PCC TRAINS, EQUIPS MORE NONVIOLENT, PEACE ACTORS



Photo credit: CKA
Attendees of the workshop


As part of measures to curb the spread of violence in Cameroon’s North West region, the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) Peace Work Office organized a one-day workshop on Nonviolence for 21 selected youth from the North West on Wednesday June 23, 2021 in Bafoussam.

The workshop is an activity of the Peace Education and Nonviolence in Schools and Communities Project of the PCC Peace Work Office. The project spans January to December 2021 and has support from the German government’s Civil Peace Service (CPS) project Cameroon. It seeks to engage students develop a culture of peace in schools and youth to develop nonviolent attitudes in communities.

The workshop facilitation was done by power point presentation, practical engaging exercises, group work and debriefs. The trainees benefited knowledge on the Understanding Peace and Violence, Peace and Justice, Nonviolent Action (NVA), Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Media Activism for Peace and Strategic Advocacy.





Photo credit: CKA
Participants during the workshop

Introducing the attendees into the workshop, Rev. Nta William Nche, PCC National Peace Coordinator, educated the participants on the concept of peace in the Cameroon context. He urged them to be proactive and empathetic, not sympathetic when dealing with persons in adversities. He also trained on NVA and NVC. He emphasizes the importance of effective communication in times of crisis.


            Photo credit: CKA
             Reverend Nta William         demonstrating the effects of violence

Handling Peace and Justice, Henrietta Achah Abid, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, PCC Peace Work Office and Trainer, helped participants understand the concept of positive and negative peace. She referred to Albert Einstein’s definition of peace, which says, “peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice, law and order” and Oshadhi Herath’s concept of negative peace, which says, “Negative peace is peace without justice”.


            Photo credit: CKA
Henrietta Achah Abid talking on positive and negative peace

On his part, Peace Journalist Gilbert Nyongamsen Ndasi, National Programmes Officer, PCC Peace Work Office and Worshop Trainer engaged participants on Media Activism and Strategic Advocacy. During his training, he invoked the need for proper research, situational analysis, planning of activity, implementation, monitoring and evaluating in every Activism and Advocacy outings. The peace journalist urged journalists who were also part of the workshop to differentiate their news reports from propaganda, advocacy and activism.


Photo credit: CKA
Gilbert Ndasi training attendees during the workshop

In an interview with one of the participants at the workshop, Sama Mali Martha-Noel, she expresses how impactful the training is on her: “I feel transformed and empowered with the one-day great training. The programme was very engaging and realistic. I am going with good knowledge on peace education and strategies for combatting violence in schools and the communities”. 

The workshop, which handled pertinent issues in the Cameroon society, left a positive impact on the attendees. Sama Mali further says, “I have broadened my skills on nonviolent communication, nonviolent action, different stages of conflict and Media Activism and Strategic Advocacy”.

Sama Mali equally hints that she won’t keep the workshop gains to herself, “As a youth leader, I will inspire other youth through community outreach, school peace campaign and CSO gatherings in Bamenda. I will carry out strategic media advocacy on pertinent issues affecting my community”.

The one-day workshop was attended by 21 youth from the North West region. Among the attendees were 10 PCC Training of Trainers (TOT), fellows who are default members of the Peace Builders’ Union (PBU) an association of Peace Builders trained and put in place by the PCC Peace Work Office; 6 youth leaders from the PCC, 4 youth from the Civil Society and 1 Communication and Development students from the University of Bamenda.

By MBEHNI Drusilla NANGE

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