Practical. Local.Vocal.
- Mar 2010Working with women in DRC LESS
- The laughter of a dozen children playing in the dirt by a mud hut fills the wet heat of the morning. Marie smiles to herself as she measures out their vitamin supplements.
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The hut is perched on the side of a valley and as you look out across it, you can see what once were homes, now overrun with forest growth, and the edges of abandoned fields.
Marie was just a child when a militia group burnt this village, Muhila, to the ground. For many years she and her family dared not return.
But now she is back, with help from Centre Resolution Conflits, a local peacebuilding organisation that is helping people like Marie all over eastern Congo. Throughout the region, thousands of villagers have been forced from their homes by 16 years of civil war. Local peacebuilders are helping some of them to go home.
In Muhila, CRC set up an orphanage for 14 children who had lost everything in the war. Malnutrition makes these children look years younger than they are. CRC found the funds to train Marie as a nutritionist. CRC’s presence gave villagers like her the confidence to return, to overcome the fear of what they have experienced.
The centre in Muliha provides the orphans with what they need for a second chance to be strong and healthy children: food, shelter, care and security. And CRC allows both Marie and the children to face a brighter future.
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- Mar 2010Working with women in Zimbabwe LESS
- Mbuya Mambiro has seen a lot in her long life in Zimbabwe. But the last two years have been the hardest. Since the elections of 2008, she has lived with the daily MOREfear of political violence and the collapse of local services.
As a mother living in a sprawling township, her worst fear has been cholera. In 2008 as political chaos spread, her town council cut off the water supply to people’s homes and schools. She and her neighbours crowded round boreholes and streetside taps to gather water for their cooking and washing. Others drew it straight from the river, though the waters were contaminated with sewage.
Two years on, the streets of her town are still awash with sewage from rusting pipes that burst with sickening regularity. The health risks are obvious to residents who must jump across mounds of uncollected rubbish to reach their own front doors. And there still isn’t enough water: Harare needs 13 million tonnes of water a month, but only receives seven.
Into this situation stepped local peacebuilding organisation Envision Zimbabwewhich held a township meeting with 30 local women, to see what they could do for themselves about water, waste and public hygiene.
The women came from all walks of life and all political groupings – women split apart by the violence of the times. Working together was unusual. Uniting on a common issue they began to rebuild bridges between their communities. One woman, Mai Kanoyerera, spoke out: “There is a lot we can do as women to help our communities help ourselves.”
They decided to organise a clean-up of the township, and to set out ways for the town to keep itself clean - by small things like not scrubbing pots with sand in the sink, or fixing central collection points for everybody’s rubbish. And they asked Envision to help them to meet the city council.
Chipo Chung from Envision was there on the day the clean-up began. “I was in awe of these women, equipped with donated protective gear - gumboots, gloves, face masks - enthusiastically throwing themselves into gutters that were knee-high in human waste, sewage and rubbish, and clearing it out by hand. The stench was gut-renching, I was gagging because it smelt so bad. But these women, some old enough to be my grandmother, worked without stopping for four hours!”
Mai Kanoyerera adds: “We were surprised to hear from Envision that we can actually make money from recycling rubbish that we usually just throw away. For example, we can melt down plastics to make paraffin or floor polish. We can make compost from all the vegetable matter we discard, to grow more food for our families around our homesteads. So we decided to get bins to sort the rubbish that can be recycled.”
For Mbuya the fear of recent years is beginning to subside. “We needed to show ourselves and our neighbours that we have the power to do much to clean up our neighbourhoods, to create healthy places for our children to play, to restore the dignity of our living spaces.
“Once we piled up the rubbish in specified locations, we did get the council to come and collect it. Now, with the help of two engineers, found through Envision, we will solve our water and sewage problems. And we are looking at how we can earn income by turning our waste into ‘gold’.”
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Mar 2010Working with women in Sudan LESS - The old woman folds a shawl around her crinkled face as she squints into the midday sun. She holds out a basket for sale. In the pouch around her waist is enough MOREcash to feed her family for a week. Today she will not need to dedicate her singing to bloodshed.
Fatima is from southern Sudan. Her people, the Hakamat, revere the elder women of their tribe as singers of ritual songs – songs that accompany building a house or gathering a crop, but lately have supported war.
During decades of civil war, each armed group in her region of South Kordofan would adopt a Hakamat woman to sing them battle songs. The singing gave them courage and confidence. The singers became rich and important.
