Community Engagement in Emergency School Feeding Among Internally Displaced persons in Oromia and Tigray Regions of Ethiopia:
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Date
2025-04-15
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Addis ababa Universty
Abstract
The global decline in external aid to education in emergencies poses significant challenges to
children's access to education in conflict-affected settings, necessitating new paradigms. This
study explores how community engagement practices have influenced post-enrollment retention
among displaced and host communities in the Oromia and Tigray regional states of Ethiopia. It
mainly focused on the role of trust and networks in mobilizing local assets, thereby enhancing
social capital to motivating children's reintegration, particularly through emergency school
feeding programs implemented over two years.
Employing a qualitative exploratory case study approach, the research was conducted in two
purposefully selected localities recognized for their social cohesion with conflict induced
internally displaced persons for two or more years. Participants, including village leaders, parents,
teachers, students, NGO representatives, and officials were selected using purposive sampling, in
particular snowball and availability sampling techniques. Data collection involved focus group
discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews (KIIs) and focused observation checklist, which
were transcribed, coded, and thermalized to facilitate thorough triangulation. An inductive
qualitative data analysis technique allowed comprehensive interpretation aligned with the research
questions. Findings indicate that internally displaced persons including their children, face
substantial survival challenges impacting their right to basic education and social cohesion. Amid
scaling conflict induced displacement, host communities exhibiting strong social bonds regardless
of homogeneity or diversity demonstrated effective local asset mobilization to support IDPs. This
engagement catalyzed social capital practices that fostered trust and mutual support, even amidst
resource scarcity. Notably, the study found that community-based pathways, aligned with
traditional cultural assets, proved more effective in enhancing post-enrollment retention compared
to NGO or school-based feeding programs. The research highlights the importance of recognizing
and integrating local community practices and indigenous assets within educational response
policies during crises. Such an approach shows promise in sustaining educational initiatives and
enhancing resilience among affected populations. Overall, the findings suggest that activating
community engagement and local resources can create a robust support system for displaced and
host communities, ultimately serve to catalyze cohesion and facilitate better educational outcomes
during emergencies.
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Keywords
Community Engagement, Conflict, Host Community, IDPs, School Feeding, Social Capital