Championing the peace agenda in Africa
Africa Peace Point is an umbrella organization of 120 grasss-roots peace initiatives. Founded In 1998, the no-profit, non-sectarian organisation s main objectives are to network with peace and justice organizations both locally and internationally, capacity building for justice and peace initiatives at the grassroots level, research on and validation of peace paradigms in Africa and establishment of a database on peace and justice organizations in the continent.
To achieve these objectives, APP is equipped with a vision, in which it dreams of Africa where all people live in peace and create a network or forum for advocacy of peace and justice issues that will empower the local communities, highlighting the role peace plays in their communities.
Going by its mission statement of offering a safe and supportive environment where the grass-roots peace initiatives can air their views and learn various conflict resolution techniques, APP offers a peace building and reconciliation course, in collaboration with Hekima College, Amani People s Theatre [APT], Catholic Justice and Peace Commission [CJPC] and Caritas Italiana.
Admission to the training has been tailored to suit the basic requirements of a certificate as laid down by Hekima College a key partner. It is instructive that APP is holding discussions with Hekima as regards accreditation.
The course draws its participants from a number of nationalities of diverse age brackets, who are involved with CBOs or NGOs. Among the groups constituting the student population are Light Academy, St. Paul s Chapel University, Goal Kenya, Sangwa Amahoro, St. Theresa Eastleigh and the Citizen s Coalition for Constitutional Change [4Cs].
It is noteworthy that based on students evaluation, the lecturers have always given their best and the incorporation of fieldwork has enhanced the students practical skills. The course has also enhanced students participation in community development activities besides broadening their knowledge on conflict resolution.
However, the course has not been without challenges. A major constraint has been lack of resources, including lack of a well-stocked documentation centre, lack of overhead or LCD projectors and uncertainty on future funding. In this regard, APP is appealing for support to keep the programme running.
During its fourth graduation ceremony held at Shalom House Conference Hall on December 6, 23 students were awarded certificates. The colourful ceremony was presided over by the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission [CKRC] secretary Mr Patrick Lumumba.
Addressing the gathering, Lumumba dismissed the commonwealth as a colonial relic that should be done away with. It is another platform of ego-massaging for the former colonial power , he charged. While noting that it had contributed towards development in certain areas, it had failed to solve certain problems in Africa. African problems call for African solutions , he asserted.
Citing recent conflicts in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region, Lumumba observed that peace has eluded Africa owing to low self-esteem among African leaders, making them entirely dependent on the west for conflict resolutions. He claimed this was partly to blame for persistent civil wars bedeviling the continent.
With reference to Kenya, noted that while former president Daniel arap Moi professed peace love and unity, these were never practiced and Kenya cannot be said to have been peaceful during the Moi era. Now I leave it to you to ask yourselves if there is peace in Kenya today , he challenged the convocation.
Lumumba also castigated the church for not telling the truth. The church does not have the whole truth. Only God knows the truth , he lamented wondering why the church pretends to preach peace when a number of church groups are embroiled in endless wrangles.
He challenged the graduands to use the knowledge acquired in peace initiatives but hastened to remind them not to pretend that they had all the solutions to the continent s problems.
Also present during the graduation ceremony was Fr Michael Rua, who represented the Association for Member Episcopal Conference of Eastern Africa [AMECEA]. Others were APP co-ordinator Mr Michael Ochieng, CJPC co-ordinator Mr Peter Muhia, APT director Mr Michael Owiso, Caritas Italiana representative Mr GianLucca and Mr Jacob Okumu from Hekima College.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Ochieng attributed the conflicts in Africa to poverty, ignorance and disease. It is against this background that the course is tailored to be practical in nature. Significantly, students were required to develop and or enhance an existing project. To this end, Mr Ochieng announced that an award of KES 50000 {US$658] will be given to the best written project while a similar amount will be awarded to the best implemented project.
Noting that the training is conducted by a group of ten qualified lecturers, mostly Africans, Mr Ochieng said the training takes place in the African context, adding value to the approach and understanding of own conflicts. Owing to a huge influx of refugees, Mr Ochieng said it was deemed prudent to involve them in the training programme to enhance their peace building skills upon returning to their countries.
Mr Ochieng called upon the government of Kenya to be more proactive in peace building matters. Notably, he appealed for unity among the constitution review commissioners as a prerequisite for the smooth conclusion of the long drawn constitution review.
On his part, Mr Muya congratulated the graduands and appealed to the youth to shun violence.
APT s Mr Owiso perceives the African society as having been ambushed and abandoned. He called for a holistic approach to peace building.
The convocation was entertained by the Galaxy Group, a young and vibrant troupe of performing artistes, who specialize in drama, story telling and song and dance.
The efforts of Africa Peace Point need to be commended, given what it has achieved when the organization can still be said to be in its infancy stages. With adequate funding, this organization is likely to make a major impact in so far as peace building and conflict resolution are concerned.
If these activities are replicated in other African countries, there is no doubt that in the not too distant future, Africa will be able to solve its conflicts without necessarily inviting the so-called western negotiators.
For further information on Africa Peace Point and its activities, please contact:
Mr Michael Ochieng,
Shalom House, off Ngong Road,
P.O.Box 21573, 00505,
Tel.254-20-575288, 577553.
Fax: 254-20-577892.
Nairobi.
Kenya.
E-mail: app@maf.or.ke