Sani Garba making a point during the training session .
The Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Nigeria conducted community safety awareness training for the Kagoro chiefdom on July 11, 2023, in Kagoro Town Hall in response to recent bandit attacks in neighboring communities. The event was attended by 85 diverse participants representing religious and community leaders, women’s organizations, youth groups, and other stakeholders. Generating enhanced safety awareness and skills, the training provided participants with much-needed resources to manage and respond to potential safety threats.
Multiple sessions were conducted during the one-day training event, including Understanding Bandits and Attacks, Building a Strong Community Network, Enhancing Personal Safety Measures, Creating a Safety Conscious Environment, and Raising Awareness through Public Outreach Programs. Expert safety tips were provided by Mr. Solomon Audu, a retired military person, as well as the community resource person who also shared his expert knowledge and experience.
The presentations were supplemented with interactive workshops. One session, led by GPF Nigeria Program Manager Abdul Ahmed, encouraged participants to role-play and use their problem-solving abilities and decision-making skills to effectively solve potential safety threats. Activities like this emphasized the critical relationship between individual awareness, reporting safety threats to the relevant authorities, and the shared responsibility for community safety.
Mr. Solomon Audu (left), a retired military personal facilitating a session on safety tips. Mr. Abdul Ahmed (right) facilitating the workshop on community safety awareness raising.
GPF Nigeria’s goal in delivering the training is to provide critical safety knowledge and skills to build confidence in community members to collaboratively address potential safety threats. The importance of a collaborative and proactive approach to community safety was stressed throughout the training as a necessary element in creating a safe environment for individuals and families, especially considering the recent bandit attacks in the Kagoro chiefdom.
Participant testimonies were positive related to the effectiveness of the delivered training. Benjamin Daniel noted, “Overall, the training was well-organized and left me feeling more empowered and confident in my ability to contribute to a safer community.” Sani Garber was pleased with the caliber of the trainers in that they were “highly knowledgeable and engaged the participants actively throughout the session.” Kambai Sule was grateful “for the opportunity to attend such a valuable training session.”
Supporting the participants’ testimonials were the results noted in post-training surveys compared to pre-training surveys. There was a notable increase in the percentage of participants who had a clear understanding of safety concerns—increasing from 30 percent pre-training to 80 percent post-training. In addition, 90 percent of participants felt the training equipped them with the knowledge and skills to proactively join in community safety activities. Partnerships and collaboration between participants and stakeholders were also realized because of the training.
Audience for the GPF Nigeria safety awareness training program in Kagoro.
Overall, the community safety awareness training was successful. Facilitators effectively promoted the need for all participants to practice continued diligence and proactively implement measures to address potential safety threats. Participants were provided with the knowledge and skills to work collaboratively to achieve the goal of community safety. To build on the foundation created by the initial training, a follow-through plan was developed that included consideration of additional sessions to reinforce the knowledge and skills learned, evaluation of implemented action plans, and organizing advanced safety training to continue the journey to achieve community safety awareness.
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