When the civil war ended, the militias disbanded and the singers lost business. They fell back on their villages to support them – and found that songs of blood worked there too. A lucrative line of work emerged. In pastoral communities where old wounds remain from 23 years of war, the influence of a Hakamat singer could inflame a dispute over a cow into a vendetta between tribes.
Local peacebuilder Rasha El Fangry understood the influence of these women. But she believed the advocates of war could become ambassadors for peace.
Other people had tried this before and failed. Hakamat women had agreed to sing peaceful songs at festivals, and then returned to their ways. As Rasha explains, “Villagers do not give money to songs of peace, and as soon as a festival was over the women returned to the way they were before.”
But Rasha, with her local knowledge and contacts, looked deeper into the problem. She talked to the singers. They told her that the real problem was how to earn a living. One said, “We want to learn the songs of peace, so no more of our children will be lost in war. But you must train us in something, so that we can support ourselves.”
So Rasha brought a trainer from Khartoum to their village, a woman who was skilled in [weaving], and for two weeks the trainer taught the Hakamat women her skills. And all the time, Rasha talked with them about war and peace. “I told the women their hands needed to be with the hands of all Sudan.”
Today these women are makers of all kinds of handicrafts. They sing about peace. And Fatima can feed her family without inciting violence.
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- Mar 2010Celebrating International Women's Day LESS
- To celebrate International Women's Day 2010 I asked the peacebuilders we fund to tell the stories of the women they work with.
You can watch them online at www.peacedirect.org/women.
Join us MOREin celebrating International Women's Day - there's a whole host of ways you can celebrate, here are just some of our suggestions.
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
Blog for International Women's Day - Gender Across borders are asking you to blog about what equal rights means to you.
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.
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
- Feb 2010Love in the Time of Conflict LESS
- In a village not far from Butembo a man named Eric is building a house for his wife and future family. He works late into the day, yet even in the dusk MOREyou can still make out the scars on his arms.
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.
- Feb 2010The Wall of Greatness LESS
- This morning the conference members built the Wall Of Greatness. It’s an idea suggested by our session leader Janet – a Ghanaian in a bright blue kaftan whose laughter and wisdom are MOREguiding us through the journey of discovery that this gathering has become.
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.”
- Feb 2010The Nairobi Peace Exchange LESS
- This week in Nairobi 20 people from around the world have gathered together under the African sun to share their experiences as peacebuilders in conflict zones. They have come from countries engulfed MOREby war, like Afghanistan and Congo DRC, countries struggling to make peace work, like Sri Lanka and Timor l’Est, and countries threatened by the prospect of violence, like Sudan.
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.
- Feb 2010A new life for former child soldiers in DR Congo LESS
- In a forest clearing in eastern Congo. Kamberi is a 15-year-old in a red shirt, surrounded by a gang of young boys perspiring in the afternoon heat. He kicks a football in MOREthe dust as he talks to them, quietly yet with conviction. It’s a tranquil village scene – except for the machetes hanging from the belts of the boys, and their faded, outsized army fatigues.
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.
- Jan 2010A look back on 2009 LESS
- I hope 2010 is shaping up to be a good year for you. It's going to be a very exciting year at Peace Direct. Our supporters have enabled the peacebuilders we fund to MOREmake real achievements in 2009 and to build on these for the coming year. I wanted to share with you just some of their amazing achievements.
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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- Jan 2010A look back on 2009 - Nepal LESS
- The situation in Nepal is still very fragile, only last month a general strike called by the Maoists brought a part of the country to a halt. At the beginning of the MOREpeace process in 2006 the UN estimated there were 32,000 rebel fighters still armed, to date only 19,000 have given up their weapons. With 128 rebel groups still at large in the south, the task of building peace in Nepal is far from complete.
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.
- Jan 2010Tune in to Truce LESS
- Our peacebuilders were live on air this Sunday 10 January 8-10pm.
You can listen to the programme here
BBC London interviewed peacebuilder Albino Forquilha from Mozambique and three young people, MORESohail, 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.
- Jan 2010Brighton Marathon LESS
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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 MOREDirect 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
- Jan 2010A new year message LESS
- Let us call for Peace this new year for people who are living through extraodinary trials here in Eastern Congo. It's a black hole where no-one is safe and where no outsider MOREgoes...
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
- Jan 2010a look back on 2009 - D.R.Congo LESS
- It has been an incredible year for Henri and his organisation Centre Resolution Conflit (CRC). Henri has set up 3 task forces across North Kivu, creating a network of police, militia, army, MOREcivic and community leaders, all of whom are united in their struggle for peace. The task forces have mediated in disputes across the district stopping violent outbreaks and have worked to bring rebel soldiers out of combat and back into their communities.
