"After my brother was killed, I joined an armed group to avenge his death. But my father would not allow it. He took my gun and said this is not right. We need to focus on the health of our children. Then I received a business loan and job training from CARE, so now instead of fighting, I’m able to operate a taxi service with the motorcycle I purchased with the loan money and offer mobile phone repairs. This is helping support me and my wife," says Khalid.
Another young man says, "My life has totally changed after I established my project, now I have a full-time job and earn enough to help my family as well as to help my village. Before I opened my Mill, people in my village had to go to another village to grind grain, and that cost a lot, but now they can grind their grain in the village."
A young woman who received funds to establish her Coffee for Peace program said, "My participation in the FFP program was a golden opportunity for me to achieve my dream, which is to promote Yemeni coffee abroad and make it as a Peace Ambassador."
The Foundation For Peace project ran in Yemen from 2012-2016 with $2.6 million in funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It reached 4,677 people.
What did we accomplish?
- Youth made a difference in politics: 78% of decision-makers in the program area said that the 4,050 youth who participated in district dialogues actually influenced their decisions. 89% of youth felt that they were able to better influence decisions in their communities.
- More young people have jobs: 22% of youth in the program now have jobs and 10 have started their own businesses. 98% say their vocational skills have improved 91% are marketing themselves differently in the labor market to be more successful.
- Young people are working together: People in the program created a “Youth Voice Network” to promote their interests and increase their influence on advocacy.
How did we get there?
- Work from both ends of the spectrum: The project worked with both young people and elected officials to find strategies that worked for both parties. 142 young people also got training in conflict resolution so they could better engage with their communities and public officials.
- Strengthen job skills: The project provided vocational training to 1,167 young people so they could be more competitive in the job market. Youth valued these trainings so much they continued trainings even during air strikes.
- Support solidarity groups: 5,400 women were part of 300 solidarity groups that worked together to solve problems and influence local decisions.
- Let people tell their own stories: 61 young people got videography training, and worked together to produce 15 documentaries about their lives. Those stories reached 3,600 people.