LAFIA (PEOPLE AT PEACE) Quarterly Report JANUARY 1 – MARCH 31, 2021

Program Information Grantee: Mercy Corps Project Title: People at Peace (Lafia) Grant Number: 720-688-20-CA-00001 Country: Funding Amount: $ 1,684,850.00 Grant Dates: 10/16/2019 – 09/30/2021 Quarter (Dates) being discussed: 01/01/2021 – 03/31/2021 Date Progress Report is submitted: April 30, 2021

Table of Contents

ACRONYMS 1

PROGRAM SCOPE OF WORK 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTS 4

Contextual Information 4

Progress by Program Objectives 4

MONITORING, EVALUATION & LEARNING 13

CHALLENGES & LESSONS LEARNED 14

Challenges and Lessons Learned 14

Sustainability 14

Environmental Compliance 14

PLANNED ACTIVITIES – NEXT QUARTER 15

Tables & Figures

Table 1: Summary of S4C Sessions ...... 5 Table 2: EWER system challenges and recommendations ...... 9 Table 3: Identified conflict drivers and proposed joint projects ...... 10

Figure 1: Incidents collected by the EWER ...... 8

ACRONYMS CAFO Coordination of Women's Associations and NGOs in Mali (Coordination des Associations et ONGs Féminines du Mali) CMM Conflict Management and Mitigation CMAS Coordination des mouvements, Associations et Sympathisants de l'Imam Mahmoud Dicko CNJ National Youth Council (Le Conseil National de la Jeunesse du Mali) COFO Commission Fonciere (Land commission) CSA Peace Agreement Monitoring Committee (Comité de Suivi de l’Accord de paix) CVE Countering Violent Extremism DDR Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EMEP Mixed Team for a Peaceful Environment (Equipe Mixte pour un Environnement Paisible) EMK Mouvement Espoir Mali Koura EWER Early Warning Early Response FAMA Malian Armed Forces FSD Front pour la Sauvegarde de la Démocratie MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning M5 Mouvement du 5 juin MINUSMA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali MOU Memorandum of Understanding OCI Organizational Capacity Index RECOTRAD Network of Traditional Communicators for the Development of Mali S4C Sports for Change TOC Theory of Change UJMMA Union of Young Muslims (l'Union des Jeunes Musulmans du Mali) UNPBF United Nations Peacebuilding Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development VEO Violent Extremist Organization VRAI Vulnerabilities and Resilience Assessment Initiative VRAI-CVE Vulnerabilities and Resilience Assessment Initiative to Counter Violent Extremism

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 1 PROGRAM SCOPE OF WORK As instability has wrecked northern and central Mali since 2012, Mali’s south and west have remained relatively stable. However, multiple tensions now threaten that fragile peace. In both urban and rural areas, male and female youth are frustrated at perceived injustices, lack of economic opportunities and the absence of functioning government services. In rural areas, competition for land and water between Fulani pastoralists and Bambara and Soninke farmers may trigger the further spread of violence if left unmanaged. At the political level, resentment against a perceived lack of engagement of the south in national peace processes coupled with the flow of resources to northern and central Mali is considered a further risk to southern stability.

In response to these trends, Mercy Corps and Think Peace are implementing “Lafia,” meaning “People at Peace” in Bambara, a two-year, $1,499,526 program that aims to support urban and rural communities in southern and western Mali to increase resilience to conflict and violent extremism. Through a people-to-people approach bringing together political and religious leaders and young men and women from different ethnic groups, Lafia aims to increase local capacities to counter drivers of conflict and extremism through three interlinked objectives: 1) Youth reduce their vulnerability to participating in conflict and violent extremism; 2) Traditional, religious and female leaders, and government officials resolve inter-group conflicts peacefully and reduce conflict drivers; and 3) Local communities actively engage with relevant government authorities and civil society actors in the implementation of national policies that prevent violent extremism and promote reconciliation.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Lafia aims to help communities in rural and urban areas to strengthen their resilience to possible conflicts that may arise within communities. During this reporting period (January-March 2021), the program continued to build the capacity of youth and leaders on various themes. Primary activities included the training of coaches on the Sport for Change modules, regular technical support to the implementing partner Think Peace to ensure effective and efficient implementation of activities, and consistent, daily monitoring of the early warning system in the different communes of intervention. Activities under each Objective undertaken during this quarter are as follows. Objective 1: Youth reduce their vulnerability to participating in conflict and violent extremism  Activity 1.2. 80 Sport for Change Clubs set-up to involve 2000 youth at risk of participation in conflict in identification and resolution of conflict in collaboration with youth leaders. Work completed under this activity includes: o Trained 30 coaches from Diema and Yelimae on the last eight modules of S4C activities o Conducted 904 Sport for Change sessions  Activity 1.3.1 Youth design and implement action plans that address risk factors for violence o Conducted three multimedia campaigns and one community initiative  Activity 1.3.2 Training sessions on non-violent advocacy and conflict resolution o Trained 55 young leaders, including 22 women, on non-violent advocacy in three-day sessions in and Bamako

