SAFIA ALSAROURI / GLOBAL COMMUNITIES YCST Community Mobilizer Ms. Athar Mofeed facilitating at a Participatory Conflict Analysis training for Al-Rabash Community Enhancement Committee members
YEMEN COMMUNITIES STRONGER TOGETHER ANNUAL PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORT (YEAR 1) August 15, 2018 – September 30, 2019
DISCLAIMER This publication was made possible through support provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), under the terms of Cooperative Agreement No. 72027918CA00001. It was prepared and submitted by Global Communities for review by the USAID. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USAID.
CONTENTS ACRONYMS 1
A. OVERVIEW 2
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES 2
YEAR 1 TARGETED AREAS 3
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 4
LOOKING FORWARD 4
B. PROGRAM AGREEMENTS 6
SELECTION OF YEAR 1 TARGETED COMMUNITIES 6
MAPPING OF COMMUNITIES 6
COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS 6
SELECTION OF COMMUNITIES 6
SUB-AGREEMENT WITH MOPIC IN ADEN 7
SUB-AGREEMENT WITH NAMCHA IN SANA’A 8
SUSPENSION OF NORTH OPERATIONS 10
SELECTION OF YEAR 2 TARGETED COMMUNITIES 10
RESUMING NEGOTIATIONS WITH NAMCHA 11
ALL-SOUTH SCENARIO 12
C. PROGRAM PERFORMANCE 13
1. OBJECTIVE 1 – ENGAGE COMMUNITIES IN AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT SERVICE DELIVERY AND CONFLICT MITIGATION PROJECTS 13
1.1 CONDUCT PACE TRAINING-OF-TRAINERS FOR YCST PARTNERS AND STAFF 14
1.2 COMMUNITY ENTRY AND MAPPING 15
1.3 FORM AND TRAIN COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEES 16
1.4 MENTOR CECS TO FACILITATE STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE AND PRIORITY IDENTIFICATION 18
1.5 DESIGN AND ISSUE SUB-AWARDS; USAID ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN APPROVAL 20
1.6 OVERSEE CEC IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED PROJECTS 20
1.7 IMPLEMENT “SOFT” SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITIES 20
2. OBJECTIVE 2: BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LOCAL LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND NETWORKS TO SERVE AS NEUTRAL ARBITRATORS AND PEACE BUILDERS AND MEET COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENT NEEDS 21
2.1 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS TRAINING 22
2.2 STRENGTHEN BONDS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES AND DISTRICT AUTHORITIES 22
2.3 CROSS-COMMUNITY-TO-GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT 22
2.4 USAID WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY GRANT PRIORITIES AND AWARDS 22
2.5 HOLD GRANT WORKSHOPS AND REVIEW APPLICATIONS FOR PEACEBUILDING GRANTS APS 23
2.6 PEACEBUILDING/INNOVATION GRANTS/SUB-GRANTS AWARDED 23
2.7 SUB-GRANTEE CAPACITY BUILDING PLANS DEVELOPED 23
2.8 CSO GRANT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED 23
2.9 GRANTEE TECHNICAL TRAINING (TA) AND PEER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED 23
3. OBJECTIVE 3: PILOT STABILIZATION ACTIVITIES TO IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE MODELS TO CREATE WHERE CREDIBLE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND SYSTEMS CAN PEACEABLY MANAGE CONFLICTS AND PREVENT A RESURGENCE OF VIOLENCE 23
3.1 MEET WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN PILOT DISTRICTS 24
3.2 PERFORM RAPID ASSESSMENT AND SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS 25
3.3 SHARE RESULTS OF RAPID ASSESSMENT 26
3.4 YCST STAFF CAPACITY BUILDING VIA “LEARN-BY-DOING” 26
3.5 PROCESSES FOR SELECTED INVESTMENTS; USAID APPROVAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN; PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 27
3.6 SUPPORT LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO MEASURE CITIZEN SATISFACTION 28
4. OBJECTIVE 4 – CARRY OUT REGULAR AND ACTION-ORIENTED LEARNING AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS ACROSS YCST INTERVENTIONS TO SUPPORT ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FOR ENHANCED OUTCOMES 28
4.1 PAUSE AND REFLECTION EVENTS 29
4.2 PREPARE LEARNING AGENDA 30
4.3 FINALIZE A SET OF COMMUNITY ENTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY MODELS 30
4.4 IDENTIFY MEASUREMENT APPROACHES AND PREPARE TOOLS AND METRICS FOR ASSESSING THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF PILOTS 30
4.5 FACILITATE ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY DASHBOARDS WITH TECHNICAL TEAMS30
4.6 ESTABLISH A SYSTEM FOR TRACKING AND RESPONDING TO CONTEXTUAL CHANGES 30
4.7 MONITOR AND REFLECT ON PILOT ACTIVITIES 31
4.8 ANNUAL LEARNING EVENTS 31
D. CHALLENGES 32
E. COORDINATION 33
PEACEBUILDING AND STABILIZATION ACTORS 33
INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT 33
WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY 33
F. PROGRAM SUCCESS STORIES 34
WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON VISION 34
INCLUSIVE PROCESSES, INCLUSIVE OUTCOMES 36
WOMEN AND PEACEBUILDING IN YEMEN 38
ACRONYMS AAC Authority-Community Committee APS Annual Program Statement AQAP Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula BoQ Bill of Quantities CBO Community Based Organization CC Community Committee CEC Community Enhancement Committees CES Community Entry Strategy CEO Chief Executive Officer CFO Chief Finance Officer CoP Chief of Party CSO Civil Society Organization DCoP Deputy Chief of Party DRG Democracy, Human Rights and Governance EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMMP Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan FMF Field Medical Foundation GC Global Communities HQ Headquarters HR Human Resources INGO International Non-governmental Organization IDP Internally Displaced Person MEAL Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning MoPIC Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation NAMCHA National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Recovery NFDHR National Foundation for the Development and Humanitarian Relief NGO Non-governmental Organization PACE Participatory Action for Community Enhancement PFG Partners for Good PGF Peacebuilding Grants Fund PSPA Permissive Stabilization Programming Areas (Green Areas) RoYG Republic of Yemen Government SLI Sequencing, Layering, and Integration ToT Training of Trainers USG United States Government USAID United States Agency for International Development WPS Women, Peace, Security YCST Yemen Communities Stronger Together YMEP Yemen Monitoring and Evaluation Project
1 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 A. OVERVIEW “Only national actors can address their society’s needs and goals in a sustainable way… Local and traditional authorities as well as civil society actors, including marginalized groups, have a critical role to play in bringing multiple voices to the table for early priority-setting and to broaden the sense of ownership around a common vision for the country’s future. The full participation of women in these processes is essential, both as victims of the conflict and as important drivers of recovery and development.”
Report of the Secretary-General on Peacebuilding in the Immediate Aftermath of Conflict, June 11, 2009
Yemen Communities Stronger Together (YCST) is a three-year program funded by USAID and implemented by Global Communities (GC), together with Yemeni partner Field Medical Foundation (FMF), and specialized international partners Build Up and Partners for Good (PFG). Currently, it targets the four governorates of Abyan, Aden, Lahj, and Taiz. Since its inception in 2018, YCST has been focused on supporting local-level initiatives that mitigate conflict, strengthen social cohesion, promote the peaceful resolution of differences, and, where feasible, capitalize on stabilization opportunities in Yemen.
YCST goals are guided by the following theory of change: “If local capacity to collaboratively identify and address conflict stressors and threats to social cohesion is built, and if tangible community-level results are demonstrated, then the resilience of Yemeni communities and institutions will increase, local authorities who participate in systems of accountability strengthened by YCST will be better prepared to lead their communities’ participation in national peace efforts, and the effectiveness of models that can be replicated across the country will be demonstrated, laying the foundation for a peaceful and effective transition process.”
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES All the activities undertaken under YCST fall within the following program objectives, with Objective 4 acting as a crosscutting learning objective:
1. Objective 1 – Engage Communities in an Inclusive Approach to Identify and Implement Service Delivery and Conflict Mitigation Projects. Under this objective, YCST is using GC’s Participatory Action for Community Enhancement (PACE) to build the capacity of community members and local leaders to develop a vision for their community and to collaboratively identify and address issues through conflict mitigation and service delivery projects in targeted communities across at targeted governorates across Yemen to be selected in coordination with USAID. Projects selected by communities will address drivers and impact of the conflict, while participation in the process will build social capital and skills within the community. 2. Objective 2 – Build the Capacity of Formal and Informal Local Leaders, Organizations, and Networks to Serve as Neutral Arbitrators and Peace Builders and Meet Community and Constituent Needs. Within both PACE and stabilization communities, YCST will strengthen local mechanisms, and the skills of those who participate in them, to identify and address unresolved grievances that can spark violent conflict within their communities and at the district level. YCST will manage a Peacebuilding Grants Fund, that will include a Women, Peace and Security and Innovation Sub-Funds to support CSOs’ abilities to implement technical projects that address priorities such as increasing women’s participation in peacebuilding, and forming youth networks to support positive engagement in civic life. 3. Objective 3 – Pilot Stabilization Activities to Identify Effective Models to Create Where Credible and Local Authorities and Systems Can Peaceably Manage Conflicts and Prevent a Resurgence of Violence. Stabilization activities are only implemented in Republic of Yemen Government (RoYG) controlled areas Yemen, with YCST piloting projects in four districts in Abyan and Taiz governorates in Year 1. Activities include assisting local authorities to understand the priorities of their constituents, facilitate authorities’ plans for a response to those priorities to demonstrate tangible results and responsible governance, and provide capacity building of local authorities to sustain investments, build communications with
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 2 constituents and demonstrate the transparency and accountability necessary to build credibility. Additionally, community-level activities will also reduce conflict and improve social cohesion. 4. Objective 4 – Carry Out Regular and Action-oriented Learning and Contextual Analysis Across YCST Interventions to Support Adaptive Management for Enhanced Outcomes. Action learning will be integrated across YCST and examine pilot approaches under objectives 1 through 3. YCST will incorporate mapping, piloting, scenario planning and ongoing feedback loops to test, adapt and scale up evidence-based programming that ensures do-no-harm, responds to a rapidly changing environment, and will result in achieving targeted outcomes. YCST will also provide knowledge and data to USAID on local-level political economy dynamics.
YEAR 1 TARGETED AREAS In Year 1, YCST is targeting 12 PACE communities in four districts in the southern governorates of Abyan, Aden and Lahj. This includes Al-Mahfad and Jayshan communities in Al-Mahfad and Jayshan districts in Abyan respectively. YCST also targets six communities in Dar Sa’ad district in Aden, namely Abd Albari, Al-Loqaia, Al-Rabash, Al-Ulfi, Ali Jahis, and Ibn Albasir. In Lahj, YCST is operating in Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah district, particularly in the communities of Al-Madharebah (Al-Shatt), Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah, Al-Suraih, and Ras Al-Arah.
Moreover, the stabilization component is also implemented in the two governorates of Abyan and Taiz. In Abyan, the stabilization operates in the districts of Khanfir and Zingibar, particularly Juar and Zenjubar respectively. In Taiz as well, the stabilization targets the communities of Al-Azaez and Al- Suwa’a in Ash Shamayatayn and Al Ma’afer districts respectively.
The map and table below provide more information on YCST targeted areas for Year 1:
3 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 Governorate District Community Households Population Intervention Abyan Al Mahfad Al-Mahfad 950 8,400 PACE Jayshan Jayshan 870 9,060 PACE Khanfir Juar 9,521 66,649 Stabilization Zinjibar Zinjibar 1,040 7,280 Stabilization Abd Albari (Al- 3,169 22,937 PACE Sharqia) Al-Ulfi (Al- 1,790 12,320 PACE Sharqia) Aden Dar Sa'ad Al-Loqaia (Al- 1,325 9,378 PACE Gharbia) Ibn Albasir (Al- 1,339 9,304 PACE Gharbia) Al-Rabash (Al- 1,077 7,967 PACE Gharbia) Ali Jahis (Al- 1,074 7,292 PACE Gharbia) Al-Madharebah 214 1,270 PACE (Al-Shatt) Lahj Al Madaribah Ras Al-Aarah 306 1.821 PACE Wa Al Arah Al-Suraih 266 1,577 PACE Al-Soqaya and 327 1,941 PACE Al-Nabyah Al Ma'afer Al-Suwa'a 5,879 41,156 Stabilization Taiz Ash Al-Azaez 2,764 19,349 Stabilization Shamayatayn
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS Per Section A5.2(b) of Cooperative Agreement No. 72027818CA00001, this Annual Program Performance Report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the YCST program for its first fiscal year (FY2019), the reporting period from August 15, 2018 to September 30, 2019. YCST accomplished important milestones under each objective in the reporting period.
