17-05-2024 | di COOPI

Lake Chad. Support for 8 women's organizations to promote peace

On April 17 in Bol, Lake Chad province, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale organized a fund handover ceremony to women's organizations selected as part of the project "Gender and Peace: let's mobilize for an inclusive peacebuilding process." The project aims to improve the welfare of women victims of the crisis in the region by promoting their economic autonomy and raising awareness on crucial issues for peace and social cohesion.

During the ceremony, eight civil society women's organizations received funding to carry out income-generating activities and awareness-raising campaigns on crucial issues such as peacebuilding, social cohesion, combating gender-based violence, girls' schooling, etc.

Assistant project manager Ida Carmelle emphasized the importance of empowering women economically and promoting their awareness on key issues, stating:

Through this action COOPI intends to contribute to the welfare of women in crisis situations in the Lake by promoting their autonomy." 

These activities include restaurant services, small-scale trade, chicken and ruminant farming, and grain sales and storage. In addition, awareness sessions on relevant project issues are planned to engage and inform the local community.

Boules City Mayor Mohammad Mossaf praised COOPI's initiative, noting how it aligns with the government policy that emphasizes the promotion and empowerment of women, as well as their participation in all areas of decision-making.

Through the Gender and Peace Project, which is funded by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) and the British government's Commonwealth Foreign and Development Office (CFDO), COOPI not only aims to reduce gender-based violence and conflicts related to economic resources, but also strives to promote greater inclusion of women in peacebuilding dialogue processes, thereby strengthening the social fabric of the region.

The Lake Chad region is experiencing one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, due to the impact of climate change, which causes continuous flooding, violent attacks by non-state armed groups such as Boko Haram. High rates of poverty and insecurity provide fertile ground for the rise of discriminatory practices and gender-based violence. Because of this insecurity, women are marginalized from economic activities, finding themselves in a vortex of vulnerability and violence.

Since 1967, COOPI has been working in Chad with a multi-sectoral approach to address the country's complex challenges. In the Lac and N'Djamena regions, it provides emergency education for internally displaced children and local communities, offers psychosocial support to trauma victims, and promotes peacebuilding. Special attention is given to women's empowerment, conflict prevention, and combating violence and gender discrimination.