Community Security
Disasters affect structural development, destroying investments of years. This means that the most effective disaster response demands synergy between community disaster risk reduction (CMDRR) and humanitarian aid, conflict transformation, social protection and economic development.
In fragile states, many people experience violence, insecurity and other adverse consequences of conflict every day. Cordaid’s Community Security programme focuses on building and repairing relationships in local communities to enable people to deal with conflict from a perspective of non-violence, inclusion, justice and community participation.
The programme offers services, methodologies and techniques of peace building and reconciliation implemented by local partners and other stakeholders. It is helping local communities to react more effectively to lack of security, and offering better protection to vulnerable groups like women and children. In this way, local communities are taking an active part in transforming the destructive nature of conflicts into opportunities for positive change.
Working with partner organisations, Cordaid is endeavouring to:
- build and strengthen local practices and mechanisms for non-violent, participatory conflict resolution;
- restoring social fabric torn apart by violence, by providing care for victims and reintegrating ex-combatants and displaced people;
- improve human security, especially for vulnerable groups, with measures for prevention, early warning and early response;
- ensure that local people participate in higher level decision making on issues that affect them and enlarging their political space.
Cordaid is well positioned to promote Community Security because of its strong connection with grassroots initiatives and peace building, its network of faith-based organisations and its ability to promote local interests in the global arena.
Project:
Community committees in Kinshasa