All PACE communities formed the community committees and conducted their first meetings and developed bylaws. All communities completed the stressors identification and prioritization activities and are currently at the stage of developing the full proposal package to be submitted to USAID for approval. YCST accomplished the groundwork for all activities of Objective 2. YCST’s potential local partners are now registered with the program and submitted their supporting documents. YCST has also determined the priorities that will be addressed with peacebuilding grants and drafting call for applications to be launched and expected to be launched in the first quarter of Year 2. YCST accomplished all soft activities under Objective 3, mainly the assessments, establishing the committees and the prioritization exercises. The progress varied across the targeted areas but all targeted areas are at the stage of developing the proposal package of all projects to be submitted to USAID. YCST accomplished one of the main activities under Objective 4, which is developing the learning agenda. The agenda will guide all the learning activities throughout the lifetime of the program. YCST has also submitted the first stabilization lessons learned report. Monitoring visits have also resulted in eight major adaptive decisions, which are tracked and followed up on their implementation.
LOOKING FORWARD Carried over from the Year 1 plan, YCST will continue finalizing the proposal packages for the service delivery and conflict mitigation projects that will be implemented in both PACE and stabilization
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 4 communities. The proposals are planned to be submitted to USAID in the first quarter of Year 2 for approval. YCST is planning to award peacebuilding grants to local organizations to promote social cohesion and peacebuilding in targeted areas. YCST will also develop the community dashboards for Year 1 communities and organize the first learning event in November.
At the same time, YCST will start implementation of the Year 2 plan and seek approval of authorities for accessing the additional 24 targeted communities. YCST will also continue negotiating with authorities in the north throughout December 2019, in which communities in the north will be replaced with communities in the south.
In Year 2 communities, YCST will conduct the baseline study, which is planned to start in December 2019. This will be followed by all mobilization and community engagement, which are expected to result in building community capabilities in collaboratively identifying and prioritizing their needs. YCST will further the implementation of the learning agenda once all learning staff are also on-boarded in the first quarter of Year 2.
5 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 B. PROGRAM AGREEMENTS In Year 1, YCST collaborated with all stakeholders to avoid non-complementary overlapping but also develop the selection for targeting communities. After a long negotiation process, YCST was able to get authorization to work in the targeted communities in the southern governorates. Due to the challenges related to negotiating with the National Authority for Management and Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response (NAMCHA) in the north, YCST could not secure approval to work in northern governorates. As such, the project suspended operations, closed the office, and moved staff to the south to consolidate efforts. However, YCST continued to negotiate with NAMCHA for working in the north in Year 2. YCST has submitted to USAID the targeted communities for Year 2 and received approval.
SELECTION OF YEAR 1 TARGETED COMMUNITIES YCST implemented PACE and stabilization interventions in 12 and 4 communities respectively in Year 1. YCST’s selection of these communities was the product of two key processes, namely the mapping process and the collaboration process, that were followed in the course of selecting YCST targeted communities.
MAPPING OF COMMUNITIES In Year 1, YCST contacted the United Nations Office for the Coordination and Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to gain access to the data on the presence of humanitarian actors in YCST-targeted governorates. This has enabled YCST to map the presence of humanitarian actors, which are also YCST stakeholders, across the districts of targeted governorates.
More importantly, YCST has identified the districts with a small presence of humanitarian actors. YCST believes that, where the need for emergency response is high, the PACE approach might face challenges and limited buy-in from communities that prioritize immediate, tangible support.
COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS YCST recognizes the significance of collaboration in all aspects of the program. YCST started collaborating with USAID on the presence of other partners since this offers unique opportunity for learning from their respective experience in the potential targeted areas. The selection criteria–as detailed in the next section–were also developed in collaborative meetings with YCST local partners, the Field Medical Foundation (FMF) and the National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Relief (NFDHR), as well as the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC). More emphasis was also put on the opportunities for learning from implementing in diverse community environments that may require different engagement and/or sustainability strategies.
In November 2018, YCST met with Pragma Corps, which is implementing the USAID-funded Yemen Economic Stabilization and Support (YESS). The meeting aimed to introduce YCST and to learn from YESS’ experience in implementing its interventions. YCST also obtained information on their activity locations to inform the community mapping process, which was the basis for the selection of YCST target communities.
SELECTION OF COMMUNITIES Selecting districts is the first layer of the selection process for YCST’s PACE and Stabilization communities, which is accomplished based on the abovementioned processes and deskwork using the below criteria:
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 6 • Coverage: YCST has collaborated with the UNOCHA to get data on the actors that operate in different districts of the targeted governorates to identify the areas that do not have ongoing emergencies. • Other peacebuilding actors: YCST has reached out to other peacebuilding and stabilization actors, including Partners Global-Yemen, Search for Common Ground, and UNDP to avoid duplication and non-complementary overlapping between YCST and their interventions. • GC Presence or Past Experience: YCST aims to build upon the experience of its ongoing humanitarian assistance to maximize the impact of the YCST interventions. • Local Partner Presence: YCST also aims to build upon the experience of its local partners to maximize the impact of the YCST interventions. • Other USAID Partner Presence: YCST believes that the presence of other USAID partners can substitute for the criteria of past experience by GC and its local partners in the geographic area. YCST will make sure that it learns from the experience of other USAID partners in these areas and systematically collaborate with them. • Conflict Level: YCST targets low conflict areas that are accessible and not directly affected by the ongoing armed conflict. • Presence of Marginalized Population: YCST targets communities that have a high presence of the marginalized population, which offers an opportunity to learn from models of engagement, inclusion and sustainability. • Potential for Engagement across Different Social Groups: YCST aims at building social capital and bridging social networks across the targeted communities. Thus, YCST targets the areas where the potential for this engagement is high. • Potential for Engagement Between Community and Local Authority: YCST seeks to increase trust in local institutions and targets the areas where this need is high.
Moreover, community selection is the second layer of the selection process for YCST targeted areas. YCST prioritized communities (at subdistrict level) with the highest population and presence of community leadership and community-based entities that can be used as an entry point. Based on these selection criteria for districts and communities, YCST selected the 16 targeted PACE and stabilization communities for Year 1 (as listed on Page 4).
SUB-AGREEMENT WITH MOPIC IN ADEN Following initial discussions with MoPIC, the YCST start-up support team submitted the program documents for the sub-agreement approval in October 2018. This was followed by a meeting that YCST had with the MoPIC Vice Minister (VM), Dr. Nazar Basuhaib on October 24. After an extensive discussion on the project focus, objectives, and methodologies, the VM instructed the Director- General of INGO Department in the Ministry, Mr. Zuhair Hamed, to approve the program.
YCST continuously followed up with the MoPIC regarding the approval letter during the subsequent weeks. The VM convened a meeting with YCST on November 22 to discuss the selection criteria for PACE and stabilization districts as well as the program budget. The VM wanted more of the budget to be allocated for infrastructure projects, such as the construction of schools, instead of the capacity building component of the program. After a long discussion and explaining the purpose of YCST project, he agreed to sign the sub-agreement. The VM, however, requested time to review the tentatively targeted districts shared in the meeting.
On November 27, the VM suggested two districts (Al Mahfad and Jayshan) to replace the district (Khanfir) that was initially selected in Abyan governorate based on the selection criteria. He also suggested replacing the selected district (Al Musaymir) in Lahj governorate with Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah district in the same governorate. YCST reviewed the proposed locations against the selection criteria and determined that they also met the criteria.
7 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 The VM of the MoPIC issued the draft agreement to be signed by each governor and their respective directors of planning on December 13. Subsequently, YCST continued routing the sub-agreements in the targeted governorates in the south, namely Abyan, Aden, Lahj, and Taiz. This was a long process of reviewing the concerns of each governorate’s authorities, clarifying their roles, and drafting amendments and Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) as needed. YCST had successful interactions with targeted governorates, including visits of officials to the YCST office.
Most notably, the Director of Planning in Taiz, Mr. Nabil Gamil, visited the YCST office on January 16, 2019. The aim of the visit was to discuss in-person the concerns of the Taiz governorate, which were shared by the Abyan governorate as well. Mr. Nabil Gamil requested YCST to describe the role of the Taiz Planning Office, mainly monitoring of interventions, with regards to YCST. The meeting ended in agreement except for detailing the budget of the governorate, which both sides agreed would not have been feasible at this stage. An MoU illustrating clarified concerns was signed with the governorate and annexed to the main sub-agreement document.
YCST was able to acquire the approvals of both Directors of Planning and Governors of Abyan, Lahj, and Taiz in January 2019. Obtaining approval of Aden authorities was the longest process in the south due to a misunderstanding between Aden Director of Planning and Vice Minister (VM) of MoPIC, which affected the view of the former about YCST. Eventually, the signatures of both the Governor of Aden and the Director of MoPIC Aden Office were received on February 24.
Finally, the sub-agreement documents were returned to MoPIC and the VM signed on February 27, 2019. This concluded the process of seeking authorization at different levels with formalized approvals to operate in the four targeted governorates in the south, namely Abyan, Aden, Lahj, and Taiz. It is important to note that during the sub-agreement approval process YCST could not do any fieldwork. Otherwise, MoPIC would have disapproved the sub-agreement.
SUB-AGREEMENT WITH NAMCHA IN SANA’A On November 11th, YCST had the first meeting with NAMCHA officials to discuss the program and the sub-agreement. NAMCHA was introduced to the program implementation methodology and conceptual framework with the focus on local communities to define their collective needs and priorities that would ultimately contribute in mitigating conflict and lay a foundation for long-term and sustainable development intervention.
NAMCHA expressed its support for the YCST program and offered to share their experience, assessment tools, and reports in support of YCST. However, NAMCHA proposed modifications in relation to the approach. This includes piloting the PACE intervention in one community for learning and then scaling up within two or three months. Additionally, NAMCHA also requested that YCST work with them in the districts as local authorities instead of with the existing local administration.
On December 16, the then-DCoP, Mr. Shakeeb Othman, had another meeting with Dr. Al Qasem Abbas, the Chairman of the NAMCHA, Mr. Maged Azzan, Acting Vice Chairman and, Dr. Abdulrauf Al Shawkani, Program Coordinator of Rural Resilience and Livelihoods. During the meeting, the NAMCHA staff were briefed of YCST's goal and objectives, the duration, available resources and budget, target governorates, target districts, selection criteria of districts, and target communities.
Dr. Al Qasem Abbas presented a list of priority development projects including road repair and school/health center rehabilitation in target governorates and districts and requested that YCST complete these projects. YCST replied that the program works with targeted communities to identify their critical needs and the relevant solutions.
Overall, NAMCHA expressed no objection or reservation on the selection criteria of districts and target communities. However, they expressed an initial reservation on the program objectives, methodology, and approach. NAMCHA staff provided an extensive list of documents, including the
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 8 technical description and the monitoring plan, needed for official review in order to obtain approval of the sub-agreement. YCST submitted the documents in mid-December 2018 and continued responding to the comments received from NAMCHA on the documents.
Interaction with NAMCHA continued to be challenging in the following months, in terms of their changing demands and instructions. On January 9, 2019 NAMCHA shared with YCST their first official list of concerns on operational costs and more importantly the nature of the interventions (i.e., conflict mitigation and peacebuilding). Additionally, NAMCHA instructed YCST to resubmit the program documents using revised templates. YCST complied with the new instructions from NAMCHA and submitted six copies of the below documents on January 23, 2019:
− Project Registration – NAMCHA Form (Arabic) − Project Sub-agreement – NAMCHA Form (Arabic) − Receipt Acknowledgement of Project Documents – NAMCHA Form (Arabic) − Cover Letter from YCST (Arabic) − Detailed Budget (Arabic & English) − Implementation Plan (Arabic & English) − MEAL Plan (Arabic & English) − Program Logframe (Arabic & English) − Principle Agreement with GC (Arabic & English) − Global Communities-USAID Cooperative Agreement on YCST (Arabic & English)
Following the submission of the above list, YCST continued to receive additional document requests from NAMCHA and additional instructions for the submission of new information. NAMCHA shared with YCST that conflict mitigation and peacebuilding are not a priority for them. Moreover, both formal and informal feedback from NAMCHA in January indicated that the final decision was likely to ask for changes in the project objectives, approaches, budget, and fund allocation to align with NAMCHA objectives.
As a result, YCST decided to retrench and operate on the minimum required resources in Sana'a, taking into account that the program in the north might not be approved by NAMCHA. Eventually, YCST received unfavorable final verbal feedback from NAMCHA on February 25 on the program design, objectives, and approach. NAMCHA informed and instructed YCST the following:
− Priority will be given to the rehabilitation of water resources, agriculture, floodways/channels, road maintenance and access to essential service projects. − The Women Peace and Security Fund will need to be removed and allocated to community- based projects such as livelihoods projects, with a priority given to agriculture and animal health. Other budget savings will be reallocated to projects in health and education. − Objectives related to ‘Conflict,’ ‘Peacebuilding’ and ‘Peacebuilding Grant Funds’ to be removed from the program description and implementation. − Prepare a detailed workplan for all activities to be performed by each partner for approval. − Preparation and implementation of the MEL plan, which will include prior approval of baseline surveys, forms, assessments, mid-term and end-term evaluations, etc. − Reduce the number and cost of rented vehicles. − Reduce local partner budget significantly. − Replace the project's international partner, Partners for Good (PfG), a Jordanian-based partner, with another local partner nominated by NAMCHA, or international partner from a country that does not support aggression against Houthis. − Reduce the program office rent and guesthouse by 50 percent or more. − Reduce the number of staff and personnel and fringe benefit costs by 50 percent or more. − Remove danger pay allowances for expatriates.
