Peacebuilding

One of our key interfaith approaches is Do No Harm for Faith Groups, a contextualized interagency training tool that helps faith leaders and leaders from faith-based organizations to be conflict-sensitive in their actions. It aims to minimize harm to communities and helps explore opportunities to build community cohesion and peace with local capacities. 

Designed specifically for mixed Christian and Muslim contexts, the training is adapted from the industry-standard Do No Harm/Local Capacities for Peace tool, which helps projects build on community connectors and minimize harm. It is delivered through a three-day workshop with approximately 25 participants who are Muslim and/or Christian leaders. Faith leaders come away with their own plans to ensure their actions are conflict-sensitive.

World Vision began operations in the Central African Republic in 2014 in response to the humanitarian crisis that followed the 2013 outbreak of violence. The crisis was often framed in religious terms. In the years of fighting that ensued, peaceful coexistence between different communities, most notably people of different faiths, broke down. World Vision participated in the Central African Republic Interfaith Peacebuilding Partnership (CIPP), funded by USAID, that started in 2015. The CIPP supported interreligious platforms of religious leaders across the country by building their capacity and partnering with them to implement humanitarian and recovery activities. Through these projects, we proactively acknowledged and addressed interreligious dynamics inherent in the crisis and supported faith leaders to influence interfaith relationships within their communities.

Within a month of World Vision taking over management of the Yaloke internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, people who had been confined to the camp (for safety) were able to leave to access local markets and services. The Christian host community welcomed the resettlement of Muslim IDPs from the camp, fostering unity as both Christian and Muslim communities actively engaged in supporting children's well-being. Guided by science-based information and insights from religious texts, local leaders requested the creation of a single Child-Friendly Space, integrating the previously separate spaces for Christian and Muslim children.