Oxfam in HECA January- April 2014 newsletter

Let’s TalkOxfam in hOrn, east and central africa - Quarterly regiOnal newsletter, January - april 2014

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Let’s Talk Hello everyone,2014 began on a very challenging and intense note with the ongoing conflict in South Sudan that began on December 15 which has since left nearly 1.2 million displaced, over 300,000 of which have crossed the borders to Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya. The situation had remained volatile and unpredictable but it is my hope that the recent resumed talks will somehow bring some semblance of peace and eventually amicable resolution among the conflicting factions. I believe there is still hope to salvage the situation despite the atrocities, hurt and pain. And this is evident from the many hopeful stories emerging from the ground like the one highlighted in this publication on page two which is an excerpt from a compilation “Above and Beyond, voices of hope from South Sudan.

But it has not been all grim for this region. We’ve also managed some notable achievements. Our DRC team launched another protection report, In the Balance, at this year’s 22nd African Union summit, a report that has since attracted lots of attention and has been shared widely. The key message from the report is that communities are not yet benefitting from peace. It highlights the effects of war, particularly in eastern DRC and of the need to make sure that community voices are heard at the regional and international levels, to ensure their obstacles are identified and lasting peace can be achieved.

In Tanzania we launched yet another season of Female Food Heroes - much bigger than the previous year’s bringing in youthful participants from across the East African region who teamed up with the women farmers from Tan-zania. For the first time, there was also an online competition incorporated where the winner was able to buy her own piece of land from the money awarded. A true example of how we are incorporating digital media into our programming. The finale of this season was on May 18 where Bahati Muriga from Mwanza is named Female Food Hero of the year 2014.

We are also now innovatively tapping into solar energy for cost effective and sustainable water provision to communities in northern Kenya. Communities in some parts of Wajir now have access to clean water, and are responsible for managing these resources, empowering them to build their own resil-ience and pave the way for long term development. Another example where communities are taking the initiative to find sustainable solutions is in Ethiopia, where members of pastoral communities in the Somali region are ingeniously finding ways to resolve issues such as management of resources and disaster preparedness as well as support each other communally through the Pastoral Field schools.

These, and the other uplifting stories covered in this issue, give me hope that we are on the right track despite the set backs we have witnessed in recent times in the region. I hope by reading some of the stories featured here you’ll continue to be encouraged and inspired by the incredible work that our Oxfam teams are doing in this region.

Please enjoy the read and as usual we welcome your feedback.

Hugs, Fran.

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Following the breakout of conflict in South Sudan last December and the continued levels of insecurity coupled by the on-going violation of human rights, millions of people have been displaced with hundred of thousands loosing their lives. However, despite the daunting situation and helplessness surrounding those in South Sudan, hope still regins keeping many afloat during these tough times for the world’s youngest nation.

Stella Madete communications officer for the Somalia program was recently attached to the South Sudan team on second-ment, where she met people who awed her with their resilience filled with hope for the future. Here is an excerpt from the book Above and Beyond, voices of hope from South Sudan.

“ I have lived many years and know how we lived before all the wars. We were cattle keepers and could move freely grazing our bulls. Yes, there were clashes and fights like in every society, but they were small and could be resolved with time and reason. There were traditional systems that worked. We were free to travel and see different lands, meet new people and share our experiences, all the while trading in cattle and making money. This has not been the reality for a long time.

I was in Bor with my family when the fighting broke out. I told them to run because I am old and disabled. I lost my leg during the first war. I was left alone and on the first day, men walked into my house. They were Nuer. One of them saw me and wanted to kill me but his friend stopped him in his tracks. He looked at the young man and asked, ‘Look at this man. If you kill him, what will you accomplish? This man has done nothing wrong to you and yet you want to kill him. What will you gain from doing that?’

