Community Roots Project Quarterly Progress Report FY21 Quarter 2

The project began in 2016 and is set to conclude in 2021. During FY21 Quarter 2, the project made significant progress in achieving its objectives. One of the key accomplishments of the project was the restructuring and ratification of 78 Community Plans for the Prevention of Violence and Irregular Migration (COCOPRES) in a democratic, voluntary, and discrimination-free manner. Women and youth were actively encouraged to participate in these decision-making spaces, demonstrating the commitment of the COCOPRES to tackling the challenge of preventing violence and irregular migration in their communities. The project also trained COCOPREs on resource procurement and establishing alliances as a strategy for bringing more resources to their communities to contribute to the sustainability of violence and irregular migration prevention efforts. The training emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency in the use of resources in order to build trust with community leaders and members. In addition, the project held a virtual discussion group (conversatorio) on the risks and consequences of irregular migration and migration prevention approaches with schools. A total of 63 communities from 19 municipalities in the Project's four intervention Departments were represented at this event. The project also coordinated with the PNC's General Sub-directorate for Crime Prevention to implement the prevention program in Project intervention communities. The PNC prevention delegations and the Preventive Guidance Department of the PNC's Prevention Sub-directorate used the Project's support criteria and criminal incidence statistics to identify and select 46 schools in which to implement the ADAPT Plus Junior methodology. Furthermore, the project pre-selected 60 PNC officers as candidates for the Violence and Irregular Migration Prevention diploma course, pending confirmation of the course's starting date. The Project also coordinated with the Prevention Sub-Directorate's Technical Secretary to create ArcGis user profiles so that departmental delegations can make use of this tool and the data gathered on SURVEY 123 to shape their community interventions. To support the institutionalization of ADAPT Plus and ADAPT Plus Junior by the PNC, the project donated 300 USB memories containing violence prevention tool kits to the PNC's Crime Prevention Sub-directorate. The kits included ADAPT Plus, ADAPT Plus Junior, Police your Friend handbook, a compendium of laws on participation, MOPSIC, a local-level practical guide, and Child Director guide. The project also held a workshop for the PNC on conducting exploratory sweeps using Survey 123 and ArcGIS to create community maps during the ADAPT Plus process. The project also provided technical support to the PNC's Crime Prevention Sub-directorate to standardize daily reporting on violence prevention activities. Overall, the Community Roots Project in Guatemala continues to make significant progress in achieving its objectives and contributing to the sustainability of violence and irregular migration prevention efforts in targeted communities.