Foundation Launches Peace-building, Environment Project In FCT

A non-profit organisation, Ark and Rainbow Development Foundation (ARDF) has launched SHAPPE Project in the Federal Capital Territory to strengthen her aspirations for peace-building and protecting the environment.

The project was launched with support from Rotary Club of Ithaca, New York, through the Rotary Peace International Service Grant.

The NGO aims to advance women and youths’ participation in decision-making and leadership process, with a total of 5,000 women and youths impacted in the past five years.

The executive director of the foundation, Ifenla Oligbinde, said Rotary International was dedicated to action on the world’s most persistent issues, building international relationships, improving lives and creating a better world.

According to Oligbinde, the purpose of international service grants is to fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in communities outside the United States.

She said: “Ark and Rainbow Development Foundation will implement the SHAPPE project with support from the International Service Committee, Rotary Club of Ithaca under the leadership of Ray Brisson and Nancy Potter, Co-chairs of the committee.”

She further explained that the SHAPPE Project is a multi-faceted community-based project that aims to train, equip and empower young women leaders on peace-building skills to protect their immediate environment.

The foundation, she added, is crucial for increasing women’s participation in formal peace processes because it addresses systemic barriers and equips women with tools needed for negotiations, peacebuilding efforts, and climate action.

“SHAPPE will empower these women leaders through advocacy, capacity-building, and strategic planning, ensuring they are well-prepared to understand the negative effect of conflict in their environment and how to leverage negotiation and peacebuilding skills to tackle these problems. Participants will also be trained to pass down the knowledge gained to younger women in their communities.

“Since we put out our call for application in January, we got an overwhelming interest from young women between the ages of 25-40 based in underserved communities in the 6 local government areas of the FCT. We had a tough time selecting our final applicants and now, the 26 selected fellows will go through an intensive virtual training, after which they will execute their Pass It On projects in their own communities,” she said.

The added that the project would culminate in a video documentary of women in peacebuilding and climate change; a workshop for training of participants and finally, a summit that would bring peacebuilders and climate change activists and stakeholders together to discuss solutions to conflict and climate change problems later in the year in Abuja.