Since 2012, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sudan has been spearheading an innovative project- The Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project (YVRDP) which places young Darfuri at the centre of development in Darfur, Sudan.
The Project trains young volunteers in key business and environmental skills which they then impart to their local communities, with the goal of rebuilding Darfur.
In partnership with three universities in Darfur, Phase I of the YVRDP established a youth-led volunteer scheme, contributing to the Government's 25-years Strategy (2002-2027) priority "to establish a National Volunteers Scheme for Private Sector Development".
Youth (15-24 years) constitute about 19.7% of the Darfur population and youth unemployment across the five Darfur states is estimated to exceed 40%. Due to the protracted conflict in Darfur, a whole generation of youth has suffered limited access to education and developmental opportunities.
While in particular young people have great potential to help build peaceful and prosperous communities, the pressure to make a living can become a destabilizing factor fueling violence and criminality.
For the most disadvantaged group - illiterate youth in peri-urban and rural communities, agriculture and small-scale business activities can provide suitable income generating opportunities. However, communities still lack access to skills, finance and markets.
UNDP Darfur Livelihoods and Recovery Programme
The Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur project is a part of UNDP's Darfur Livelihoods and Recovery Programme - UNDP's flagship on Early Recovery in Darfur. The programme strengthens the resilience and self reliance of IDPs, returnees and conflict affected host communities by bridging the gap between humanitarian aid and building the foundation and enabling environment for longer term recovery and development.
YVRDP Approach Step 1
Youth Volunteer Training
With the help of three Darfur universities, the Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project trains young unemployed Darfuri graduates for three weeks in natural resource management, green business, entrepreneurship, micro-finance and general subjects such as volunteerism, gender studies, conflict resolution and community mobilization which prepares them to work as community development workers.
YVRDP Approach Step 2
Community Training
After the training, the youth are deployed as Youth volunteers - either as
Business volunteers or Environment volunteers to rural communities.
The volunteers live with their communities for nine months, sharing the skills and knowledge with their fellow community members.
They also help train and mobilize community members to initiate accumulating savings and credit schemes, develop business plans and proposals to access small grants and loans that enable them to establish micro-enterprises.
YVRDP Phase I Achievements
The Project enabled an unprecedented outreach across Darfur which has been affected by armed conflict in the past 10 years and where access to conflict-affected communities and populations remain an issue for international organizations.
Under the first phase of the project, 205 university youth graduates completed the three week training. 139 of them (78 Male and 61 Female) were selected and deployed as Youth volunteers in 47 communities within five Darfur states.
"I hope Darfur will be peaceful and developed so that we can be independent, without foreign aid. This project is exactly what we need for this goal.
With our efforts, we will improve the livelihoods of our communities and hopefully the whole of Darfur will become developed and stable."
Ms.Yusra Elsedeg Zakideen,
Environmental Volunteer, East Darfur
14,839 community members (8,095 Male and 6,744 Female) have been empowered to rebuild and strengthen their livelihoods through the support of youth volunteers including training in business, environmental management and economic development.
The trained community members developed business plans and proposals and submitted to the Project for grants and loans. 158 successful business project proposals received start-up grants for various micro-enterprises such as groundnuts and vegetable production, juice making, handcrafts making, poultry production and blacksmith among others. These activities created approximately 500 jobs.
"Before this project, we didn't have any money and we relied on food distribution and sometimes casual labour in the market. Now we earn our own money and we are able to expand our businesses."
Ms. Assia Haroun, Safia Adouma, Maryam Ibraheem
Small grant winners for juice-making and handcrafts business, Otash IDP camp, South Darfur
After nine months of volunteer work in rural communities, all the 139 Youth volunteers were awarded certificates at graduation ceremonies combined with job fairs. Government agencies, NGOs UN agencies, telecommunication companies and banks attended the ceremony and fairs.
Cumulatively, 49 of the Youth volunteers have so far been formally employed within the state government ministries and NGOs.
YVRDP Partnerships
The Universities of El Fasher, Nyala, Geneina and Zalingei are the main partners of UNDP in the Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project both under Phase I and II.
The project also established strong partnerships and collaboration with other national and international organisations such as;
UN Volunteer (UNV) programme, UNAMID, UNEP, WFP, NGOs, government institutions and the private sector.
Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project
Next phase
Phase I of the project officially ended in June 2014 and a second phase was launched in June 2015.
Currently, The Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project Phase II has selected and trained 150 new Youth volunteers to be deployed in 45 communities within the five Darfur states.
The project was made possible thanks to the contributions and support of
the Republic of Korea, UNV programme and the Government of Sudan.
Find more YVRDP volunteers' stories:
"Youth volunteers train for a better future for Darfur" UNDP Global website
"Harnessing Youth Talents to Rebuild Darfur" UNDP Sudan website
"International Volunteers Day 2013" UNV Sudan Facebook page
"New Beginnings: Building Livelihoods in Otash IDP Camp in Darfur"
UNDP Sudan website
"Graduation Ceremony of Darfur Youth Volunteers-Press-release"
UNDP Sudan website
For more information, please contact: John Anodam, Programme Manager UNDP Darfur Livelihoods and Recovery Programme, UNDP Sudan john.anodam@undp.org
Edited by Hiromi Amano, Youth and Livelihoods officer,
UNDP Darfur Livelihoods and Recovery Programme, UNDP Sudan