The young man lowered his gun and left the house. I don’t know the name of the man who saved my life but I am very grateful for what he did. Before he left, he looked at me and said, ‘Stay here and don’t make any noise. I will lock the door behind me. Do not open it for anyone else. That man saved my life. I wish I knew his name and where to find him so that I can thank him again.

”Read more stories from South Sudan in Above and beyond voices of hope from South Sudan.http://issuu.com/0xfam/docs/above-beyond-voices-hope-southsudan

or see our regular situaion reports posted on SUMUS https://sumus.oxfam.org/south-sudan-regional-crisis-2013-december and read how Oxfam is currently responding to the South Sudan crisis.

Jonglei, south sudan

“ He gives me hope that there is still room for healing despite all the wounds we have endured. There is still hope if our systems transform towards reconciliation and healing.”- Zacharia Abuoi Arok

Photo: Mackenzie Knowles Coursin/Oxfam

hope still reigns

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On 27 January, at the beginning of the AU summit week, the DRC team had a busy day of Rights in Crisis (RiC) work; the launch of their protection report followed by a CSO forum with the UNSG’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Mary Robinson. Our partner Jean-Pierre Buledi was part of those who attended the launch and he looks back at the situ-ation in DRC following the defeat of rebel group M23, by the Congolese army.

The defeat of the M23 rebel group by the Congolese army was big news last year. We all hoped that the business of getting on with life could return. But decades of extreme violence, lawlessness and the lack of accountable government authorities in my country could not disappear overnight.

My organization, CEDAC (The Centre for Documentation and Civic Educa-tion) wanted to see how life on the ground was changing for the com-munities of South Kivu. Our work typically takes us into rural Congo, where we teach groups about democratic processes, the functioning of public offices, and good governance. We train communities to understand the importance of monitoring all processes, including democratic processes like the local elections. When we visit communities to learn about their concerns, we hear that violence and threats are now entrenched.

Violence continues to flourish because the state does not consistently provide protection and state authorities themselves frequently threaten vulnerable communities.

Too often, members of the police and army are left to find their own ways to survive for themselves and their families. Decades of conflict have left the Democratic Republic of the Congo without the resources for educa-tion, health and a robust police force.

A rural woman, who has never been able to go to school, who has no economic power, is an easy target; Not only for armed groups but also for the army, the police, and even certain local leaders. Women’s important role in growing food and bringing it to market appears to be making them a target for taxation and fines at checkpoints on the way to the market.Programs run by CEDAC are making headway; our training involves educat-ing women to read and write, and to learn about their rights. CEDAC also documents abuses, refers them to court, and supports women to demand justice. More than 1.7 million people remain displaced across North and South Kivu, and people remain a valuable economic commodity for armed actors to exploit.

I’ve heard of a case where a farm owner in South Kivu got some soldiers in to guard his farm while he was away. They put up a barrier and demanded 200 Congolese francs (25 cents) from each person who passed by. They said it was for them to eat. When the community leader heard about this practice, he went to see the army commander – for a day the practice stopped, only to start the following day.

The Peace and Security Cooperation Framework offers some hope – that more security in our villages would also mean that more children will be educated, and learn how to hold their government accountable. I’m hopeful for the first time in a long time, but there’s a long way to go. There will have to be real change, not just talk. More honesty and more justice. Then we will see long-lasting stability in the eastern DRC and we can live our lives without fear.

Will things change for the Congo?

Read the full Oxfam Protection report released late January 2014http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-in-the-balance-protection-eastern-drc-270114-en.pdf

Still living in fear in the Congo

north Kivu:Business has returned to this North Kivu village since the defeat of M23. However this maize seller and mother of six must now support her family on her own, as her husband was forced to flee violence under M23, and has not returned.Photo: Aimee Brown/Oxfam

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Somalia has attracted headlines over the years as a difficult place for women to live, due to continuing food shortages and ongo-ing insecurity throughout the country. But the famine is not over, conditions there have been changing. These days, the outside world hears very little about what life is like for the average Somali woman.

