LocationsLivelihood Support as one of the Foundations of Sustainable Peace
December 23, 2025
When the PBF livelihood support programme was introduced, Fatima knew exactly what she needed, a provision store.
Peace cannot take root in a vacuum. For communities emerging from conflict, the absence of livelihoods, security, and a tangible path to recovery does not just stall progress , it makes a relapse into violence almost inevitable.
That is why the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) Project, supported by UNDP and funded by the Government of Germany, champions an integrated approach to sustainable peace. This approach simultaneously addresses economic recovery, social cohesion, strengthened local governance, and community-based resilience. Further, it includes providing livelihoods, rebuilding infrastructure, training leaders in conflict resolution, establishing dispute-resolution mechanisms, and empowering women and youth, all aimed at fostering inclusive and sustainable development.
This comprehensive model is taking root in communities like Bama, where PBF’s integrated support is helping to lay the foundation for lasting peace. A critical pillar of this approach is livelihood support, especially for women, girls, young people, and other vulnerable groups, for whom economic empowerment is essential to durable peace. Through this initiative, women like Fatima Muazu and Binta Mohammed have been able to rebuild their lives, finding renewed stability and opportunity.
Fatima Muazu
The small provision store on a dusty street corner in Bama tells a story of resilience that words can barely capture. Behind the neatly arranged shelves stands Fatima, a woman whose journey from displacement to recovery reflects the transformative power of targeted livelihood support.
When the insurgency reached her community, Fatima fled with only what she could carry. When she eventually returned, the Bama she knew was gone. A divorcee and the sole provider for her four children, her aging mother, and a younger sister, she faced a harsh reality: six people depended entirely on her, and she had almost nothing to give.
“I started making head caps. Just to survive. Just to put something on the table for my children.” She recalls, her hands unconsciously mimicking the sewing motion. The small income from cap-making was not enough. Her children dropped out of school. Meals became a daily negotiation over who would eat and who would wait. The burden of being unable to provide weighed heavily.
“I started making head caps. Just to survive. Just to put something on the table for my children.” She recalls, her hands unconsciously mimicking the sewing motion.
The small income from cap-making was not enough. Her children dropped out of school. Meals became a daily negotiation over who would eat and who would wait. The burden of being unable to provide weighed heavily.
When the PBF livelihood support programme was introduced, Fatima knew exactly what she needed, a provision store. It was practical, sustainable, and aligned with her experience. Today, her business is thriving.
“My minimum profit now is 20,000 naira a day,” she says, allowing herself a small smile. “Some days, it’s even more.”
Her children are back in school. Her mother receives the care she deserves, and her younger sister now supports the business. Fatima is no longer just sustaining what she has built, she is planning to expand it.
“This business will grow,” she says confidently. “Not just for me, but for my children. They will go to university. They will have choices.”
Binta Mohammed
Binta Mohammed
Like Fatima, Binta Mohammed’s life was also upended by conflict. Before the insurgency, she earned a modest living knitting caps to support her family. When violence reached her community, some of her relatives were captured, and she was left to care for those who survived. While fleeing, she narrowly escaped being taken herself.
Life in displacement in Maiduguri was extremely difficult. With no stable income and nowhere to truly belong, survival became a daily struggle.
“There were days we barely had enough to eat,” Binta recalls. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to return to Bama. “I felt it was better to struggle in my own community than to suffer where I had no home,” she says.
Back in Bama, Binta survived by selling firewood, doing whatever she could to support her children. Her turning point came when she was selected for livelihood support under the PBF project. Like Fatima, she chose to open a small provision store.
Today, Binta’s business is stable, her children are back in school, and she no longer depends on anyone for survival. For Binta, having a stable means of income meant independence, confidence, and hope.
“There were days we barely had enough to eat,” Binta recalls. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to return to Bama. “I felt it was better to struggle in my own community than to suffer where I had no home,” she says. Back in Bama, Binta survived by selling firewood, doing whatever she could to support her children. Her turning point came when she was selected for livelihood support under the PBF project
The Peacebuilding Fund’s livelihood support programme demonstrates a fundamental truth: sustainable recovery in conflict-affected communities requires more than humanitarian aid. It requires investing in people’s productive capacities, their dignity, and their futures.
For Fatima and Binta, that investment meant the difference between merely surviving and truly living, between watching their children’s potential fade and seeing it flourish. As the sun sets over Bama, they close their shops for the day. Tomorrow, they will open them again. And the day after that , building not just businesses, but a future for themselves, their families and their community.
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