PRESS RELEASE: An official at the European Union Delegation to Uganda has urged the Uganda Police Force and slum communities in Kampala to build on the achievements of the just-ended Social Cohesion project to promote peaceful dialogue.

Ms Patricia Stephenson, the EUD Governance and Human Rights Programme Officer, spoke on Thursday, during a virtual event to formally close a four-year project called Strengthening Social Cohesion and Stability in Slum Populations (SSCoS).

The project was funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) with 4.3 million euros since August 2016.
Its overarching goal was to address the root-causes of radicalization and extremism in informal settlements, as one of the ways to prevent irregular migration.  It was implemented by the International organization for Migration (IOM), together with partners such as the Bwaise-based organization AFFCAD, Uganda Police Force (UPF), Kampala Capital City Authority, KiBO Foundation and ACTogether.
Ms Stephenson hailed IOM’s project leadership, and thanked the various implementing partners for the achievements in vocational education and employment, anti-radicalization messaging, civic awareness on service provision and community relations, as well as support to security and Government agencies.

“IOM worked with the UPF to develop a training curriculum around prevention of violent extremism,” she said. “Over 200 police officers from a range or ranks and a range of geographical locations have been trained in this, and training-of-trainer courses, and this curriculum will be handed over to the UPF for inclusion in their standard police training course, which we are really excited about”.
She added: “As we look to the coming months and of course the election period, I would expect that the gains achieved by this project in relation to constructive and positive dialogue between community leaders, youth and Police, will be maintained by all stakeholders, and that they continue to build on the successes to promote peaceful dialogue within communities.”
Speaking about the achievements, Project Manager Sahra Farah said 1,048 youth had received vocational education; 122 got employment; 667 got small business start-up capital, leading to creation of 896 jobs, as well as sensitization of more than 125,000 community members on radicalization and violent extremism.

The closing event was addressed by representatives of implementing partners, who commended the project’s impact. They included Nakawa Mayor Ronald Balimwezo, Senior Police Commissioner David Wasswa, one of the AFFCAD founders Jaffar Nyombi, officials from Enterprise Uganda and ACTogether, and several beneficiaries, who gave testimonies of how their lives have been changed.
“I used to wake up and say, ‘let me go and look for some money’. Now I wake up and go my work place. I wait for customers, they come and I serve them,” said Emmanuel Ngobi from Kabalagala.

Kawanda-based tailoring graduate Bashir Hamba, one of the beneficiaries making face masks, spoke of his journey from despair, through vocational training at AFFCAD and small business start-up support, to a proud fashion designer helping to fight COVID-19.
In his remarks, IOM Uganda Chief of Mission thanked the European Union for the funding and support, the IOM team and implementing partners for their hard work, and urged the slum communities to build on the project achievements.

He explained that the project had tested a whole-of-society approach to building socially-cohesive and stabile communities, saying: “And the logic of change was not difficult to see. With Majority of young people in informal settlements starved of opportunities, they can easily get radicalized and end up as violent criminals.    The project has worked hard to ensure that slums become NOT hotbeds of crime, but nursery beds of hope, determination and innovation.”

“Project activities start and end at some point,” Mr Savage added. “But it is our hope that the outcomes of this project will live on and grow for many years.  Clearly, many seeds of hope have been sown and they have germinated. We appeal to the youth and women to continue working the gardens with determination and perseverance.”

_______________________________________________

For further information please contact the IOM Uganda Programme Coordinator Erika De Bona. Email: edebona@iom.int  Tel +256 312 263 210.    Media enquiries can be directed to IOM Uganda Public Information Officer, Richard M Kavuma. Email: ugandapiu@iom.int Tel +256 772 709 917