“A walk of awareness” - Creators of Peace Noordgesig; Johannesburg
Noordgesig is a community composed of the black and coloured races of the population of South Africans situated in Orlando West, Soweto. The Creators of Peace team had the privilege of facilitating its first ever Peace Circle (PC) in the Afrikaans speaking Noordgesig area from the 13th – 15th April 2016. Nine unemployed young women attended the Circle which took place at the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.
The Noordgesig community is a haven for gangsterism and drugs. The use of guns is a norm in this society. Most of the women in the Peace Circle had used drugs as a result of habits over generations as well as lack of parenting skills. A PC participant, Liezel, shared, “I use drugs as a matter of choice not as an addiction, because in this community, as a woman, you either use drugs because you're dating a man who sells them or you're using drugs as a result of the pain men inflict on us, the women.”
As we started the Circle, the women’s expectations were plain and simple, “we want to heal from past wounds and be the best we can be.” At the end of the three days they were re-energized to face life with a different perspective. They felt motivated to be and do what they aspire to be and do. They accepted that they have started a journey of their healing process by identifying the next steps in their lives.
During the Peace in Practice module, Rochelle, one of the group shared, “My family has a lot of misunderstandings that lead us to fight. I have learned that I too have been contributing to the problems of my family and from now on I want to change. I want my children and me to be happy and I want to start gatherings for my family to have honest conversations.”
Wrapping up the three days, Martha who was the eldest and quietest in the group, was a bubble of joy. She said, “I can never thank this programme enough. Before all I did was close myself in my bedroom and shut the world out, because of the pain I have been carrying for years, blaming my parents for leaving me at an early age to suffer so much. I have had the chance to speak, cry and laugh with other women and it feels good. Thank you.”
The facilitators of this Peace Circle were Cleopadia Mohlaodi and Lucell Snyders a facilitator in training. Lucell shared, “I was scared of whether I am enough of a help to these young women from my community. The circle had broken women from broken families, and the challenges they face daily especially because they carry around the bitter pain, unforgiveness and anger. On the third day I saw the women let go some of the deep rooted pain and take responsibility for the things they can change and accept what they can’t change.”
Report by Cleo Mohlaodi and Lucelle Synders