Project Overview
Communities in the Gedo and Mandera Triangle region face interconnected challenges, including youth unemployment, limited access to vocational skills, displacement, climate shocks, pressure on shared resources, and recurring tensions among communities that depend on water, grazing areas, forests, and cross-border trade.
Women and young people experience particularly high barriers to employment, business ownership, leadership, and civic participation. Farmers also face flooding, unpredictable rainfall, weak irrigation systems, limited access to markets, and reduced agricultural productivity.
The project responded through an integrated model that combined economic opportunity, agricultural support, social cohesion, leadership development, peacebuilding, and cooperative natural resource management.
All activities and milestones planned under the grant were successfully completed.
Overall Goal
To strengthen the economic, social, and environmental resilience of vulnerable cross-border communities through inclusive livelihoods, peacebuilding, leadership development, and equitable management of shared natural resources.
Key Objectives
- Expand conflict-sensitive and inclusive livelihood and employment opportunities for youth and women.
- Strengthen farmers’ production, business, and climate-adaptation capacities.
- Build social cohesion through peacebuilding, mediation, advocacy, and community leadership.
- Increase women’s and youth participation in local decision-making.
- Improve conflict-sensitive and equitable sharing of natural resources across border communities.
- Strengthen collaboration among communities, traditional leaders, civil society, and local authorities.
Emerging Impact
The project contributed to several important changes:
- Youth and women gained practical, marketable skills.
- Graduates moved into employment and self-employment.
- Start-up kits reduced barriers to earning income.
- Some small businesses expanded and created additional jobs.
- Farmers improved fodder production, business knowledge, and crop diversification.
- IDP women improved household food production through keyhole gardening.
- Traditional elders strengthened their capacity to prevent and resolve disputes.
- Women and youth increased their participation in community leadership.
- Community advocates gained stronger civic and governance skills.
- Cross-border communities developed recommendations for more equitable resource sharing.
- Cooperation between communities, local authorities, and traditional leaders improved.