Objective 2: Traditional, religious, and female leaders and government officials resolve inter-group conflicts peacefully and reduce conflict drivers  Activity 2.2. Trained leaders participate in 12 conflict resolution forums to share lessons and develop/adapt EWER systems to needs of zones of intervention. o Ongoing monitoring of the EWER System o Organized two conflict resolution forums for the communes of Kayes and Falémé  Activity 2.3. Justice and security officials, land commission members, and community leaders participate in 8 community dialogues to discuss conflict risks and causes and create action plans to prevent violence.  Organized four workshops in Bamako, Kayes, Diéma and Yelimane to facilitate dialogue between communities and local authoritiesActivity 2.4. Communities, in collaboration with local authorities, implement joint projects that address one or more conflict drivers. o Implemented a joint project in the in order to address the conflict between farmers and herders.

Objective 3: Local communities actively engage with relevant government authorities and civil society actors in the implementation of national policies that prevent violent extremism and promote reconciliation  Activity 3.1. Civil society organizations, including youth associations, increase their knowledge of the CVE strategy o Trained 24 civil society and youth organization leaders on the national strategy to prevent violent extremism from February 12 to 13, 2021 in Kayes.

In addition, the MEL team conducted a mid-term evaluation in November 2020. This evaluation looked at the relevance and effectiveness of activities implemented throughout the first year of the project.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 3 PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENTS Contextual Information

During the first quarter of 2021, the humanitarian context continued to worsen due to conflict and violence. Inter- and intra-community conflicts in the central region in particular, the presence of non-state armed groups (NSAGs), and criminality and banditry continue to weaken the context and negatively impact Malian communities. For instance, in March 338 security incidents were recorded, including 8 related to NGOs1. In addition, the past quarter was marked by continued socio-political tensions. On January 26, a health sector strike took place following the assassination of the technical director of the Boura Health Center in in the . In Bamako on January 20, the association "Yerewolo debout" (Malians, Stand Up) organized a demonstration against the French presence in Mali, which was dispersed by security forces. Regarding the implementation of the Algiers Peace Agreement, progress remains slow, which has provoked reactions from some civil society actors. On January 28, a collective called the "Front du Refus de l'Accord de Paix" (Front of Refusal of the Peace Agreement) was created; they organized a demonstration in Bamako on March 13 to denounce the peace agreement. Meanwhile, the Comité de suivi de l’Accord (Monitoring Committee of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation or CSA) continues to meet. A symbolic meeting was held on February 11 in Kidal, and a second was held in Kayes on March 29. For its part, the government has appointed a new representative of the Head of State for the implementation of the peace agreement. In terms of security incidents, there was a slight increase of incidents related to radical groups in . For example, on January 7, in Missira (), a dozo group (traditional hunters) was attacked by members of radical armed groups. On January 27, around Diankole in the same cercle of Nioro, a customs patrol unit was attacked by armed individuals close to radical groups without causing any casualties. It is clear that even if radical armed groups are not able to establish themselves permanently in the region, they continue to carry out sporadic attacks to highlight their presence and ability to intimidate communities. Regarding the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mali had recorded a drop in cases at the beginning of the quarter. This led the authorities to suspend anti-COVID-19 measures such as allowing cultural activities and the opening of leisure areas from January 25. Unfortunately, the spread of COVID cases has increased sharply in recent weeks, leading the government to take new measures such as limiting the number of people to 50 in a gathering and requiring the wearing of masks.

Progress by Program Objectives Objective 1: Youth reduce their vulnerability to participating in conflict and violent extremism Activities under this objective are led by local partner Think Peace with technical support from Mercy Corps. These activities aim to engage youth in context analysis and conduct activities that will help them move away from violent extremist groups.

1 Bimonthly report number 178, March 2021, INSO (The International NGO Safety Organization).

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 4 Activity 1.1. Youth associations conduct a mapping exercise on vulnerability to violence and sources of resilience This activity was completed in the second quarter of program implementation (January-March 2020).

Activity 1.2: 60 Sport for Change (S4C) Clubs set up to involve 1,500 youth at risk of participation in conflict in identification and resolution of conflict in collaboration with youth leaders This quarter, Lafia finalized the training of coaches from Diéma and Yelimane on the second set of S4C modules and continued to carry out the sessions with the clubs.

Training Coaches on the last Eight Modules of S4C Activities This second training focused on the following eight modules:

- Managing Emotions - Reconciliation, Trust and Forgiveness - Resilience - Mediation - Conflict - Consensus building - Healthy Communication - Violence against women

From January 5 to 7, twelve coaches from Béma and Diangounté Camara gathered for the three-day training session, which aimed to strengthen the coaches’ skills and enable them to conduct Sport for Change sessions on the last eight modules. It was also an opportunity to review the roles and responsibilities of coaches. The session alternated between theory and practical application. Lafia then conducted the same session for the 18 coaches from the communes of , and Guidimé from February 14 to 16. In total, 30 coaches, including 6 women, participated in this training, which served to complete S4C training of coaches activity.

Monitoring of S4C activities in Kayes, Diéma and Bamako Following the second coach training, the last wave of S4C sessions began in January 2021. Out of 960 sessions planned for this quarter, 904 sessions were organized with all 60 clubs. All clubs have completed their sessions except for those in the communes of Koussané, Falémé, Fanga and Guidimé due to the unavailability of some coaches or to the overlap of the session schedule with the school calendar. The last sessions in these localities will take place in the first half of April. The table below summarizes the level of completion of the S4C sessions.

Photo 1: S4C session with a girls’ sport club in Kayes

Table 1: Summary of S4C Sessions

Cercle Commune Actual # of Target # of Rate participants participants

Bamako Commune II 96 96 100%

Commune IV 96 96 100%

Diema Bema 96 96 100%

Diagounté Camara 96 96 100%

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 5 Kayes Kayes 128 128 100%

Koussané 88 96 92%

Falémé 54 64 84%

Yelimane Kremis 96 96 100%

Fanga 72 96 75%

Guidimé 82 96 85%

Total 904 960 94%

Activity 1.3.1 Youth design and implement action plans that address risk factors for violence Following workshops held in the previous quarter (October-December 2020) that discussed conflict risk factors and roots causes, community representatives identified certain risk factors and developed citizen response plans and multimedia campaigns to mitigate these risks and prevent violence. This quarter, the communities implemented three multimedia campaigns and one community initiative.

Community leaders in the urban commune of Kayes, including youth, women and authorities, had decided to address the lack of trust between the defense and security forces and communities. As a reminder, in May 2020, youth groups reacted violently against the police following the accidental death of an adolescent caused by a policeman and ultimately burned the second district police station in Kayes. Calm has returned after Lafia's mediation and awareness-raising actions, but mistrust remains. Through this community forum, the police, the gendarmerie and the civil protection of Kayes were able to discuss their roles and missions with the populations, explain the different actions they carry out, share the challenges they face, and suggest ways in which populations could help them in their respective missions. Communities were able to share their concerns with the security forces in terms of lack of trust, persecution, police member abuse, and lack of communication.

The groups’ discussions during the workshops helped to formulate recommendations to build trust between defense and security forces and communities. These include - Regarding the police: o Continue the installation of alert committees in the neighborhoods; o Strengthen the capacity of committee members and police officers; o Create partnerships for trust and relationship building between the population and the police to protect people and their property. - Regarding the gendarmerie and civil protection: o Involve the municipality and neighborhood development committees (Comités de développement du quartier or CDQ) in setting up alert committees in the neighborhoods and communes of Kayes cercle; o Organize “open days” that allow populations to visit and learn more about the work of security forces; o Raise awareness among the population using conferences and debates through various media channels (TV, radio, website, WhatsApp).

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 6 The multimedia campaigns focused on drug consumption among youth in the communes of Kayes and Falémé and on social cohesion in Commune II of the District of Bamako. The awareness campaigns on the consequences of drug and narcotics were organized in collaboration with the regional health department, the central office of narcotics and the anti-narcotics brigade. The brigade first trained thirty young people, including members of the theater group, on the different types of drugs and the consequences of their consumption.

