May 1, 2019
Peacebuilding in Syria: Building the Capacity of Local NGOs
The work of HAD and Islamic Relief often takes us to hard-to-reach communities in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. One example of our activities in this area is a set of capacity building programmes that HAD designed, developed and delivered in Gaziantep in October 2018. The trainings were provided to support the basic needs of local charity organisations operating on the ground in Syria.
The aim of this set of trainings was to maximize the organisations’ effectiveness and efficiency in responding to the growing needs resulting from the on-going conflict in Syria. One of the key elements of the training was peacebuilding. This part of the trainings focused on ways conflict can be resolved and provided participants with tools that can be used to facilitate a possible resolution. The course raised participants’ understanding of the causes of conflict and the contribution they can make to either avoiding or mitigating any further confrontation.
Rebuilding the community and helping Syria recover from years of violent conflict will be a key task for Syrian NGOs for the foreseeable future. This will be a major challenge, considering the numerous dimensions to the conflict in Syria. HAD’s work has been focusing on empowering and strengthening local civil society organisations responding to the Syrian crisis in Turkey, Iraq, and Lebanon, to help them prepare for the rebuilding and recovery process. With the ultimate goal of supporting ongoing work towards a sustainable peace for Syria, HAD’s trainings aim to equip NGOs with an understanding of how to embed conflict-sensitive programming into all their operations.
The participants of the trainings emphasised the importance of capacity-building measures of this kind for both individuals and organisations operating in areas afflicted by violent conflict. Beyond emergency humanitarian aid, which many of these organisations have been delivering for years, participants reported that the trainings delivered by HAD have enabled them to better plan for their responsibilities, both during and following phases of acute violent conflict. From learning how to better coordinate activities within Syria to the importance of inter-group cooperation for the preservation of rights and dignity, participants stressed how much they had benefitted from the trainings and shared their plans to share the knowledge acquired with their teams at home.
Participants particularly valued the practical solutions proposed through the training conflict – this contrasted significantly with many previous trainings the participants had completed, which often put more emphasis on the theoretical. HAD’s practical approach, they felt, would be easier to put into practice and implement through projects aimed at improving the situation of local communities afflicted by the ongoing conflict in Syria.
Read our case study on Capacity Building Training for Frontline Syrian NGOs
