Speakers at a workshop have said the activities of the ‘Skills Development and Volunteer Service’ project implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP) at the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar have dissuaded youths from getting involved in anti-social acts.
They were speaking at the workshop of Community Services sub-component under the Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response Project (EMCRP) of WFP. The day-long ‘lessons learned workshop’ was held at Hotel Sayeman Beach Resort at Cox’s Bazar on Monday, said a press release.
‘Skills Development and Volunteer Service’ project has been implemented at 32 unregistered Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar to increase social resilience among the displaced Rohingya people by building capacities of youths in terms of life skills training and awareness programme.
World Vision Bangladesh was the lead organiser of the workshop. The EMCRP Component 2 – Strengthening Community Resilience is being implemented by WFP through partnership agreements with international development organisations including World Vision Bangladesh, Action Aid, ICCO Cooperation and Save the Children at 32 Rohingya camps of Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-districts from December 2020. WFP EMCRP Team Leader Akhter Hamid, Community Services OiC Md Habebur Rahman and Programme Officer Mizanur Rahman, World Vison Bangladesh Rohingya Response Crisis (WVBRCR) OiC Md Joynal Abedin and WVBRCR Sector Lead of Food Security and Livelihood Dr Makhan Lal Dutta, Action Aid Head of Humanitarian Program Md Abdul Alim, ICCO Cooperation Project Coordinator Md Ehsanul Hoque, Save the Children Community Service Manager Satyajit Roy and relevant personnel of implementing partner agencies were present at the workshop.
During the workshop, cooperating partners discussed the achievements, good practices and challenges of the project activities.
The participants of the workshop said the project has increased awareness at the Rohingya camps on Covid-19, disaster risk reduction, environmental protection, human trafficking, drug trafficking, child marriage, and gender-based violence.
The awareness training and engaging with the awareness-raising activities are particularly contributing to changing the behaviour of adolescents in the densely populated camps, they said. The skill development training has also developed the capacity of youths on vocational education and training on masonry, carpentry and plumbing. More than 10,000 adolescent and youth volunteers were selected and trained up on volunteer services and engaged in awareness-raising activities in the camps.Thirty-one Rohingya Food Security Committees have been reformed and more than 2,000 skilled labourers have been developed on masonry, carpentry and plumbing under the community services sub-component of EMCRP.
Adolescents and youths are the most vulnerable groups in the camps in terms of anti-social acts. The project is working with these two groups for their capacity and knowledge development and side by side engaging them in awareness-raising activities.
NGO representatives strongly recommended the continuation and scaling up of similar activities to keep peace and harmony in the camps.
The project has been implemented in close coordination with the Office of the Refugee Relief & Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), camp in charge, site management, and Rohingya Food Security Committees.