Peace from within: Collaboration and resilience in the Blue Nile

To mark International Peace Day, our communications officer in Sudan, Maysa Mohammed, looks at how we are working to help build peace in some of the most conflicted-affected regions in the world.

For years, the Blue Nile region in Sudan has undergone prolonged humanitarian and developmental crises driven by ethnic and political disputes.

This conflict has led to widespread displacement, disrupted agriculture, and a collapsed local economy.

It has left communities facing hunger and limited access to essential services like healthcare and education.

Before the conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, over 333,000 people in the Blue Nile region were hosting refugees, IDPs, or returnees. The additional burden on the already overstretched social services makes these communities highly vulnerable to social instability.

Against this backdrop, Practical Action supports local peacebuilders to empower communities to resolve conflict, restore livelihoods, and strengthen climate resilience.

These strides towards restoring peace and building resilience are made with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which funds a project aimed at supporting sustainable peace in the Blue Nile region through a women-focused approach to natural resource management, conflict resolution and the introduction of livelihoods which support climate resilience.

As International Peace Day approaches, the resilience and determination of these communities serve as a powerful reminder that peace is not just an abstract idea, it requires a daily effort, using collaboration between different groups, social inclusion, and the empowerment of local voices.

In the Blue Nile region, we’re doing this by working on peace building in everyday life. Young people are coming together through football matches, women from different ethnic groups are building trust through shared literacy courses, community farming projects are bringing people together to learn. Focusing on fun, sociable, useful and culturally relevant, community-driven actions can create a stable and harmonious future.

“Show clubs” demonstrate the way

In the Kurmuk locality, establishing “Show Clubs” has been truly transformative.

At the heart of these clubs is the belief that lasting peace must come from within the community. These community hubs serve as safe spaces where youth, women, and groups in vulnerable situations can talk, debate, address local challenges, and work towards peaceful coexistence.

Before the clubs, young people in villages like Alkai and Gambarda had limited opportunities for constructive activities, leading to increased tensions and social challenges such as substance abuse. Now, they participate in youth-led dialogue sessions, inter-ethnic partnerships, and creative activities such as art and sports to build unity.

Community leader Othman Ahmed Abugron, 60, from Alkai village, shared his perspective on the impact. He said;

“Before the intervention, our youth were searching for conflict. But the Show Clubs have given them a platform to voice their concerns, engage in peacebuilding, and contribute to the development of their communities.”

Women’s empowerment at the core

Women are central to both governance and peacebuilding efforts in the Blue Nile. With our support, a hundred women have gained valuable skills through animal husbandry training and literacy courses, enabling them to improve their livelihoods and contribute actively to peace processes.

Um Alhassan Agondi, a mother of five from Gambarda village, shared her experience:

“Before the intervention, I struggled to make ends meet, but after receiving training and a goat through the project, I can now provide milk for my children and even sell the surplus.”

Her new confidence has reduced the threat of hunger to her family and elevated her standing within the community.

In addition, literacy courses led by young female volunteers like Ismehan have united 160 women from diverse ethnic backgrounds. These courses do more than teach literacy – they foster peace by breaking down barriers between women and building a shared sense of purpose.

As Ismehan said:

“These courses don’t just teach literacy – they promote peacebuilding by bridging divides between women from different ethnic groups.”

Young people at the forefront of change

It is vital to engage young people in peacebuilding. From conflict management training to vocational programmes, they have been given the tools to design and implement peacebuilding strategies tailored to their communities’ needs.

Football tournaments, folklore celebrations, and even coffee and tea sessions have become vehicles for reconciliation, bringing together young people from previously conflicting groups.

Alwaheed Awad Abdlsalam, 32, who leads a football team in Gambarda village, recalls the impact:

“Football has become more than a game for us—it’s a way to teach peaceful behaviour and resolve conflicts between marginalised groups.”

Addressing climate change and agricultural resilience

Climate change has exacerbated the challenges faced by farmers in the Blue Nile region, so we have prioritised supporting farmers in building resilience. Farmers like Isha Eltayb Golan have received certified seeds and technical training, enabling them to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices. Although the region still grapples with climate-related challenges, the project has laid the groundwork for long-term resilience.

Isha said;

“The provision of certified seeds has been life-changing for us. Despite the difficulties brought by heavy rains, we now have the skills and resources to adapt to the changing climate and improve our yields in the future.”

Towards lasting peace and prosperity

This project’s success highlights local peacebuilders’ power to drive lasting change. By supporting women, youth, and inclusive governance, Practical Action and UNDP have helped communities in the Blue Nile to take solid steps towards restoring peace and building a foundation for long-term prosperity.

On the other side of Sudan, in Darfur, Practical Action had been building peace between communities for more than a generation before the outbreak of civil war.

After bringing quarrelling groups together over breakfast and slowly introducing the idea of talking to each other, we introduced a trainer from North Darfur’s University of El Fashir Centre for Peace.

The trainer runs three-day workshops and include representatives from up to 10 communities at a time. Following an acknowledgement that any one side cannot get 100 per cent of what they want, representatives are then split into groups to discuss issues that cause conflict and asked to identify the best methods of solving them. They take breakfast and lunch together.

Finally, the groups are asked to come together and look at how conflict resolution could be brought about both at the village level and at a larger scale – asking people to think about natural resource management, the relationships between people and resources and long-term sustainability of lifestyles.

This work in Darfur has had to halt due to the civil war in Sudan, but in the long run, it will be more important than ever to focus on creating peace as a backdrop to sustainable development. You can read more about it our proven approach here.

As the journey from conflict to collaboration continues, it becomes clear that sustainable peace is an ongoing process rooted in local efforts and long-term resilience.

The initiatives in the Blue Nile and Darfur, built on the pillars of empowerment, dialogue, and community-driven solutions, offer a hopeful blueprint for regions facing similar challenges.

With continued support and investment, these communities can move beyond recovery, fostering a lasting peace where sustainable development can happen.

Learn more about our work in Sudan here.