Tip of the Iceberg

So I had started to write a post which was a laundry list of things I wanted to talk about but I decided that it's probably better to stay focused.

I know I jump around enough that it's difficult to keep track of what exactly it is that I'm doing.

The Basics:

My title is Peace and Conflict officer and I'm working with the Ugandan Cooperative Alliance. My position is supported by the Canadian Cooperative Association and is a CIDA internship. I have been applying to CIDA internships for three years, it turns out that you need to be out of school to do one, and this is the first time that I have been out of school long enough to do one.

So what exactly is a cooperative, you might ask:

Cooperatives are self-governing groups of business which are democratic and have open membership. In Uganda there are three types of cooperatives: Credit Unions (or SACCOS), Area Cooperative Enterprises (ACEs) and Rural Production Enterprises (RPOs).

You probably already know what credit unions do so I'll skip it. RPOs are groups of farmers who come together to pool their resources in order to run more effectively. So for example cooperative members might pool their money to buy a tractor which they couldn't afford on their own, and then share the use of the tractor, they might also come together for training and value addition. Area cooperative enterprises are responsible for marketing of goods so for example they dry, package and label pineapples. All three groups support eachother and fall under the guidance and management of the Ugandan Cooperative Alliance.

Where I come in:

You may or may not know but Uganda has a fairly conflict ridden past. Most people are familiar with the violence of the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, which I have learned was actually a form of rebellion against the centralized government, but Uganda was also plagued by politica violence prior to the Northern War.

One of UCA's projects called the Integrated Financial and Agricultural Production Initiative which seeks to reduce rural poverty is based in Northern Uganda in regions impacted by the conflict. So Halfway through the second phase of the project they decided to conduct a peace and conflict impact assessment which was carried out by the intern from last year.

The Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment contains several recommendations for how the IFAPI project and UCA more generally might integrate conflict sensitivity into their programming. So one of the first things I did when I got here was identify the key activities which could be undertaken to meet the recommendations.

So again I have a laundry list of things that I'm going to be doing here. The first task which I have undertaken has been to network with other organizations working in the peacebuilding field so that they (and I) have some external resources for things like training and print materials. So far I have visited the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (and have been invited back for subsequent visits), the UN High Commision on Refugees and the Center for Conflict Resolution, who are helping to develop our training. I'm still planning to visit the refugee law project, War Child and the Danish De-mining group. I am also working with the Center for Conflict Resolution to help develop the training sessions which I expect will be a huge learning experience. In December I expect to travel to the North in Gulu to conduct another Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment and to do baseline surveys in the regions that I have already visited.

There are a few reasons I really like my job. First I get to work fairly independently in a subject area I enjoy. I learned over the last year that team work is not always my strong point although I am enjoying the opportunity to work on this through networking and working with my colleagues at UCA. The second reason I really like this position is that I get to do a lot of work one-on-one with people which is a great learning experience for me, but I also hope it gives them an opportunity to learn a little bit about conflict sensitivity. The third reason I like this position is I see a huge opportunity to make a lasting and constructive impact on the organization I'm working with and that the process will help me to further to develop my leadership skills.

I think we all know I really like networking.

There's one more thing, you're probably wondering what conflict-sensitivity is and why it is important. Conflict sensitivity is being aware of the context you're working in, the way your organization interacts with the context and then determining how to approach your work accordingly. The reason conflict sensitivity is important, is because if you lack that situational awareness, either the post-conflict setting may make your program or development intervention run less effectively, or worse your intervention may contribute to increased latent (non-violent) conflict and structural violence.

More to come