DON BOSCO NETWORK S SUDAN COUNTRY PROGRAMME

Transcription

1 Reviving Education, Rebuilding Sudan DON BOSCO NETWORK S SUDAN COUNTRY PROGRAMME C O N C E P T N O T E 1. INTRODUCTION The Don Bosco Network (DBN), an association of European Non-Governmental Organizations running projects in 82 countries all over the world, has been actively working in Sudan through its primary partner, the Don Bosco Society, since the past 15 years. The Don Bosco Society entered Sudan in 1979 and since then has set up institutions in Khartoum, El Obeid, Wau and Tonj. These institutions include Vocational Training Centres (VTCs), formal schools and primary schools in the villages. It is a well recognized fact that all these institutions offer a service that is relevant as well as of a high quality. The DBN has been quick to respond to the opportunity for the development of Sudan made possible by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on January 9, Following the signing of the CPA it immediately informed its primary partner, the Don Bosco Society in Sudan, of its intention to focus its attention for the next few years specifically on the development of this county. To spearhead this focused attention, Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo VIS (an Italian Salesian NGO and DBN member) was nominated as the lead agency within the DBN to coordinate the activities of the network within Sudan. Accordingly, VIS opened a Country Office in Sudan in July 2006 and in August 2006 completed the process of getting itself formally registered as an international non governmental organization (INGO) by the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Sudan. This office now functions as the coordinating centre for all DBN projects in Sudan. 2. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE To bring about the overall development of Sudan several sectors demand immediate attention: governance, infrastructure, welfare services, economic development, human capacity building, etc. All these sectors are in fact interwoven and complement each other, hence none can be neglected. Given this situation, and in synchronization with the plans of the Sudanese Government and the International Humanitarian Community (IHC), DBN defines the overall objective of its intervention in Sudan as: To partner the process of building a new society in Sudan, were every person can live in peace and dignity. Page 1

2 After a careful reflection on the poverty assessment of Sudan and keeping in mind its own core competence, the DBN has decided that the principal strategy it will adopt for its intervention in Sudan is Education. The DBN does not define education in the narrow sense of a formal school education, but education understood in its holistic meaning as imparting Literacy Skills, Livelihood Skills and Life Skills. Education enables every person to be the protagonist of his own development and thereby contribute to the overall development of the nation. Similarly, education paves the way for the creation of a socio-political climate that guarantees peace and the socio-economic conditions that promote the dignity of every individual person. 3. GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS * The DBN will focus on selected geographical areas of Sudan determined by the following criteria: a) Degree of deprivation b) Vulnerability of children and youth c) Presence of Primary Partner Based on these criteria, the DBN s Sudan program is divided into three zones: 1. South Sudan Zone 2. Khartoum Zone 3. Darfur Zone 4. SPECIFIC INTERVENTION OBJECTIVES To achieve its overall program objective to partner the process of building a new society in Sudan, where every person can live in peace and dignity the DBN will implement the following projects along with its primary partner and other humanitarian organizations in Sudan, during the time period 2007 to 2011: A. SOUTH SUDAN ZONE 1. Improve access to schooling, especially for IDPs, in the town of Wau. 2. Enable the start-up of small enterprises in the Wau County by providing employment oriented vocational training to youngsters. 3. Promote agro based livelihoods in the Wau County through agricultural training and services. 4. Improve access to schooling in the Tonj County. 5. Promote agro based livelihoods in the Tonj County through agricultural training and services. 6. Improve the status of women in the Tonj County through life skills and livelihoods training. 7. Create a human resource base of entrepreneurial potential that will contribute to the economic development of South Sudan * See Annex 1 for the map of Sudan highlighting the DBN areas of intervention Page 2

3 B. KHARTOUM ZONE 8. Improve access to basic health care and educational services for the IDPs living in the squatter areas in the Kalakala locality of Khartoum. 9. Offer high quality job oriented professional training to IDPs in Khartoum by improving the standard at the St. Joseph VTC 10. Facilitate the process of repatriation and resettlement of trained youth (IDPs) from Khartoum to South Sudan. C. DARFUR ZONE 11. Provide employment oriented vocational training for 500 youngsters annually from Darfur. 5. CONCLUSION After many decades of civil war, Sudan is now looking ahead to a new future where peace is guaranteed and the dignity of every person respected. The DBN is committed to partnering this process of creating a New Sudan. As we well know: Peace Supports Development, Development Sustains Peace. Not to press ahead with the development process would result in the collapse of peace in Sudan. However, the task in gigantic and needs the combined effort of all humanitarian agencies to tackle it. Accordingly, the DBN is happy to join forces with other organizations thereby creating synergy to support Sudan. This is in keeping with the spirit of MDG 8 that calls for the formation of partnerships for development. The DBN stands convinced that only such partnership can help speedily address the multiplicity of problems that Sudan is presently facing and launch this country on the road to a new destiny. Page 3

4 ANNEX 1 Map of Sudan highlighting the areas of intervention Page 4

5 ANNEX 2 List of beneficiaries AREAS OF INTERVENTION & PROJECTS NAME NO. OF DIRECT BENEFICIARIES (ANNUALLY) SOUTH SUDAN ZONE 1) Improve access to schooling, especially for IDPs, in the town of Wau. 2) Enable the start-up of small enterprises in the Wau County by providing employment oriented vocational training to youngsters. 3) Promote agro based livelihoods in the Wau County through agricultural training and services students 350 students 250 households 4) Improve access to schooling in the Tonj County students 5) Promote agro based livelihoods in the Tonj County through agricultural training and services. 6) Improve the status of women in the Tonj County through life skills and livelihoods training. 7) Create a human resource base of entrepreneurial potential that will contribute to the economic development of South Sudan 250 households 400 women 300 students KHARTOUM ZONE 8) Improve access to basic health care and educational services for the IDPs living in the squatter areas in the Kalakala locality of Khartoum. 9) Offer high quality job oriented professional training to IDPs in Khartoum by improving the standard at the St. Joseph VTC 10) Facilitate the process of repatriation and resettlement of trained youth (IDPs) from Khartoum to South Sudan students 5000 families 850 students 150 students DARFUR ZONE 11) Provide employment oriented vocational training for 500 youngsters annually from Darfur. 500 students VIS Sudan Country Office Andrea Naletto Savio Silveira Page 5