9 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 − Perform financial audit in coordination with NAMCHA. − NAMCHA's involvement in the bidding process, and selection of sub-awardees/grantees.
SUSPENSION OF NORTH OPERATIONS On January 28, 2019, the Houthi National Security arrested Ms. Oufa Al Nua'ami, the Resident Director of INGO Saferworld, and its Program Director, Mr. Al Hassan Al Qutari. The National Security also confiscated their office equipment. Both were released after weeks of interrogation. Saferworld is a UK-based international organization that is involved in policy and advocacy in conflict prevention and community security. Saferworld programs in Yemen include supporting women’s empowerment, youth empowerment, and peacebuilding. Additionally, the Director-General of the Houthi Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Yahya Garwash, had an interview with pro-Houthi media of Al-Thawrah. He reported that Houthis have revoked authorization of over a hundred organizations in the north.
As a result of the abovementioned challenges with NAMCHA as well as developments between NAMCHA and organizations involved in peacebuilding, YCST decided to seriously consider alternative plans, mainly relocating the activities to additional communities in the south in Year 1. YCST communicated these concerns in a concept paper to USAID, explaining the possible scenarios that may result in significant delays, depletion of resources without delivery, and interference with program objectives by NAMCHA.
Moreover, YCST sought in the concept paper the USAID's concurrence to replace the six communities in the north with six communities in the south. The concurrence was received from USAID on February 27, and YCST immediately started the next steps by formally communicating with the local partner in the north, the NFDHR, and meeting with the local partner in the south, the FMF, on February 28.
The Sana'a office was closed in March, and most of the staff, including the DCoP, were relocated to Aden. Amongst the staff relocated to Aden were all the three staff who participated in the PACE training in Jordan in February (see Section 1.1 for more information on the training).
Despite the closure of the office in the north, YCST continued attempting to obtain the sub-agreement approved by NAMCHA without conditions or restrictions that will make the program objectives unattainable. It was decided that the operations in NAMCHA-controlled areas will be resumed in the latter half of Year 2 if favorable approval is obtained.
SELECTION OF YEAR 2 TARGETED COMMUNITIES Following the same selection process, YCST selected the additional 24 PACE targeted communities for Year 2. Additionally, YCST also reached out to PartnersGlobal-Yemen, which has received peacebuilding funding from the State Department, to avoid duplication. The table below shows the selected communities as well as their population figures, which will be verified with district authorities and will be updated in November.
The communities in the white rows of the table are the 14 communities in the south that YCST has selected as PACE communities that would enter the program at the beginning of Year 2. The communities highlighted in grey are communities in the north that would enter the program by March 2020 at the latest —this is contingent upon the condition that Global Communities has successfully negotiated access and agreement with NAMCHA by the end of December 2019 without restrictive conditions that would cross redlines identified by USAID. Should a satisfactory agreement with NAMCHA not be feasible, YCST will implement the all-south scenario described below.
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 10 Governorate District Community Number of Estimated Households Population Abyan Al Mahfad Al-Kafa TBC TBC Al-Kod 1,393 9,723 Khanfir Shoqra 675 4,288 Al-Dergag 466 2,727 Al-Telal Al-Moltahiba 3,310 19,947 Seerah/Crater 02-Mar 3,267 17,999 Aden Al-Shouhada 2,118 13,005 Al Buraiqeh Nagi 1,105 8,649 Utmah Bani Suwaid 1,179 8,253 Hemyar Abzar 2,023 14,158 Dhamar Wusab As Safil Bani Hatam 1,726 12,082 Bani Swadah 1,853 12,968 Dhi As Sufal Khenweh 11,746 82,224 Ibb Wadi Dheba 5,271 36,900 Harah Qaisi 448 2,944 Al Hawtah Harah Masawi 437 2,872 Lahj Al Musaymir 300 1,721 Al Musaymir Gol Madram 234 1,346 Al Mashbab 652 2,267 Tur Al Bahah Al Raga'a 529 1,837 Lahab 1,804 12,629 Manakhah Manakhah 1,689 11,825 Sana’a Al-Taraf 1,016 7,109 Sa’afan Bani Araf 1,582 11,076
RESUMING NEGOTIATIONS WITH NAMCHA NAMCHA contacted Global Communities in June 2019to enquire about the program, stating that NAMCHA was interested in continuing negotiations. In the same month, NAMCHA went through a change of staff: Abdul Mohsen Abdullah Qasim Taous was appointed as Chairperson of NAMCHA and he intended to revisit pending approvals.
In July 2019, YCST resumed discussions with NAMCHA, taking advantage of the opportunity that the new appointment presented. Following several meetings with NAMCHA staff, NAMCHA's Chairman requested the technical committee resume technical discussions. In the months of July and August, YCST had a series of nine meetings with NAMCHA's technical committee to discuss the comments made by the technical committee in February 2019.
On July 31, the technical committee provided verbal technical approval and orally informed YCST that an official letter on NAMCHA's position would be issued. NAMCHA's technical committee drafted the letter, which was issued to YCST in late August. The latter included feedback that instructed YCST to adhere to the following:
• Review the project budget as follows: o 50% Direct project costs. o 20% Community capability and capacity building. o 15% Awareness and others (direct secondary). o 15% Operational. • Involve three local implementing partners for each governorate to be selected in coordination with the NAMCHA in order to build the capacity of national institutions. • Include additional districts in each governorate (Dhamar City in Dhamar / Al Hadaa in Dhamar / Yarim in Ibb / Sanhan in Sana'a) in the program. • 30% vehicle rental costs to be diverted to vehicle purchases.
11 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST responded to NAMCHA’s letter in September and is planning to visit Sana’a for further negotiations with NAMCHA. If negotiations fail, YCST will replace the targeted communities in the north with communities in the south.
ALL-SOUTH SCENARIO As stated above, if a satisfactory agreement is not negotiated by December 31, 2019, YCST will shift to an all-south scenario and propose southern communities as the final 10 target communities. Since expanding to new governorates and new districts requires agreements to be signed with governorate- level and district-level authorities, YCST proposed to USAID expanding to additional communities in the same targeted districts in the south. The 10 southern communities highlighted below would enter the program by March 2020 in place of the northern communities.
Governorate District Community Number of Estimated Households Population Abyan Al-Kafa TBC TBC Al Mahfad Al-Magalah (Wadi TBC Deiqa) TBC Wad Hemari TBC TBC Al-Kod 1,393 9,723 Khanfir Shoqra 675 4,288 Al-Dergag 466 2,727 Al-Rowa 346 2,264 Al-Telal Al-Moltahiba 3,310 19,947 02-Mar 3,267 17,999 Al-Salfi 2,094 12,858 Aden Seerah/Crater May 1,636 9,421 Al-Shouhada 2,118 13,005 Nagi 1,105 8,649 Al Buraiqah Al-Qadi 1,308 8,542 Al-Tahalof 1,005 6,153 Harah Qaisi 448 2,944 Harah Masawi 437 2,872 Lahj Al Hawtah Harah Aldaba'a 390 2,565 Al Musaymir 300 1,721 Gol Madram 234 1,346 Al Musaymir Aqqan 206 1,182 Al Mashbab 652 2,267 Tur Al Bahah Al Raga'a 529 1,837 Al Magilbah 455 1,580
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 12 C. PROGRAM PERFORMANCE YCST has accomplished key activities in relation to the four performance objectives in Year 1. Committees were established in all PACE communities and led the prioritization of community stressors. YCST also reached out to NGOs and CSOs to be engaged under Objective 2 and drafted the priorities to be addressed with peacebuilding grants. In stabilization communities, committees were established to work with district authorities in their efforts to respond to citizens’ needs. YCST made progress on the learning front as well. In addition to routine monitoring visits, YCST developed a learning agenda and documented lessons learned in applying the stabilization framework.
1. OBJECTIVE 1 – ENGAGE COMMUNITIES IN AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT SERVICE DELIVERY AND CONFLICT MITIGATION PROJECTS In Year 1, significant progress was made towards implementation of the PACE approach. The community entry strategies were put in place, tapping into data from community profiling and stakeholder analyses exercises. Introductory, coordination and sensitization workshops were conducted at governorate, district and community-levels. All communities formed Community Enhancement Committees (CECs) and conducted their first meetings and developed bylaws. All communities achieved the stressors identification and prioritization activities, and the project is currently at the stage of developing the full proposal package to be submitted to USAID for approval. The table below reports on the progress on performance indicators:
OBJECTIVE 1 – ENGAGE COMMUNITIES IN AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT SERVICE DELIVERY AND CONFLICT MITIGATION PROJECTS
REPORTING OVERALL INDICATOR TARGET PERIOD PROGRESS PROGRESS (YEAR 1) (QUARTERLY) – OCT 1, 2018 – Q4 SEPT 30, 2019
Expected Outcome 1.1: Community cohesion and resilience strengthened
1.1.1 Percentage increase in participation in community decision- 45% 20% 20% making among target beneficiaries
1.1.2 Percentage increase in participation in community groups 60% 47% 47% and activities among target beneficiaries
1.1.3 Percentage of community-prioritized projects maintained 50% NA NA three months after completion
1.1.4 Number of people with access to improved levels of 61,127 NA NA essential services
1.1.5 Percentage of community members who agree that YCST- 70% NA NA funded projects address their critical needs
Expected Outcome 1.2: The drivers of an impact of violent conflict is reduced
1.2.1 Percentage of conflict-mitigation activities developed with 80% 94% 94% input from women and youth
1.2.2 Number of new groups or initiatives created through USG 198 108 140 funding, dedicated to resolving the conflict or the drivers of the conflict (PS.6.2-1)
1.2.3 Percentage of community members who agree that YCST- 70% NA NA funded projects contribute to improved conflict-resolution
13 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 Note: Indicator 1.2.1 is on participation of women and youth in the ACC and CEC activities, which aims at conflict mitigation. All ACCs and CECs have youth members and only Jayshan does not have female members. Thus, women and youth participated in all activities undertaken by all ACCs and CECs, except in Jayshan. Indicator 1.2.2 reports on CECs and AACs established as well as their activities in the reporting period. YCST fell short of its target as a result of the delays in field activities due to: 1) the long process of signing agreement with MoPIC, and 2) the difficulty in filling in local positions. Indicators 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 are captured in the baseline study conducted for Year 1 communities. These indicators will be re-assessed in the mid-term to measure the change. NA means data is not available at this stage of the program implementation. Indicators 1.1.3, 1.15 and 1.2.3 will be assessed three months after the service delivery projects are handed over to the community. Reporting on 1.14 will start once the supported projects start serving the targeted communities.
1.1 CONDUCT PACE TRAINING-OF-TRAINERS FOR YCST PARTNERS AND STAFF
PACE Training of Trainers (ToT)
Objective 1 implementation was kick-started with the PACE Training of Trainers (ToT), which is one of the fundamental activities of the YCST program. The training was organized in Amman for staff from Global Communities and local partners, FMF and NFDHR. Of the 19 participants, 15 were male and 4 were female. The training was hosted by Partners for Good (PfG), which is the YCST partner for capacity building. In addition to other trainers, Mr. Waleed Tarawneh, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PfG, was involved in delivering the training sessions.
In this 21-day ToT, PfG covered topics including community-based facilitation skills, community profiling, conflict analysis, and mitigation, forming and building the capacity of the Community Enhancement Teams, and the Do No Harm principles and One of the interactive sessions of the PACE training – Amman, Jordan (February 4, 2019) applications.
Moreover, PfG guided the participants to prepare an action plan for next steps during the last two days of the training. YCST's innovation partner, Build Up, provided to the trainees a two-hour session introducing to them innovative ideas in relation to PACE and community-based projects.
On February 18, the ToT received a visit from Ms. Roberta Contin, CoP for the USAID Yemen Monitoring and Evaluation Project II (YMEP), and her staff, who discussed the training and the monitoring plan. The training concluded on February 28.
Planning PACE and Initial Interaction with First Community
Following the PACE training in Amman, a two-day intensive, hands-on, and before-action-review and planning workshop was organized in Aden on March 3-4. The workshop for all YCST staff and local partners was led by the participants of the PACE training who briefly presented the PACE approach. They also led the development of a detailed action plan for the PACE implementation based on the first action plan developed in Amman. This detailed action plan informed the mid-year revisions of the
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 14 YCST first annual work plan that was submitted to USAID in April. 40 individuals participated in the PACE planning event – 29 male and 11 female.
Immediately following up the workshop, teams were formed and began working on stakeholder analysis and community entry strategies for each community, with initial engagement with communities in Abyan to pilot the process of developing relationships with communities.