The brigade also instructed youth on the legal consequences of drug use and consumption. With this new knowledge, youth conducted an awareness campaign in eight neighborhoods of the commune of Kayes and 10 villages of the commune of Falémé through participatory theater performances and educational discussions with youth. Additionally, youth produced 15 awareness-raising spots and obtained testimonies from members of S4C clubs and former drug users that were broadcast on social networks and on the regional television station “Kayes TV.”

In Commune II (District of Bamako), the awareness campaign focused on strengthening social cohesion in the neighborhoods of Bagadadji, Bozola, Medina Coura and Niarela. The campaign also referred to the proliferation of small arms and drug consumption, which were both cited as risk factors in this commune. The campaign was held on March 16, 18, 19 and 20, 2021. During the four days of the campaign, participants engaged with members of the Network of Traditional Communicators (RECOTRAD) and the head of the office of the Permanent Secretariat against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SPLPAL) regarding the consequences of the erosion of social cohesion and the proliferation of small arms. Community initiatives and awareness campaigns will continue in the next quarter.

Activity 1.3.2 Training sessions on non-violent advocacy and conflict resolution In order to help reduce violent demonstrations from youth in urban areas, Lafia initiated two training sessions to build the capacity of youth associations leaders on non-violent advocacy and conflict resolution techniques. Held from January 19 to 21 in Kayes and from February 23 to 25 in Bamako, these trainings brought together 55 young leaders, including 22 women, from a variety of backgrounds, including journalists, bloggers, youth from political parties, communal youth councils and other youth organizations. These young people were instructed on conflict resolution techniques and revisited the advocacy cycle, which can be an alternative to the violent demands of youth in Bamako and Kayes.

Objective 2: Traditional, religious, and female leaders and government officials resolve inter-group conflicts peacefully and reduce conflict drivers Activity 2.1. Traditional, religious, women, and government leaders increase their capacity in dispute resolution This activity was completed during the previous quarter; this quarter focused on monitoring and supporting the Early Warning System (EWER), which is operational in the 10 target communes. As of March 31, 2021, 109 incidents have been collected, including 66 in Bamako and 43 in the Kayes region. Out of the 43 incidents collected in the Kayes region, around ten were related to the issue of slavery. This clearly demonstrates that this issue is an increasingly important factor in conflict. The two communes of Bamako recorded the largest number of incidents, which are detailed in the figure below.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 7 Incidents collected in the District of Bamako 12 10 10 8 8 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 0 Nombre Assault, threats with weapons Assassination, murders Other Robberies, road cutters Obstruction of free movement Tension related to waste management Political tensions Domestic or marital violence Rape, sexual assault Tensions around natural resources Destruction of crops, trade products Inter/intra-community tensionsorelated the management of public areas and spaces Tensions related to local governance aspects Propagation of rumors Figure 1: Incidents collected by the Bamako EWER

Out of the 66 incidents, 18 were security incidents: assaults, robberies and murder. The particularity of these incidents is that the perpetrators used knives and were often under the influence of drugs. This confirms the urgency of dealing with the issue of youth drug use. The most common types of incidents are “assault, threats with weapons” (10) and “tensions related to local governance aspects” (10) and “tensions related to local governance aspects” (8) and “conflicts over the management of public areas and spaces” (3) In terms of local governance, the incidents collected concern tensions between young people and certain local authorities, neighborhood chiefs, and leadership conflicts within certain youth or women's associations. Three incidents were collected related to conflicts over the management of public spaces in the communes. The frequency of these incidents motivates communities to address related issues through joint projects and citizen initiatives supported by the Lafia project. Activity 2.2. Trained leaders participate in 12 conflict resolution forums to share lessons and develop/adapt EWER systems to needs of zones of intervention After the three-month pilot phase of the Early Warning System (EWER), the Lafia program began organizing a series of forums with community leaders, monitors and authorities to make an initial assessment of the EWER. Two forums were organized for the communes of Kayes (March 29) and Falémé (March 25 and 26). In addition to community leaders and monitors, the forum brought together representatives of the mayors of each commune as well as the sub-prefects. The discussions covered different components of the EWER system, noting challenges and recommendations for improvement as shown in the table below:

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 8 Table 2: EWER system challenges and recommendations

