Kismayo CRD Activity on March 29-31/2008

A three-day workshop on strengthening women in peace building and conflict resolution was held in Kismayo by CRD team. The main objectives of the training was to upgrade L/Juba women's skills and conscious towards peace building, conflict resolution, networking system, in addition to agitate them to have linkages for work collaboration,

And it was determined by the requisition of women in lower juba, plus CRD's objectives to enhance women's role in peace building processes and encourage them to support and share men in social needs activity, mainly peace and reconciliation development, which seen as the basic needs of human life and such kind of program have been continuing in South Central Somalia since 2007, as of second phase of dialogue for peace implemented by CRD/Interpeace.

The Chairlady of the region Ms. Hawa Ugas Farah opened the workshop; she thanked to CRD and obviously well detailed women in the regions priority needs that are to give them such opportunity of sharing their experiences, to know each other, to bring their differences and to understand each other at last. Hawa told that it was the first chance for them to gather and benefit each other, expressing her hopes of such workshops to be repetitively until women of the region become mature of peace building participations.

Due to the prolonged difficulties in Somalia, it was seen very crucial to organize and implement such workshops both internal communities and Diaspora, to ease Somalis to talk peace adaptation necessities and to progress methods and techniques, which could quietly facilitate peace progresses through sharing experiences, initiatives and knowledge.

Participants of the workshop were 56 women came from the different districts of the region as Kismayo, Jamame, Afmadow, Hagar, Badhadhe and Kamsumo. They were composed of Structured women groups, who are women groups under regional and district authorities, NGOs, CBOs, professionals and women business group.

It was the first opportunity for them to gather and discuss their regional situation. At first, although there were differences among women participants representing their districts, at the end of the workshop they won to reconcile their differences and to put their hands in one place. They developed working committee of seven members, which took responsibility of linking and coordinating peace & conflict resolution activities in the region among women groups through collaborations of traditional leaders, Islamic scholars, women, intellectuals, youth and other educated and prominent persons. Also they developed work commonalities as of peace achievements, war prevention before it took place, to take collectively campaign wherever an emergency difficulty occurs in the region as fighting, famine, dispersal diseases, as cholera, water floods and so on.

Farah Abdi Hassan CRD Head of Regional Office of Mdle and Lower Juba and Gedo regions concluded the workshop. He thanked to women participants for their participation and encouraged them to continue follow-ups of the program they gained and to twist it into practical aspect for the advantages of regional and district-based communities. The workshop ended in a mutual understanding among participants, and they expressed their willingness towards the on going discussions and its benefits to the community.