CRC has also focused on peace education, working with schools and local communities. Henri uses radio to reach militia groups and his connections and networks to organise meetings in schools, church groups and communities. These are just some of the highlights from this year.
Working with rebel soldiers:
In March the Task Force negotiated with Mai Mai militia group and persuaded them to hand over 250 child soldiers to the UN.
Realising the burden of feeding child soldiers had become too much for some militia, Henri negotiated the release of 100 children by exchanging them for goats. Read the story in the Independent
Following consultation with the Task Force 271 Mai Mai rebels and 47 child soldiers have chosen to come out of combat and be integrated into the national army.
The Mai Mai leaders asked us to convey their paln for peace to the international community. Read the result
Peace Education:
CRC’s Peace Education project trained 60 teachers to integrate conflict resolution training into the school syllabus
The Task forces organised 19 sessions in Beni churches reaching 5,700 people. The sessions focused on the need for peace and non violent conflict resolution.
Over 1000 young people outside of schooling have taken part in peace eduction sessions
CRC organised a large peace parade and celebratory football match between the police and MONUC in Beni on International Day of Peace
Nov 09:
When the town of Lubero was attacked by the FDLR, local people began to question the humanitarian organisations. Whilst the FDLR had surrounded the town and trapped villagers, the humanitarian staff were able to move freely between rebel lines. FDLR would not attack because of fear of international repercussions, and villagers were angered by this inequality, some began to react with violence . Negotiation sessions were being held but civic society leaders held separate meetings from those organised by the humanitarian organisations. Henri was able to use funds from the Peace Direct champions scheme to host a meeting in which all parties came, and reach a shared understanding of the situation.
These are just some of Henri’s amazing achievements. 2010 will see the reach of the Task Forces expanding with the aim of stopping violent conflict and building a culture of peace in a country ravaged by war.
- Jan 2010a look back on 2009 - Sri Lanka LESS
- 2009 has been an historic year in Sri Lanka with the military victory over the last of the rebels in May. As the country embarks on a fragile peace for the first MOREtime in 3 decades, peacebuilder Dishani Jayaweera and her organisation CPBR have been working with young people to overcome the considerable barriers between communities.
The ‘Young Visionary’ project works with young people from Tamil, Sinhalese Buddhist and Muslim communities who have grown up in a world shaped by suicide bombers and security checks. The project trains them to be leaders and advocates for peace in their communities. In the past 12 months the organisation has selected 40 Young Visionaries from different parts of the country and bought them together through a series of workshops. In 2009 the Young Visionaries have explored the causes of conflict, and learnt from each other the effects of the war on other communities. They have been trained in project management and in Non Violent Direct Action so that they are prepared to challenge injustice.
These 40 young people have set up peer groups in their own communities, and using the skills they learnt from the workshops they are organising cultural events and youth groups that will celebrate their diversity not their difference. The peer groups have expanded the Young Visionary project 5 fold and they will continue to grow. They marked the end of the year through collective activity, both practical – working together to provide flood relief in the Eastern province, and in protest – an artistic campaign in Colombo to celebrate diversity.
January promises to be a busy month for the Young Visionaries as they plan their activities for the upcoming year and we look forward to watching them strive for their vision of a non violent future for Sri Lanka.
Read the article in the Independent
- Jan 2010a look back on 2009 - Zimbabwe LESS
- Envision Zimbabwe is Peace Direct’s newest partner and in 2009 they have made impressive inroads towards their objective of creating a culture of peace for young people. Their peace education project will MOREwork with teachers, youth group leaders and young people, both in and out of school. They are developing a syllabus to be integrated into schools nationwide. The project is called Cool Heads and it helps young people explore their values, problems, aspirations and come to understand their potential.
"We need to get youths to understand that if we disagree, the solution is not to kill each other. We want to build a movement of youths who cannot be used as cannon fodder in political games." Fay Chung, Director of Envision
In November Envision held its first interfaith workshop in the rural area of the Murehwa District. Murewha was victim to the post election ‘re-education’ campaigns in 2008 and as such the area is very sensitive to ‘outsiders’. NGOs have previously been chased out of the area, and it is only through Envision’s ‘local’ status that it was able to run projects there. The workshops focused on developing the idea of a Peace Education Curriculum, and identified young people who could take part in focus groups
Envision will use the focus groups to ensure their work will always be informed by and in response to the needs of Zimbabwe’s youth. The challenges the participants face in their everyday life show in microcosm the problems facing the country as a whole. Half of the participants had lost one or both parents and were responsible for bringing up their younger siblings. Whilst nearly all of them had completed schooling, many of them had left without qualifications and the majority of them had no employment.
