Report on Quarterly Project Progress (Q3-Y2) (Milestone No. 53) Conflict Mitigation through Community Mediation Program

The program aimed to sustain a peaceful environment in the community by empowering women, youths, and marginalized people. Mandwi, the implementing partner, established its project office at Gaur, Rauthat, and signed subaward agreements with six local non-governmental organizations. The program focused on establishing community mediation centers, training community mediators, and promoting awareness about community mediation services. Mandwi selected 36 master trainers and provided them with training on basic community mediation. The trainers then selected and trained 648 community mediators, who were equipped with basic materials and established 24 community mediation centers in VDC offices. In addition to community mediation services, the program established advocacy platforms for women and youth to increase their participation in community mediation processes. Mandwi also developed Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials, including brochures and pamphlets, to raise awareness about community mediation services. The IEC materials were distributed through partner organizations, mediation centers, and community mediators. The program's progress was tracked through quarterly reports, calendar updates, and meetings. The reports included updates on the political and security context, progress on Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA), challenges, accomplishments, lessons learned, success stories, and next quarter plans. The reports also included summary performance indicator data and a list of milestone reports and dates delivered to USAID. The political and security context in the region was challenging due to the border-centric strike in the Terai region since September 2015. The strike resulted in a lack of supply of goods, including fuel, gas, and life-saving medicines. However, the program areas did not experience any security challenges or disturbances, and stakeholders were cooperative in the implementation of program activities. Mandwi observed that local project-implementing partners needed technical support and capacity building in developing their monitoring and evaluation framework. Therefore, Mandwi organized training for the partners and facilitated their capacity building in monitoring and evaluation to develop their project performance management plan. The program faced challenges in implementing planned activities due to the strike and agitation in the Terai region. However, Mandwi took actions to mitigate these challenges, including coordinating with local partners and stakeholders to ensure the continuation of program activities. The program's accomplishments included the establishment of community mediation centers, training of community mediators, and promotion of awareness about community mediation services. The program's success stories included the increased participation of women and youth in community mediation processes and the establishment of advocacy platforms for their empowerment. The program's lessons learned included the need for technical support and capacity building for local partners and the importance of coordination with stakeholders to ensure the continuation of program activities. The next quarter plan for the program included continuing to implement planned activities, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building for local partners. The program's performance indicator data showed a positive trend in the establishment of community mediation centers and the promotion of awareness about community mediation services.