Nouvelles

Wednesday, 06 July, 2022

on the 30th June, Creators of Peace (CoP) delivered a Peace Circle (PC) 'teaser' to the six stakeholders of Orange Farm community with the aim to build new community intervention through Orange Farm Human Rights centre and for better understanding of our programmes.  Due to some unexpected demands on the time of the stakeholders we were not able to have a full three-day PC.  These stakeholders will continue as partners with us in future and they wanted to experience a PC themselves first.

The 10 people who took part are working with the Clinic, Home Based Care and Orphanage centre and the Women’s Forum, as Human Rights activists and community activists - all trying to address directly or indirectly issues of mental health, gender based violence (GBV) and community development.  It was a mixed gender group ranged between 23-68 years of age.  These community workers are emotionally broken and need to heal from trauma.

Wednesday, 06 July, 2022

In May Creators of Peace (CoP) in Khayelitsha, Cape Town hosted a Peace Circle (PC) from May 4-6th for 11 participants, both men and women.  These groups are mostly affected by the high gangstarism impact in the city. Cape Town ranks high as a city of gangs and shooting in South Africa especially in informal settlements and low cost housing areas.

One of the participants, Chulumanco said, “I came here for the sake of peace that I am lacking from, at home my wife could not stop talking about the CoP programme. I wanted to experience the impact that I am seeing in her and the peace she encourages. Due to society and everything culture taught me, I believed that as a man I don’t have to open up about matters of the heart.  However, here I am able to.”

Wednesday, 06 July, 2022

On 25th June, the Vlakfontein Men's Forum, near Soweto, welcomed this event for 12 men between the ages of 21 and 65 years.  It was a cold rainy day.  As we drank coffee together with these fathers, grandfathers and hoping-to-be fathers, we had an informal discussion about the generation gap - teenagers feeling they are man enough to tackle life, earn money and fame and don't need guidance from their parents or elders, and the older generation have feelings of despair and hurt by the perceived disrespect of their ways of doing things.

Friday, 17 June, 2022

To foster a greater relationship between the force and the public in addressing insecurity, a group, Initiatives of Change (IofC) Nigeria in conjunction with the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police, Lagos, has launched a trustbuilding programme, "Police I Care".

Speaking at the launch at the Zone 2 Command headquarters, Lagos, President of the group, Felicia Olufunmilayo Odetoyinbo, said the programme is a trust-building initiative geared towards bridging the gap between the people and the police as a panacea for improved people-police interactions.

According to her, the programme is aimed at engaging the police, communities, government/non-government institutions and other stakeholders through partnership and collaboration in mitigating the devastation that distrust, hate suspicion and apathy have wreaked on the collective responsibility of all towards the protection of life and property, detection, prevention and prosecution of crimes.

Thursday, 02 June, 2022

Violent Extremism in Burkina Faso Executive Summary Violent extremism is on the rise again in several regions of Burkina Faso after talks between authorities and insurgent groups collapsed around early 2021. An attack on the Northeastern village of Solhan in June resulted in the death of over 150 people and was carried out by children between the ages of 12 and 14 according to the Burkinabe government and the United Nations. This atrocity was one of the most violent assaults on Burkina Faso since the security crisis started in the country in 2015. Burkina Faso’s strategic location in the heart of west Africa means its security situation is deeply linked to transnational trends. That said, the depth of cohesion between violent extremist groups (VEGs) and their affiliates, or regional offshoots, remains somewhat unclear.

Tuesday, 03 May, 2022

On the 22-24 of February 2022 a group of 17 participants together with Creators of Peace (CoP) facilitators gathered together to embark on a journey of inner healing, sharing their hardships and past wounds. The group ranged between the ages of 18-44 years – two men and 15 women. This took place at It takes a Village NPO in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

The group was enthusiastic, showing up every morning ready to share and be heard. Some came having been referred by previous participants. “When Alford told me about CoP I felt the need to come and experience it myself,” shared Katleho. Shared expectations were, in particular, the need to gain trust, forgiveness, unity and develop listening and communication skills.

Tuesday, 03 May, 2022

“I don’t know what it is like to have a family because mine was never there for me,” said Bukeka, one of the participants during the 17 to 19th March 2022 when Creators of Peace Circle team (CoPC) facilitated a Peace Circle (PC) to 12 participants (one man and 11 women) aged between 20- 55yrs.

The PC dynamic was more mature, unlike the previous two workshops where the majority of the participants were younger.  They were inquisitive and eager to know what CoPC is all about and how they will benefit from the space.  “I have been to more than one-on-one counselling so it will be interesting for me to see how the inner healing group setting unfolds,” commented Busisiwe. The participant's expectations were to know more about inner healing and learn from each other’s experiences, gain a family and friends and also draw strength from one another. 

Wednesday, 06 April, 2022

Through dialogues and workshops that bring together aggrieved communities and members of the police force, the trustbuilding team in Nigeria builds trust between authorities and the people of the community.  

Why is trust needed? 
Misconceptions from police officers, communities and other stakeholders about the police's position, purpose, and authority have been obstacles to achieving a desired modern police force. There is an urgent need to demystify what the uniform represents.   

Mistrust between young Nigerians and the police came to a clash when tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against police brutality in October 2020, which became known as the #EndSARS demonstrations. 

Wednesday, 06 April, 2022

For decades, politico-ethnic conflicts have torn communities apart, causing many deaths and leading to many people seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. The trustbuilding team in Burundi aims to build trust and heal historical wounds between the communities affected by the ethnopolitical divisions (Hutu, Tutsi and Twa ethnic groups).

Why is trust needed? 
Since its independence in 1962, Burundi has experienced repeated violent conflicts. Large-scale interethnic massacres occurred in 1972, 1988 and 1993, and another wave of violence in 2015. Despite various attempts for national unity after each crisis, including peace deals, Burundian society remains polarised. Psychological wounds caused by all the violence, if not healed, have the risk of being passed down from generation to generation.

Thursday, 31 March, 2022

The International Trustbuilding Program (TBP) was launched in July 2019 and is now active with national programs in Australia, Burundi, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ukraine

The purpose of this letter is to invite interested teams and organizations to consider submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) to be part of the TBP, beginning in January 2023.

The TBP is a strategic part of IofC’s work. It is an expression of what IofC has to offer the world, based on 80 years of experience in building trust across divides. It is based on a partnership model between IofCI and local IofC teams. It is designed to build capability and financial sustainability of local teams through training, expert guidance and experience sharing with other teams. Effective execution of the program has been seen to increase the visibility and credibility of the work local teams do whilst making an impact to communities where it is delivered.

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