Despite the fame and transformative work of CoP worldwide, and the idea having been conceived in Tanzania by a Tanzanian, this initiative has not been active in Tanzania. The first Peace Circle took place at DUCE – Dar es Salaam University College of Education in Dar es Salaam city.  It commenced on 31st August and ended on 2nd September 2018. The group consisted of 17 participants within the age bracket of 24 to 35 - some of them being recent university graduates and others already working.

Turning our scars to stars is how the participants of Creators of Peace Naledi became comfortable to share, some turning points included self-love and acceptance. The majority valued this experience, they expressed their wish that we come monthly to offer the Peace Circle to other community members in Naledi.  They felt that they will benefit from it so much and Naledi could start to change, in a positive way.

How fitting it was that the Creators of Peace team delivered the Peace Circles from the 13th to 15th June 2018 at the Naledi Recreation Centre to a group of nine men and eight women of Naledi Township in Soweto. This is because the country was in reflection of the 1976 Soweto youth uprising, the centenary celebration of the late Dr Nelson Mandela as well as the anti-apartheid activist known as mother of South Africa Albetina Sisulu. When the Creators of Peace was in Soweto, we contributed to planting seeds of healing for a stronger youth in the future.

Initiatives of Change (IofC), Nigeria, also known as Moral Re-Armament, in a bid to ensure strategic solutions towards making the Nigerian democracy real, invited active Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working on Governance and Democracy, to it’s 2018 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Roundtable Dialogue. The event took place at the Initiatives of Change secretariat in Ikoyi, Lagos on 14th April 2018.  Fourteen registered NGOs attended.

Within the partnership between City of Johannesburg and the Creators of Peace program, we continued to reach women in different regions across Gauteng province. The Pioneer Skills Centre in Rosettenville welcomed us from the 30th May to 1st June 2018 to a group of fifteen women. Rosettenville is situated in the inner-city of Johannesburg, near the famous race course named Turffontein. The area used to be occupied mainly by the Portuguese community and later it became an area consisting of Africans, Coloured's and foreign nationalities. When we drove in we all picked up a scary feeling passing drug addicts and unemployed men who sat in the corners of dumping areas and dilapidated buildings. This area, with its challenges, changed from a classy rich man’s area to a poverty stricken area.

In South Africa, the Creators of Peace team’s vision is to ‘heal our nation through story sharing’. The mission is to embrace and nurture a continuing journey of inner healing in different communities to impact our nation positively and responsibly. From the 23rd to 25th May 2018, a group of eighteen young women from Diepkloof, spent the three days together at the Comprehensive Centre, east of Soweto, Johannesburg.

Having to face one's fears and given the opportunity to be authentic was fearful yet rewarding for participants. Through introspection, though painful, a new direction was found. Rudolph, one of the participants said, “For the first time I shared the hurt that I’ve been carrying for such a long time.  I never thought that I would and I even allowed myself to be vulnerable within. After this emotional awareness time I feel a burden is lifted off my shoulders.” Enjoy the full read of the Creators of Peace Circle with a group of seventeen men and women from the 16th to 18th June 2018.

New President for IofC International
Suresh Vazirani from Mumbai, India was unanimously appointed by Global Assembly of the International Association as the new President for IofC International. He is the founder and Managing Director of TransAsia/Erba group, India’s largest multinational medical diagnostics company, which is based on the principles of integrity, trust and transparency and exports high quality medical instruments to over 100 countries.

Ennerdale is a racially and cultural mixed community where sisterhood is needded.  It faces daily challenges of drugs, teenage pregnancies, crime, unemployment and disunity.  However Osizweni - Cradle to Career, is an NGO offering services of a primary school, feeding scheme and food gardening to the community to address social needs and skills development with the hope to build a better future for all – whether privileged or not. 

Ivory Park that is situated, East of Johannesburg, the women daily face challenges that take away hope of any positive outcomes in their lives. This is because the community is full of sarcastic and negative people coming from broken homes and all they can give is pain and frustration. This leads to demotivation and people lacking in courage. Through our conversations they realised that they are more than their mistakes.  They opened up to understanding and self care.  These women live within conflicting situations such as Fights and verbal challenges however the sessions allowed a new perspective - that conflict is an opportunity to build and not destroy relationships. Kuhle, one of the participants said, “I see now that I am a creator of my own problems by my mistakes and I am a creator of my own solutions by learning.”