VSO Nigeria strategy 2012-15

7/31/2019 VSO Nigeria strategy 2012-15

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VSO Nigeria Strategy 201215

VSO Nigeria Strategy201215


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Contents

Foreword 3Our vision 4Quick facts 4Where we work 4The context in Nigeria 5Who we work for 5Key outcomes 6Partnership: the way we work 7Key volunteering skills needed 7Implementa on through volunteers 7

V S O

V S O

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Photography: VSO/Jika Amah


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Foreword

VSO is the worlds leading independent interna onaldevelopment organisa on that works through volunteersto ght poverty in developing countries. VSOs high-impactapproach involves bringing people together to share skills,build capabili es, promote interna onal understanding andac on, and change lives to make the world a fairer place.

In Nigeria, our unique, but not exclusive, contribu on is toiden fy and work in emergent areas using highly quali edvolunteers to address poverty and the marginalisa on of youth in an holis c way.

What VSO does

Work together: Our volunteers and programme sta workwith partner organisa ons involved in educa on, securelivelihoods and ci zen engagement, to build capacity (atindividual, organisa onal and ins tu onal levels) throughtransferring knowledge and experience. Our local partnersuse their skills, experience and cultural understanding tomake an impact in their own communi es.

Knowledge sharing: To address knowledge gaps, wefacilitate knowledge exchange visits and linkages betweenpartners (domes cally and regionally). Through workshops,conferences and na onal and interna onal exchanges weconnect individuals and organisa ons so that they can shareknowledge, perspec ves, ideas and prac ces. This providesaccess to knowledge for those who are o en excluded.

Advocacy: We conduct research; pilot and evaluateinnova ve approaches; give a voice to our bene ciariesand bring knowledge to those responsible for decidingon and implemen ng policy.

How we do itOur e orts focus on increasing the impact of exis nggovernment and civil society development e orts tostrengthen organisa onal and human capaci es. We workalongside our partners, volunteers and ul mate bene ciariesin a consulta ve, inclusive and respec ul manner in all stagesof programme design, monitoring and evalua on becausesustainability, empowerment and capacity building are ouroverarching goals. The work and ambi on outlined in thisplan recognises and appreciates exis ng accomplishmentsand shows our commitment to ongoing consulta onand collabora ve implementa on.

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We know that youth, not oil, will be Nigerias most valuableresource in the 21st century. 1 VSO Nigeria has a vision thatguides our country strategy:We envision a society where young Nigerian men and women who comprise 70% of the popula on are leading healthy,produc ve and digni ed lives; contribu ng meaningfully tona onal economic and social development; and par cipa ngac vely in peaceful, democra c governance.

Our new vision is a society where the innova ve energyof youth is harnessed for social jus ce in Nigeria andfor a world without poverty .

We build the capacity of civil society and governmentpartners and stakeholders to contribute to youth livelihoods

(employment/self-employment) through skills transferand voca onal training. We also build this capacitythrough improving the quality of, and access to, educa onfor children and youth. We engage youth as ac ve ci zensin their own development through leadership training

mainstreaming gender equality and promo ng peace,reconcilia on and advocacy directed towards a youth-responsive policy environment.

Our key priority is to operate youth-centred integratedprogrammes to promote the produc ve engagementof youth in the peaceful development of Nigeria.

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Our vision

1. Bri sh Council, Harvard School of Public Health, Next Genera on Nigeria , 2010

Popula on: Africas most populous state with over158 million people. Educa on: Nigeria has 10% of the worlds children out of school with 37% of the popula on having no formal schooling. Health: Nigeria accounts for 10% of the worlds child andmaternal death rates, the highest in Africa. Youth: Seventy per cent of Nigerians are under 35 yearsof age with a median age of 18.5 years. Economy: More than 100 million Nigerians (64%) live onless than GB1 a day, with 33.9% of the popula on livingin severe poverty. Unemployment: More than 30% of Nigerians under 35 yearolds are unemployed, with young women in this sectorlagging far behind. Gender: Nigeria ranks as one of the lowest in the worldon the Gender Inequality Index.

