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Safer World Foundation

Safer World Foundation is a non-governmental and not for profit organization that works to reduce violent conflict, minimize the impact of violence on individuals and communities at large, as well as to build safer communities. We in Safer World Foundation believe that to achieve lasting peace, people must actively get involved in providing alternatives to violence and have access to fair and effective means of addressing grievances and inequalities drive conflict.

Registered with the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as an Incorporated Trustee, Safer World Foundation has been working in North Eastern States of Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Bauchi as well as the North Central States of Benue, Niger and Plateau since August 2015.

Mission and Vision

Vision:

We envision having communities where people can lead peaceful lives free from fear and insecurity

Mission:

We work to create and promote conditions where:

• People actively get involved in minimizing and transforming violent conflicts and building peace by providing alternatives to violence
• People have access to fair and effective means of addressing grievances and inequalities that drive conflict
• Duty bearers use their influence and powers to promote just and equitable communities

Values and Principles

Our integrity as an organization comes from the values and principles that guide our work.

• We believe in the worth, equality and dignity of every person, and respect the richness of social and cultural diversity.
• We believe that inclusivity and accountability are essential in society for people to enjoy security, justice and peaceful co-existence.
• Our actions must show honesty and transparency, and consistency with our principles and mission.

Safer World's Core Values

1. Accountability
2. Transparency
3. Teamwork
4. Neutrality
5. Good Conduct and Decorum
6. Inclusivity

Principles

1. We put people at the center of our work, particularly those affected by conflict and insecurity.
2. We promote and support inclusive and cooperative approaches to decision-making.
3. We understand that everything we do can have positive or negative effects on conflict dynamics and gender relationships, and being sensitive to this is central to our work.
4. We are a learning organization, striving to learn from each other – staff, partners and communities.
5. We are accountable to the communities and partners we work with, and to the donors and public who support our work.

Strategies

Community Programming

• Safer World Foundation supports communities affected by conflict to actively get involved in providing alternatives to violence and promoting lasting peace. Built on a few years of experience and learning in communities affected by violence, our community programming unites people across divides to work together to find solutions, overcome division and promote peace.
• We bring people together within their communities to work through issues that could lead to conflict. We ensure our community programming includes representatives from all sectors of society including women, minorities, young people, elders, and religious leaders. This also means connecting them with authorities, such as the police.
• Through our programming we strengthen the skills and expertise of communities and other stakeholders in peacebuilding, gender peace and security, justice sector reform and arms control.

Community Security

• Marginalization and division unnecessarily prevent communities from living in peace. We believe that people are best placed for identifying and addressing their own security concerns. Our approach brings people together for peace – they define what security is, whom it is for and how it is delivered in their communities.
• Too often security services and ‘solutions’ are disconnected from the needs of ordinary people. Safer World Foundation has been working with communities to ensure that people are in the lead in developing their own security solutions with authorities.
• We connect communities, religious leaders, the media, police, authorities and government to find joint solutions. Often with opposing views, these groups work through conflict, overcome divisions, and build better relations between communities and authorities.

Structure

Safer World Foundation is headed by a Board of Trustees, the highest decision making body of the organization that also, plays an oversight function. The Board in conjunction with the Director and other line managers provide leadership and governance of the organization and is however guided by the constitution of the organization as well as policy documents that inform major decisions and operation.

Next is the Executive Director who, in collaboration with the Program Manager and the Admin/Finance Manager as well as the entire staff and team, oversees the day to day running of the organization as it relates to resource management, programs and relationships with external stakeholders and partners of the organization.

Projects

Capacity Building on Improving Psychosocial Support Services for Conflict-Affected Children in Kaduna State

Increasing and pervasive violent incidents against civilians in Southern, Northern, and Central Kaduna State has caused a decline in basic education, particularly for children in conflict-affected communities. These children’s academic learning—and socio-emotional well-being—are severely constrained as a result of displacement and violent attacks. Children who are exposed to violence attend school with poor functional skills, including inhibited memory, limited attention span, and emotional and behavioral issues. Children affected by violent conflict experience mental health issues long after they experience the initial conflict and are further compounded by the consequences of conflict, including loss of homes, economic hardships, inadequate living conditions, and separation from family and community members.

In an effort to alleviate some of the Psychosocial issues surrounding violent conflict, the USAID/OTI Nigeria Early Recovery Initiative (NERI) partnered with Safer World Foundation to expand NERI’s Psychosocial Support Services (PSS) and training in Kaduna State. As Nigeria’s leading experts in Psychosocial Support, Safer World Foundation trained 20 guidance counsellors of the Kaduna State Ministry of Education to increase their ability, knowledge, and skills in evidence-based therapies specialized for children (Play Therapy). Increasing Psychosocial Support in Kaduna State is an integral part of emergency response in the state and will heal children from the psychological wounds caused by violent conflict while helping them rebuild social cohesion as active survivors.

To ensure a legacy of sustained PSS support throughout Kaduna State under NERI’s programming, Safer World developed a Psychosocial Support Curriculum to be rolled out by the Ministry of Education in an effort to institutionalize PSS across the State’s public-school system.

