Digital community engagement

We co-operated with German NGO HITA for a 11-month project from which communities across the District have benefited considerably. The project, which ran from February 1st to December 31st, 2021, was based on our prior work on community engagement for strengthening gender equality and its role in social development. GYDF has already run several Fathers, Mothers and Adolescent Clubs in communities across Adaklu, to which every interested community member is invited to participate in a discussion about gender roles, the division of responsibilities between men and women and overcoming traditional barriers that prevent women from participating in decision-making processes. Other topics include sexual and reproductive rights, new ways of generating income, women’s access to micro-credit and – especially in the months after March 2020 – preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The 11-month project aimed to make these activities more effective and efficient through a “train-the-trainer” programme and by harnessing the potential of digital tools. Club leaders from 10 communities were provided with training to enable them to take a pro-active role in promoting gender equality and social development in their community. Monthly club meetings were made more effective through the use of handouts as well as materials in digital format (available on tablet). A group was set up on the online social network WhatsApp so that club leaders can now use their own smartphones to network and share content across locations. The actual impact achieved in the communities covered was carried out by means of a workshop bringing together all club leaders, supplemented by in-depth discussions with other stakeholders including community elders, who play a key role in enabling a process of change in their villages.

These activities have created the basis for the future expansion of Fathers, Mothers and Adolescent Clubs to the entire District.

The project was funded by a German donor organisation, the Schmitz Stiftungen (from funds provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), and GYDF partner HITA, an NGO based in Germany.