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BIHAPH BAPTIZES 16 NW COUNCILORS AS COMMUNITY PEACE AMBASSADORS



By Rosaline Obah

Some 16 Participants from 13 Councils in the North West Region have fine tuned their skills in conflict prevention/ transformation, crisis management, humanitarian assistance, trauma healing and rehabilitation as a move to continue in the mission of shaping peace together in the region.


The three day workshop was organized by the Bihndumlem Humanitarian Association of Peace and Hope (BIHAPH) with motivation to uphold community peace building at the Grassroots with a growing need for peace to return to the various communities. The need to involve everybody at community level to contribute their quota in rebuilding communities, shattered by wars and the on-going socio-political crisis also pushed BIHAPH to take the risk and necessary measures to mobilize these community leaders.


An initiative that was implemented in Wum during the Mbororo-Aghem insurgency and it proved worthwhile, effective with sustainable result. BIHAPH therefore thought it wise to implement the same initiative in other communities through the use of their Councils/community leaders for according to the Chief Executive Officer and Founder Mrs. MIH Bibiana Mbei Dighambong, the Councils are at the base/grassroots with the population and are important catalyst for development adding that an involvement of both parties therefore to the rebuilding of community peace is of great importance.


For three days, the trainees gain deeper and more knowledgeable skills on the concept of Peace-Building and Leadership for community development, thus re-strategizing on how to effectively and efficiently implement the knowledge of fostering peace in communities, yield collective community impact and rebuild the fabrics of the society that have been shattered by wars and conflicts. In order to have a grasp of what is expected from the councilors on the field, emphasis was placed in key areas like conflict prevention and peace-building- conceptual framework, the impact of conflicts and protection of civilians in armed conflicts, tools for sustainable peace, building family and community advocacy towards peace building, local governance and peace-building and the role and contribution of the international community in peace and conflict resolution.


According the Founder of BIHAPH, peace building can only be achieved after a conflict has been properly analyzed and the root causes dealt with. In this way, measures can be taken to curb radicalization and preventing violent extremism by fighting hate speech and retaliation while putting hands on deck to contribute in the processes of disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation, building social cohesion/intercommunity peace dialogue and partnering with the media in peace building and conflict transformation. She called on all participants to communicate effectively and avoid hate speech which only sparks more conflicts.


The training ended with the participants expressing the desire for BIHAPH to collaborate with their various Councils for the effective implementation of their peace projects back in their communities. According to Ngum Glory of Mbengwi Council, the training was timely, given the current situation. “We have been asking ourselves, how do we go about this? But this training has given us a push,” Glory intimated. Hyacinth Gama of Elak Oku Council was delighted to note that he is leaving the workshop very much enriched while hoping that BIHAPH could extend this training to other regions of the Country that are not yet at war. Meawhile, Bongka Priscilla of Mbiame Council said she is going back to her community and start mobilizing right away.


In a bid to build a solid network with the Participants, BIHAPH baptized them with the name “COMMUNITY PEACE AMBASSADORS” as they will become torch bearers of peace in their communities. Participants equally took a pledge of allegiance where they took the commitment and vow to uphold the values of peace for their communities and municipalities as well. Reacting to this, the CEO of BIHAPH expressed their readiness to work in collaboration with these Councils and closely follow-up to ensure that their peace mission as Community Peace Ambassadors runs smoothly and most especially, that sustainable peace is achieved in these communities, while underscoring the need to take this initiative to all the councils in the North West Regions, South West Region and the entire nation to fully engage and involve community and local actors for sustainable peace.

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