Facilitating Social Norm Realignment and Reintegration of Kawar Maila Ward

In the Kawar Maila ward perception among community members is high that they are not trusted by neighbouring wards within MMC due to their heavy losses of boys to JAS recruitment. Residents, women and youth in particular, are worst affected with loss of loved ones, means of livelihood, including shelter which were burnt down by security agencies on assumption that they were harbouring JAS. Kawar Maila ward members are isolated from others wards and due to mistrust they do not seek the needed social services (in particular psychosocial services aiming to reduce or heal trauma deriving from JAS actions and security services) nor do they try to reintegrate into the greater MMC society. In addition, resistance by other communities to engage with members from Kawar Maila community reduces their livelihood opportunities and economic prosperity. Efforts to redress grievances at the community level about the role JAS has played in negatively damaging the social fabric, causing community mistrust in service provision and security institutions as well as each other within communities and between communities, will be able to contribute to overall peace building at the community level. This will reduce stigma of the Kawar Maila, especially among women who are perceived by other communities as being connected to JAS because their sons joined the group. The project will focus on the Kawar Maila community, one of the worst affected communities by both the atrocities of the insurgents and the mismanagement of the situation by security agents. Activities will be implemented by the local CSO Herwa Community Initiative, founded in in 1999 as Friends of the Habitat in response to the low and pervasive literacy level, rising HIV prevalence, malaria and widespread poverty. Herwa is today a leading CSO in Borno state working on security and governance, addressing issues around conflicts