So what is happening, how has the situation changed in Somalia for women and girls? The answers are varied. This year as world marked the “International Women’s Day” on March 8, women in Somalia are still struggling, but they continue with their efforts to improve their lives, and support their families. While conditions have changed, life for many Somali women remains a daily struggle. 860,000 people are still living in crisis across the country; and more than half of them are women and girls. Sadly, last year the most publicized headlines regarding women in Soma-lia, involved incidents of violence against women.

“The current situation for women in Somalia is aston-ishingly bleak; society has become so spoiled by the widespread impunity, that violence against women is considered normal,” said Fartuun Adan, founder of Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, who have taken on the difficult job

Women in Somalia challenges and changes

“...the challenges women face must be heard, the existing community protection mechanisms must be evaluated and strengthened, and most importantly, women from grassroots organizations and community leaders must haveaccess to the appropriate female civil servants, members of parliament and ministers in the federal government to make sure that the needs of the women they are representing are always on the political agenda. - Fartun Adan ”

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of advocating and supporting women and girls who have survived gender based violence.

Fartun further explains that “Somalia is at a pivotal point, where for the first time in decades much political will has been expressed to improve conditions for Somali women. This unfortunately is yet actualised into the local action from the government towards the prevention of violence against women, or protection for survivors. Instead, a perilous change for the worst is on the increase, including the silencing and prosecution of victims.” Thus the ongoing insecu-rity and lack of justice for women remain major concerns for Somali women.

On the other hand, there is little advancement in the political field. Recently the Somalia government had appointed Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan a woman, to serve as the Foreign Affairs Minister for the new government, a first for the country for a woman to hold such a high post within the governemt. She served in this capacity until the cabinet was reshuffled early this year. Currently there are two women holding federal ministerial posts; Nadifo Mohamed Osman is the Minister of Public Works, and Hadijo Mohamed Diriye is the Minister for Women and Human Rights. And when the new federal parliament was sworn in a year and a half ago, under the new quota system 30 percent of the new MPs were supposed to be women. Unfortunately, only half of that number was sworn in.

Though the current constitution does provide for more rights for women, it is yet to be fully implemented in practice and many of those rights are still difficult to safeguard, due to insecurity. For many women in Somalia, much more needs to be done. “The politi-cal sphere for women has also not become any more progressive or enabling,” said Fartuun of Elman Peace Center. “Women in Somalia are insignificantly represented in the government, and ultimately are not decision makers in the processes that ensure their well-being.”

But there is a way forward. “In order to transform the situation for women in Somalia,” Fartuun continues, “the challenges women face must be heard, the existing community protection mechanisms must be evaluated and strengthened, and most importantly, women from grassroots organizations and community leaders must have access to the appropriate female civil servants, members of parliament and ministers in the federal government to make sure that the needs of the women they are representing are always on the political agenda.”

Regarding health conditions for women, Somalia is still ranked among the lowest in the world. According to UNICEF, “Women and children in Somalia are at increased risk of disease and malnutrition, face limited access to basic services, and routinely experience hu-man rights violations.”

One in 12 Somali women die from pregnancy related causes. Antena-tal care and professional care during deliveries are the exception, as health professionals remain scarce. Female genital mutilation is still common throughout the country, even though it is officially illegal. Health services for women are extremely weak, especially outside of the cities. There is little infrastructure. with few hospitals, and few qualified staff that are able to meet the needs of women. While several high profile projects to build hospitals are ongoing, it will take many years to rebuild a health system that will be able to bring women adequate care.

How many Somali girls are in school? Not enough, though the num-bers have been increasing. According to UNICEF, about 42% of all primary school age children are in schools, but of those attending, only 36% are girls. In the secondary school level it’s even lower; girls make up only 28% of students. Among teachers, only 21% of them are women with the majority being unqualified. On the encouraging end, there has been a major push to put children back in schools over the past year, and this includes girl’s schools.

