Development in Fragile Contexts

Healthy communities free of division and conflict set the groundwork for socio-economic development. Yet, in post-conflict and post-disaster situations, underlying mistrust and resentment between individuals and groups, in addition to the psychological wounds created by the disaster, prohibit progress. Activities which promote peace, independence and harmony between community members are essential components of the rebuilding process.

WUSC has put programs in place to rebuild fragile communities by:

• providing over 20,000 poor and underemployed women and youth in Sri Lanka with an economic alternative to conflict;
• Promoting cooperation between plantation estates and neighbouring villages to break down barriers between ethnic groups in Sri Lanka;
• building the confidence, knowledge, and skills of trauma-affected young women and men in Sri Lanka, including tsunami and war-affected youth;
• building peace and preventing gendered violence in Sri Lanka;
• increasing household income and self-sufficiency of vulnerable widows and their war-affected families in Afghanistan;
• offering basic literacy, numeracy, and vocational training to women and youth in conflict-ridden South Sudan.

Related Stories

	Haiti: Two Years Later On January 12th, 2010 Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Considered one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere, Haiti’s infrastructure remains in a fragile...	Jan 12, 2012 story
	Certifying Teachers in Afghanistan Following decades of conflict and tumult, almost half of Afghanistan's children are still not attending schools. Despite an increase of teachers since 2001, only 24% of teachers have the minimum...	Oct 16, 2011 program
	Mr. S. Ganeshamoorthy - an active facilitator from Osborne Estate Mr. Ganeshamoorthy is a young volunteer with an important goal: helping his fellow community members from Osborne Estate to access and protect their basic identification documents. In Sri...	Sep 5, 2011 story
	Plantation Communities Project in Sri Lanka For Sri Lanka’s 300,000 Tamil tea pluckers and plantation workers, empowerment means much more than merely changing laws.  It means improving their daily living and working conditions. It means...	Apr 17, 2011 program
	Building Leadership Skills for Sri Lankan Youth Once their secondary schooling has been completed, some Sri Lankan teenagers continue to live with and depend on their parents. Years of civil conflict, the 2004 tsunami and recent flooding in the...	Apr 14, 2011 program
	Plantation Teen Begins New Career Patterns are hard to break. Especially for teenagers growing up on tea plantations in Sri Lanka. They’re isolated from other Sri Lankans, have few prospects for alternative occupations, and can...	Apr 5, 2011 story
	Teaching the Teacher Due to years of conflict, a large number of teachers in Southern Sudan do not have formal teacher training. Both is a Southern Sudanese teacher in his...	Mar 15, 2011 story
	Education and Training in South Sudan Decades of conflict have exacted a heavy toll on the people of Sudan. Many adults and children have not had the opportunity to attend school or training programs. As a result, the national...	Mar 15, 2011 program