Duration:
June 2012 - December 2014

Implementing Partner:
Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA)

Key Partners:
Osh and Jalalabad Mayor’s Offices and territorial councils

Activity Locations:
Osh and Jalalabad cities

Activity Overview

USAID’s Women’s Peace Banks are empowering women in the southern Kyrgyz Republic to lead community-based interethnic reconciliation initiatives and promote women’s role in local peace building. The project has two main objectives: (1) to strengthen cooperation and trust between women in communities, recovering from conflict, and (2) to increase role of women in promoting reconciliation initiatives and mitigating conflicts.

Activity Areas

The program builds on the innovative and successful YouthBank methodology which has been implemented with USAID funding in the Kyrgyz Republic and around the world. 

EFCA supports 16 Women’s Banks in Osh and Jalal-Abad, the two cities most affected by the June 2010 violence, to fund small projects facilitating interethnic reconciliation and confidence-building in local communities.  The Peace Banks transparently select projects suggested by local residents, particularly those which encourage cooperation between groups still suffering from mistrust and address widely-shared community development priorities.

EFCA helps these grantees secure significant co-funding for their projects from local government authorities, businesses and other community sources.

This program also provides practical training and support to the 160 Women’s Peace Bank members and other residents to strengthen their basic conflict mitigation skills, giving them confidence to take a more active role in identifying and reducing tensions in their communities.
Additionally, a series of forums will bring the real stories of women’s role in promoting reconciliation in Osh and Jalalabad to the attention of a national audience.

Activity Impact

• All 160 Peace Bank members have been trained in need assessment, development and implementation of community-based projects.
• Over 400 local residents have also received basic knowledge and skills in mediation and conflict prevention.
• Peace Banks have received 413 project applications from their local communities.
• Over 130 projects have been funded in amounts ranging from $500-$9,000. More than 600 women have been directly involved in implementing these projects. 

Publications

Watch this video to meet the participants of USAID’s Women’s Peace Banks program and to learn how the program helped change their stories