Oxfam has supported many education programs in Somalia, for both women and girls. Recent highlights include: working with partner GECPD in Galkayo, supporting programs in education (including scholarships for girls). Support includes 300 girls in primary school, and 400 girls in secondary school. Other young women in Galkayo have received job training, or taken part in sports club activities, competing in volleyball and basketball through a youth center. In Hargeisa, through partner organization Candlelight, Oxfam supported 700 women and girls with basic education skills. 130 women and girls received job training, in areas such such as tailoring, and beauty salon skills. Continuing with educational support, Oxfam and partner TASS (Tadamun Social Society) have supported girls to gain access to quality education by providing scholarships to 200 girls in three schools in Bossasso.

Besides education, Oxfam continues programs in many parts of the country to support women and girls. While the famine is over, malnutrition still persists in many areas. Of the country In Hiraan and in Kismayo, Oxfam supports mothers and their malnourished children through therapeutic feeding, vaccinations and nutrition programs.

In addition to support provided to Elman Peace and Human Rights Center, Oxfam supports several other women’s organizations, em-powering women to advocate for their rights. Highlights include: The Women’s Rights to Social and Political Participation project, which worked with partners NAGAAD and 46 other women’s organizations to actively advocate for women’s rights. Providing life skills and voca-tional training for youth, as well as strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations has been supported through partners Kaalo and HAVOYOCO in Hargeisa.

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This year’s Maisha Plus/Oxfam Tanzania Female Food Heroes reality program is bigger and better. It has enlisted youthful participants from the East Africa region who will work together with women who entered the village at the end of April. Sharon Mariwa our communications manager in Tanzania has been following the making of this year’s program and files the following story.

As part of the female food heroes television reality program that aims at creating a platform that show cases female farmers and their efforts in food production, Shamim Mwasha our GROW ambassador and a famous fashion blogger in Tanzania initiated an online edition of the female food heroes. The main aim of the online edition is to create conversa-tions as well as linkages with Tanzania’s urban on-line community with the hope of cultivating a better sense of appreciation of those who pro-duce much of the food consumed by the country and further build an understanding of the GROW campaign especially on food security.

To participate, female farmers had to be nominated in order to be eli-gible. The nomination process was done in such a way that it engaged the youth had to put forward names of female relatives, friends or neighbours who are involved in small scale farming by filling in their details and recommending why they should participate in the online

competition. Over 250 nominations were received and a panel of judges shortlisted five nominees; Elizabeth Mujila, 70, a widow from Tukuyu Mbeya, Gloria Kidulile, 28, from Dakawa Morogoro, Judith Mabina, 58, from Mwanza, Lina Elias, 40, a widow from Mbeya and Neema Urassa, 48, a widow from Kibaya – Kiteto in Manyara. The five finalists had to then be voted for by youths online and Neema Urassa was declared the winner with 76% of the total votes cast. Her win gave her an automatic entry into the Mama Shujaa wa Chakula/Maisha Plus competition 2014 edition as well farm implements of her choice worth TSH 5 million (USD 3,000).

Mama Neema Urassa chose to purchase her a piece of land with her prize money and recently she was presented with the land’s title deed. She is now a proud owner of 10 hectares of land. Speaking during the handing over ceremony at her hometown of Kibaya, Kiteto in Manyara region of northern Tanzania, Mama Neema Urassa expressed her optisim for the future saying that “Now that I can farm on my own land, I will have enough money left over to pay school fees for my children as well as be able to build a house because I will no longer be renting land to farm.”

