PeaceNexus supports OCADES Caritas Burkina in contributing more effectively to social cohesion and peacebuilding in Burkina Faso.
The Partner
The Catholic Organisation for Development and Solidarity (OCADES) Caritas Burkina, is a nongovernmental organisation that centres its actions on resilience, development, and social cohesion. OCADES Caritas Burkina is at the service of all communities, regardless of sex, religion or ethnicity. With 15 regional offices corresponding to the dioceses of Burkina Faso, OCADES has a network that covers the entire country.
PeaceNexus selected OCADES Caritas Burkina’s application through its Call for Proposals in 2017, convinced by the request and by the key roles the organisation is playing. This includes influencing policy and dialogue at a national level — and at a local level through community development and humanitarian assistance — including in areas that are not accessible to other organisations.
Our Support
Through a workshop facilitated by PeaceNexus, OCADES Caritas Burkina identified priorities to strengthen their contribution to social cohesion and peacebuilding across its work, from emergency to development.
Through a consultation process with all the Diocesan Executive Secretariats, OCADES Caritas Burkina agreed on objectives and a framework for the change process, and from there started the systematic integration of conflict sensitivity throughout the work and the identification of peacebuilding opportunities.
With the support of PeaceNexus and a dedicated external consultant, OCADES Caritas Burkina put in place an inter-diocesan working group to steer the process. It convened focal points from all regions to analyse the context of Burkina and adapt plans on that basis. We helped OCADES develop a strategic framework and guidance on social cohesion and peace to be applied across all its interventions. Trained focal points are now present in all 15 regions, providing support to operational teams on how to adapt activities to the context and expand conflict prevention work.
The Results
At the beginning of 2019, OCADES Caritas Burkina noticed change: network members had started to recognise the effects — both positive and negative — of their activities on social cohesion, and to find ways of taking them into account. For example, they now ensure that water management committees are inclusive, with all communities represented. This leads to higher acceptance, which allows the committees to be more effective in resolving water use disputes.
PeaceNexus’ support has contributed to OCADES Caritas Burkina prioritising social cohesion and peacebuilding in the four key objectives of their network’s new strategy and in the secretariat’s three-year action plan.
Moving forward, with our support, the ‘social cohesion and peace’ focal points will play a key role in building the awareness of their teams and putting in place new practices. The general secretariat will monitor the overall performance of the network through specific indicators for social cohesion and peacebuilding, and will facilitate exchanges of experiences between the dioceses. The network will adapt key processes, such as the complaints mechanism, to better capture community feedback on activities’ impact on their context and conflict issues. OCADES Caritas Burkina also aims, and has started, to influence how its partners and donors take into account social cohesion and peace in their work.