The Survivor Group: countering stigma and isolation among Boko Haram survivors through community storytelling

Value

£250,000

Partners and collaborators

Trinity University Lagos, Neem Foundation, Al Fitra Academy Kano and Dandal Kura Radio

Description

This two-year project represents an ongoing partnership between Nic, Dr Mercy Ette (Trinity University Lagos) and Kamilu Hassan Hamsa (Al Fitra Academy, Kano). The project has recruited 38 women survivors, mostly former hostages of the Boko Haram terror group in Borno State, Nigeria. The team seeks to understand the efficacy of survivor groups in fostering peacebuilding, particularly in terms of understanding good practices for de-stigmatisation in conflict zones. The project will develop a grassroots approach drawing on a Hausa ethical tradition known as nagari na kowa and the storytelling practice known as tatsuniya. Working closely with Neem Foundation and Al Fitra Academy Kano, the survivor group will establish a much-needed social support network, while seeking to make the voices of invisible women in North-eastern Nigeria heard. Working in partnership with Dandal Kura Radio, the project will produce a series of radio programmes that will give space for dramatisation of testimonies and public reflection, involving key religious and political leaders in Borno. 

Impact

This project will support the reintegration of women survivors of Boko Haram through the creation of a network of support, through capacity building and vocational support, as well as economic support for victims. The proposed outputs will support social cohesion in Borno state through promotion of acceptance and tolerance of woman survivors within Borno state.

Publications and outputs

This project will lead to the formation of a survivor group of at least 35 victims of the Boko Haram terror group. We will produce a number of workshops, a database of testimonials, a radio programme with stories of survival, an international symposium on survivor groups, and a book proposal on war survivors in their own voice (survival and storytelling) in the Boko Haram context.