Female Food Hero goes onlinemanyara, tanzania

“ Now that I can farm on my own land, I will have enough money left over to pay school fees for my children as well as be able to build a house because I will no longer be renting land to farm.Neema Urassa, winner Female food hero online edition

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The Pastoral

field school

A school without walls.by Ngele Mwarimbo-Ali and Tigist Gberu

The Somali region in Ethiopia is mainly characterised as a hybrid of pastoralists and agro pastoralist living together. It is also a region that experiences recurrent drought every year causing thousands to migrate with their animals in search of water and grazing land. Oxfam has been working in this region covering 6 districts towards reduction of the level of vulnerability and creating opportunities for sustainable self-reliant development projects particularly in water provision and animal health as well as livelihoods. These have been done under the cross boarder disaster reduction scheme, using Community Based Drought Risk Management (CBDRM) approaches. Oxfam also aims at empowering communities in this region to become more resilient to adversities as well as be better equipped to address challenges associated with shortage of water which, is a common experience here.

Over the years Oxfam has been working closely with the communities in mitigating challenges through the pastoral field schools that provide learning and knowledge sharing opportunities to community members living within this region. The pastoral field schools are in most cases conducted informally under a big tree where people gather around on a weekly basis to share experiences, exchange ideas or to discuss and find communal solutions to daily challenges that may arise. These forums have created a powerful channel of collectively managing and resolving issues affecting them through local mechanisms that include

awabare, ethiopia

“ We did not know how to utilize scarce resources especially during wet season, but now, we know how to make the most with the available with minimal wastage and we are able to save some for the dreadful dry season.”aysha, mother of 5 and a member of the pastoral field school

Photo: Ngele Ali/Oxfam

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tapping into locally available resources. Currently this is supporting approximately 118,668 members from 6 districts of the Somali region and through these informal forums they have been able to engage and interact, resulting to an improvement of their lives.

In Awbere district, for instance where the pastoral field school has been working for the past one year, ther are 40 community members, comprising of 28 women and 12 men who meet every week to discuss and deliberate on various issues. Though its only been a year since the establishment of the PFS, speaking to some of the members of PFS, it is evident that there are benefits such as communal learning and sharing of knowledge as well as improved ability to solve problems together which was a big challenge in the past. For example, the PFS have been able to bring people together to contribute funds that have been used to repair water reservoirs that were leaking, ensuring that there is suf-ficient water for domestic use and animals cutting down a considerable amount of time spent in search of water.

The PFS has also provided opportunities for the community members to conduct comparative experimental tests that enable them to compare traditional vis-à-vis modern methods of animal husbandry and treat-ment. PFS members are then able to demonstrate the differences and as a result they are able to make informed choices and decisions on

appropriate methodology or treatment. As a result majority are now abandoning their old ways of taking care of their animals for the new effective practices that have boosted their livelihoods.

Not only does the community come together to discuss and find solu-tions to their problems but they also have organized committees that can put together a contingency plan for preparedness during the dry spells as part of the early warning mechanisms. So far as through the contingency plan mechanism they have been able to raise 100,000 birr which part of it has been used to construct one large water storage tank for a school, and rehabilitated another one which was not in use. Aysha, a mother of five says, “We did not know how to utilize scarce resources especially during wet season, but now, we know how to make the most with the available with minimal wastage and we are able to save some for the dreadful dry season.” She adds, ‘what makes the dry season more terrible is that we are also economically weakened especially with the high costs of buying water from private vendors’.

For the residents of Awabare, they no longer sit and wait for solutions or help to come from outside but they are coming together building each other’s resilience while utilising their knowledge and resources in finding ways transforming their lives one pastoral field school at a time.

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Dorah Ntunga our communications and media officer from Uganda shares the story of Juliet Titirach mother of five from West Nile, who makes a steep decent three times a day to a stream that flows from the Congo through her village in Kubi, northern Uganda to water sufficient enough for her domestic use.

The rocky walk home uphill with 20 litres of water takes about 15 min-utes, and there is no protection from the harsh daytime sun. She oc-casionally pauses to wipe away beads of sweat trickling from her face to her worn out white t-shirt, adjusting the jerry can on her head as she continues up the slope.

To have sufficient water to drink, cook, clean and feed her milk-yielding cows, Juliet must make this journey three times a day.