To that end, the Governorate Coordinator for Abyan, Mr. Nayef Haidara led a field visit to the two districts targeted by PACE in Abyan, namely Al-Mahfad and Jayshan between March 17-18 and March 20-21 respectively. The goals of the two visits included: − Presenting YCST and its participatory approach. − Discussing the mechanism, procedures, and criteria of forming Community Enhancement Committees (CECs) as well as their role. − Requesting initial recommendations for members of CECs.
The meeting in Al Mahfad went well and had participation from the District Local Authority (the Local Council and the Government Executive Offices), the Domestic Council (Al-Majles Al-Ahli), influential social figures, representatives of women activists and representatives of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs).
However, the Jayshan meeting had less participation and no female participation due to Jayshan's tribal context and conservative social norms. YCST briefly presented the objectives of the program to the community. The Jayshan community and their leaders requested that YCST address their top priority, which is building a road that connects Jayshan to Lawder.
The reaction of the Jayshan community showed that extensive sensitization is key to the success of the program in Jayshan and similar communities such as Al-Suraih Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah in Lahj governorate. YCST applied this learning to entry into these other communities.
Transferring PACE Knowledge
Between April 6–7, YCST PACE staff conducted a training at the local partner FMF’s head office. The training was provided to the GC and FMF community mobilizers for Year 1 communities. The training was conducted by YCST staff who participated in the PACE ToT and aimed to cascade the knowledge received in Amman to field-based staff. Training topics related to the PACE approach included: 1) the PACE principles, 2) Gender and Social Inclusion, 3) Conflict management and Mitigation, 4) Do No Harm, and 5) Community Mobilization and Engagement. At the end of the training, the trainers guided the community mobilizers to develop plans for community entry and initial interactions. Of the 30 participants at the PACE knowledge transfer event, 17 were male and 13 were female.
1.2 COMMUNITY ENTRY AND MAPPING # of community entry and mapping meetings # of participants
19 543 (151 female / 392 male)
In April, the PACE team finalized the community entry strategies for the 12 targeted communities. The plan included stakeholder analyses to better understand the local stakeholder dynamics and their interests. This plan has also tapped into the data collected as part of the community profiling exercise, which aimed at reporting on: 1) Community socio-demographics, 2) Community livelihoods, 3) Access to essential services, 4) Access to formal institutions, including security and justice, and 5) Presence of other international and local organizations.
15 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 Nineteen launch and introductory workshops were held in YCST's targeted governorates of Aden, Abyan and Lahj as part of the community entry strategy. The workshops were conducted at three levels, the governorate, district and the community level, and were attended by 543 participants (151 female / 392 male). This included governorate and district authorities, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), women, youth, traditional elders, and religious leaders.
In addition to seeking the support of authorities, the main objectives of the workshops were to introduce YCST program objectives, mainly the PACE approach at all administrative levels of targeted areas and to pave the road for the selection of the members of the Community Enhancement Committees (CECs).
In Abyan, the governorate-level introductory and launching workshop was conducted in Zinjibar on April 2 and received 26 participants (8 female / 18 male). Two coordination workshops were also conducted at the district level in Al-Mahfad (29 participants – all male) and Jayshan (26 participants – all male) on April 10 and 17 respectively. Moreover, the community sensitization / community entry workshops were conducted at the community level in Al-Mahfad and Jayshan communities on April 11 and 18 respectively. Twenty-nine participants (5 female / 24 male) attended the workshop in Al- Mahfad, while Jayshan participants also totaled twenty-nine (all male due its tribal conservative setting).
In Aden, the governorate-level launching workshop was conducted in Khur Maksar on April 2, and 14 guests participated (9 female / 5 male). This was followed by another coordination workshop at district level in Dar Sa’ad on April 14 with 29 participants (10 female / 19 male). Six community sensitization workshops were also organized between April 17-24 in Ali Jahis (27 participants – 14 female / 13 male), Al-Ulfi (28 participants – 9 female / 19 male), Ibn Albasir (28 participants – 9 female / 19 male), Abd Albari (30 participants – 15 female / 15 male), Al-Rabash (30 participants – 11 female / 19 male), and Al-Loqaia (30 participants – 13 female / 17 male).
In Lahj, the governorate-level introductory workshop was organized in Al Hawtah on April 3 and was attended by 28 participants (8 female / 20 male). The district-level coordination workshop was conducted in Al Hawtah on April 16, and received the highest number of participants (40 – 12 female / 28 male). This was followed by four community entry workshops organized between April 18–24 in Ras Al-Aarah (30 participants – 15 female / 15 male), Al-Madharebah (30 participants – 6 female / 24 male), Al-Suraih (30 participants – 3 female / 27 male) as well as in Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah (30 participants – 4 female / 26 male).
Moreover, YCST worked on developing the community profiles based on the information from the community mapping exercise and the baseline study. The first profile, which was for the Al-Mahfad community in Abyan governorate, was submitted and approved by USAID in September 2019.
1.3 FORM AND TRAIN COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEES Formation of Community Enhancement Committees
The introductory workshops implemented in April under #1.2 served as a foundation for the formation of the Community Enhancement Committees (CECs). The process of formation started in the same month by developing a manual for establishing the CECs. The manual addressed the nomination process of potential members, the selection criteria for members, the selection mechanism, and the core principles and values of the CECs.
FMF and YCST community mobilizers coordinated with local stakeholders and carried out consultation meetings to obtain recommendations and nominations for candidates for the CEC. Once nominations were received, the PACE team verified the eligibility of the candidates according to the established selection criteria and then presented the names to the community. The nomination process was then concluded through a community consensus, including informal door--to-door
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 16 verification and endorsement undertaken by Community Mobilizers (CM). The selection criteria for a CEC candidate are listed below: • Should be 18 years of age or older. • Should be a resident of the neighborhoods/villages targeted by the program. • Must demonstrate willingness and commitment to work voluntarily to serve his or her community. • Should have strong communication skills and the ability to build effective social relationships. • Should have the willingness to influence and motivate others to work and participate. • Should preferably have the ability to read and write. • Should preferably have previously participated in volunteering community activities. • Should not be related (by first-degree) to any other member. The establishment of all but two CECs was finalized in June, with only two communities in Lahj, namely Ras Al-Arah and Al-Suraih, remaining. Between June 16–27, the first CECs were formed in Abyan, namely in Al-Mahfad (20 members – 6 female / 14 male) and Jayshan (16 members – all male) communities.
In Dar Sa'ad district in Aden, six CECs were established between June 17–19, comprising of a total of 90 members (41 female / 49 male). On June 30, YCST organized an orientation for the CECs and addressed the following topics: 1) re-introduction of YCST’s mission and objectives, 2) the importance of participation and inclusion, and 3) the development of the internal rules and regulations for each committee.
Two CECs were established in Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah district in Lahj governorate between June 17–18. This includes a CEC established in Al-Madharebah (Al-Shatt), comprising of a total of 16 members (4 female / 12 male) and another CEC established in Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah community with a total of 21 members (7 female / 14 male) from both areas.
The reasons that impeded the remaining two CECs to be established in Lahj were mainly due to clan- relations issues as well as a misunderstanding between community members and different villages on the selection process for membership. The selection issue was clarified in a community meeting in Al- Suraih on June 27 and led by YCST’s key staff, MEL Director/Interim Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP), Mr. Ilyas Ibrahim Mohamed, and attended by community members.
Eventually, a consensus was reached and the two CECs in Ras Al-Aarah and Al-Suraih with 30 participants (9 female / 21 male) were established in July. Please refer to the Program Success Stories section at the end of this report for more on the challenges overcome in establishing an inclusive CEC in Al-Suraih.
After they were established, the CECs conducted meetings and undertook the initial activities, including developing bylaws for their respective committees. The CECs developed bylaws, which are specific to their community, but shared common regulations such as membership criteria, organogram and elections, and division of roles. Moreover, the CECs also undertook preparatory exercises, including asset mapping that aimed to identify community resources that YCST can connect into. These activities took place in June for Abyan communities and in July for communities in Aden and Lahj.
Training of CECs
In Abyan, Aden, and Lahj, the YCST PACE team carried out capacity building trainings with the Community Enhancement Committees (CECs). In these trainings, the PACE team reintroduced YCST’s goals, discussed the rules and regulations of each CEC, and trained on YCST’s project life cycle and road map, decision-making mechanisms, stakeholder analysis, asset mapping, and introducing documenting/reporting (facilitation skills) duties.
17 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 In Abyan, the training in Al-Mahfad was conducted during June 12–13 for 19 CEC members (6 female / 13 male). The training in Jayshan was conducted on June 27 for 13 CEC members (all male). In Aden, the training took place on July 2–3 in the six targeted communities in Dar Sa’ad district (Al-Sharqia and Al- Gharbia), involving 147 participants (75 female / 72 male). In Lahj, the training took place between July 2 and 18 with 63 participants from all four communities in Lahj (19 female / 44 male).
1.4 MENTOR CECS TO FACILITATE STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUE AND PRIORITY IDENTIFICATION Identification and Prioritization of Stressors and Drivers of Conflict
YCST’s PACE aims at collaboratively identifying and addressing issues through conflict mitigation, and collaboration on service delivery projects that result in visible improvements to an issue prioritized by the community. YCST has followed the sequencing approach to implement the process of community- led identification of community stressors and drivers of conflict.
It started in Al-Mahfad with an assessment conducted by the CEC on June 19. The assessment comprised of four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) (2 for female / 2 for male). The assessment has identified the community stressors and drivers of conflict, which were then prioritized by the CEC in a household survey administered on 150 respondents (70 female / 80 male) on June 25–26.
Moreover, the stressors’ assessment was conducted in Jayshan on July 8–9. All CEC members participated in conducting four FGDs (2 female/ 2 male) to identify stressors of their community. Additionally, the CECs prioritized the identified stressors through a household survey (166 participants – 50 female / 116 male).
Between July 6–8, the CECs in Aden undertook the assessment in their respective six communities of Dar Sa'ad. In total, 24 FGD sessions, four in each community, were held with 263 participants (133 female / 130 male). Between July 23–August 4, the prioritization household surveys in all six targeted communities in Dar Sa’ad with a total of 1,115 households. The targets achieved were as follows: Ali Jahis (185 participants – 60 female / 125 male), Al-Ulfi (189 participants – 56 female / 133 male), Ibn Albasir (185 participants – 64 female / 121 male), Abd Albari (189 participants – 79 female / 110 male), Al-Rabash (186 participants – 45 female / 141 male), and Al-Loqaia (181 participants – 63 female / 118 male).
In Lahj, four FGDs were conducted in each of the four targeted communities in Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah district. The FGDs were organized between July 16–25 and participated by 176 community members (83 female / 93 male). The prioritization surveys were also administered on 851 households in Ras Al-Aarah (171 participants – 84 female / 87 male), Al-Shatt (164 participants – 81 female / 83 male), Al-Suraih (168 participants – 51 female / 117 male) as well as in Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah (348 participants – 82 female / 266 male).
Participatory Conflict Analysis
On July 9–10, YCST conducted the first participatory conflict analysis training for all CEC members (6 female / 14 male) in Al-Mahfad. The training aimed at assisting members to 1) analyze the top three stressors within the community, 2) conduct conflict mapping, 3) examine relevant stakeholders, 4) provide problem-solving skills to address conflict, and 5) introduce the Do No Harm principle, a critical component of YCST’s PACE technical approach. Interactive techniques involved all participants in engaging in the problem-solving tree, stakeholder analysis, additionally, the training for all male CEC members in Jayshan was conducted on July 24–25.
Due to the security incidents that took place in Aden in early August, the participatory conflict analysis training was postponed to after the Eid, the week of August 11. The training was only conducted in Ali Jahis of Dar Sa’ad, targeting 11 participants (4 female / 7 male) between August 20–21. The training was conducted in the remaining five communities in Aden in September 2019. Between September 4–
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 18 8, the training was conducted in Al-Loqaia, targeting a total of nine CEC members (7 female / 2 male). Moreover, the conflict analysis training in Abd Albari was conducted between September 10–11 with 9 CEC members participating (6 female / 3 male). The training was provided to Al-Ulfi CEC members (4 female / 4 male) in the same dates. Also, the training was conducted in Al-Rabash for 11 from the CEC members (3 female / 8 male).
Moreover, the trainings for first two communities in Lahj were conducted between August 25-29, namely in Al-Madharebah (29 participants – 8 female / 21 male) and Ras Al-Arah (11 participants – 4 female / 7 male). However, only one session was conducted in Ras Al-Arah due to the security situation in Aden during the last week of August. The training was continued in Ras Al-Arah in the first week of September for the same participants. The training was also conducted in Al-Suraih in two sessions that took place on September 4 and September 9 and targeted 13 CEC members (1 female / 12 male). Between September 10–12, it was also organized in Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah for 20 CEC members (7 female / 13 male).
Community Meetings In August and September 2019, YCST conducted community meetings that briefly introduced YCST program objectives, the achievements to date, and future plans to members of the community with the support of the facilitators (selected members of the CECs). The meetings were separated into sessions targeting different segments of the society, including marginalized groups, gender and age groups.
