YCST MONTHLY REPORT – JULY 2019

The program's main focus in July 2019 was to establish Community Enhancement Committees (CECs) in all targeted governorates of Aden, Abyan, and Lahj. YCST Governorate Coordinators worked closely with YCST Community Mobilizers and Senior Community Mobilizers of the local partner, Field Medical Foundation (FMF), to establish the CECs. Capacity building trainings were conducted with the CEC members in Abyan, Aden, and Lahj. The trainings covered various topics, including reintroducing YCST's goals, discussing the rules and regulations of each CEC, and introducing documenting and reporting duties. In Abyan, the training took place on July 8 with 13 participants, while in Aden, the training involved 147 participants from six targeted communities. In Lahj, the training took place between July 2 and 18 with all six communities. The Conflict Mitigation and Management (CMM) training was conducted for the CEC members in Abyan and Aden. The training aimed at assisting members to analyze the top three stressors within the community, conduct conflict mapping, examine relevant stakeholders, provide problem-solving skills to address conflict, and introduce the Do No Harm principle. The CEC members in Abyan also conducted a community Conflict Stressor Assessment (CSA) in Jayshan, which involved interactive Focus-Group Discussions (FGDs) to identify community needs assessment and conflict stressors. In Aden, the PACE team conducted four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) for all CEC members in the six communities of Dar Sa'ad. The sessions aimed at discussing the community stressors and drivers of conflict. The Aden team analyzed the FGD results and finalized the needs reports for the six communities. A priority assessment orientation was conducted for the partner, FMF, and YCST community mobilizers to clarify the implementation mechanism of the priority assessment findings. The Grants Fund department drafted and developed a grants guideline for all Global Communities (GC) offices in Yemen. The document was shared with the Grants and Contract Department in GC Headquarters to revise. The Grants Fund department also worked on budget modification and finalizing the build-up agreement with the local partner, FMF. The program also focused on building the capacity of formal and informal local leaders, organizations, and networks to serve as neutral arbitrators and peace builders. The Grants Fund Manager developed an application to create a database on Podio for local partners, which consists of 323 entities from local NGOs and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). The application was posted on July 1 with a deadline of July 31. The Stabilization team finalized and completed three community prioritization report trainings in Abyan and Taiz. A pre-study of all projects in Abyan and Taiz was conducted, and implementation of the projects will start in August. The Stabilization team conducted two final prioritization report training with the District Commissioners of Zenjubar and Juar in Abyan. The participants selected two Authority Community Committee members (ACCs) from each district to be responsible for the facilitation of all reporting activities. The program's activities in July 2019 aimed at establishing CECs, conducting capacity building trainings, and implementing conflict mitigation and management projects. The program also focused on building the capacity of local leaders and organizations to serve as neutral arbitrators and peace builders. The implementation of projects will start in August, and the program will continue to work towards its objectives in the coming months.