“I need to make three trips here and one more trip to a protected spring with safer water for drinking, which is about 7km away. On average, I need 70 litres of water every day – half of which is for my cows,” says Juliet who received the cows, hygiene and improved farming training from Send A Cow Uganda.

While this amount of water meets her household needs and allows her to keep her cows healthy, irrigating the farmland she works on with her husband Bernad is a much greater challenge. With the profits they make from farming, Juliet and Bernad have been able to send their children to school, improve their home and even save. But if there is not enough water to irrigate, then those gains stand to be lost.

They are preparing the land for the planting season, but in recent years there has been less rainfall than before. “We dug contours in our gardens to prevent soil erosion and collect water whenever it rains, but before long the plants lack water. Water is a big challenge. We are thinking of how we can harvest more water but we are not sure of other options,” says Juliet’s husband Bernad.

Just like for Juliet, water is at the core of women’s activities in this region, women spend their days between the gardens and collecting water for cooking, cleaning, drinking, giving the animals and maintain-ing sanitation.

Juliet mentions that her life and that of her family has improved a lot since receiving the hygiene training, better farming methods and the cow from Send a Cow Uganda. She however expresses the need of improving water harvesting and storage which she believes is key to achieving all they have put in plan.

With Oxfam, Send A Cow Uganda (SACU) is working in West Nile and Gulu sub-districts to support farmer groups and also carry out disaster risk reduc-tion work. SACU not only makes sure communities learn about how to make their land more fertile, but they also teach health and hygiene and support them in developing business skills. Send A Cow Uganda works with the “pass it on” principle. Help received by families, whether it’s in the form of a cow, the first calf has to be passed on to the next beneficiary. This supports feelings of community and creates a social network. Families are reporting increased income from harvests, reason they are able to send their children to school, cooperation of the husbands, improved hygiene and health.

Drop by drop life changes.

west nile, uganda:To have sufficient water to drink, cook, clean and feed her milk-yielding cows, Juliet must make the water journey three times a day.

Photo: Petterik Wiggers/Oxfam

For over 25 years, Abdia Salah Mohamed, has drawn water from the Abakore Borehole 1(BH1) in Wajir County for her domestic use. “Often there was a lot of congestion at this water point especially during drought when neighbouring shallow wells and water pans dried up or when fuel deliver-ies to run other pumps delayed for one reason or another,” Explains Abdia. . “As a result I used to spend a lot of time here, sometimes up to three hours waiting for my turn to get water. This has changed now since the installation of the solar powered pump, I now spend less than 30 minutes!” She adds.

Through direct piped connections, the borehole serves a hospital, two primary schools, and one secondary school. This has only been possible because now there is readily available and reliable

water supply and the cost of maintaining the borehole has also gone down considerably. “Previously we used 80 litres of diesel to run the generator at this borehole and that cost us 10,000 ksh per day, but today with the solar water pumps, it’s virtually free!” Explains Adan Qorgab Yussuf, the chair-person of Abakore Water Users Association, WUA. Adan who was appointed to the position in July 2013, has used the borehole water for his animals and domestic use since 1971.

Although they are no longer spending money on fuel, the water association still charges the same amount they used to charge before. Abdi Bashey Omar, the chief of Saldiq location where the water point is located tells us that, “The county government has asked us to temporarily maintain the price levels so that people using the other borehole within the town that is still diesel run would not flock to Abakore BH1. Though we also want our Water Users Association, WUA to build its account to enable us be ready to do repairs and maintenance of the water point without having to rely on

NGOs or the government in case of breakdown, maintenance or when the machine requires servicing.”

Abdia Salah, 45 years old, and a mother of six, is one of the 12,000 people from Abakore centre and its environs who are now getting water from the solar powered AbakorFor a 200-litre drum of water they charge 30 Ksh, animals 1 Ksh per goat, 4 Ksh for cattle and 10 Ksh per camel. In a day they get about 2500 sheep and goats, 400 cattle and 100 camels. This translates to 8600 ksh from animals and 6,000 Ksh from domestic users who consume about 40,000 liters daily. Translating to an average income of 14,000 Ksh per day which previously they would spend 71% of it on fuel costs alone.

