Final evaluation of the “Tubiri Tuvurana Ubupfu” project in Burundi

Final evaluation of the “Tubiri Tuvurana Ubupfu” project in Burundi

 

Photo source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Burundi_-_Lake_Tanganyika_fisheries.jpg

Description

The “Tubiri Tuvurana Ubupfu” project was implemented by Search for Common Ground and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany. It lasted 30 months, from September 2019 to February 2022. The main goal of the project was to build trust and positive relationships between young people and the Burundian police in order to prevent violence before, during and after the 2020 elections. It aimed to transform the relationship between the police and young people by encouraging constructive and humanising interactions between them and other members of the community. In particular, the project sought to harness the potential of the “Joint Security Committees”, community policing structures set up across the country, and to strengthen them so that they could become places where the community, the police and local authorities could interact safely and defuse tensions.

The evaluation took place between December 2021 and February 2022 with the aim of assessing the overall success of the project in achieving its outcomes, as well as identifying areas for improvement. The evaluation focused on effectiveness, impact and sustainability.

Results

The evaluation found that the project achieved its intended results, and that a positive narrative emerged thanks to the exchanges between communities and the police that were initiated through the project. Such exchanges enabled the problem of insecurity to be tackled through dialogue, and for many of the participants they were an opportunity to change their outlook of each other. Young people especially were able to claim agency on peace and security. Challenges included the involvement of the police and the participation of women. 

Lessons learned from the evaluation include the need to build media capacity to cover sensitive issues, and the need to ensure participation by local authorities. Future projects should build on the role of youth champions as defined in the report and improve gender mainstreaming.

Experts

Bernardo Monzani

Ylenia Rocchini

Partners

Search for Common Ground

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany