In refugee and IDP camps, youth face mental health challenges like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and addiction. These individuals have often experienced traumatic events; lack of education and job opportunities, leading to feelings of depression and hopelessness, which can contribute to mental health issues.
Sports help to build stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities. It is not only an excellent way to stay physically fit; it also provides significant psychological benefits. It helps to improve your mood and moderate stress. It has benefits for conflict-affected communities in promoting physical and mental health, social integration, cohesion, education, and development.
Considering the challenges facing young people and the need to contribute to the protection of conflict-affected people through sport, former football player Semon Negusu volunteers to coach youth living in the China IDP site (one of the EOTC DICAC intervention areas), Deber Berhan Town. He began his work by having a deep conversation with the youth who are vulnerable to addiction and mental health issues and convincing them to engage in sports activities. Then he organized two teams (under 16 and 17 years old). He coaches each team three days a week.
In partnership with different humanitarian organizations, EOTC-DICAC is implementing an emergency response project in Debre Berhan town targeting IDPs. Therefore, protection; as one of the thematic areas of the project implemented with NCA,” WASH, SGBV, and Protection Response for Conflict-Affected Communities in Amhara Region," recently EOTC DICAC provided sports material to strengthen the football team organized by Semon.
Playing football helped the group members in many different ways. “Some of the football team members were vulnerable to addiction; some of them were depressed, but now they are happy and hopeful about their future; I have seen some improvements in their communication and their social lives," says Semon.
Through initiating and supporting community-based discussions and training for religious leaders, DICAC brought a positive change and improved the lives of men and women in Gorgo Woreda, Amhara regional State, North Shoa.
EOTC-DICAC has an intervention in North Shoa, financed by NCA, which aims to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities through three different thematic areas, CR-WaSH, Faith Based Climate Action, and GBV Interventions. Under GBV intervention, awareness creation training and community conversations are undertaking to create a free GBV community.
Faith actors take the golden share for successful positive community engagement throughout the project implementation. Engaging faith actors in community conversation groups helps to transform dominant social norms to protect women and girls.
Aba Tamere T/tsadik is one of the leading priests and members of the community conversation group who advocate the relevance of sharing responsibility in the household, encouraging men to take care of their wives, and teaching prevention of GBV & early marriage integrating it with the theological aspect.
Aba Tamere is taken as a role model and participates in several discussions to share his experience with the community. Apart from teaching the community, Aba. Tamere helps his wife with house chores and taking care of their family.
"…Your wife is a gift from God; she is the apple of your eyes; hurting her is like hurting, your eyes. I don't do anything without consulting my wife. She is always my priority…" Says, Aba Tamere T/tsadik.
Depending on these positive public engagements, the community has improving awareness, minimizing the prevalence of Gender Based Violence & early child marriage, and FGM.
Safi Abdu, 45 years old, a mother of 7 children (three girls), is a resident Mulata Kebele at Mudi sub watershed. As she is the direct beneficiary of the project, she takes part in the construction of physical structure and benefit from the payment for the work done as per the norm set by DryDev and the woreda. Her farm land (0.5 ha) which is found at the down catchment of the watershed she usually faced flood, eroded the top soil and her farm land formed gully and commenced to deteriorate from time to time, decreased the yield product that it provides for the family. But as action point the watershed committee gave priority the upper catchment of her and her neighbor’s farm to be rehabilitated via physical and biological intervention in 2016; hence Safi’s 0.5 ha of farmland top soil, which is found at the downstream of the watershed commenced to be rehabilitated.
Moreover, the DryDev program accessed her improved wheat basic seed called Qeqeba in 2016 sowing season with practical and theoretical agronomic practice training. Then with this integrated intervention her wheat product was increased by 90% (the production on her 0.25 ha increased from 5qt/0.25 ha to 9qt/0.25 ha). In addition her sorghum production increased by 40% (from 3 qt/0.25 ha to 5qt/0.25ha). As per the interview with her the food gap decreased from 7 months per the year to 3.5 months per year.
Wheat is the major crop grown by farmers in the vast areas of Jarso woreda in general and by the majority of farmers in the intervention sub watersheds. Although farmers know that local varieties are constrained by low level of productivity, majority of the framers in the project kebeles do not have access to improved varieties of wheat seed. Taking this into account Jarso DryDev accessed improved wheat seed varieties to needy farmers in 2016 and 2017. The project has proved that this has brought a positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of the beneficiaries because these improved seed varieties are believed to provide high yield, drought resistant and disease tolerant.
Hence, the project in collaboration with the woreda agriculture office selected target farmers based on the selection criteria set before the commencement of the intervention and accessed 200 quintals of improved wheat seed named Qeqeba/in 2016/ and Hidasse/in 2017/ for 740 farmers (130 women).
Rashid Ahemed, aged 38 with a family of 9 children (5 girls) is one of the target farmers in Mulata Kebele, Mudi sub-watershed. In 2016 Rashid accessed 50 kg improved seed named Qeqeba from the DryDev program for his 0.5 ha of land. He used to apply local variety during previous years.Rashid took theoretical and practical training from DryDev, includes spacing, weed and pest control mechanisms, appropriate & effective time to conduct weeding, what to do if any epidemic happens to his crop and post harvest management. Hence, as a result his production increased by more than 120%, previously he used to produce 10 quintal /with commercial fertilizer/ but in 2017 he produced 22 quintals of wheat /with commercial fertilizer/.
Abduwahab Umar Shakir, who is living in Gursum district, Obeley sub-watershed in Oda oromiya kebele, is a peasant with low income of less than 1 dollar per day. He has six children; 3 sons and 3 daughters. During the inception period of the DryDev project in Gursum district, he has been accessed 3 goats/doe. During the time the woreda administration selected 198 farmers to access 594 female goats (doeing)by the DryDev project and Abduwahab Umar Shakir was among those farmers.
When he received these 3 doeing he promised to offer the offspring of the goats to his neighbors who are vulnerable called “mirror beneficiary” which the woreda arranged to have more beneficiaries from the same resource.
As per the Kebele development agents follow the performance/ reproduction, the health situation of the goats that were reached to the target farmers and Abudwahab was also kept his promise to revolve the offspring to his mirror target farmer, he revolved 2 off-spring goats his neighbor. After two years the goats reproduced to 10, and currently he has 8 goats. Since the breed that was reached to the farmers, Ogaden goat breed known for their milk. Hence, the milk that he gets from the goats is found to be very important for the daily consumption of the family especially for children. Moreover, Abduwahab Umar is an active participant in many activities of the DryDev project interventions like in soil and water conservation in area closure in sub-sub watershed called Elalemi Tiqa.