Strengthening community mechanism to respond to Psychosocial Support needs of children in conflict affected communities of Nasir county-Upper Nile state The project is expected to provide capacity building for 12 community-based social workers to provide psycho-social support at 6 CFS located in 6 primary schools supported by CHADO in partnership with UNICEF. The 12 community-based social workers will integrate structured PSS activities into learning activities of the 6 schools and provide access to PSS for out of school children in the communities. Most pupils in the selected schools and other children have recently witness displacement and change of environment due to the arm clashes in the county early 2017. The selected schools have a combined population of about 6,000 pupils. The school population is overwhelmed due to presence of IDPs in the selected locations. 
The project intends to also create 6 new CFS centers protected with local materials and equipped with (modern and traditional) child learning and recreational materials. 
Care givers (750 female and 250 male), will be trained on proper childhood care and child development, gender related issues and psychological first aid, child development, and gender related issues.
The project will also provide direct community-based psycho-social support to 9500 children (including disabled children) affected by conflict and out-of-school children, of which about 6,000 are enrolled pupils in the schools. They communities schools selected have learning institutions recently been provided with sex-segregated latrines by CHADO supported by UNICEF. 
To restore normalcy in the lives of children in Nasir County affected by conflicts, the strategy will include providing boys and girls with culturally and age appropriate activities, such as sports, play and perceptual, memory and creative games that are structured, safe and stimulating. Such activities develop children’s life skills and coping mechanisms, as well as promoting children’s participation in daily family and community life through cultural or local media activities and community service. Structured group activities in a calm and safe environment enable boys and girls to help and support one another. In Nasir County, the SSHF funded PSS project is linked to community-based child protection activities such as child friendly spaces/centres through which children learn self-protective strategies. The activities also include cultural and artistic performances or networks, creating opportunities for youth to engage with younger boys and girls, and encouraging peer-to-peer support.
Mobilization of community support networks is an essential element for a sustainable psychosocial response. CHADO through its community mobilization activities will form child protection committees in the communities however, including the revitalization and use of existing networks of religious leaders, youth, children and women. It is not sufficient to only mobilize such groups, but they will be equipped with the right skills through training on psychosocial support/Psychological First Aid (PFA) and how to care, manage and support a distressed child. 
CHADO will mobilize child and youth groups and networks as a key strategy for promoting peer-support. The collective community-centerd activities such as cleaning-up of schools, after-school groups, parent-teacher committees, parent-child groups, can promote a sense of togetherness. 

Both formal and non-formal strategies will be implored to identify and refer individual cases of moderate to severe behavioral disorders in children, their caregivers and families and/or those engaged in violence, drug or alcohol abuse. 

About 40 local leaders 20 are women in the target communities will be trained in re-building community social systems and social environment to enhance community social protection of children and other vulnerable population.