YCST Community Mobilizers (CMs) and FMF Senior Community Mobilizers (SCMs), with assistance from the CECs, kickstarted YCST’s first community meetings in Aden. The meetings targeted communities in Al-Rabash (76 participants – 39 female / 37 male), Abdulbari (80 participants – 30 female / 50 male), Al-Alfi (89 participants – 39 female / 50 male), Ali Jahis (92 participants – 42 female / 50 male), Ibn Albasir (50 participants – 15 female / 35 male), and Al-Loqaia (83 participants – 38 female / 45 male). The 24 meetings (4 in each community) were conducted between August 24–26.
In Jayshan, the meeting witnessed one of the most successful instances of female participation in YCST thus far. Given the sensitivity of community members with regards to female participation, the Abyan team managed to innovatively organize two sessions for women in the community and have it take place in a local house. Female participation in programming was unheard of in Jayshan; however, on August 26, the sessions organized by YCST separately targeted 94 participants (50 male / 44 female).
Due to the deteriorating security situation in Aden, activities in Al-Mahfad and Jayshan were suspended in late August. YCST resumed critical activities that required field visits, including engineering technical assessments, in late September.
From August 6 to 29, the first community meetings were also conducted in Lahj governorate, totaling four sessions in each community, targeting marginalized groups, different age groups, and female and male participation. Meetings were organized in Ras Al-Arah (98 participants – 50 female / 48 male), Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah (90 participants – 40 female / 50 male), Al-Suraih (94 participants – 48 female / 46 male) and Al-Shatt (80 participants – 44 female / 36 male).
Due to the large population in Dar Sa’ad in Aden governorate, YCST organized an additional 24 community meeting sessions for the six targeted communities in September. The meetings included 65 community members (39 female / 25 male) in Al- Rabash, 95 community members (45 female / 50 male) in Abdulbari, 77 community members (43 female / 34 male) in Al-Ulfi, 82 community members (46 female / 36 male) in Al-Loqaia, 84 community members (53 female / 31 male) in Ibn Albasir, and 77 community members (27 female / 50 male) in Ali Jahis.
Additionally, a total of 16 follow-up sessions were conducted in all targeted communities in Lahj governorate in September. A total of four sessions were organized separately for female and male
19 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 participants. Between September 17–24, four sessions were conducted in Al-Suraih with 100 participants (50 female / 50 male). Similarly, the Ras Al-Arah community meetings were organized between September 18–24 and included 100 community members (50 female / 50 male). Additionally, four sessions were organized between September 23–25 in Al-Suqaya and Al-Nabyah, which involved 100 community members (50 female / 50 male). In addition, Al-Madharebah’s four community meetings was participated by 104 community members (50 female / 54 male).
1.5 DESIGN AND ISSUE SUB-AWARDS; USAID ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN APPROVAL
Summary achievements: A total of eight initial feasibility and environmental assessments were conducted. These assessments were in Al-Mahfad and Jayshan of Abyan and in the six targeted communities within Dar Saad in Aden.
In July, YCST started planning for the prioritized community projects. On July 17, YCST’s Senior Engineer and the program team conducted a field visit to Al-Mahfad to conduct a technical assessment of the community-prioritized water project. The Senior Engineer met with the head of the Water Committee, who is also a member of the CEC, to discuss the proposed project initiated by the CEC members. Based on the prioritization findings, the CECs proposed to change the pumping system from being diesel powered to solar powered. This decision addresses the high costs of diesel ($2,700 USD) per month, the conflict it has caused between the community and the local authorities, and the pollution and the environmental damage the diesel has caused within the community. In August, the engineering team also carried out the initial technical assessment on the water project prioritized by the Jayshan community in Abyan.
The technical evaluation of the proposed projects concluded that pumping and water quality tests are required before submitting the final Bill of Quantities (BoQs), project description, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The tests were not possible due to the security incidents that took place in Abyan and Aden from early August to early September. YCST is planning to undertake this test in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
In Lahj, all targeted communities prioritized improving the water services in their communities. The targeted communities in Aden governorate also prioritized addressing their stressors related to rehabilitating the electricity grids and improving water and sanitation services. In September, the PACE team, alongside YCST engineers, conducted the initial assessments to determine the feasibility of these projects, including their costs and the environmental risks.
1.6 OVERSEE CEC IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED PROJECTS This activity is planned for the next quarters after USAID approvals for community-prioritized projects are received and projects are launched.
1.7 IMPLEMENT “SOFT” SUSTAINABLE ACTIVITIES YCST has ensured that communities contribute to the process of identification and prioritization. It also established socially-inclusive CECs that lead these processes. By doing this, YCST envisages that the communities own both the processes and the outcomes (including projects), which significantly contributes to the sustainability of the outcomes. On the technical aspects, YCST is working with authorities, including the water committees and electricity agency, on developing the projects. YCST will continue working with these authorities on its implementation and delivery of the projects as well. Where applicable, YCST will also add to the contractors’ responsibilities to build the capacity on these authorities in relation to maintaining the projects.
YCST worked with relevant informal and formal authorities in targeted communities. In Abyan, YCST involved the Water Project Management Board in Al-Mahfad and Water Project Management
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 20 Association in Jayshan. YCST sought the support of these water-focused institutions to work with the CECs on developing community proposals to ensure that the proposed solution is applicable to the area and can be maintained by these bodies. These institutions will continue working with YCST and the CECs on the supervision of contractors once selected. Once the project is accomplished, YCST will hand over the facility to these water management institutions. YCST is applying the same approach for all proposed water projects in Lahj. In Aden, YCST involved the Public Electricity Corporation (PEC) to endorse the proposals that will be submitted by the communities, which have prioritized electricity as their primary concern.
2. OBJECTIVE 2: BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LOCAL LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND NETWORKS TO SERVE AS NEUTRAL ARBITRATORS AND PEACE BUILDERS AND MEET COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENT NEEDS YCST accomplished the groundwork for all activities of this objective. In May, YCST drafted and issued the Expression of Interest (EoI) to enable potential Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and CBOs to register interest and submit supporting documents. Moreover, YCST further discussed the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Sub-fund with national stakeholders, including the Yemeni Women’s Union (YWU) and the Yemeni Women’s Pact for Peace and Security. YCST has also developed an Annual Program Statement (APS) to solicit concepts which can be shortlisted for development into full proposals. The APS is going through interval reviews and expected to be launched in October 2019. The table shows the progress towards the performance indicators of Objective 2:
OBJECTIVE 2: BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL LOCAL LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS AND NETWORKS TO SERVE AS NEUTRAL ARBITRATORS AND PEACE BUILDERS AND MEET COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUENT NEEDS
REPORTING OVERALL TARGET PERIOD PROGRESS INDICATOR (YEAR 1) PROGRESS OCT 1, 2018 – (QUARTERLY) – SEPT 30, 2019 Q4
Expected Outcome 2.1: Mechanisms that allow citizens to identify and address grievances strengthened
2.1.1 Percentage increase in trust in local institutions among target 10% NA NA beneficiaries increase [Baseline Values: Local government (32%) Legal system (32%) Local security forces (30%)]
2.1.2 Number of groups trained in conflict mediation/resolution 52 12 12 skills or consensus-building techniques with USG assistance (DR.3.1-2)
Expected Outcome 2.2: CSOs strengthened to promote social cohesion, participation of women and youth, and reconciliation.
2.2.1 Percentage of target beneficiaries who view project- 70% NA NA supported conflict management and dispute resolution mechanisms as effective ways to handle disputes
2.2.2 Percentage of target beneficiaries who feel that local CSOs 70% NA NA are positively contributing to social cohesion
2.2.3 Number of local women participating in a substantive role or 123 33 126 position in a peacebuilding process supported with USG assistance (GNDR-10)
2.2.4 Number of local youth participating in a substantive role or 58 16 59 position in a YCST-funded peacebuilding activity
21 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 2.2.5 Number of CSOs supported to provide services to 16 NA NA marginalized communities and populations
2.2.6 Number of USG-supported activities designed to promote or 1 NA NA strengthen the civic participation of women (DR.4-1)
Note: Indicators 2.1.2 reports on the CECs trained on conflict analysis and the Do No Harm. The low performance on this indicator is due to the delays in awarding the CSOs and CBOs, which will play a leading role in achieving this indicator. Indicators 2.2.3 and 2.2.4 reports on the women and youth members of CECs and AACs established in PACE and stabilization communities respectively. NA means data is not available at this stage of the program implementation. Indicators 2.1.1 is captured in the baseline study conducted for Year 1 communities and will be re-assessed in the mid-term to measure the change. Indicator 2.2.1 will be assessed once the grants are awarded to the CSOs and CBOs as the mid-term assessment of the grants. Indicators 2.2.5 and 2.2.6 are respectively the peacebuilding grants that will be provided in 16 targeted communities as well as the initiatives that will be supported with WPS funds.
2.1 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS TRAINING This training is planned for the first quarter of the next fiscal year following the selection of the CSOs and CBOs.
2.2 STRENGTHEN BONDS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES AND DISTRICT AUTHORITIES Reporting on this activity will start after the selected CSOs and CBOs are engaged side-by-side with CECs to deliver on this objective.
2.3 CROSS-COMMUNITY-TO-GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT Reporting on this activity will start after the selected CSOs and CBOs are engaged side-by-side with CECs to deliver on this objective.
2.4 USAID WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY GRANT PRIORITIES AND AWARDS Significant progress was made toward implementation of YCST’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Action Plan as well as reaching out to potential YCST partners from CSOs and CBOs. YCST will engage CSOs and CBOs on two of the main YCST funds, namely the Peacebuilding Grants Fund and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Sub-Fund.
Internally, on June 16, the YCST GESI Manager conducted Gender and Social Inclusion Mainstreaming orientation for the program staff, including the CMs. In addition to historical background, the orientation covered practical steps of ensuring inclusion in all project activities. CMs deliver these topics to communities by CMs through awareness sessions and trainings.
Concurrently, the YCST GESI Manager, Mr. Aref Al-Haj, and the Interim CoP, Mr. Justin Secrease, met with a number of women’s organizations at the national level to discuss potential areas of collaboration on the WPS Sub-Fund. Mr. Aref and Mr. Justin visited the Yemeni Women’s Union – Aden Branch and met with the Director, Ms. Fatima Al-Moraisi, on June 20.
Ms. Fatima suggested other potential partners, including the Yemeni Women’s Pact for Peace and Security (a.k.a. Tawafaq), which was also identified by YCST at the design stage as well as the Women Research and Training Center (WRTC). YCST also met the Director of WRTC, Ms. Huda Alawi, on June 23 and requested her to submit the EoI.
YCST initiated Objective 2 activities by developing relationships with key actors in the peacebuilding sphere and particularly with organizations that could be cooperating entities or sub-awardees under the Women, Peace, and Security earmark. The Yemeni Women’s Pact for Peace and Security, is
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 22 actually an umbrella group whose membership includes women across Yemen and the Yemeni diaspora, many of whom are affiliated with other organizations. YCST proceeded carefully to understand the landscape of CSOs, their member affiliations, and their capacity. The EOI process was valuable in this. YCST launched the pre-qualification process by sending out a call for EoI to CSOs and CBOs. The application was posted on July 1 with a deadline of July 31. Prospective local partners submitted EoIs for partnering with YCST. YCST received interest from 327 entities and evaluated the documents and information submitted by the organizations to conduct a shortlisting.
Of the 327 organizations that submitted their expressions of interest (EoI) , the list was shortlisted to 115 entities after accounting for duplicate submission. In total, 95 entities were shortlisted according to selection criteria which included 1) entity type 2) legal registration and 3) whether they have a finance and accounting manual.
These entities received the APS for the Peacebuilding Grants Fund after the close of the first fiscal year of YCST. With the progress that YCST has made in staffing its grants management team, and identifying and implementing the APS mechanism, Year 2 will see a significant amount of activity under Objective 2 to make up for delays in Year 1.
2.5 HOLD GRANT WORKSHOPS AND REVIEW APPLICATIONS FOR PEACEBUILDING GRANTS APS The activity is planned for the first quarter of Year 2 following the issuance of the APS online.
2.6 PEACEBUILDING/INNOVATION GRANTS/SUB-GRANTS AWARDED This is planned for the first quarter of Year 2.
2.7 SUB-GRANTEE CAPACITY BUILDING PLANS DEVELOPED This is planned after the grants/subgrants are awarded.
2.8 CSO GRANT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED Reporting on this activity will take place once the grants are awarded and the implementation starts.
2.9 GRANTEE TECHNICAL TRAINING (TA) AND PEER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED Reporting on this activity will take place once the grants are awarded and the implementation starts.
3. OBJECTIVE 3: PILOT STABILIZATION ACTIVITIES TO IDENTIFY EFFECTIVE MODELS TO CREATE WHERE CREDIBLE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND SYSTEMS CAN PEACEABLY MANAGE CONFLICTS AND PREVENT A RESURGENCE OF VIOLENCE YCST accomplished all ‘soft’ activities under this objective, mainly completing the assessments and establishing the committees and the prioritization exercises. The progress varied across the targeted areas but all targeted areas are at the stage of developing the proposal package of projects to be submitted to USAID. The table shows the progress towards the performance indicators of Objective 3:
OBJECTIVE 3: PILOT STABILIZATION ACTIVITIES TO IDENTIFY MODELS TO CREATE CONDITIONS WHERE CREDIBLE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND SYSTEMS CAN PEACEABLY MANAGE CONFLICT AND PREVENT A RESURGENCE OF VIOLENCE
REPORTING OVERALL TARGET PERIOD PROGRESS INDICATOR (YEAR 1) PROGRESS (QUARTERLY) – OCT 1, 2018 – Q4 SEPT 30, 2019
23 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 Expected Outcome 3.1: Local legitimate authorities are supported to deliver responsive governance
3.1.1 Percentage of participants who report increased 67% NA NA awareness of avenues to engage with local government institutions
3.1.2 Number of consultations/feedback sessions held 12 NA NA between the government and citizens
3.1.3 Number of people with access to improved levels of 26,886 NA NA government services
Expected Outcome 3.2: Stabilization initiatives of local legitimate authorities are strengthened
3.2.1 Number of local government officials who participate in 24 25 58 program activities
3.2.2 Percentage of stabilization projects maintained three 50% NA NA months after completion
3.2.3 Percentage of community members who agree that 70% NA NA government-led stabilization projects address their critical needs
Note: Reporting on Indicator 3.1.3 will be once stabilization projects start serving the targeted communities. The overachievement on indicator 3.2.1 is due to the successful mobilization of YCST in targeted districts, which has resulted in considerable participation of local authorities in the ACCs and YCST activities. It is is worth mentioning that only four of these officials were women Ash Shamayatayn. NA means data is not available at this stage of the program implementation. Indicator 3.1.1 will be measured in the mid-term assessments. Reporting on Indicator 3.1.2 will be once the implementation of Objective 2 activities start to improve the decision making process and strengthen the relationship between the communities and the authority. Indicator 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 will be assessed three months after the service delivery projects are handed over to the community.
3.1 MEET WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN PILOT DISTRICTS YCST kickstarted the stabilization in the targeted districts in the governorates of Abyan (Zinjibar and Khanfir) and Taiz (Ash Shamayatayn and Al Ma'afer). On February 13, YCST had a meeting with the local authority of Abyan governorate in Juar city of Khanfir. The purpose of the meeting was to explain the YCST approach (the PACE approach in Al Mahfad and Jayshan communities as compared to the stabilization approach in Khanfir and Zenjubar communities) as well as present the next steps and acquire their initial buy-in and endorsement. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary General of the Local Council/Deputy Governor, Mr. Mahdi Mohamed.
The participants of the meeting also included senior officials in Abyan, most notably the District Manager of Khanfir, Sheikh Nasir Abdullah Al-Mansari; then-District Manager of Zinjibar, Mr. Ghassan Sheikh Faraj; the District Manager of Jayshan, Mr. Hussein Ahmed Ali; the General Manager of the Governor's Office, Dr. Faisal Awadh Al-Dabia; the Head of Services Commission, Mr. Ahmed Al- Sayyid Saleh Aidarous, and the Director of MoPIC Office in Abyan, Mr. Wadhah Hammas. Additionally, local media was present, and the meeting was covered by one of the local websites, including Adengad.
Similarly, YCST had a meeting with authorities of stabilization targeted areas in Taiz, namely Ash Shamayatayn and Al Ma'afer districts on February 20. The trip included meeting the government officials in Al-Torbah town, which is the center of Ash Shamayatayn, as well as a field visit to Al-Azaez subdistrict (the stabilization target community).
Sixteen government officials and civil society representatives participated in the meeting held in Al- Torbah to introduce YCST. The meeting was chaired by the Taiz Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdulhakeem Awn, who warmly welcomed the YCST stabilization initiative. Among the participants were also the
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 24 Director of MoPIC Office in Taiz, Mr. Nabil Ali Gamel; the District Manager of Ash Shamayatayn, Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Shaibani, and the District Manager of Al Ma'afer, Mr. Adel Al-Moshamer.
3.2 PERFORM RAPID ASSESSMENT AND SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Stabilization Opportunities Identification
YCST undertook mapping and verification of stakeholders, including the CSOs, CBOs, unions, and syndicates in Zinjibar and Khanfir in late February and early March respectively. The process resulted in identifying the most active stakeholders who can identify the participants of FGDs and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). The data collection aimed to identify the needs and opportunities for stabilization in the targeted areas.
The stabilization component aims at supporting legitimate local authorities to rapidly and effectively respond to citizen priorities. This was achieved through formal assessments using FGDs to identify the stressors of social cohesion and quick impact service delivery projects.
Twenty focus group discussions were held across the four target areas. Six FGDs were organized in Zinjibar on March 12 for the elderly, business community, youth, women and marginalized groups. Additionally, four FGDs were conducted in Juar in Abyan governorate on April 16. The FGDs specifically targeted all segments of the community, including Internally Displaced People (IDPs), marginalized groups, women and youth.
On the other hand, YCST coordinated with local authorities in target districts of Al-Ma’afer and Ash Shamayatayn in Taiz governorate to collect information on stabilization opportunities using FGDs and KIIs. On April 4, ten FGDs were conducted in Al-Azaez and Al-Suwa’a in Ash Shamayatayn and Al Ma'afer districts respectively, targeting 122 community members.
Unfortunately, YCST received reports with no gender disaggregation from the Research Assistants that conducted the other FGDs. Due to high staff turnover in the stabilization department, the supporting documents including the participant sheets were lost.
Building the Capacity of Local Authorities
In April, YCST assessed the capacity of the local authorities as a first step of enabling them utilize the findings of the FGDs for prioritization. The assessment identified capacity gaps, particularly in Abyan areas, which was then translated into training agenda. Between April 21–24, trainings were separately conducted for the local authorities in the districts of Khanfir (41 male) and Zinjibar (3 female / 25 male). Notable leaders participated in the training, including the District Manager of Khanfir, Sheikh Nasir Al-Mansari.
Moreover, the sessions of the training aimed at enabling the local authorities to effectively respond to citizen priorities, sustain investments, and build strategic communications with their constituents. The workshop sessions also increased the local authorities’ understanding on the importance of engaging their constituents to understand and address their needs.
Formation of Authority-Community Committees (ACCs)
In the third quarter, YCST extensively engaged the local authorities to put the community structures in place but also to lead on the process of prioritizing stabilization opportunities. The total number of participants across the ACCs formed is 173 (52 female / 121 male). This includes 58 from district authorities (4 female / 54 male) and 115 community members (48 female / 67 male).
Between June 19–23, two ACCs were formally established under the oversight of the District Managers, Sheikh Nasir Al-Mansari of Khanfir district and Nabil Al-Nomi of Zinjibar district. Led by
25 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 the two managers, the local authority established socially inclusive committees that allows representation of the marginalized groups, women and youth in local decisions.
In Khanfir-Juar, the ACC is comprised of 51 members, including 17 women and 34 men. The ACC in Zinjibar includes 42 members (11 women, 31 men). It is worth mentioning that among these ACC members is a wheelchair-bound handicapped man who has insisted on joining in field activities in Zinjibar. This is a significant sign not only of his personal resilience, but also of his determination to participate as a representative of the disadvantaged in his community.
Moreover, YCST kickstarted in the week of June 23 the activities related to supporting the local authorities on prioritization of stabilization opportunities in the targeted districts in Taiz, namely Al Ma’afer and Ash Shamayatayn. YCST organized workshops for local authorities of Al-Azaez (31 members – 7 female / 24 male) and Al-Suwa’a (29 members – all male).
The workshops in Taiz areas laid the foundation for establishing ACCs, presented key principles of gender equality and social inclusion, and sought to reach a common understanding about YCST priorities regarding stimulating community participation to effectively reduce localized violent conflict.
As a result, the local authorities selected the ACC members in their respective districts in July. The authority selected 40 ACC members in each of Al-Ma'afer (10 female / 30 male) and Ash Shamayatayn (14 female / 26 male).
3.3 SHARE RESULTS OF RAPID ASSESSMENT In June, the stabilization team presented the findings of the stabilization qualitative assessment as well as the baseline study to the local authorities of the four targeted districts in Abyan and Taiz governorates. In addition to presenting the findings, the meetings set the foundation for formulation of ACC and the selection criteria was shared with authorities.
Subsequently in June and July, the local authorities worked with ACC members in the four districts on the prioritization of conflict-related community needs and stressors. This was achieved through a door-to-door survey administered on 7,000 respondents in stabilization targeted areas in Abyan and Taiz governorates. Surveyors were instructed to interview an equal number of female and male respondents. Therefore, our estimate is that, of the 7,000 participants, 3,500 were female and 3,500 male.
Based on the household survey findings, YCST also conducted consultative and consensus building meetings between the local authority and community representatives (both represented in the ACCs) to establish consensus and prioritize one stabilization opportunity and present a proposal to YCST.
3.4 YCST STAFF CAPACITY BUILDING VIA “LEARN-BY-DOING” YCST applied a sequencing approach for rolling out stabilization programming in order to learn from the experience in each community and apply that knowledge to implementation in other communities. Implementation started in Zinjibar in the second quarter of Year 1 and then progressed to Khanfir and then to the target areas in Taiz. YCST stabilization staff understandably did not all have prior experience in the sector, having joined YCST from organizations that implemented humanitarian assistance programming. The stabilization staff directly reported to the COP, who had experience implementing stabilization and local governance programs in Iraq. With the participation of all stabilization staff, the implementation plan, including the community entry steps, was developed and tested in Zinjibar in March 2019. After each field trip, the stabilization team briefed the COP on progress and the challenges. Based on this feedback from the stabilization team and discussions with the COP, the processes and steps were then streamlined in other targeted stabilization communities.
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 26 3.5 PROCESSES FOR SELECTED INVESTMENTS; USAID APPROVAL ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN; PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION Meeting with Local Authorities on Initial Proposals
On July 16, the Stabilization team alongside the Interim CoP, Mr. Justin Secrease, and Interim DCoP/MEAL Director, Mr. Ilyas Ibrahim Mohamed, were invited by the district local authorities to Abyan. The Governor of Abyan (Mr. Abu Baker Hussein Salem), District Managers of Juar (Sheikh Naser Al-Manseri) and Zinjibar (Mr. Salem Oukuf), and Security Manager of Abyan Governorate (Mr. Ali Al-Kazmi) and other local authority leaders were present. Of 23 participants, 14 were female and 9 male.
The District Managers of Juar and Zinjibar presented their thoughts on YCST’s current activities in the field and discussed ways YCST should further collaborate and support the local authority figures in Abyan. Lastly, they highlighted YCST’s achievements in their districts.
Moreover, the meeting aimed at discussing the implementation process of stabilization projects and the completion date of projected activities in Juar and Zinjibar. The meeting also included a discussion of the importance of social cohesion and collaboration among beneficiaries and stakeholders in all project activities.
The District Manager of Juar, Sheikh Naser Al-Manseri, stressed the importance of community participation and cooperation with the local authorities in Abyan as a means to effectively identify and prioritize community needs and successfully reduce conflict. He also presented the findings of their prioritization process, mainly to improve sanitation services, rehabilitate schools, and increase youth engagement. As such, it was agreed that technical assessments would be conducted by YCST’s Senior Engineer.
Between August 5–8, the stabilization team held similar meetings with the local authorities in targeted areas in Taiz. The first meeting was with the District Manager of Ash Shamayatayn district, Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Shaiabani and other members of the ACC. Of 41 participants, 14 were female and 27 male. The District Coordinator, Mr. Adel Masani presented the findings of the technical assessment priorities to the stabilization team. The results concluded that priorities in Al-Azaez mainly related to: 1) water distribution projects; 2) the rehabilitation of four schools; 3) the construction of medical centers; and 4) electrical supply/solar panel systems maintenance.
On August 7, the YCST stabilization and engineering teams held a similar meeting with the ACC and the District Manager of Al-Ma’afer, Mr. Adil Al- Moshammari, to discuss the prioritized projects. Of 41 participants, 10 were female and 31 male. The ACC presented the project to construct a sewage septic tank and rehabilitate sanitation facilities for the rural hospital in Al-Suwa’a. Additionally, the ACC asked for an upgrade of the existing small solar-based power system of the hospital units.
Technical Assessments for Stabilization Projects
Between July 22–30, two engineering field visits were conducted in Abyan in Juar and Zinjibar. YCST’s Senior Engineer met with local authority and ACC representatives to discuss the top priority projects initiated by the ACCs and the way forward on the submission of the full proposal. Additionally, the engineers conducted initial technical assessments on the proposed sanitation, green fields and schools’ rehabilitation projects.
Similarly, between July 24–25, the Senior Engineer conducted a field visit to Taiz in the districts of Al- Azaez and Al Ma'afer. The Senior Engineer assisted both communities in identifying the potential of each proposed project, and the ACC members came to an agreement on the project proposal to be submitted to YCST. During Taiz visit in early August, the engineering team also conducted initial technical assessments on the proposed projects. In September, the stabilization team worked on
27 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 finalizing the documents of the proposal package, namely the proposal narrative, the BoQs, and the EIAs.
