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From Our FounderMaking a difference that lasts.
We founded the Sentinel Project based on a vision of a world in which people don’t need to fear for their lives, especially not just because of who they are. Just as important was the idea that ordinary people could make a real impact by working with communities at risk of mass atrocities, including genocide, and using innovative new tools and approaches to make that work more effective. I’m happy to say that our eleventh year of operation continued bringing us closer to that goal by building on our past successes and delivering support, training, technical assistance, and meaningful benefit to an ever-increasing number of people on the ground in countries around the world.
The Sentinel Project achieved some major milestones in 2019, including reaching the longstanding goal of expanding our work into South Sudan by implementing the Hagiga Wahid project both in that country and among South Sudanese refugees and host communities in Uganda. Our multinational team also continued building its profile, increasingly being invited to share our expertise by speaking, writing, and advising on critical issues worldwide. We’ve also spent a lot of time learning from our experiences, identifying new opportunities, and planning for the future, so we anticipate even greater progress in 2020.
I am eternally grateful to our staff members, volunteers, and local partners for implementing our work and to our donors and organizational funders for supporting it. Without them we could not have accomplished all that we have.
We take great pride in our work and look forward to the challenges and successes of the coming years.
Sincerely,
Christopher Tuckwood
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Our Mission & Focus
Cooperation and Innovation
Working directly with at-risk communities and implementing new and effective ideas is more important than ever.
Cooperation
Working directly with the people at the greatest risk of mass atrocities is a core principle of the Sentinel Project. It’s the foundation of all of our programming to involve the people in harm’s way in solutions that build the capacity to deescalate tensions, mitigate violence if it does happen, and establish lasting peacebuilding measures.
Though cooperation and field operations come with inherent risks, Sentinel Project staff members work vigorously to reach those most at risk in order to provide resources and assistance where it is needed most.
Innovation
Using innovative new tools and methods to counter violence requires taking chances. The Sentinel Project team takes a clinical approach to innovation, considering any concept or technology but using evidenced-based analysis of practicality to determine which projects proceed. Just because something is new and novel does not mean that it will work, just as older concepts and technologies still have a place in successful programming.
We don’t try to introduce new ideas for the sake of new ideas – we try to introduce new ideas that work.
Featured Projects
The projects and initiatives we are most excited about
Hagiga Wahid
In 2019 we greatly expanded the Hagiga Wahid project, which had originally started as a small pilot initiative in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement and surrounding areas of northern Uganda. We implemented the project together with our local partner organization, setting up a misinformation management and early warning system to serve South Sudanese refugees and host communities. The project has since expanded to become a cross-border effort with a deployment in South Sudan itself. This project grew out of an awareness that destabilizing misinformation circulating among South Sudanese refugees in Uganda often originated in South Sudan, where it is also a serious problem. Hagiga Wahid currently serves communities with tens of thousands of people in both countries and our team has plans to expand it much further.
Kijiji Cha Amani
Suffering an ongoing outbreak of Ebola alongside a vicious internal conflict fueled by multiple factions competing over precious minerals and other resources, the people of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have endured a tremendous amount of hardship.
The Sentinel Project initiative called Kijiji Cha Amani (Swahili for “peace village”) works to provide residents with up-to-date information about violent attacks, the spread of infectious diseases, and emergency contacts, all so they can make more effective decisions. The project has been well received and operates using several communication channels including community meetings, SMS (text messaging), and social media.
Peaceful Truth
The ongoing Rohingya crisis is an ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis. Though public interest in the crisis has waned since the 2017-2018 escalation that saw more than 700,000 Rohingya people flee to Bangladesh, the risk of continued violence and ethnic cleansing still exists and has indeed grown as international pressure on the Burmese government has declined.
The Sentinel Project has continued its Peaceful Truth initiative in partnership with local organizations, emphasizing the countering of misinformation, especially that which targets the Myanmar’s Muslim minority. This is intended to help deescalate tensions which have contributed to intercommunal conflict. Recently we have begun conducting training for media organizations and journalists on how to counter misinformation and reduce the influence of incendiary propaganda.
“We have set ourselves an incredibly challenging task and yet that does not deter the amazingly dedicated staff I have the privilege of working with and the enthusiastic communities I have the honour to serve.”
Drew BoydDonors, Sponsors, and Partners
Partners for peace
Our projects would not be possible without these supporters.
Funding Sources
Grants – 93.1%
Individual – 3.9%
Fees / Other – 3.0%
Spending Breakdown
Programming – 93.3%
Operations – 3.8%
Administration – 2.9%
Funding By Year
2017 – $503,822
2018 – $406,997
2019 – $300,684
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