We focus in four geographic clusters: the north-west is a clusterof three states Kaduna, Kano, and Jigawa; the north-centralis a cluster of three states FCT, Nassarawa and Kwara; thesouth-south is Cross River State; and the south-west is LagosState. The added value of working in geographical clustersenables volunteers to be grouped. Partners can also interactand engage with each other more readily.

Quick facts Where we work

1. Kwara2. Lagos State3. Jigawa4. Kano5. Kaduna6. FCT7. Nassarawa8. Cross River State

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VSO has operated across Nigeria since 1958 and hasaccompanied the country through complex social changeand growth, as well as local con ict and instability. Nigeria iscurrently deemed a con ict a ected and fragile state, de nedby the UK Department for Interna onal Development (DFID)as a state where: the government is unable/unwilling toprovide core func ons including service en tlement, jus ceand security. 2 It is a country rich in oil and other natural andhuman resources yet remains developmentally poor. Manyparts of Nigeria are peaceful. However, poverty and frustra onhave pushed predominantly young men in some northernstates and the Niger Delta towards extremism and violence.

There are opportuni es for change. Nigerian youth areharnessing new technologies, raising their voices and joiningtogether to demand a stable, be er-governed, gender-equitable and peaceful Nigeria.

Over 1,300 interna onal VSO volunteers have workedin Nigeria since 1960. Our achievements include:

Our leadership on climate change including a short-termplacement of a high-level poli cal volunteer who built thecapacity of the climate change network to advocate moree ec vely on the Climate Change Bill.

Our leadership and innova on on disability in the areasof deaf educa on, HIV and AIDS and disability.

Over 1.5 million children and youth have bene ted

from improved educa on as a result of teacher training,in-service training and community engagement(ul mate bene ciaries).

Over 300,000 people have been reached with HIV

and AIDS preven on messaging and access to careand support (direct bene ciaries).

Over 250,000 people have been reached (direct

bene ciaries) under our secure livelihoods programme 1.5 million people have been impacted indirectly throughadvocacy leading to policy change (ul mate bene ciaries).

VSO Nigeria works with poor and marginalised young menand women in an integrated way. We shape our responsesbased on the needs and priori es they iden fy. We relateto youth as both ul mate bene ciaries, as well as some of our key implementers in bringing about posi ve change.We focus on school children (boys and girls), adolescentgirls and boys (10-19 years old) and young men and women(20-35 years old).

We recognise that the social groups youth and childrenare not homogenous but rather signi cantly impactedby gender, geography, disability and educa onal accessopportuni es and constraints.

The context in Nigeria Who we work for

2. DFID Bilateral Aid Review: Technical Report , March 2011.Need-e ec veness encompasses level of poverty (for need)and the quality of the ins tu onal environment


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Our overarching goal is to reduce poverty and the vulnerabilityof youth in Nigeria.

Outcome one Improved capacity of civil society, government and privatesector stakeholders to enhance security of livelihoods andemployment opportuni es for young men and women.

We support youth-led or youth-serving partners to promoteyouth employment, and to promote young peoples entrancealong market value chains. A en on is given to iden fyingbarriers and developing strategies to enable young womenspar cipa on in business, especially at higher levels. We

support voca onal skills training/appren ceships especially foruneducated youth equally important, we equip these youthwith accompanying life skills around sexual and reproduc vehealth and HIV and AIDS preven on in a youth-friendly way.

To s mulate pro-poor market chains, VSO Nigeria supportsproduct and other market-related research, encourages sociallyresponsible entrepreneurship to address social problems,provides technical assistance to formalise informal micro/smallindustries and facilitates access to micro- nance and othersupport services.

Outcome twoImproved capacity of civil society and government educa onpartners and stakeholders to deliver and make accessiblequality, inclusive educa on for children and youth.

Youth employability is linked to early educa on of childrenand appropriate voca onal training the capacity of teachersto teach e ec vely can, however, constrain quality educa on.Through interna onal volunteers, we address some humanresources gaps in the educa on sector and build the capacityof tutors and students in ins tu ons responsible for pre-service and in-service teacher training, inclusive of Islamyiaschools. We seek to strengthen oversight and supervision, andevidenced-based planning support through data collec on.We also build the capacity of teachers to be more e ec ve,including na onal volunteers.