On September 23, the stabilization team conducted their first field visit in Abyan after the security issues in August and early September that resulted in a temporary halt to field activities. The stabilization and engineering teams both visited Zinjibar to resume conducting the technical assessments, which are related to: 1) improving sanitation services, 2) rehabilitation of schools, and 3) establishing green fields.
On the other hand, five BoQs and the EIAs were produced in late September for all projects identified in the two targeted areas in Ash Shamayatayn and Al-Ma’afer districts. Additionally, the team started working on finalizing the proposals for the prioritized projects, which are related to rehabilitating schools and a health center in Al-Azaez and improving sanitation infrastructure in the rural hospital in Al-Suwa’a.
3.6 SUPPORT LOCAL AUTHORITIES TO MEASURE CITIZEN SATISFACTION Reporting on this activity will occur after the start of the delivery of the projects.
4. OBJECTIVE 4 – CARRY OUT REGULAR AND ACTION-ORIENTED LEARNING AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS ACROSS YCST INTERVENTIONS TO SUPPORT ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FOR ENHANCED OUTCOMES In Year 1, YCST conducted a participatory workshop that reviewed the pathways of change and resulted in revising the results framework. YCST also developed the learning agenda that will guide all the learning activities throughout the lifetime of the program. Significant progress was also made on procuring services of a firm that will support YCST on the development of data system and community dashboards. YCST has also submitted the first stabilization lessons learned report. The table shows the progress towards the performance indicators of Objective 4:
OBJECTIVE 4: CARRY OUT REGULAR AND ACTION-ORIENTED LEARNING AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS ACROSS YCST INTERVENTIONS TO SUPPORT ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT FOR ENHANCED OUTCOMES
REPORTING OVERALL TARGET PERIOD PROGRESS PROGRESS INDICATOR (YEAR 1) (QUARTERLY) – OCT 1, 2018 – Q4 SEPT 30, 2019
Expected Outcome 4.1: Regular and actionable gender, conflict and stabilization analysis and mapping effectively conducted and utilized
4.1.1 Number of participatory activities to reflect on gender, 2 NA NA conflict and stabilization findings
4.1.2 Number of the learning questions that are developed to 4 12 12 address the gender, conflict and stabilization themes
Expected Outcome 4.2: Interventions adapted to respond to learning and contextual changes
4.2.1 Number of adaptive management decisions following 16 7 7 documented program learning
4.2.2 Number of people trained in adaptive practices 20 8 8
4.2.3 Number of approaches, methods, tools, or events 2 1 1 implemented for reflection and other adaptive practices
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 28 Note: Indicator 4.1.2 reports on the number of learning questions in the learning agenda which are related to the respective three themes. Progress on Indicator 4.2.1 is coming from the corretive actions taken as a result of 13 monitoring visits undertaken in the reporting period. The low performance on the Indicator 4.2.1 is due to leanring acitvities, which could not be organized due to the major security incidents took place in August and September. Progress on the indicator is anticipated to exponentially rise once the learning event is conducted in November. For Indicator 4.2.2, eight staff from MEAL department as well as from the local partner were trained on adaptive practices. Under Indicator 4.2.3, YCST produced the first stabilzation lessons learned report. NA means data is not available at this stage of the program implementation. Indicator 4.1.1 is related to the reflection session and learning event that could not be organized in quarter 4 and timetabled for November.
4.1 PAUSE AND REFLECTION EVENTS YCST’s design includes quarterly reflection sessions to support adaptive management. The first quarterly reflection session was held in March to review the conceptual framework as described below. With a delay in program activities for Ramadan and because of turnover in key personnel during the reporting period, quarterly reflection sessions were temporarily paused after the first session. The next session will be the annual learning event to reflect on Year 1 implementation during November 2019; see section 4.8 below for additional details.
Review and assess the validity and feasibility of the project’s conceptual framework through a participatory workshop
On March 27–28, the YCST MEAL Director, Mr. Ilyas Ibrahim Mohamed, led a participatory workshop for YCST staff, including the local partner. The workshop was one of the key activities of YCST's action learning approach and aimed to review the conceptual framework and identifying learning objectives and priority outcomes of a Learning Agenda.
As a result of the workshop, the YCST staff learned how YCST contributes to USAID’s evidence base for future programming in Yemen and possibly beyond. Most importantly, the participants also acquainted themselves
with the strategy of Participants discussing and mapping Pathways of Changes – Aden (March 27, 2019) the program and mapped pathways of changes, which YCST is delivering on.
The discussions on the pathways of change resulted in bringing about consensus on the MEAL Plan, which forms the basis for measurement approaches. Accordingly, the results framework was revised and an additional outcome was introduced under Objective 3 as ‘Expected Outcome 3.2: Stabilization initiatives of local legitimate authorities are strengthened’. Additionally, the participants undertook participatory review of indicators and indicator definitions, and Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (PIRS) as well as target setting of the indicators. The revised MEAL plan and PIRS was submitted to USAID in April and approved by USAID in June.
29 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 4.2 PREPARE LEARNING AGENDA Developing the Learning Agenda
In addition to revising the MEAL Plan, YCST incorporated the output of the workshop into a learning agenda, which was developed in the second quarter of the reporting period. The learning agenda details the learning themes, questions and resources. In addition to addressing USAID’s 2017 Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Learning Theme of Participation and Inclusion, the learning agenda also includes another three YCST-specific themes, namely Social Cohesion and Conflict Mitigation, PACE, and Stabilization.
Moreover, the learning agenda seeks answers for 12 learning questions (based on the themes) using information (reports) from implementation of YCST as well as through reflection sessions and learning workshops. In the fourth quarter of the reporting period, the agenda was presented to the PACE and stabilization teams, who will play a core role in achieving its objectives.
Implementation of the Learning Agenda
YCST started acting on the implementation of the learning agenda, including recruitment of a dedicated learning specialist. YCST advertised for the position and envisages to have the staff on board in the first quarter of the next fiscal year. Additionally, YCST is planning to conduct the first annual learning event in November 2019, in which several learning questions will be addressed.
4.3 FINALIZE A SET OF COMMUNITY ENTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY MODELS YCST is documenting the challenges and successes related to the community entry. This will be discussed in detail in the first annual learning event, which will occur in November. The report of the event will be produced in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
4.4 IDENTIFY MEASUREMENT APPROACHES AND PREPARE TOOLS AND METRICS FOR ASSESSING THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF PILOTS YCST will develop specific metrics that are related to the projects identified by the community. YCST is also planning to discuss the successes that can be replicated and failures that require scaling down in the upcoming learning event. YCST will produce a learning report that will detail these successes and failures after the event. Additionally, YCST will also present to USAID the second stabilization learning report in January 2020.
4.5 FACILITATE ANALYSIS OF COMMUNITY DASHBOARDS WITH TECHNICAL TEAMS Due to the steep rise in the price of Fulcrum services, coupled with the infeasibility of developing the required dashboards on the same platform, YCST decided to look for other options in the market. Requests for proposals were issued in the third quarter of the reporting period to procure the services of an external firm that digitizes YCST’s data system, including developing program dashboards. The contract with the selected provider is planned to be signed in the first month of Year 2. YCST plans to have the dashboard running by the first quarter of Year 2.
4.6 ESTABLISH A SYSTEM FOR TRACKING AND RESPONDING TO CONTEXTUAL CHANGES YCST developed illustrative context indicators as shown in the below table and provided these indicators in the Year 1 MEAL Plan. These indicators will be used to track the context changes that can be attributed to YCST. Depending on the nature of the projects prioritized by the communities, these context indicators will be revisited in October as part of the MEAL Plan revision and shared with USAID for concurrence.
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 30 ILLUSTRATIVE CONTEXT INDICATORS FOR YCST TRACKING AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL
DISPUTES AND ARMED LIVELIHOODS ACCESS VIOLENCE
- Number of community disputes - Change in access to functioning market - Change in ability of community (land, water, etc.) members to reach fields, - Change in ownership of productive assets productive assets * of which successfully resolved - Change in ability of community members to access health services * of which developed into armed violence - Change in ability of YCST - Type of dispute resolution
4.7 MONITOR AND REFLECT ON PILOT ACTIVITIES Under stabilization pilots, YCST is planning to produce three learning reports to reflect on the implementation of stabilization tools and interventions. YCST submitted the draft of the first stabilization lesson learned report to USAID on September 25th. The report presented the lessons learned from applying the USAID Stabilization Analytical Framework in the stabilization target areas in Abyan and Taiz. The report was finalized based on USAID feedback in the first month of Year 2. YCST is planning to develop the second report in January 2020, focusing on the lessons learned implementing the stabilization interventions.
4.8 ANNUAL LEARNING EVENTS YCST is planning to conduct its first Annual Learning Event in Amman, Jordan in November 16–18, 2019. The workshop will bring together staff representing different roles and levels for stocktaking and reflecting on the program’s Year 1 journey. The workshop objective is to map and identify program achievements and challenges using data and knowledge in order to validate the program’s Theory of Change and adapt approaches to inform program implementation in Year 2. Specifically, the discussions of the workshop will aim to address and collectively discover answers to the following questions:
− In what ways is the YCST approach successfully contributing to achievement of program objectives? What changes should be made in the YCST approach to better achieve program objectives? − What successes can be scaled up and replicated? − What improvements should be made in order to achieve the program objectives, specifically around PACE and stabilization activities? − What factors, conditions and circumstances affected participation in YCST targeted areas? How does this vary across gender, social groups and targeted communities? − What factors contributed to the effectiveness of the participatory planning process in YCST? How does this vary across targeted communities? − What are the most significant changes that occurred as a result of YCST interventions? How do they vary across targeted communities?
Workshop participants will primarily be YCST team members who are involved in the day-to-day planning and execution of program activities. This will include staff from Global Communities and our local and international partners. Global Communities HQ staff who are involved in YCST in technical and operational support capacities will also participate. To ensure that participants from the field are able to discuss and reflect in detail, YCST will invite USAID to the closing sessions of the workshop. The workshop will be facilitated by Global Communities headquarters staff with expertise in facilitating and reporting on learning activities.
31 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 D. CHALLENGES Delays in Signing Sub-agreements. The time between the first contact with MoPIC and releasing the MoPIC approval letter to governorates was significantly long. The back and forth communications and continuous follow-up meetings with MoPIC took more time than the usual three months of planned by YCST. Winning the buy-in of MoPIC evidently did not automatically translate into buy-in of the targeted governorates. YCST embarked on another round of negotiations with governorates while routing the sub-agreement for signatures. This process has contributed to the delays in the implementation of activities in the South. Similarly, dealing with NAMCHA in the north involved everchanging feedback and instructions and, as a result, YCST suspended the operations in the North to consolidate efforts and focus on expediting the implementation in the South. YCST resumed negotiations with NAMCHA in June, and the feedback did not change from that of Year 1. YCST will continue negotiating with NAMCHA through December 2019, in which the targeted communities in the north will be shifted to the South.
Difficultly in Filling Positions Locally. Recruitment of local staff was delayed partially due to a delay in the deployment of key staff (visa issues) and lack of qualified candidates for the main local positions in Aden. Due to the entrance of more actors into Aden, there is a shortage of qualified workforce in the market. Most of the selected candidates joined YCST from other organizations, which required serving notice periods from two weeks to a month. This has also contributed to the delays in the implementation of program activities.
Moreover, YCST faced difficulties filling the positions related to communications, learning and reporting due to the shortage of qualified workforce, particularly in Aden. Additionally, upon the departure of the original Yemeni DCOP in April, YCST was not able to identify a suitable local candidate for the DCoP position. As a result, YCST decided to open the Knowledge and Learning as well as the DCoP positions for international applicants. YCST also decided to bring on board an expatriate Grants Manager to further push the implementation of Objective 2 activities. Candidates for these new expatriate positions will be onboard by the end of the first quarter of Year 2. In the meantime, Global Communities headquarters provided additional remote and in-country support.
Security and Access. Upon receiving approval from the authorities to begin field implementation, YCST was largely able to implement project activities in the target areas during its first year. Our established security team, protocols, and coordination procedures with other international organizations were put to test as security worsened in Abyan and Aden in late August and early September. YCST was able to proactively suspend field implementation to reduce risk to staff and participants and coordinated with local stakeholders in determining when activities could resume in specific locations. Field activities in PACE target areas in Abyan were most affected, with access reduced for about two months. The incidents also delayed, to a lesser extent, the implementation of activities in PACE and stabilization target communities in Aden, Lahj and Taiz governorates. Global Communities also briefly evacuated expatriate staff, who continued managing the project remotely during this period, and timed the arrival of the new expatriate COP to give consideration to the overall security situation.
Programmatically, YCST is facing challenges related to winning the buy-in of the local communities regarding the participation of women and youth in CECs, particularly in PACE target areas in Abyan. While YCST was able to eventually convince the Al-Mahfad community to incorporate women and youth into the CEC, the same was not possible in Jayshan, particularly for women. YCST engaged women in Jayshan through other mechanisms, including seeking their feedback on all processes through the community mobilizers.
