PKSOI Lessons Learned Report January 2019 | Page 15

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Within Rumbek Central County, this resulted in prompt action by the local authority in
Nyotikangui, who came to realize – through the data & analysis presented to him – the
prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence in his community.
After participating in the community action group meetings, women of Rumbek
Central and Rumbek East began to reject the storage of arms in their houses and
spread this message: “It is unsafe to keep firearms where our children are playing.”
Youth-centered awareness-raising campaigns, during which students marched with
posters depicting their disapproval of the proliferation and misuse of SALW in their
communities, persuaded other youths to stop loitering with guns in public places and
encouraged the county commissioner and police to increase their presence in those
places.
2) Building local knowledge and capacity of communities and local authorities (Inclusive
capacity-building & follow-up activities):
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Saferworld and partners provided initial training that focused on “participatory action
planning” – so that community members and local authorities could share knowledge
on SALW issues (including the proliferation of weapons and unexploded ordnance),
build local capacity for developing “community action plans,” and then implement
them.
After implementation, groups came back together to discuss actions/approaches that
worked well in particular locations and those that worked less well. They measured
the impacts achieved – to better understand and highlight what worked best.
A certain member of the community action group in Kuajok talked about how his
group had saved school children in the area from dangers of unexploded ordnance.
Children had retrieved a rocket-propelled grenade shell from a hole near their school
and had begun to play with it. However, owing to the training he had received from
Saferworld and UNMAS, he recognized the shell as a weapon/hazard and took it from
the children. He then called UN personnel over to the area to have them search for
other unexploded ordnance, which they then safely detonated away from the area.
This community member emphasized that the training received should help his whole
community deal with various SALW threats.
3) Addressing demand for SALW through Dialogue:
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Saferworld emphasized holding peace dialogues to address local intra- and inter-
communal disputes, because such communal disputes had been a major source of
armed violence – and an underlying factor that had compelled many individuals to
acquire weapons. The peace dialogues brought together community leaders such
as chiefs, women leaders, and youth leaders, as well as CSO members and local
government authorities.
Saferworld organized advocacy meetings with local authorities to influence decisions,
policies, and legislation to address SALW problems. From one such advocacy
meeting in Rumbek East, the commissioner acted on a request by the chiefs and
community action groups to create gun free zones for public places (e.g., markets,
schools, health clinics, and public gathering places). This new policy helped to
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