Aspects of the Challenges Recommendations & Actions EWER system

Incident collection Coverage area too large for one A new distribution of zones to bring the monitor (villages and neighborhoods) monitors closer to their communities

Monitors often have no information Connect monitors with community liaisons about certain incidents and counselors to facilitate incident collection

Unavailability of some monitors Replacement of one of the Kayes monitors to ensure efficient collection

Transmission and Difficulty in archiving incidents at the Provision of binders and other materials archiving of level of mayor and the sub-prefecture at the mayor and sub-prefecture level for incidents better incident archiving and monitoring

Community leaders' Incident responses are not Provision of logs for all response responses documented committees to document responses and track incidents

List of indicators Difficulties in classifying some Review the list of indicators for a better incidents according to the list of understanding indicators

Activity 2.3. Justice and security officials, land commission members, and community leaders participate in 8 community dialogues to discuss conflict risks and causes and create action plans to prevent violence Lafia organized four workshops in Bamako, Kayes, Diéma and Yelimane to facilitate dialogue between communities and local authorities. The workshops focused on discussing the risks and causes of conflict and creating joint strategic plans to prevent violence. The first workshop was held in Bamako from January 28-29. The other three workshops in Kayes, Diéma and Yelimane were held between February 10 and 16. In addition to community leaders, these workshops brought together representatives from the justice system, the police, and regional agricultural and livestock departments. The discussions among the participants in these workshops allowed them to identify conflict drivers and to propose responses in the form of joint projects. The following table summarizes the conflict factors and the proposed responses:

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 9 Table 3: Identified conflict drivers and proposed joint projects

Commune Conflict drivers Joint projects

Diéma Lack of knowledge and non- Training workshop between herders, farmers and compliance with the pastoral charter youth and dissemination of the pastoral charter

Tensions around water points and Construction of new water points and large diameter lack of drinking water wells

Expropriation of land for agricultural Training between landowners, the town hall, COFO, use and the administration

Yelimane Fiscal mismanagement Consultation and awareness raising regarding fiscal mismanagement and public restitution of communal management

Land conflicts and conflicts between Translation and dissemination of the agricultural farmers and herders orientation law and the pastoral charter

Communes II Tensions around the management of Create spaces for livestock and develop cultivable and IV public spaces in Commune IV land to free up water points

Proliferation of drugs and narcotics in Organize a forum for discourse on proliferation of Commune II drugs in the Commune 4; conduct an awareness campaign on the consequences of drugs for youth

Kayes Conflicts between farmers and Translation of the pastoral charter into national herders and lack of knowledge of the languages and dissemination (if possible through a pastoral charter campaign and/or the media) integrating the issues related to urban development

Distrust between the defense and The creation of discussion and exchange forums security forces and the populations in between the communities and certain authorities Kayes commune (administration, police, gendarmerie and judiciary).

Based on these inclusive and participatory reflections, the communities have begun the implementation of joint projects. Activity 2.4. Communities, in collaboration with local authorities, implement joint projects that address one or more conflict drivers The community dialogues discussions (Activity 2.3) enabled the committees to set up local implementation committees for eight joint projects that address the identified conflict factors. The first joint project was implemented in the Kayes cercle, and the communities decided to address the conflict between farmers and herders. The activity consisted of translating the pastoral charter into local languages and disseminating its contents to the two socio-professional categories (farmer and herders groups) and to all communities through an awareness campaign. Information about the procedures and laws related to land use was also disseminated in order to reduce tensions around this matter in Kayes. This effort took place in several stages. The first step was to gather the translations already done by the Regional Directorate of Livestock. Then, the head of the livestock department conducted an orientation session for about thirty traditional communicators, farmers, herders and civil society actors from the communes of Koussané and Falémé on the content of the pastoral charter. The committee also organized a debate on Kayes regional television (Kayes TV) on the pastoral charter, the transhumance agreement, and the problem of land division in local languages. The rural

