As another year comes to a close and the new year begins, we look back at the various projects with which we have been involved. It is easy when hearing the daily news to feel that the fight for a just world is hopeless. However, at Peace Direct we have many hopeful and successful outcomes which show that by working together, we can build peace. These range from enabling women from warring tribes to come together through singing: to providing young Somalians with trades as an alternative to joining Al Shabaab, to rescuing over 146 child soldiers, returning them to their families and giving them a trade like carpentry, farming or mechanics.
At this time of the year we want to thank you all for the part you have each played in this.
Our office is small with 12 permanent members of staff and four volunteers who come in to stuff and send out the newsletters and appeals which regularly come through your letterbox! In a few weeks we will be moving to new premises further out of the centre of London to give us more space and better value for money. This means we can redouble our efforts and help more people live in peace.
We turn to you, our loyal and faithful supporters to help us once again. Every penny you donate will be spent on vital work, such as the training of local people in negotiating skills. Every penny goes towards the empowerment of women, skills training for young people and conflict resolution between hostile groups. We are not afraid to ask you again as we know, by your past actions, that you agree with our aims and objectives and that you also want to see peaceful outcomes on the ground in war torn areas.
We thank you for your past generosity and hope it will long continue.
With warmest wishes for the coming year,
The Peace Direct team and all of those people we’ve helped.
