29 Jan. (By Martin Muluka, communication specialist, World Vision) –
Rier wears a big smile as she walks confidently toward her academic dream at St. James Optom High School. She is part of an inseparable trio of
peace club ambassadors who have shown that boys and girls are the
heart of the community and that they can enjoy life to the fullest with a better future if they are taught the meaning of peace.
“My family moved to the Kakuma refugee camp in 2012 from South Sudan after fighting between the Nuer and Dinka communities. I was only eight years old then and life was difficult because I was separated from the people I loved,” she says. laugh. “My parents said that we had come to seek peace in Kakuma. I thought it was the end of the violence. But unfortunately, there were children at school who looked down on me and did not treat me well because I was Nuer and South Sudanese, and they another nationality. At home, they told me who I should be friends with and where I shouldn’t go because it wasn’t safe. I got used to it and accepted it.”
But little by little he became saddened because he could not understand why he had to live in a society that did not stop fighting or conflicting due to differences of nationality or tribe. “I was bitter because I felt that the whole world was responsible for my suffering and for the separation from my family and friends, whom I don’t know if I will ever see again.”
Ever since his family fled their home and moved to the Kakuma refugee camp in search of peace, Rier assumed that the solution to the segregation problem he faced at school could only be addressed by changing schools.
She did this several times until she transferred to a school outside the camp attended by boys and girls from the local Turkana community in Kenya. “It was hard for me to make friends and I used to sit alone most of the time. I had heard of peace clubs in other schools but never considered joining one. Here I met Alimlim who introduced me to the peace club and she has become more than just a friend. I was won over by her authenticity and caring, even though she comes from the Turkana community in Kenya and I am a Nuer from South Sudan, and she taught me that I too could care for someone from another community.”
CHILDREN AS AMBASSADORS
These peace clubs, numbering 41 in all, were created through World Vision’s Empowering Children as Peace Builders project in the Kakuma refugee camp. The clubs use the Peace Curriculum developed by the organization to foster peace among communities through boys and girls as ambassadors.
“Thanks to the regular club meetings, led by President Alimlim, I found inner peace and friends from communities my family considered enemies. I met my best friend, Agum, from the Dinka tribe. We shared many things and found that we were both looking for peace. The challenge was how our friends in our communities would take it. Our stories of persistence and challenges deepened our bond. As a result of our unique friendship, more boys and girls were encouraged to join peace clubs and even play together”.
At the neighboring high school, Kuok, the captain of the school’s soccer team, leads his classmates in a physical education class. He recalls the path taken by his community in using sport to defend peace and how personal differences can cause violence. “In 2018, I was a young player on our community team. An argument broke out between our Sudanese coach and a South Sudanese player. What started as a small dispute quickly escalated into a full-blown conflict between communities,” says Kuok.
“I received peace training which has helped me lead the team. We have regular meetings with the players before inter-school and inter-community games. Before the training, football separated us, but now it has brought us together. I learned as a player that , when I step on the field, there is likely to be a win, a loss, an unfavorable decision or an injury. It is my duty to accept it and know that the reaction of my fans and the community depends on my behavior. Our motto is to banish violence on the pitch and score goals for peace”.
Martha, a teacher and patron of the school’s peace club, says that the students have been instrumental in bringing peace to the school and improving discipline. Unlike before, she observes that teachers now correct students without fear that this will cause conflicts stemming from cultural differences.
“Our school was affected by the conflict a few years ago, I feared for my safety and considered relocating to another section of the refugee camp with my community. I was sad because it seemed like a repeat of the political violence that made me move from Sudan to Kenya. To my surprise, my students visited me and encouraged me to stay. Now things are going much better; we have a bond beyond the school and we have common projects like planting vegetables,” he says.
Onesmus, the principal of Kalobeyei Primary School in Turkana County, appreciates the role peace clubs have played in improving harmony and discipline in the school and the community at large. “For a school with a population of more than 4,000 students of various cultures and nationalities, peace is essential.”
Looking ahead to the week in which the School Day of Peace and Nonviolence is celebrated, we must remember that working to build peace in school settings is essential if we want a world free of violence. For this, we have to take into account children and youth as catalysts for peace and for this reason the school has a fundamental role as a promoter of peaceful coexistence.
