USAID/OTI DRC Field Report
November 2004
Program Description
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| Program Logo |
The Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) helps stabilize and revitalize war-torn communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by facilitating community-level reintegration of war-affected youth, and increasing broad awareness of key transition issues. OTI’s objectives are achieved through its Synergie d'Education Communautaire et d'Appui à la transition (SE*CA, pronounced “C’est ça!”) program. The program, implemented by Chemonics, focuses on community reintegration and revitalization and consists of: basic life skills and vocational training (Youth Education and Skills/YES) provided by Master Trainers (MTs); community-driven small grants to participating communities, providing a chance to put learned skills into practice; and TAP (Transition Awareness and Participation) grants intended to reinforce YES messages through media-focused activities such as information campaigns. OTI also supports the Switzerland-based Fondation Hirondelle, in collaboration with the United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUC), in a project aimed at strengthening Radio Okapi (a network of community radio stations providing key information to target populations) and improving the professional capacity of indigenous community radio stations.
Country Situation
Security – Government representatives from 14 countries in Africa’s Great Lakes Region, including the DRC, met in Tanzania this month to discuss regional sustainable peace initiatives. Participants in the conference signed a decree pledging to work toward lasting security in the region. However, despite this positive development, the security situation in eastern DRC remained tense and volatile, with continued violent clashes between armed militias fighting to maintain or gain territorial control. During November, Rwandan-backed militias fought ex-Mai Mai militia members now integrated into the Congolese National Army (FARDC), and regional commands within the FARDC fought each other to control territory in North Kivu province. Ituri, one of OTI’s target areas in northeastern DRC, continues to face a worsening security situation and alarming increases in crime, including a recent report of an attack by local militia on four members of a French humanitarian organization.
The Rwandan government continued to complain that Hutu rebels who fled to the DRC after participating in the Rwandan genocide are now crossing the border and attacking Rwandan villages. In early November, FARDC troops were deployed (with logistical support from MONUC) to Walungu territory in South Kivu province, an area known to shelter former Hutu combatants. The goal of this mission was to protect local residents from Rwandan Hutu rebels as well as to encourage the Hutu rebels to voluntarily disarm, demobilize and return to Rwanda. It was also partially intended to demonstrate concrete steps taken by the DRC to address Rwanda’s concerns. Nevertheless, in late November the Rwandan government made provocative statements indicating possible plans to send troops into eastern DRC. At the end of November, the situation remained tense and unresolved, with foreign diplomats and UN members urging Rwanda not to attempt military action in DRC territory.
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) –
On November 12, President Kabila signed the National Army Law. The new law establishes the basis for integrating various armed, ex-militia forces into the FARDC and will facilitate progress on DDR as it outlines the planned structure for the new, integrated Congolese armed forces. This development is extremely encouraging and will help ensure that progress continues on implementing a broad-based, World Bank-funded DDR program.
Transitional Government –
In November, President Kabila suspended six cabinet Ministers and ten heads of state-owned companies after a parliamentary inquiry exposed their participation in corrupt activities. Kabila’s Chief of Staff also resigned soon afterwards. Some positive steps were also taken towards possible elections in 2006. First, the Congolese Nationality Law was passed, with language determining who is eligible for Congolese citizenship, which is critical to allowing voter registration to begin. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is also in the process of opening provincial offices intended to assist with voter registration and other key elections activities.
USAID/OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
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| Group of SECA Learning Facilitators. |
In November, SE*CA held its second all team retreat in Kisangani, focusing on team building, assessing progress to date towards program objectives and identifying useful lessons learned. The SE*CA team also discussed the program’s revised monitoring and evaluation system and planning ideas in anticipation of likely FY2005 budget changes.
YES training activities continued, facilitated by the delivery of new motorbikes to help resolve transportation difficulties faced by the MTs. In Orientale province and northern Maniema, 420 local Learning Facilitators (LFs) trained another 7,898 participants on the Health and Well-Being module; LFs in northern Maniema are now receiving training on the Agriculture and Income Generation modules. In Kisangani, 180 LFs were trained on the Reaffirmation of our Values module, subsequently reaching another 4,423 community members to share what they learned. Two thousand five hundred and seventy five Ituri community participants also learned business skills through the Income Generation module.
In Ituri, electric cables finally arrived for a project to install electricity along a key transportation route. Work on a bridge rehabilitation project in Lokorto was delayed by the assassination of a former “Chef de Quartier” (village chief) in one of the participant communities. Although construction has now resumed, excessive rainfall is complicating the completion of this and several other approved infrastructure rehabilitation projects. The field office is rescheduling key work activities for the coming dry season, which will start shortly.
Radio Okapi, which is supported by OTI through Fondation Hirondelle, has appointed a new Chief Editor. He is Radio Okapi’s first Congolese senior staff member. Through the Partner Radio Network, more than 120 journalists, representing 20 community radio stations were trained in six cities.