Envision also aims to apply practical solutions to issues, such as water shortage or poor sanitation, that lead to conflict within communities. They have set up a clean water campaign, working with women in rural Mbare, and in January they will launch a ‘clean up campaign’ to promote better waste collection in slum areas.
2010 will be an exciting year for Envision. They will continue and expand their workshops in rural areas such as Murehwa and develop their peace education programme to prevent youth being used as tools to perpetuate political violence
"The only jobs we can find are as cotton pickers, maids, prostitutes, thieves, street vendors and other jobs open to street kids." A Cool Heads graduate
With Envision’s help 2010 may offer some of these young people a more promising alternative
Read about Envision in the Independent
- Jan 2010a look back on 2009 - Sudan LESS
- 2009 has seen the Collaborative for Peace in Sudan grow from strength to strength. Whilst the year has not been without its challenges, the Collaborative has made great progress –
It MOREhas extended its network to Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Jonglei States to target election related violence
Five new organisations have joined the Collaborative across the country and it continues to receive international support beyond Peace Direct
Workshops are organised with local communities in hard to reach areas to challenge the notion that violence is the only way to respond to conflict. At the end of the workshop participants elect a five member peace committee. The peace committees map conflicts and intervene in disputes, and if neccessary they apply for rapid response funding. Their position as insiders from the community cannot be underestimated.
"This is the first time we have been taught something by one of our own sons. Normally it is an INGO or an NGO. This makes us feel we have something to offer and can help ourselves.” Village elder
Rapid Response Fund in action
An oil company had begun drilling on land in the Kadugli area. In compensation the oil company had built a medical centre on land belonging to the Kolba tribe and paid for a medical professional to staff it. However the Koyat tribe disputed the compensation as they said the original land belonged to them. Violence had erupted in 2007 leading to the deaths of 3 people, but the situation was believed to have calmed down.
At the workshop in Kadugli the Collaborative was approached by a member of the Koyat tribe to express his concern that his tribe had purchased 40 weapons. At the same workshop, the Collaborative was approached by a member of the Kolba tribe to warn that some of his men had been sent for military training in Kenya. The newly established Peace Committee was tasked with investigating.
The Peace Committee discovered that the oil company had compensated the wrong tribe. Rapid Response funding was provided to set up a meeting with the oil company and the tribes people. Following three days of negotiations the oil company agreed to build a second health clinic on Koyat land.
The year ahead
The coming elections in 2010 and the 2011 referendum on whether the South should split from the North will throw up many challenges to safety in Sudan. Over the next year the Collaborative will focus on expanding their network to reach more communities.They will train people to conduct oil related impact surveys of communities on the border with Unity and South Kordofan. From this they will be able to look at wider issues associated with expected border and population movement issues in relation to the 2011 referendum.
The threat of violence will hang over Sudan this year due to the uncertainty of what the elections mean, political rivalry, oil related conflicts, and the ever constrained natural resources. The Collaborative offers an peaceful alternative to conflict and their work will be ever more vital in 2010.
- Dec 2009Thank you to our fabulous choirs LESS
- The last few weeks have definitely got everyone in the Peace Direct office into the Christmas mood as we've been lucky enough to have five fabulous choirs sing for us at tube stations around London. MOREBy adding their voice to our call for peace they have helped us to raise over £1300. So I'd like to say a huge thank you to:
Raised Voices
The Portobello Community Choir
Carolyn and friends
The Camden Choir
Cantate Jubilante
And a big thank you to Sue, Ellie, John, Fran and Leonie who helped collect donations with massive smiles and bucket loads of enthusiasm.
Happy Christmas
- Dec 2009Our Christmas Survival Kit LESS
- We're really looking forward to Christmas at Peace Direct, mince pies and silly games, however we all know how stressful it can be - no matter how well your family gets on MOREnormally. There's so much pressure for things to be perfect and it can be easy for tensions to rise. So we've put together a 10 step Christmas survival kit, to help us all get through this year conflict free. My favourite tip is no 5 - there's nothing better than taking the family out with the dog after a few glasses of wine and far too many chocolates!
Try and understand how your family fits together and where you sit within it – the more you understand the more objective you can be – and less likely to react without thinking first.