Peace Education Campaign

Learning to live together has become increasingly important in today’s divided world. Peace Education is a preventive action: the prevention of violent conflict. Peace Education is important especially in a country as diverse as Nigeria where hate crimes are on the increase. It can help children manage and address peer to peer misunderstanding, conflicts and build dialogue processes for enhanced understanding of one another. It is important to teach them the values of love, forgiveness, tolerance peace and non-violence at all times.

It incorporates philosophies that include the concepts of nonviolence, love, compassion, and reverence for all life. Peace education helps the next generation to better understand and address problems that can undermine the rule of law and prepare students to serve as the next generation of leaders in creating a more equitable society as peace ambassadors. It is crucial for these groups to have the knowledge, skills and abilities to better address and manage conflicts and advocate for social justice in their communities.

Safer World Foundation identified education as the key; as compassion and empathy for the other can be taught and nurtured. To this end, safer world foundation embarked on a project to sensitize students in different secondary schools on the need for peaceful co –existence. The main objectives of the project included:

• Equipping participants with knowledge and skills required to promote values of peace in their community.
• Building the capacity of participants to become peace ambassadors
• Providing support and mentorship for peace clubs in secondary schools

Promoting Recovery and Resilience of Violent-Affected Communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and Northwest

For over two decades now, the middle belt region (Benue, Plateau and Kaduna) and more recently the Northwest have been impacted by different degrees of conflict and violence that have resulted in numerous deaths and destruction of property worth billions of Naira. Recently, there have been renewed tensions and conflict between diverse groups in Benue, Kaduna and Plateau states.

The impact of this conflict, displacement and loss on mental and physical health is great as people are traumatized to varying degrees. An encounter with these victims, most of who are living in camps or with neighbors and have experienced very severe trauma underscores the urgent and necessary need for trauma consciousness and resilience. Children of displaced families or those who have witnessed brutal killings, separation from their families, destruction of their homes or even disruption or their living pattern are also traumatized, and this creates a deep worry and concern. This can have lasting impression and impact on them if left unattended.

This project was geared towards strengthening the capacity of selected community members to be able to provide Psychosocial support for themselves and to others with the view of alleviating the psychological trauma of these people while aiming to provide a new view to their future. This was aimed at building resilience and promote the restoration of the social fabrics of targeted communities.

Third Party Monitors of the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP)

The National Social Safety Nets Project is part of government’s policy of growth and social inclusion aimed at addressing poverty, which is one of the social challenges facing Nigeria. With support from the World Bank; the project seeks to, among other components, support targeted/selected poor households with monthly cash transfers. This is with the hope of laying foundation for the government’s long-term objectives of targeting and delivering safety nets to poor and vulnerable households across the nation. As a means of ensuring social accountability and citizens engagement, NASSP is designed to engage State Level Civil Society Organizations as third-party monitors for the targeted cash transfer program in selected states of the federation.

As a third-party state level CSO monitor, Safer World Foundation (SWF) is providing credible and unbiased information on the different processes that are being implemented. These, among others, include monitoring and scrutinizing the processes that lead to the identification of poor and vulnerable households in Bauchi State, the process of selection of targeted beneficiaries from the Social Registry as well as processes related to the actual cash transfer program.

Safer World Foundation is providing service coverage to the 20 Local government Areas (LGAs) that make up Bauchi State at both the LGA level and at community level, by providing monthly reports for review and advise on the overall processes, based on independent monitoring of activities. SWF deploys key technical experts with the requisite skills and capacity to monitor delivery of benefits in timely and transparent manner, to ensure accuracy of results obtained from the field as well as other issues of complaints from the project beneficiaries.

Promoting Resilience to Impact of Covid-19 in Artisanal Mining Communities In Niger And Osun States Of Nigeria

The impact of Covid-19 has been evident in all artisanal mining communities in Nigeria. Mineral production, trade and communities’ livelihoods have been directly and indirectly affected by travel bans and movement restrictions, health advisories and other preventive measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus. Compliance with hand washing and social distancing has also been a challenge to execute. The effects of and measures introduced to contain the spread of COVID-19 have exacerbated the existing inequalities faced by populations living in Artisanal Mining communities and further exposed them to health and safety issues.

As lockdown and quarantine measures were imposed and these miners are forced into the home, their very livelihoods are threatened. Many operate small and often informal businesses and, in many cases, live hand to mouth. With most of this communities located in hard to reach areas, the ongoing sensitization program, social safety net projects and government economic interventions may not be assessable by these populations who are also at risk of contracting the virus due to their routine activities and social engagements.

Safer Worlds Foundation (SWF) and Ziva Community Initiative have been working with mining communities to support awareness creation and also business development initiatives to promote sustainable livelihoods, quality hygiene practice and empowerment of women who are mostly disadvantaged in these activities. These organizations have also been working to build a sustainable mining community through innovation and technology; strengthen the value chain and diversity through empowerment program.

With financial support from EGPS, this project therefore seeks to address the socio-economic and health and safety concerns associated with artisanal mining communities especially as aggravated by the ravaging covid-19 pandemic. The virus could potentially have a devastating impact on already fragile communities with weak healthcare systems and which also have high levels of violence.

The project will also strive to bridge the gap of inequality and promote women engagement by support and strengthening already existing women cooperative groups and societies in target project locations. The Cooperatives in ASM were formed due to Federal Government programs on the formalization of ASM to curb their activities.

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External links

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