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 10 radio stations in the communes of Koussané and Falémé led the dissemination of the contents of the pastoral charter and the transhumance agreement. The next step focused on the awareness campaign led by traditional communicators and land commissions in the communes of Koussané and Falémé. Through socio-educational activities and sketches depicting real facts on the issue, the campaign visited the twenty villages and neighborhoods in the communes of Falémé (Maraka king; Campement; Djigui, Naye Peulh; Naye Sahel, Diakoni; Falaya, Blazmir, Monoback Soninké, Sirimoulou, Moussala and Charack). The last step of this project is the creation of a WhatsApp platform for the dissemination of the messages. This phase is ongoing and will activate youth from agro-pastoralist associations who will use the platform as a space for exchange on issues of transhumance and the pastoral calendar.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 11 Objective 3: Local communities actively engage with relevant government authorities and civil society actors in the implementation of national policies that prevent violent extremism and promote reconciliation. Activity 3.1. Civil society organizations, including youth associations, increase their knowledge of the CVE strategy This activity aimed to train 24 civil society and youth organization leaders on the national strategy to prevent violent extremism so that they can better understand its objectives and understand how communities in southern Mali can support the action plan. From February 12 to 13, 2021, this training was held in Kayes, in the conference room in the office of the governor of Kayes. It was co-facilitated by the National Coordinator of Think Peace and the Permanent Secretary of the Permanent Secretariat of the Fight against Violent Extremism and Terrorism (Le Secrétaire Permanent du Secrétariat Permanent de la Lutte contre l’Extrémisme Violent et le Terrorisme) and chaired by the Economic and Financial Affairs Advisor of the Governorate of Kayes. The facilitators focused on content related to the five policy pillars:

 Prevention  Protection  Prosecution  Response  Social cohesion With this knowledge, the participants returned to the workshop to propose activities to disseminate the strategy content. Three dissemination activities related to the National Policy for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (Politique nationale de prévention de l'extrémisme violent or PN-PEV) have been developed, including a dissemination plan for each intervention zone.

“The subject is very important and must be taken very seriously. We know about violent extremism here in Kayes through slavery, violent and displaced people. As civil society, we have an action plan. We need support and accompaniment for the implementation of the action plan that also addresses the issue of violent extremism.”

Representative from the Regional RECOTRAD

Activity 3.2. Youth association leaders disseminate information among target youth about the CVE strategy and collect input for the action plan The implementation of these dissemination plans will be organized next quarter. Activity 3.3. Community leaders, local government actors, and Ministry of Reconciliation officials share lessons from EWER system and develop plan to integrate EWER into national policy Meetings to share experiences and lessons learned related to the EWER system will be organized next quarter.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 12 MONITORING, EVALUATION & LEARNING After one year of implementation, the MEL team conducted a mid-term evaluation in November 2020. This evaluation looked at the relevance and effectiveness of activities implemented throughout the first year of the project. The MEL team had the opportunity to work with program team during the programmatic review, followed by focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews in the intervention areas to determine whether the program is on track to achieve its objectives. The key findings are presented as follows and the full mid-term report is submitted along with this quarterly report.

The percentage of people who feel that their communities are and will continue to be peaceful, safe and secure increased from 38% at the baseline study to 45% at the mid-term evaluation. This is believed to be a result of conflict resolution activities conducted during the S4C sessions through youth associations, youth leaders, community leaders, and especially training in non-violent advocacy. The percentage of targeted youth who believe that the use of violence to defend a social or political cause is never justified increased from 81% at the baseline to 84% at the mid-term.

Members of a community who were not previously in contact with each other now meet at various program activities, such as meetings, consultations, and sports activities, and the percentage of people who believe that there is social cohesion in the community has risen from 64% to 83%.

The Lafia project is strengthening existing conflict management systems through training and the establishment of conflict management committees, as well as the early warning system, which has resulted in a significant increase in the number of people who believe that those responsible for conflict management in their regions are able to prevent and resolve conflicts in their community, from 60% to 87%.

In order to build peaceful communities, Lafia, in collaboration with the authorities, has disseminated messages on national peace policies through these different activities, hence the percentage of people who report receiving information on national peace policies on a regular basis is 71% at the mid-term versus 54% at the baseline.

The number of youth trained in social or leadership skills through Lafia was 1,286 out of a projected 2,000, or 64%. The number of youth associations better prepared to be potential decision makers of the future is 55 out of a projected 50, or 110%.The number of groups trained in mediation/conflict resolution or consensus building techniques with USG support is 17 out of 20 planned, or 85%.

By participating in the programmatic review with the program teams and by interviewing communities during the evaluation, the MEL team formulated recommendations and the development of specific action plans in response to the challenges. The findings of this evaluation, added to programmatic review, provide the program team with guidelines for making up for the delay in implementation and the lack of visibility of the project in some areas. Through FGDs, the MEL team was also able to witness that the issue of cultural slavery is crucial in Kayes region. It is advisable to take this aspect into account in the action plan for the remainder of the program.