“This income is now saved in our association account and we use the money to improve the water point by doing fencing, making lockable gate, and building new watering troughs to separate people from animals,” Says Adan Yussuf. The WUA has also made contributions to community projects. They have contributed 100,000 Ksh for construction of classrooms of a nearby school. “My biggest pride is that my people get all the water that they need easily and faster, “Says Adan. “We are very happy with the solar water pumping system and we thank the people who brought it to us (Oxfam, Wasda with funding from One Foundation.) Adan further reports that WUA had so far managed to save 400,000 Kshs in its accounts from the daily collections at the water points and that on the day of my visit they were planning to deposit an additional 100,000 Kshs.

Adan looks back and shares that he initially had reserva-tions on how the Solar technology would actually work. “At first we asked ourselves how can this sun that is burning us, evaporating water from our pans could at the same time really help us get water, we were very reluctant to accept the installation of the solar pumps because we didn’t know what would happen if the system failed. But now people are happy with the results and are confidently supporting the project” He adds with a smile.

Solar for sustaInble water delivery

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wajir county, Kenya:

“ Previously we used 80 litres of diesel to run the generator at this borehole and that cost us 10,000 ksh per day, but today with the solar water pumps,its virtually free! -Adan Q Yussuf, Chairperson Abakore Water Users Association.

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Please feel free to send us your comments, suggestions and feedback to the Regional Information and communications desk through the following email: [email protected] and you may also follow us on Twitter @OxfamEAfrica or check out our blog for latest updates around the region on:

http://www.oxfamblogs.org/eastafrica/ or join our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/oxfameastafrica

Oxfam represented in this year’s IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) Summit meetings held in Kampala, Uganda. This created an opportunity for Oxfam to lobby IGAD IDDRSI using provision of evidence based information on issues through participation and presentations during panel discussions on social pro-tection (HSNP I & II) in Kenya and Cross boarder work (Somali Region, Ethiopia and Somaliland) as key examples and we hope to further this by influencing other actors in the region too by broker-ing dialogue on these areas at a higher decision making level. Other panellists included representatives from EU, WFP, IGAD and AfDB, among others.

Our messages were well received and we intend to build on this to support implementation at scale in the IGAD region. Some of our recommendations that formed part of the resolutions in the final communiqué touched on: Somalia Money Transfer, Humanitarian access for Somalia and South Sudan, speedy resolution of the South Sudan conflict, Cross Border Programming, and institutionalisation and investing in social protection schemes in the region, amongst others. Oxfam will strategically continue to build on these gains and develop evidence for future IGAD and other regional meetings so that we are better prepared for the next drought.

IGAD Regional Drought Disaster Resilience Initiative Summit 24-27, MArch 2014, Kampala, Uganda.

Oxfam sponsored the Baby Don’t go charity concert that brought together mutual voices calling for a peaceful resolution and an end to the on going conflict in South Sudan. The event took place on 10 April and was later broadcast on KissTV. The concert was successful in bringing together the South Sudan community living in Nairobi, as well as other nationalities and well wishers with a single message that peace is a priority for the youngest nation and we are all standing up with South Sudan to ensure that this happens in a civil and amicable manner, because restoring peace and stability is not only beneficial for South Sudan but for the entire region. Look out for a documentary that is currently in the pipeline which will highlight effects of war particularly on the younger generation that to be released by 4 July 2014.

Music for peace 10.04.2014:

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“ I wanted to learn a new way of life and move to the lake but when I came here I had nothing and I didn’t know how to fish.

- Peter Abwell, pastarolist turned fishermanPhoto: Alejandro Chaskielberg/Oxfam