On the other hand, YCST has achieved considerable female participation in other target areas through extensive mobilization and negotiation. In conservative areas in Lahj, female members represented nearly one-third of all members (30%). In Aden, nearly of half of CEC members (45%) are female and they actively contribute to CEC meetings. Moreover, nearly half of the participants (49%) at
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 32 community meetings organized by CECs across YCST were female. YCST plans to continue to influence a change in attitude towards women participation through the CEC as well as through awareness raising which will be carried out under Objective 2.
E. COORDINATION
PEACEBUILDING AND STABILIZATION ACTORS On November 20, 2018 YCST had a meeting with Mr. Mohammed Khater Zaid, Political Affairs Officer at the Office of the Special Envoy of Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY), to share the program objectives and areas of collaboration. Mr. Mohammed discussed with YCST the UN approach towards stabilization in Yemen amidst the everchanging dynamics in Yemen. He also briefly presented the UN Resolution 2216 and its three pillars, namely tribes, political parties, and institutions in Yemen. After the meeting, Mr. Mohammed has shared with YCST valuable resources in relation to situational mapping and analysis of Yemen governorates and UN Concept Note on Stabilization.
Moreover, YCST established contacts with the main peacebuilding and stabilization actors to coordinate efforts and complement in the targeted communities. YCST had a meeting with Mr. Colin Lake, Senior Coordination Advisor at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Yemen, to discuss the incoming UN stabilization and peacebuilding initiatives. YCST and Mr. Lake agreed that coordination mechanisms for exchange of information and complementing would be put in place once the UN program is launched.
On other hand, YCST reached out to the Search for Common Ground (SfCG) and coordinated on implementation areas in Lahj and Taiz. YCST also had meetings with SfCG to learn from their experience in implementing in areas in Abyan governorate. YCST is also collaborating with Partners Yemen, whose project is funded by the State Department, exchanged information during the selection of targeted communities for Year 2. Additionally, YCST is planning to continue coordinating and exchanging information with Partners Yemen throughout the lifetime of the program.
INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT USAID is planning to pilot integrated development in Yemen (i.e. multiple USAID/Yemen activities— within and across sectors—work together in the same geographic areas, when it makes sense to do so). YCST has been selected as the convener of the pilot because of YCST’s use of inclusive participatory community enhancement processes, which identify community resources, needs, grievances/stress points, capacities, local government structures, etc. YCST has budgeted for the resources required to achieve the objectives of the integrated development pilot. This includes a new staff position of Integrated Development and Coordination Specialist, which will be recruited in the first quarter of Year 2.
WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY In December, YCST attended the First Feminist Summit as part of its efforts to identify women advocacy initiatives. The event was the first of its kind and held on December 9-10 in Ma'ala Plaza Hotel, Aden, and attended by 70 women representing 20 women’s organizations. The summit was organized by Wogood Foundation for Human Security and chaired by Ms. Maha Awadh, with the support of the German's Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
In the first day of the Summit, YCST had a brief side-meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Salem Al Khaanbashi, and explained the program objectives. YCST was given a session in the second day of the Summit, where Mr. Cameron Berkuti, the CoP, have presented the program objectives, methodology, process, and targeted governorates.
33 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 F. PROGRAM SUCCESS STORIES
WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON VISION
YCST Staff and Al-Suraih CEC members participating in the first meeting
Yemen is one of the world’s most water-scarce countries and conflicts over access to this scarce resource often go back decades. Before the civil war, which has been raging since 2014, the government attempted to impose demand management measures to resolve water issues. These included drastic measures—such as regulating and taxing the groundwater, and raising the price of diesel to discourage diesel-fueled irrigation that depletes water supply—that had little chance of succeeding due to lack of effective implementation.
Nowhere is the impact of conflict over water more devastating than in rural Yemen, where water issues frequently spark clan disputes and feuds. Al-Suraih is a conservative tribal rural community targeted by USAID’s Yemen Communities Stronger Together (YCST). Located in Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah district in Lahj governorate, Al-Suraih comprises ten main villages and settlements in a scorching semi-arid land: Al-Suraih (the Center), Shoqrah, Al-Sharaj, Al-Sa’anat, Al- Qurain, Al-Azqa, Al-Ijaba, Al-Hajaja, Hubwa Jazim and Dar Ahmed.
Al-Suraih has endured recurring violence between its different villages mainly over rights to access water resources. There are only two wells with potable water, which must serve the entire population of Al-Suraih, nearly two thousand people, and their livestock. The wells are located in the Center and in Shoqrah and accessible mainly to the inhabitants of those two villages. Residents of other villages are granted access to the wells only once or twice a week, and must store water for the rest of the week.
As water tanks were being distributed in Al-Suraih one day in early 2018, a dispute broke out and a young lad from Hubwa Jazim shot the clan elder of Al-Suraih. The customary law succeeded in preventing the incident from deteriorating into violent conflict, and the punishment imposed on Hubwa Jazim was to deprive the men from that village of access to the Center. Since most community resources are located in the Center, including the health center, main school and the market, not to mention the well, the relationship between the two villages was brittle.
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 34 The first interaction USAID’s Yemen Communities Stronger Together program had with the Al-Suraih community was a sensitization workshop conducted in April 2019 during which community members learned about the YCST program, its objectives, and Global Communities' Participatory Action for Community Enhancement (PACE) methodology. PACE provides a step-by-step framework for guiding community members and local leaders to develop a vision for their community and to collaboratively identify and address issues through conflict mitigation, and collaboration on service delivery projects that result in visible improvements to an issue prioritized by the community. The PACE process is inclusive, responsive and accountable to all groups, including minority and marginalized populations. PACE aims to build connections and experiences that enable communities to apply their skills and leverage their social capital moving forward, strengthening their resilience to shocks and stressors.
Those attending the workshop in Al-Suraih agreed on a timeline for establishing a Community Enhancement Committee (CEC). YCST worked to ensure that all groups and clans from villages throughout Al-Suraih were represented among the CEC’s membership. The time it takes to form a CEC varies from one community to another, and due to the tension between the Centre and Hubwa Jazim, the formation of the Al-Suraih CEC involved several rounds of negotiations and took nearly four months. Eventually, YCST was able to lead the communities to achieve consensus on including representatives from all villages—including Hubwa Jazim—as members of the CEC. Al-Suraih CEC was formed in July 2019 and has 15 members, one from Hubwa Jazim. Two members are women, a hard-won victory in this conservative community.
Ahmed Al-Hirani is a 53-year-old teacher who joined the CEC representing Shoqrah and was elected CEC chair. He praised YCST for creating agents of change observing, ‘The Yemen Communities Stronger Together Program has bridged the divide between the tribal community in Al-Suraih for the first time in 29 years.’ Ahmed goes on to talk about the gains in his community, saying: ‘I never imagined that it would be possible for our clan leaders to meet and agree, but the Sheikhs waived their personal interest for the public interest.’
Over the following months, the CEC members met to discuss the findings of an assessment of community stressors that had been conducted by the CEC with YCST support. The stressors assessment aimed to identify the conflict triggers that can be addressed with service delivery projects. The CEC in Al-Suraih prioritized improving access to water, and collectively agreed on upgrading one of their wells, with plans to install a solar-based system to increase water flow, a water tower and a pipeline to deliver the water to distant villages, including Hubwa Jazim. YCST engineers are doing final technical assessments to determine the project feasibility, including the cost and the selection of the well based on results of geological assessment.
In addition to being a forum for identifying shared interests, the CEC has been a venue for discussion that has led to significantly-improved relationships between the villages. The fact that Hubwa Jazim residents are once again welcome in the Center is just one reminder of the success of the PACE process and the value of the CEC that is visible to the entire community.
35 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 INCLUSIVE PROCESSES, INCLUSIVE OUTCOMES
Ahmed Ali Abubaker, Zinjibar ACC member
Yemen has suffered through five years of violent conflict, which is still ongoing in 2019. The conflict has destroyed not just infrastructure, but livelihoods and social services. While only parts of Yemen have been on the war’s frontlines, every governorate has felt its effects. Communities are struggling to meet their basic needs because of economic contraction, and government is unable to provide essential services.
In this volatile context, USAID’s Yemen Communities Stronger Together (YCST) is piloting stabilization to support legitimate local authorities to rapidly and effectively respond to the priorities of their constituents. The program engages district authorities in four districts to put in place inclusive community structures that work with authorities to identify stressors that reduce social cohesion, and to prioritize possible solutions. In the first half of 2019, with YCST support, district authorities established four Authority-Community Committees (ACCs), in Khanfir and Zinjibar in Abyan governorate, and in Al-Azaez and Al-Suwa’a in Taiz governorate. The ACCs are made up of 55 district officials including the district managers, and 118 community representatives, one-third of them women, from all segments of the community to ensure that the voices of all groups are represented in the priority-setting process.
Ahmed Ali Abubaker is a resident of Zinjibar who lost his ability to walk after a car accident in 1994. Despite the life hurdles, he actively contributes to his community, mainly people with special needs. Ahmed also works as a history teacher in one of the schools in Zinjibar. Approximately five percent of Yemen’s population suffers from mobility-related disabilities as a result of disease, conflict, malnutrition and maternal health deficiency, and ongoing war can only increase the numbers. Ahmed advocates for peace and for assistance to people, including women and children, who suffer from permanent disability due to war wounds. In April 2019, he joined the ACC in Zinjibar as a representative of handicapped community.
Following its establishment, the ACC members in Zinjibar worked with local authorities to survey households in order to identify the stressors that are destabilizing their community. Ahmed participated in this survey and also played a leading role in the subsequent prioritization processes, including discussions with the community and in the ACC. He presented the survey findings to other
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 36 disabled people in his community and ask them to prioritize the issues that came out from the survey. Ahmed also represented their priorities in the discussions by the ACC.
Describing his struggle and that of people with disabilities, Ahmed said: ‘A person with disabilities in Yemen usually ends up disconnected and lives in isolation. I am glad and grateful for this opportunity to create a lasting change’. Ahmed believes that by including him as a member of the ACC in Zinjibar, YCST has made it possible for the voices of the marginalized to be heard and their priorities to be brought to the decision-making forums.
‘We share with the rest of the community the need for quality social services. But we have our special needs as well. We cannot move around like everyone else does. We cannot easily access mosques, markets and other places. There is no place reserved or friendly for us in this community. YCST has given us the platform to air our concerns locally, and hopefully one day at higher levels,’ added Ahmed, commending YCST’s approach.
The ACC members in Zinjibar collectively prioritized rehabilitation of schools, including girls’ schools. Ahmed's efforts to advocate for the priorities of the disabled communities resulted in the inclusion of project elements that make the schools friendly for handicapped students, such as ramps for mobility in the schools and disability-friendly sanitation facilities. YCST will also implement activities to engage youth in civic life and encourage them to ignore the calls for violence.
‘Different groups of people in the community were represented in the discussions,’ states Ahmed, and he believes that the outcomes of the process reflect the views and priorities of the disabled and other sectors of the community.
37 | YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 WOMEN AND PEACEBUILDING IN YEMEN
Global Communities, through the USAID/Yemen-funded Yemen Communities Stronger Together (YCST) Project, is working with Yemeni communities to collaboratively identify and address conflict drivers and building community cohesion. On a broader level YCST also advances awareness and participation of Yemeni women in decision-making, preventing and resolving conflict and peacebuilding, through grants to Yemeni non-governmental organizations and community service organizations.
Yemeni Women Participating in Building Community Cohesion: YCST has formed community enhancement committees in twelve mainly rural and conservative communities in Yemen. YCST set a quota of at least thirty percent of the community committee members, focus groups, and survey respondents must be female. The committees are responsible for working in their communities to identify conflict mitigation, peace-building and service delivery priorities.
One example is Al Mahfad, a small tribal community in a remote area of insecure Abyan Governorate which has come under control of AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) several times in recent years. The USAID/Yemen- funded YCST team held trainings and meetings with local authorities, influential community leaders, imams, and community activists on involving women in committee membership. The consultations paid off and six of the 15 members who formed the committee are women, some who work in education and health and others who stay at home. Shy at first, these women have raised their voices to contribute to discussions of community priorities, including women’s issues such as the need for better quality education Women participating in a community and health care and vocational training for girls and women. priority-setting exercise in Al-Mahfad YCST is now carrying out subcontracting to address the community’s prioritized needs including quantity and quality access to water, which has a disproportionate impact upon women, who face the main burden of carrying water from the community taps to their homes, when the water distribution system is not operating. YCST is planning additional activities to be carried out by community service organizations to continue to assist Al Mahfad and other communities to implement other interventions identified by the committees which will contribute to a reduction in or the risk of localized violent conflict.
YCST’s Women, Peace and Security Sub-Fund: On a broader scale, YCST is engaged in discussions with women’s organizations to identify and support initiatives to advance the awareness, participation, and/or decision-making roles of Yemeni women in preventing and resolving localized conflicts and conflict stressors and in national and regional peacebuilding.
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NO. 72027918CA00001 YCST ANNUAL REPORT – FY19 | 38