For five years, the Protecting Our Communities Initiative (POCI) has equipped communities with the tools and training to mitigate and prevent violent conflict. At 18 sites across the Nigerian states of Kaduna, Benue, and Zamfara, community members have been empowered to take the lead in ensuring their own security.
As a result of POCI (2019-2024):
- Community-based Early Warning – Early Response (EWER) Committees have resolved more than 1,109 incidents that could have sparked broader conflict
- Community dialogue facilitators have led over 500 dialogues to build trust and problem-solve—and now train others in dialogue facilitation
- More than 153 lay counselors have been trained respond to psychological trauma and help heal communities after violence
- Women and youth have become more empowered as leaders for peace and security in their communities
- Farming and herding organizations now collaborate with each other to advance their common interests
In POCI’s final year, the team worked with community participants to prepare them as leaders able to train and mentor their peers. Some will step up as “Peace Ambassadors” in our new Empowering Community Security program, which will engage the same partners in expanding to 33 new communities.
POCI has also created opportunities for local peacebuilders to shape peace and security processes beyond their own communities. POCI’s partner organizations in each state have worked with government officials to develop EWER committees at the local government level. Furthermore, each Nigerian state where POCI has taken place now has a state-level EWER committee, which will collaborate with POCI’s community networks to identify and resolve early warning signs of violent conflict.
