PROMUNDO "Young men clubs against violence        in Kinshasa" PROMUNDO Positiv maskulinitet Kinshasa The Young Men Clubs Against Violence (YMCAV) is a proposed four-year project aimed at preventing and responding to urban violence perpetrated by the Kuluna street gangs - developed by PROMUNDO and the Living Peace Institute. The project will tackle street violence by preventing young men and boys (ages 10-19) from joining, as well as helping them leave, the local street gangs – the Kulunas - in three municipalities in Kinshasa (Kintambo, Bumbu and Makala) which are increasingly affected by such gangs. To this aim, the project will encourage positive youth development by building life skills and positive coping mechanisms for young men and boys in schools and youth centers for “street children.” 

The project is designed to provide support to young men and boys who are growing up in high urban violence settings while also engaging them as agents of change. The proposed project serves as both primary and secondary prevention measures and will address physical as well as psychological violence. Key project activities will include evidence-based group education to encourage young men’s critical reflection on the problem of violence while strengthening their coping mechanisms to avoid it; the creation of positive peer groups (i.e. youth clubs and school/youth centers); and youth-led community campaigns. Such activities are inspired by PROMUNDO’s past work with young men (Program H ) and with men affected by trauma and violence in post-conflict and high-violence settings (Living Peace). Simultaneously, the capacities of key NGO networks working in schools and/or doing outreach to “street children” in the community will be strengthened. PROMUNDO "Young Men Clubs against violence in Kinshasa", 2015-2019, 28 MSEK 

Insatsen syftar till att adressera negativa former av maskulinitet hos pojkar och unga män i Kinshasa i Demokratiska Republiken Kongo (DRK). PROMUNDO och dess lokala samarbetspartners kommer att arbeta med våldsprevention genom att förhindra att pojkar och unga män i åldern 10-19 år ansluter sig till gatugäng (s.k. kulunas) samt bistå de som redan anslutit sig att ta sig ur negativa spiraler av våld. Programmet kommer att vara aktivt i skolor och ungdomscentra såväl som på högre nivåer med utvalda institutioner och departement. Projektet kommer att vara aktivt i tre kommuner i Kinshasa - Kintambo, Bumbu och Makala.

Projektet är utformat för att ge stöd till pojkar och unga män som växer upp i urbana områden med hög våldsprevalens för att engagera dem som förändringsagenter för en ökad jämställdhet. Nyckelaktiviteter inkluderar evidensbaserad gruppundervisning för att uppmuntra unga män att kritiskt reflektera och diskutera sin situation och sin roll i samhället. Kampanjer för att medvetandegöra såväl unga som allmänheten kommer att genomföras i de tre utvalda kommunerna. 

Insatsen kommer att genomföras i samarbete med följande organisationer: 
- Réseau des Educateurs des Enfants et Jeunes de la Rue en République Démocratique du Congo (REEJER), ett kongolesiskt nätverk av frivilligorganisationer som arbetar med gatubarn; 
- Aide à L'Enfance Defavorisée (AED), en organisation som driver ungdomsgårdar i Kinshasa; 
- Coalition Nationale pour l'Education en RDC (CONEPT), ett nätverk av utbildare i det kongolesiska skolsystemet; samt 
- Institut Supérieur du Lac (ISL), ett institut för högre utbildning i psykisk hälsa.

Programmet kommer att genomföras i fem överlappande faser: i) forskning, ii) metodutveckling, iii) implementering, iv) utvärdering och v) påverkansarbete. The overall goal of the programme is to prevent that young and adolescent boys (ages 10-19) join the Kulunas or violent groups as a result of group education (young men’s clubs); promote supportive environments in school and youth center implementation sites; and sustainable program and policy support from NGOs, schools, institutions and relevant ministries in DRC.Objectives by level of intervention:1. Individual: reduction of violence-supportive attitudes, increase of self-efficacy and gender equitable attitudes and behaviors amongst adolescent boys (10-19) in 3 municipalities in Kinshasa;2. Relationship/Community: Schools and community youth centers for “street children” effectively create supportive environments to prevent young men’s involvement in violent groups; 3. Institutional: Congolese NGOs, schools, institutions and relevant ministries exhibit sustainable program and policy support in the form of resources framework for the prevention of and response to young men joining violent groups, in form of guidelines that tackle the issue.