The COVID-19 mitigation and prevention measures adopted by the project team have also enabled Lafia to adapt its intervention strategy.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 13 CHALLENGES & LESSONS LEARNED Challenges and Lessons Learned

The program did not face any major challenges during this quarter. It is worth noting, however, that despite the important progress made since the start-up of Lafia program, in some villages, some people remain reticent to talk about the slavery issues. Furthermore, though there have been attacks by radical groups in the region, the attacks are infrequent and the groups do not yet seem to be a long-term, consistent presence in the region. Sustainability

As a core strategy to the program’s implementation, Mercy Corps supports local existing institutions and partner organizations to deliver program interventions. By doing this, Mercy Corps ensures local partners and other program stakeholders to have ownership of the program design and delivery. The Lafia team engages youth, governmental structures (e.g., land commissions), community leaders (e.g. traditional leaders), and youth in social cohesion activities to promote national reconciliation. Environmental Compliance

No activities are presently planned that require environmental review. However, Mercy Corps is corresponding closely with USAID, particularly around the selection of joint projects that may impact the local environment and require mitigating actions according to the approved Initial Environmental Examination (IEE).

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 14 PLANNED ACTIVITIES – NEXT QUARTER

Objective 1: Youth reduce their vulnerability to participating in conflict and violent extremism.  Activity 1.2: 80 Sport for Change (S4C) Clubs set up to involve 2,000 youth at risk of participation in conflict in identification and resolution of conflict in collaboration with youth leaders.  Activity 1.3 Youth design and implement action plans that address risk factors for violence. During the coming quarter, the program will finalize the S4C activities and conduct sports competitions. Additionally, Lafia will implement the remaining action plans that address risk factors for violence. Under a cost modification, Lafia will also implemental the following supplemental activities:  Activity 1.1: Rapid assessment for contextual data update and mapping of key actors  Activity 1.2: 80 Sport for Change Clubs set-up to involve 2,000 youth at risk of participation in conflict in identification and resolution of conflict in collaboration with youth leaders  Activity 1.3: Youth training session on non-violent advocacy and conflict resolution  Activity 1.4: Community workshop to discuss conflict risks and causes and create action plans to prevent violence During the coming quarter, the program will carry out a rapid assessment to identify the two additional communes. Then, we will identify the key actors to be involved in the activities: Community leaders, coaches for sport clubs, youth leaders, etc. Afterwards, the program will set up the sports clubs, train the coaches and launch the S4C session. The program will also organize a workshop to discuss conflict risks and causes.

Objective 2: Traditional, religious, and female leaders and government officials resolve inter-group conflicts peacefully and reduce conflict drivers.  Activity 2.2. Trained leaders participate in 12 conflict resolution forums to share lessons and develop/adapt EWER systems to needs of zones of intervention. The program will hold the second round of conflict resolution forums and follow up on recommendations from the previous set of forums.

 Activity 2.4. Communities, in collaboration with local authorities, implement joint projects that address one or more conflict drivers. During the next quarter, Lafia will complete the seven remaining joint projects that address the conflicts drivers in the targeted areas. Under a cost modification, Lafia will also implemental the following supplemental activities:  Activity 2.1: Traditional, religious, women, and government leaders increase their capacity in dispute resolution.  Activity 2.2: Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) system set-up in two additional communes  Activity 2.3. Supporting regional awareness-raising initiatives on the tensions related to the practice of slavery Under this objective, the program will hold the training for community leaders identified under Activity 1.1, establish the EWER system and start working with the governor’s office and other regional actors to prepare the regional forum on the issue of slavery.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 15 Objective 3: Local communities actively engage with relevant government authorities and civil society actors in the implementation of national policies that prevent violent extremism and promote reconciliation.  Activity 3.2. Youth association leaders disseminate information among target youth about the national CVE strategy and collect input for the action plan  Activity 3.3. Community leaders, local government actors, and Ministry of Reconciliation officials share lessons from EWER system and develop plan to integrate EWER into national policy Following training, youth will organize dissemination activities on the national CVE strategy. The program will also gather officials in order to discuss lessons learned from EWER system.

MERCY CORPS Lafia: Quarterly Report, Jan-Mar. 2021 16

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