The Central African Republic has been marred by political instability for decades but the violence peaked in 2013 following a coup d’état in March, led by the predominately Muslim Seleka rebels.
Widespread fighting between the Seleka and predominately Christian anti-Balaka militias led to the deaths of more than 5,000 people and destroyed the already fragile social fabric. It also led to the virtual collapse of the economy and people’s livelihoods.
Together with the Central African Inter-religious Platform, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision and Aegis Trust, Islamic Relief has formed a consortium called the Central African Republic Inter-faith Peace-building Partnership (CIPP).
The goal of the CIPP is to support Central African institutions to lay a foundation for social cohe-sion in CAR by building the capacities of local structures for leadership and peace promotion.
Consortium members work through different sectors, such as trauma healing, conflict transfor-mation, livelihood promotion, child protection, community mobilisation, peace education and global engagement; all of which are supported by various private sector partners.
Playing to its strengths, Islamic Relief is focusing on improving people’s livelihoods.