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USAID/OTI DRC Field Report
August 2005
Program Description
The Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) helps stabilize and revitalize war-torn communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by facilitating community-level reintegration of war-affected youths and increasing broad awareness of key transition issues. OTI's objectives are achieved through a program called Synergie d'Education Communautaire et d'Appui à la transition (SE*CA, pronounced "C'est ça!"). 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; small grants to participating communities, providing a chance to put learned skills into practice; and Transition Awareness and Participation (TAP) grants intended to reinforce YES messages through media-focused information campaigns, enhanced access to information by strengthening Radio Okapi (http://www.radiookapi.net), and improved professional capacity of indigenous community radio stations. As the transition progresses, OTI is working with the USAID Mission to hand over program activities in anticipation of a March 2006 exit.
Country Situation
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Democratic Republic of Congo
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Security – The security situation was mostly calm in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August and was marked by bilateral and multilateral initiatives. The Tripartite Joint Commission (Ugandan, Rwandan and DRC representatives) held a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, Aug. 24 and 25 under the auspices of the U.S. Government and agreed to an extradition treaty for terrorist suspects and militia leaders. Burundi also became a partner in the initiative. At a multilateral level, on Aug. 8, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pressed Congo's transitional government to urgently prepare a comprehensive plan for reintegrating the country's volatile Ituri region into the rest of the nation. Additionally, the United Nations Mission in the Congo (MONUC, www.monuc.org) reinforced security surrounding voter registration efforts. In addition to providing logistical support to 9,000 registration centers, MONUC will train nine Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) brigades for deployment in the eastern provinces before elections, scheduled for March and April 2006. Moreover, in late August, the U.N. Security Council approved $103 million to support elections.
Transitional government and elections – By the end of August, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) had registered more than 8 million of an estimated 28 million voters. Registration had previously been completed in the capital of Kinshasa and had started in Orientale and Bas Congo Provinces. In August, voter registration began in the majority of the remaining provinces, including Eastern and Western Kasais, North Kivu, South Kivu and Katanga. The IEC's launch into these provinces has posed serious logistical challenges for the registration teams, mainly in terms of transportation, insufficient equipment and trained staff. MONUC is envisioning providing further logistical support, including transportation of equipment. MONUC support has been key for the security of registration sites in some sensitive areas, such as Ituri District in northeastern DRC, where two registration centers in the towns of Djugu and Irumu were attacked, and where one election observer was killed on Aug. 22. Nevertheless, in Ituri District, voter registration has been welcomed by the population, with almost one million voters of an estimated 1.4 million registered at the end of August. Nationally, more than 400 political parties have registered to present candidates in the elections.
USAID/OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
The Transition Awareness and Participation (TAP) program installed 40 radio listening clubs in the Kisangani region and 13 listening clubs in southern Ituri. The TAP team is installing an additional 87 radio listening clubs in Maniema and Orientale Provinces. Community members listen to Radio Okapi shortwave broadcasts and have facilitated discussions about political transition issues in the clubs. Information and opinions are posted on a community information bulletin board. The formalization of the Office of Transition Initiatives' SE*CA network has begun with the hiring of a network facilitator. The SE*CA network is a hub-and-spoke model for connecting SE*CA Learning Facilitators, Community Reintegration Committees, radio listening clubs, and regional community information centers. The network will be used for quick information dissemination to rural areas or as a source of human capital through which organizations and the government can use the Learning Facilitators or Community Reintegration Committees to execute their projects. This will assist with the sustainability and handover of the SE*CA program to the USAID Mission.
The Youth Education and Skills (YES) program is on schedule, having completed training modules on "Reaffirmation of Values," "Conflict Management" and "Democracy and Governance," and with some communities already starting the "Agriculture and Revenue Generation" module. Attendance is currently at 10,581 participants, well over the goal of 8,000 participants. These figures do not include unofficial observers or other participants who are being taught by Learning Facilitators on the side. Attendance, particularly of women, was very high during the "Democracy and Governance" module, especially in Mahagi in Ituri District.
B. Grant Activity Summary
| Support the reintegration process between war-affected youth and their host communities |
6 |
$168,260 |
73 |
$1,826,689 |
| Reinforce awareness to foster community participation on issues key to the transitional process |
8 |
$54,509 |
51 |
$ 981,252 |
| Total |
14 |
$222,769 |
124 |
$2,807,941 |
Some of August's grant activity is presented below:
- YES training for ex-combatants: 80 ex-combatants in Bunia approached one of SE*CA's Learning Facilitators about training them after seeing the effects of the training on their fellow ex-combatants. The group members already have conducted two modules, with assistance from SE*CA for materials to facilitate their training.
- Reintegration of victims of sexual violence: This grant supports workshops in Kisangani, Buta, Isiro and Bafwasende to reinforce awareness about sexual violence, its consequences on survivors and communities, and the legal recourse connected to it. SE*CA's support will help reintegrate victims of sexual violence and improve relationships between the population and governance officials.
