Join us in celebrating International Women’s Day – there’s a whole host of ways you can celebrate, here are just some of our suggestions.

1. Appreciate the women in your life. Your mum, your wife, your best friend, we all know fabulous women, so why not tell them today just how much you appreciate them. And you can even send them a peace ecard with your own personal message
2. Blog for International Women’s Day – Gender Across borders are asking you to blog about what equal rights means to you.
3. Watch “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” the story of courageous Liberian women who came together to end a civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.
4. Get inspired by these quotes by women – and if you have any more email Helen@peacedirect.org and I’ll add them to the website.

People with clenched fists can not shake hands.
Indira Gandhi

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.
Anais Nin

I decided it is better to scream. Silence is the real crime against humanity.
Nadezhda Mandelstam, Russian writer, Hope Against Hope

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Helen Keller

Two years ago Eric was a feared colonel in one of the largest and most vicious militia groups in the area. The commanders of this group gain their status through black magic rituals, and they will persue this power at all costs.

For many years communities across the district have been at the mercy of this group, mothers terrified for their children’s safety and fathers powerless as their women were raped and their houses burnt down. The colonel’s role in this terror was well known.

But when peacebuilder Henri Ladyi met the colonel he saw not a vicious militia leader, but a man who could be a powerful ally in the struggle for peace. Eric was open to ideas about stopping the fighting and he was able to grant Henri safe passage to meet with other militia commanders. Eric introduced Henri as ‘the man who is thinking about our future’, and through this introduction Henri negotiated the release of 30 child soldiers, to return them to their families.

Yet Eric’s own village could not forgive the damage he had done to them. He was living between lives – keen to help Henri to promote peace, yet unable to live himself in peace. Henri talked to him about starting a new family, finding a wife and settling down. But the Mai Mai believe that if you take a wife you lose your power and without a community to support him Eric could not give up what he had leant on for so long.

Henri made Eric see that whilst he continued to rely on black magic, the communities he longed to return to would never accept or trust him.

Eric got married last December and his marriage is a powerful symbol to all those around him of how far behind him he has left the life of violence. Through this he can begin to build trust and to use his influence to help Henri engage with more armed groups in the struggle for peace. We wish Eric and his new wife a happy Valentine’s day.

Janet asked us each to bring in a single object that symbolised what we do for peace, and tell us why.

One peacebuilder brought in a map of his country – “We have never known peace since independence.” Another showed a photo of his baby niece. A third brought a camelskin purse to stand for the safe places she creates for women. A fourth lit a candle to light the dark of war.

We looked at them in silence and Janet said, “This is the wall we are building across the world.”

These are extraordinary people. The lawyer who gave up her career to return to a war-torn homeland in the Himalayas. The youth group leader from a desert village who pays his staff but not himself. The pastor who reports on guerrilla war in the African bush as a form of Christian witness.

Gather them together in one place for three days and you have a world of experience, knowledge and aspiration to share with each other. You have the smiles when people who risk their lives on a daily basis realise they are not alone. And the laughter at what has worked for some.

And then you have the unanswered questions about everything that still needs to work everywhere. How do we get the politicians to listen? How do we reach out to the combatants? How do we protect the youth? Above all, how do we persuade the international system to let the locals lead the peace?

The answers come sometimes from what other peacebuilders tell us they have done. Sometimes they come from the brainstorm sessions we hold together and record on yellow cards pasted across the walls of our conference room. And sometimes they come, in a rush that is close to tears, when someone at breakfast tells you why they must go on.

The buzz is as high as the heat. Right now small knots of people are hammering out how to measure the impact of what they do: how to know when peace is improving? They argue, they laugh, they tell stories, they touch hands.

Someone has brought five squidgy rubber balls and these go whizzing through the air, thrown and caught between us, spanning the room. Sometimes these little electrons are expected with a smile and a nod. Sometimes they surprise and shock. They carry the energy and the friendship of this global meeting. It’s a room full of flying ideas spinning across the world.

These Congolese boys are members of the Mai Mai Pareco militia, a group that relies on child soldiers to fight its wars. Kamberi was once one of them. He first picked up a gun aged 12. There are secrets in his eyes.

But his life changed in December. Kamberi heard a radio broadcast by Henri’s organisation Centre Resolution Conflit (CRC), offering help to those who leave the militia and settle back into village life. Henri’s words gave Kamberi the promise of a future. It was enough for him to lay down his gun and find his way to CRC.

When children like this come to CRC, they lack skills or schooling to earn a living. The school year won’t start until July and without an income, many will return to the military life they tried to leave behind. So Henri starts by finding out what work they would like to do. The boys often want to become mechanics or drivers, and the girls to sew clothes or raise livestock. Henri finds and pays someone to teach them these skills. He budgets just £20 for each child, but this tiny amount is enough to start the children on the way to a life beyond violence.

Kamberi had missed three vital years of school while fighting in the bush. Now he has started a small shop, selling essentials like petrol and sugar. In just two months his life has changed beyond recognition.

When Henri talks of Kamberi, his voice is thick with pride: “This boy, he is helping so much – he has done so much good.” Kamberi knows how important it is that other children in his situation have the same opportunities. With Henri’s guidance he journeys deep into the bush, to meet with other child soldiers.

In the village clearing, Kamberi plays football with the boys. They think he is just another child soldier. Kamberi begins to talk to them. He tells them how good life is outside the militia, how much they can learn at school, how he has been accepted back into his home village. It is the opposite of everything these boys have been told by their commanders. Within a week, nine of them have walked 90 miles through deep forest to reach the CRC office.

