Community Outreach Team

SFCG Participatory Theatre performances have
proved to be a popular tool throughout Burundi

In 2006, Search for Common Ground's (SFCG's) Women's Peace Centre and Youth Project merged to become the Community Outreach Team (COT). The COT carries out community interventions and supports efforts of local people to promote reconciliation, dialogue and collaboration. The COT aims to capitalise on the possibilities Burundi's new constitution offers for all people, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, economic standing, religion, or age.

Through trainings and exchanges, local school parliaments, support to local associations and structures, cultural and sports events, solidarity festivals, interactive theatre and community projects, the COT strengthens the capacity of returnees, ex-combatants, the poor, and other marginalized groups. In addition, SFCG organizes community dialogues and cultural activities that promote reconciliation among divided communities and foster understanding between groups in conflict. Studio Ijambo reinforces the messages and lessons of the COT and expands SFCG's reach to virtually the entire population. The COT intervenes now in 12 communities to facilitate transformation of their conflicts and promote the creation of new relations.

SFCG National Director Adrien Sindayigaya
awards a player with a T-shirt in recognition of his
skills and participation

SFCG was the first organisation to provide a safe space for Burundian women affected by the violence (both Hutus and Tutsis) to share their experiences and plan collaborative action. Since then, SFCG has played a key role in developing and supporting a number of women's associations that are involved in rebuilding the country, exemplifying positive inter-ethnic solidarity, and mobilising their constituencies for peace.

In addition, SFCG has been a leader in bringing together youth from different ethnic and geographic backgrounds, working with university leaders, ex-combatants, local youth groups, and other key and vulnerable youth populations. A partnership with the Great Lakes Inter-university Forum, as well as exchanges between national parliamentarians and youth leaders from the northern neighborhoods of Bujumbura heavily effected by the Crise, are just two examples of SFCG's recent outreach efforts with youth.

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