B. Grant Activity Summary
| Support the reintegration process between war-affected youth and their host communities. |
0 |
0 |
13 |
$ 646,256 |
| Reinforce awareness to foster community participation on issues key to the transitional process. |
2 |
$44,426 |
26 |
$ 585,416 |
| Total |
2 |
$44,426 |
39 |
$1,231,672 |
Two new grants were approved this month. The first is support to Search for Common Ground (a U.S. NGO) to produce a video documentary about the transition process and to disseminate it through TV, the internet and facilitated discussions. This project is being co-funded with USAID/DRC’s Office of Democracy and Governance. The purposes are to help citizens better understand the transition process and thereby have more realistic expectations, and to encourage participation in the political process.
The second new grant is for a Bunia Youth Center. High numbers of disenfranchised youth without education, jobs or constructive outlets for expression represent a potential source for instability and conflict. OTI will fund a local youth center in Bunia (Ituri province) to implement activities such as theatre, public debates, sports events and broadcast of radio programs produced by and targeted to at-risk youth. Through this project, young people from Bunia and surrounding areas will engage in activities that promote constructive, inter-ethnic dialogue, facilitate community participation and provide a forum for dialogue on and engagement of vulnerable youth in the peace process.
C. Indicator of Success
In war-affected communities in eastern DRC, the OTI/DRC training program has reached nearly 9,000 direct beneficiaries and has now provided over $1 million in small, in-kind grants for community rehabilitation and revitalization projects. Preliminary evidence shows that the program is achieving its objective of changing attitudes and encouraging communities to become more stable by working together. There are reports of improved relations between and within communities and what some participants call “an awakening” to how they can play a positive role in the political transition. OTI’s media support is also showing positive results.
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In the Ituri District, when the Dele community requested a small grant to build a school, SE*CA staff agreed to consider the request on the condition that the community had to deliver half the bricks needed. Despite the lack of a firm SE*CA commitment or any compensation for their efforts, community members manufactured and provided the bricks in a short time period. Convinced by these efforts, SE*CA provided in-kind support (bricks, construction materials and technical expertise) to complete the school. The Dele communities’ actions demonstrated its commitment to working together to address an important community need and its confidence that conditions had stabilized enough to make the investment of time and resources worthwhile. The community members’ willingness to provide a counterpart contribution, even without official support from SE*CA, also exemplified the trust and partnership that the SE*CA program team has established with participant communities.
Five years after the war’s end, SE*CA was the first program to reach the Ngoli Kitibitibi community, located in the Kindu area. After receiving YES training by master trainers, 60 learning facilitators (16 of whom were themselves ex-Mai Mai combatants whose participation helped them to reintegrate into their communities), successfully mobilized community members to clear a 16-kilometer feeder road connecting to a main road, without any external assistance. Community members understood that building the road would be important in revitalizing the local economy by helping connect remote areas to larger market centers and trade opportunities; the volunteer workers engraved “SE*CA” into the trees to show that it was this program’s philosophy that inspired them to work together and undertake such a large project. The community buy-in and participation also helps to guarantee that the community will help maintain the road.
In Yambela community in the Kisangani area, when asked about the SE*CA initiative, one community leader responded, “SE*CA is here to stay.” In his community, community members are building a training/meeting center where training activities for community members can be conducted by LFs even after the SE*CA program ends.
Journalists at Radio Communautaire de Muanda (western DRC) used reporting techniques they learned in training (provided by the PRN through OTI’s support to Fondation Hirondelle) to help address local power problems. After a series of power outages, the radio broadcast a special report, which included an interview with a representative of the National Electricity Company (SNEL), as well as interviews with affected residents. The journalists monitored the situation and issued regular updates on new developments. Within a few days, SNEL had fixed one generator and local residents said that it was the station’s effective reporting that had helped facilitate a quicker-than-expected resolution of the problem.
Radio Okapi also continued to help facilitate more constructive links between citizens and government through radio programs. During November, the Minister of Public Works appeared on Radio Okapi to discuss his new roads rehabilitation program. Listeners were able to call in and ask him questions. This type of exchange is rare in the DRC; the fact that it took place without negative repercussions for participants helps encourage citizens and governmental authorities to continue to participate in these types of exchanges in the future.
Next Steps/Immediate Priorities
- Four SE*CA/Kisangani infrastructure projects (two schools, a market, and the rehabilitated Kisangani-Lubutu railway) will be inaugurated in early December by U.S. Ambassador, Roger Meece and USAID Mission Director, Bob Hellyer.
- In December, OTI Washington staff will conduct a mid-term evaluation of OTI/DRC’s program and management structure.
- USAID’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) and OTI’s Africa Team Leader will visit the DRC in December to review and assess DCHA-supported activities in the DRC and how successfully they respond to and impact the current political context.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C.: Bronwyn Bruton, OTI Program Manager, e-mail: bbruton@usaid.gov; telephone: (202) 712-0827
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