Those nine boys are now reunited with their families. Kamberi is visiting other villages on the edge of militia rule, reaching out to children trapped by fear and ignorance in a life of violence. And he is looking forward to starting school again this July.

Henri was able to give Kamberi £20 to set up his shop because of generous donations from people like you. Kamberi was able to save those nine other children – who are learning now to be mechanics, barbers and farmers – because of your support.

Henri has helpers like Kamberi throughout eastern Congo. The CRC is reaching some 5,000 militiamen. He wants to give every soldier an option for laying down their weapons, every village a chance of security in a region shattered by 16 years of guerrilla war.

Sudan: A dispute over oil company compensation could easily have turned into full scale tribal warfare as neighbouring tribes in South Kordofan armed themselves. The Peace Committee set up by the Collaborative for Peace negotiated between the tribes and the oil company and found a peaceful solution.
Read more >>

Sri Lanka: 40 young people from divergent communities have been trained to be leaders and advocates for peace in their communities.
Read more >>

Zimbabwe: Envision Zimbabwe have set up an exciting new project to counteract the entrenched culture of violence with a culture of peace amongst young people.
Read more >>

Congo: CRC’s Peace Education programme aims to help communities find non violent solutions to conflict. They have trained 60 teachers and ran sessions with over 1000 young people and 5,700 church goers.
Read more >>

Nepal: YAPE acts to calm violent conflict. Their standing as well known human rights activists means opposing parties are confident their side of the story will be heard without bias or vested interest.
Read more  >>

Kasmir: The samanbals are going from strength to strength – with another 3 being setup around Kashmir – and Athwaas is beginning to be recognised as a legitimate voice in the Kashmiri peace process.
Read more  >>

2010 will bring many challenges, with elections set to take place in Sudan, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, it will be a highly charged year. The work that our peacebuilders do on the ground has never been more vital. You can add your voice to their call for peace.

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But, there is still hope for Nepal. Peace Direct funds the work of YAPE in the south of country, who intervene in conflicts before they are able to threaten this fragile peace process. YAPE works to bring justice to people who have suffered human rights abuses to challenge the culture of violence as well as responding to conflicts as they arise.

In October of this year Peace Direct’s Head of International programmes, Tom Ghilespy visited Nepal. YAPE’s representative Bhoraj Timilsina took Tom to meet the people who had suffered through Nepal’s years of conflict. Tom met a widow who talked painfully of her husband’s abduction by Maoists. The rebels extorted money and valuables from her through threats to her missing husband’s life. Only after two years did she find out he was already dead. Bhoraj has bought this case to court, and whilst the case remains ongoing, by demanding justice YAPE is taking the first steps to bringing an end to the cycle  of violence.

YAPE in action

In September a disagreement between local people and Maoist affiliated trades unions threatened to enthrall a whole town in violent conflict. Local youths began gathering in the town centre armed with knives, spears and iron rods, whilst on the other side of town the union members were preparing for a fight. The police became involved and arrested some of the youths, which only provoked the situation further as townspeople swarmed the police station accusing the police of caving in to the Maoists by arresting people who were just looking to protect their communities from attack.

Bhoraj Timilsina from YAPE was invited to intervene. As a well known human rights activists the opposing parties were confident their side of the story would be heard without bias or vested interest. At the police station Bhoraj held mediation talks between the community and the transport workers that resulted in the opposing sides signing a pledge to live in harmony.

You can listen to the programme here

BBC London interviewed peacebuilder Albino Forquilha from Mozambique and three young people, Sohail, Isha and Arnaud, from our Truce programme in Newham. Listeners phoned in with questions and encouragement  and you can access the programme online.

 Albino visited the Truce project in November and The Independent newspaper covered his trip. Read the article to find out more about Albino’s work in post conflict Mozambique and what he and the Truce young people learnt from each other.

18 APRIL 2010

Imagine running the streets of Brighton, amazing coastal views, a fabulous town with a fabulous atmosphere and live bands along the route, all as part of the Peace Direct running team. April 18 2010 will be the first ever Brighton Marathon, and it promises to be an incredible day. The fast and flat course runs through the city and along the sea front, taking in much of Brighton’s charms. Peace Direct has limited places, that we need to fill fast, so if you’re interested in really challenging yourself in 2010, and in raising lifesaving funds to help local people building peace in war zones around the world, contact Helen today or call 0207 549 0285

To join the Peace Direct team all we ask is that you aim to raise £500 or more and that you pay a registration fee of £50. As part of our team you will recieve training plans, fundraising hints and tips, a training run in March, a Peace Direct T shirt, heaps of encouragment throughout your training and lots of cheerers on the day.

We can promise a real team atmosphere, and we want you to be part of it.

To register, contact Helen today or call 0207 549 0285.

Photo credits: Neil Hootings
uploaded under Creative Commons Licence

Every night there is another village attacked, burned and emptied. It could be the Mai Mai-the traditional local militia , or the regular army, or the National army for the liberation of Uganda( NALU) based in Rwenzori mountain near Beni and Uganda Border,  or deserters from any group, no -one knows…

But there is hope for change in 2010. The High Council of Defense reports improvement in the general stability and security. And we continue to work for peace, not through political or military power, but from within the communities.

Happy New Year 2010, I wish and grant you peace, contentment and good health through this New Year.

Henri