We work with civil society organisa onal partners and respondto their needs. We promote behavioural change throughcommunica on and the dissemina on of informa on topromote inclusive educa on, with par cular emphasis on girlseduca on. We support voca onal skills training for educatedyouth and o er accompanying life skills. Our Interna onalCi zen Service (ICS) youth volunteers work with studentsto help lobby local government and relevant authori es for

increased teacher support, and more accessible educa on.

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Key outcomes

Outcome three Improved capacity for knowledge and skills in advocacy andpolicy engagement to support social change, strengthenedorganisa onal development and gender-responsivenessof partners to deliver results.

We promote opportuni es for young people to expresstheir needs, demand their rights, and hold governmentaccountable (especially with respect to youth employmentand quality educa on). We seek opportuni es to link withyouth-led or youth serving advocacy organisa ons in raisingthe importance of these issues and promote and advocateon peace and reconcilia on.

In our targeted geographic clusters, we play a key role instrengthening networks and coali ons around issues of sharedconcern to civil society organisa ons, local government andother interna onal non-governmental organisa ons (NGOs).Through the development of a gender equality strategy andac on plan, VSO Nigeria strengthens gender analysis to informour programming focus and that of our partner organisa ons.Overall, we seek to strengthen the organisa onal developmentof partners to prac ce transparency and accountability,which in turn leads to be er promo on of the needs of thecommuni es they represent.

We also work with government and state ins tu ons tofoster a recep ve environment for issues brought forwardby civil society.


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VSOs unique model of working through people bringssomething di erent to the table, alongside other interna onalNGOs who contribute other resources. By working withinna onal structures, our volunteers can help ensure las ngchange by engaging in real development through day-to-dayworkings with the people of Nigeria.

We deeply value our exis ng partners and strive to strengthenthese rela onships while also developing new partnershipsto achieve our objec ves. We work at all levels of society toaddress issues in the most comprehensive way possible. Ourpartners include government partners, civil society partners,and other key stakeholders such as private enterprise, funders,

networks and coali ons, professional associa ons andadvocacy ins tu ons.

We work with a range of di erent volunteers:

Na onal volunteers: Volunteerism is the backbone of manycommuni es in Nigeria. We support community volunteersto improve food security and livelihoods and in turn, addressthe rural/urban migra on of young people. Working with theNa onal Youth Service Corps (NYSC), we also place and supportyoung graduates to improve the quality of educa on in ruralcommuni es and strengthen a culture of na onal volunteering.

Long-term interna onal volunteering (professionalplacements of up to two years): Our volunteers help buildsocial infrastructure by passing on their exper se. They come

from both developing and developed countries.

Short-term specialist assignments (posi ons of six monthsand under): Our experienced professionals provide supporton short-term assignments ranging from research studies andtraining seminars to exchange visits by members of parliament.Diaspora volunteers: We provide a mechanism for diasporamembers to give back to their country of origin in a meaningfuland targeted way. Youth volunteers: Through the DFID-wsponsored Interna onalCi zen Service (ICS) ini a ve we bring 18-25 year olds fromacross the UK to Nigeria for three-month placements. Throughthese placements, they can be er appreciate the developmentchallenges facing Nigeria and work side-by-side with localcounterparts to help alleviate poverty. Corporate volunteers: We o er private companies a uniqueway to support interna onal development e orts andencourage employee engagement opportuni es. Regional volunteers: We build on natural migra onpa erns within the Economic Community of West AfricanStates (ECOWAS) countries and o er opportuni es forindividuals to contribute valuable me and gain professionalgrowth and experience.

Partnership: the way we work Implementation through volunteers

Key volunteering skills needed

VSO Nigeria has an ongoing need for skilled,professional volunteers who contribute theirexper se and experience in: teacher training and strengthening educa on systems voca onal training organisa onal development and knowledge

management youth entrepreneurship and business development product research and marke ng informa on and communica on technology

(ICT) training

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Published June 2012

VSO Nigeria PO Box 2452, [email protected]

VSO Interna onal

Carlton House, 27a Carlton DriveLondon SW15 2BS, UK+44 (0)20 8780 7500 www.vsointerna onal.org

Documents

VSO Nigeria strategy 2012-15