Peace Building Education Workshop for Teachers

20-11-2010
Narration: About 5,000 persons have been displaced with some rendered homeless over the past five years as a result of ethnic based conflicts in the Bunkpurugu Yunyoo district of the Northern Region. Moreover, 24 lives have been lost with over 1,000 houses have been burnt down within the same period. In view of these unfortunate occurrences, the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese Development Office (NAVOCADO) has organized a 2-day Peace Building Education Workshop for some selected teachers in conflict communities in the district. The workshop which is being supported by Dialogue and Advocacy for Good Governance (DDAG) is geared at promoting peace and co-existence among all the ethnic divides in the area. Isaac Asare was there for Radio Ghana and has come through with this report.
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Participants including teachers and assembly members drawn from the various conflict zones in the district were taken through topics such as “the role of the diocese in conflict reduction and peace building”, the effect of conflict in education in the district and the “church’s perspective in the concept of conflict and peace building” among others. The workshop which was however organized to help participants appreciate the enormity of the conflict situation in the area, brought to fore emerging issues and causes of the increasing occurrences of conflict that has characterized the area within the past five years. Some of the causes identified include land ownership and use, loyalty to chiefdoms, unclear land boundaries, lack of chieftaincy succession schemes and poor traditional leadership structures. Political patronage which is the influence of politics on resource allocation and leadership power was also identified as a major challenge resulting to conflict in the district. The Acting Development Co-ordinator of Navrongo –Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese, Mr. Joseph Ayambillah, said the conflict in the Bunkpurugu Yunyoo district over the years has brought untold hardship to people living in the area with women and children being the most affected. He said many people resident in the district has fled to neigbouring Togo as a result of undue tension in the area and appealed to the feuding factions to smoke the peace pipe t bring development and brotherliness among the people. This year’s conflict, he noted has recorded 11 deaths with 4463 people displaced and 442 houses razed down by fire. Mr. Ayambilla outlined various intervention adopted by his outfit to bring lasting peace to the area. He mentioned community sensitization and the formation of peace building clubs and committees as some of the interventional measures. Mr. Ayambilla therefore called on teachers in conflict communities of the district to inculcate in their students the relevance of peaceful co-existence and the act of forgiveness. This, he explained, would help erase pain, anger and hatred from students who have fallen victim to the conflict. A facilitator from the Catholic Education Unit, Mr. Daniel Akanyani Abambilla the church and teachers are strong forces for conflict reduction in communities ,hence the need for them to teach people high moral values, and more importantly the need for acceptance, adjustment and reconciliation. He also called for dialogue and mediation among persons involved in the conflict to prevent more lost of lives and properties and pledged on the church’s support in that direction. The District Director of education, Mr. J.B Dakora, whose speech was read for him, commended the Catholic diocese for the peace initiative and appealed to the chiefs, clans and groups in conflict to re-unite and find an amicable solution to the long ethnic and chieftaincy dispute since it is having a downward trend on education in the district.