Strengthening African Civil Society
Over the past 30 years ACORD has facilitated the emergence of over 2000 strong and autonomous grassroots organisations across Africa, which are capable of addressing some of the most pressing needs and interests of their communities as well as engaging with their environment (e.g. government, NGOs and other stakeholders) in the advancement of these needs and interests. Community owned and managed organisations today provide access to critical services and skills such as veterinary services, micro-finance and income generation activities and natural resource management. The Mbarara (Uganda), Red Sea Hills (Sudan) and Dire Dawa community owned microfinance (Ethiopia) are but a few examples.
Most of these grassroots organisations have evolved from addressing the needs and interests of their communities to representing their interest at different forums, claiming community rights and demanding accountability. ACORD is accompanying the capacity building process with awareness raising (on rights and responsibilities) training, joint reflection through participatory research, providing resources and information and giving the space and autonomy for communities to decide on their priorities and organise their actions.
Working in some of the most marginalised areas in Africa, ACORD has facilitated a space for voices of traditionally marginalised groups such as women, pastoralists and internally displaced people to be represented and mainstreamed in civil society actions and forums. Through its work with pre-existing informal community structures, ACORD has challenged some of the misconceptions of civil society equated exclusively with formally organised and registered NGOs often managed by a privileged urban elite.
Facilitating linkages and networking at local and national levels for communities to have a strong voice and address issues beyond the community level is also an important aspect of ACORD's work. Several forums are facilitated where communities of competing and diverging interests sit together to dialogue, negotiate and find a common ground to work together. Such forums are also important platforms for enhancing the awareness of communities on their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Community awareness is also enhanced through exposure visits and sharing of information leading to building strong networks with wider constituency and voice around common agenda.
• The social forums in Rwanda are space for communities reflecting in their own environment and language on socio- economic and cultural issues and develop actions in responding to these challenges.
• In Chad ACORD works with network of rural farmers and women groups and have over several years helped set up village committees, representing a total of 400,000 people. Today these village committees are recognised as counterparts to the official authorities.
• In Ethiopia, ACORD has facilitated the establishment of umbrella associations and are working with these networks to address diverse social and economic issues of the urban communities, engage in policy dialogue with local and municipal administration, influence plans and strategies and access resources and capacity building support.
These civil society networks and umbrella associations, facilitated and established with the support of ACORD, are now recognised as legitimate representatives of their members and interact with various levels of government, donors and other civil society organisations.
In this way, working directly with the marginalized communities and strengthening their own organizational and institutional capacity, ACORD contributes to sustainable people centred development.