Put things into perspective, you might not be over the moon about something, but is it better to let it go, rather than cause an argument?
Try not to dwell on past issues.
Because you spend a lot of time together at Christmas it can feel like your time to expose issues you might have – but before you do, think about whether this is really the best time
Get outdoors - spend time outside and that goes for all the family. Even if it’s howling a gale, wrap up and go! Taking a walk or generally being outdoors will get rid of pent up energy and irritation leaving you all feeling calm and peaceful.
Lake Dal, Kashmir in snow. Photo thanks to Prakar, used under a Creative Commons License
Know what you need, think, and want, and be assertive about getting it, but be respectful. You do not need to be aggressive to be assertive.
Plan ahead and be prepared so you do not feel like you are not in control, or have no choice.
Focus on what is good in your family and friends
Honesty is the best policy - Be honest with each other and, above all else, make sure you find time to laugh together.
Surround yourselves with the young children in your family, get down on the floor at their level and play games together – it is so much fun!
Wishing you wonderful holidays from all the team at Peace Direct
- Dec 2009Peace Council Background, Dec 2008 LESS
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To the north of the capital the paved Salang road links Kabul to the Northern provinces, and the district of Farza is situated about 30 minutes drive from Kabul, towards Parwan MOREprovince. The land is mostly flat, rising to foothills of between 2000 and 2500 metres. Farza sits in the hills of the north-western part of Shomali plain, and its population is between 12,000 and 18,000, spread between about 18 villages. In January 1991 Farza was separated as an independent district from Mirbachakoot but this structure was not recognised by the Taliban. During the war, and particularly after 1996, fighting virtually destroyed the entire district, forcing the population from their homes and lands.
Farza is situated on fertile land, and the area is historically abundant with fruit orchards, cherries, vines, mulberries, grapes, plums, apples, willow and wheat. However, drought has severely affected the area over the last few years, and together with the wholesale destruction of the Kareze irrigation systems, has greatly affected the ability of the local population to support itself.
CPAU has been operating in Farza for several years and alongside supporting the Peace Councils CPAU also delivers peace education in 20 schools in the district. Some 5,000 students have received peace education in 2008, of which 40% were female. In addition CPAU holds Peace Conferences in Farza, the last of which was in October 2007 was attended by 120 people. The conferences are used to promote understanding between government bodies, religious leaders and local communities regarding non-violent conflict resolution. The Peace Council members have reported to CPAU that they see links between the peace promotion activities in the Peace Councils, Peace Education and the Peace Conferences.
Farza Peace Council
Farza has a population of 15,139 and the central Peace Council was formed on 25th August 2004 and consisted of 24 members and is composed of;
2 Mullahs, 4 Maliks, 2 Teachers, 1 student and 15 farmers.
The central Peace Council supports 6 zonal shuras, one of which is exclusively female. There are on average of 25 people in each zonal council. The councils dealt with at least 17 conflicts between 2005-7 and Farza was awarded the most peaceful district in Afghanistan by the Afghan government and UN in 2007. Conflicts over land and water are by far the most frequently addressed by the peace council. Local conflicts seen by the council are almost always low-intensity and non-fatal, and also include disputes over marriages, debt and, very infrequently, cases concerning blood feuds.
Along with carry out its normal conflict resolution duties, including meeting regularly, encouraging peaceful resolution of conflicts and mediating where appropriate and holding local conferences for people to hear about conflict resolution the council has been running a number of other projects. This includes a micro hydro power project, costing $7,000 which is supplying electricity to 450 families, and establishing a company for local people called “Karkaari”. The company hires out cutlery and dishes used for catering for a large number of people during the festival and Eid seasons. The council helped to establish the company with a small grant to buy the basic materials, and is helping to finalise the administrative and financial systems of the company.
During the most recent monitoring mission to Farza in August 2008 members of the council were interested in expanding their activities in a number of areas;
1. They want a peace centre where they could hold their Shura meeting and discuss the district issues. Ideally this should be a two-room facility so that it can be used by both men and women.
2. They want to introduce peace education into their existing madrasas.
3. The female council members particularly would like to have literacy courses
4. Building on their experience with ‘Karkaari’ they would be interested in learning more about fruit packaging and processing to see if it could be expanded in their areas.
5. The council is also interested in supporting the rebuilding of a local madrasa.
6. prepare the community for the upcoming election
These additional activities could take place over a number of years in discussion with the council, CPAU and Peace Direct.
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