Overview

This three-year project is Phase II to a highly community development project Entrust also sponsored.  The project will hire and train up ten new facilitators in the state of Rakhine, to work with their local communities to undertake participatory, community-driven, sustainable development.  The facilitators will be trained up in livelihoods development, conflict resolution, community development, monitoring and evaluation and facilitation skills.  This will give them the base to be able to work within their community on the community’s development priorities.  Seed funding will also allow the community to undertake a few small projects first without having to access all the required resources (they will be required to share costs).  The idea is at the end of three years the communities understand how to facilitate their own development and are keen to continue the work begun under the project.

Why support this

Phase I delivered strong results, with the communities impacted going on to impact other villages in their area.  In one location, the target community got together with 7 non-target villages in the same area to work together to build a road that would benefit all.  This is just one community which is now empowered to further develop!  We appreciate that all facilitators will be chosen from the target community.  They will be trained up on how to develop a livelihood and encouraged to develop this over the course of the three years at the same time as working for the community.  This means that the facilitator will have an ongoing source of income once the project ends and will remain available for the community to use his or her expertise in their ongoing development.

Budget

This budget will cover the cost of supporting ten facilitators, and enable them to seed fund initial projects in each community.

Expected Life Change

• Communities empowered to take care of their own development.
• Significant improvements in health, hygiene, housing and livelihoods.
• Development of skills for peaceful conflict resolution and the spreading of peace.