Washington, D.C. – April 4, 2019 – The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) announced a new partnership for an innovative program to aid post-conflict communities in South Sudan and Uganda. C.D. Glin, USADF President and CEO, and Forest Whitaker, WPDI Founder and CEO and Academy Award-winning actor, made the announcement today on Capitol Hill.
Formally known as the USADF and WPDI Initiative for Peace Building through Entrepreneurship, the new program combines USADF’s successful community enterprise development model with WPDI’s peacebuilding and conflict resolution training in local areas previously ravaged by war and sustained conflict. The program is designed to help communities generate income to rebuild their society while learning new skills focused on creating trust and social cohesion.
“USADF’s partnership with WPDI furthers our commitment to invest in grassroots efforts that benefit Africa’s most valuable resource — its young people,” says C.D. Glin, USADF’s President and CEO. “Expanding our existing efforts and investments in Uganda and South Sudan to align with WPDI’s impactful work established a model of collaboration that will truly transform lives and create pathways to prosperity.”
The USADF-WPDI program will provide grant funding and support services to up to 20 small groups and enterprises each in South Sudan and Uganda (up to 40 total), consisting of youth aged 18-35 and women of any ages, with an emphasis on gender equality. Targeted groups will be those working in agriculture, trade, marketing, and renewable energy. The goal is for the selected enterprises to establish a profitable business model while positively impacting the income of the entrepreneurs and their enterprise members and workers.
“As a non-governmental organization, this opportunity for WPDI to partner with a U.S. Government agency speaks volumes about the shared visions our two organizations have for fostering peace and prosperity,” says Forest Whitaker, WPDI Founder and CEO. “We’re looking forward to building on the work we’ve done in South Sudan and Uganda, giving young people the resources they need to bring about transformational change.”
Peace and conflict resolution training will be integrated into the curriculum for all participants. The objective is to develop awareness and leadership skills, enabling them to serve as leaders in their respective communities.
Each workshop was very positively received. Jennifer, a local youth in Gulu, told WPDI that the training she received in the first workshop helped her resolve a conflict in her village between two people. That led her to “carry out community education on conflict resolution, reduce conflict, and promote peace within my community. This is because of the knowledge and skills I attained from WPDI’s trainings.” William, from Pago sub-county, mentioned how he “was able to start a small business which is now fast moving and well-paying” after the first training workshop.
These results are encouraging indeed and so too are local leaders in the community. As one local government official noted, “I am so encouraged that WPDI is building the capacity of the youths within my district – this will make my work easy.”
