In this project, RFPJ with funding from the UNDP under the auspices of the UN Secretary General’s Emergency Peace Building Fund focused on addressing the exclusion of youth including girls and women from political and economic discourse in the country and the regional hotspots of Rwenzori and Central /Buganda regions. The project aimed at addressing conflict factors through initiatives that enable greater engagement of young women and young men in decision – making processes at national, district and local level, and initiatives that aim to restore trust between government [in particular security and low enforcement] entities and communities in regional hotspots.
Fostering Intra and Inter-ethnic Dialogue and Reconciliation in the Rwenzori Region
The project sought to address intra and inter-ethnic violence in the ethnically diverse Rwenzori region by promoting the respect for social cultural rights for all and fostering citizen adoption of non-violent practices in resolving intra and inter-ethnic conflicts. Linked to intra and inter-ethnic violence, the project sought to promote intra and inter-ethnic reconciliation and also bolster the participation and representation of women and youth leaders from different cultural groupings in the fostering of this reconciliation in the region.