- International Peace Day celebrations in Bunia and Kisangani: These two grants will organize events around the Sept. 21 International Peace Day celebrations to raise awareness on political transition issues. Activities will include an information campaign; a musical, dance and theater event for youths; and a marathon for peace. In Kisangani, 50 ex-combatants are being paid to organize the grounds for the events. Their participation will help to inform them of key transition issues and also provide them with income and tools.
- YES training for Pygmies in Bafwasende: This grant will provide a reduced version of YES training modules, including "Agriculture and Revenue Generation," "Health and Well-Being" and "Democracy and Governance" to 50 Pygmies, who will, in turn, train 900 Pygmies in the Bafwasende region in Orientale Province. The training will help to ensure the participation of one of the most marginalized groups in the elections/transition process, in addition to assisting with the group's social integration in the community.
- Elections sensitization radio campaign in Isiro: This grant pays for air time on the local radio station in Isiro in Orientale Province to raise awareness about voter registration and the electoral process by broadcasting the "Reaffirmation of Values" and "Democracy and Governance" YES program modules.
- Isiro literacy project to support women's participation in elections: The "Bureau de la Promotion Feminine" will establish 120 adult literacy trainers, and 44 of them will work in 22 training centers in and around SE*CA communities in the Isiro region. The organization will use elections- and transition-related materials to teach literacy to women and to inform them about forthcoming elections and the political transition process.
C. Indicators of Success
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| Voter registration at Babumbilo School, rehabilitated by SE*CA. |
SE*CA has made significant contributions to the transition process as the elections approach.
Election registration support: The Babumbilo School in the Kisangani area, which was rehabilitated by SE*CA, is now an election registration center for the Independent Election Commission, and one of SE*CA's Learning Facilitators is on the local voters registration committee. Hundreds of registration workers received computer training at SE*CA's Aru Internet Center near Bunia.
Increased voter registration rates: Government officials and citizens in Orientale Province have observed that YES training contributed to high voter registration rates. Learning Facilitators are traveling to communities to encourage voter registration, to educate citizens on the elections process, and to assist registration teams by answering voters' questions. In Isiro, voter registration began on a low note when local political leaders discouraged registration in protest of the selection process for voter registration teams. However, SE*CA Learning Facilitators succeeded in overcoming this problem.
Anti-corruption: Customs officials in Isiro were levying illegal customs charges for bicycle owners and enforcing them at local roadblocks. YES stresses that while payment of taxes is mandatory and necessary to support the government, citizens should not pay unauthorized taxes. The Learning Facilitators mobilized the Isiro community to ignore the illegal levy. In Limba near Isiro, the local chief and a SE*CA Community Committee member were beaten by soldiers when they objected to the levy. In response, the community, which had recently completed the "Values and Democracy" training module, blocked the road and commerce, and mobilized youths to protect their chief and their rights. The deputy minister of defense, who is from the area, apologized on behalf of the government, recognized SE*CA's empowering efforts, stopped the illegal levy, arrested the customs officer and the police unit that had assaulted the chief, and transferred senior police officers. Citizens' problems with corruption have since decreased significantly.
D. Program Appraisal
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| Informal YES participants in Mahagi. |
The program continues to expand its reach. Master Trainers or Learning Facilitators give YES training modules over the radio in Mahagi (Orientale Province) and in Kalima (Maniema Province). Citizens are spreading the SE*CA message themselves through self-formed YES training groups - four groups in Mahagi with more than 400 people; a 20-member ex-combatants group in Bunia that has grown to 80 - and through church groups, nongovernmental organizations, and government officials who work with the Learning Facilitators.
Recent quotes that attest to the program's impact:
- "Thanks to SE*CA, I have learned to accept ex-combatants, and I have accepted back my wife, despite the fact that she was raped by armed groups."
- "With SE*CA, we have improved our agriculture, we have adopted a tolerant spirit toward ex-combatants, and we have learned a lot on elections and on the politics of DRC."
- "SE*CA's teaching has been useful since it showed us how to treat some diseases, how to prepare good elections. But SE*CA claimed 'Tujenge Pamoja' (which means let us build together), but we have seen very little construction here…."
- "I have learned conflict management and I am able to attend voter registration bureaus. Moreover, we have been made the pioneers of fighting for women's rights."
- In a letter to SE*CA: "…the population of Isangi is lucky. We have been ignorant and confused about the electoral process for a long time, but SE*CA has rescued us from our ignorance. Finally, an organization that has truly provided a service to the Congolese people."
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
A SE*CA all-staff meeting will be held in Bunia in late September. Meanwhile, negotiations with CONADER (the national organization in charge of overseeing the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants) and the World Bank continue for reintegration in Ituri. Preparations continue for the program in Ituri, as well as for the closing of the Kindu and Kisangani offices.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C.: Galeeb Kachra, Program Manager, e-mail: gkachra@usaid.gov; telephone: (202) 712-1905
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| Enlarged map of the Democratic Republic of Congo. |
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