A group of 60 women and 7 men selected from various localities of Yambio County in Western Equatoria State Thursday completed a 6 weeks training in peacebuilding and mediation skills facilitated by the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI).
Speaking during their graduation ceremony in Yambio, WPDI Programme Coordinator in Western Equatoria State, Daniel Mande, said the purpose of the training was to empower them with mediation skills so that they can conduct community dialogue in their respective areas.
“Now that you are graduating, this is not the end, it is just the beginning. What we are going to do is for you to translate the knowledge you have acquired into implementation. Unless you make a positive impact in the communities, the topics we covered will not be enough,” Mande said.
He said the next plan of action for the participants is for them to disseminate the message of peace to their and other communities.
“So, from next week, we are going to divide you into twelve groups so that you can go and share this knowledge with other women and men,” Mande said.
Margret Joshua of UN Gender said they will continue to support the initiative so that peace is realized in the communities. She called on the participants to be active and implement the project in their communities.
“So, we hope to see that the fruit of this group is at the grassroots level and we will continue to empower others to promote and advance the agenda of women in Western Equatoria State. Thank you and congratulations to you all,” Joshua said.
Christine Faida, the participants’ representative, appreciated WPDI for the initiative, saying they have acquired a lot of knowledge that has changed their perspectives.
“I want to extend our thanks to (Forest) Whitaker who took this initiative of training us to be peace ambassadors. As we go to our communities, we are not going to consider only ourselves, we are going to look at the future of our communities and how we want our people to live,” Faida said.
Hussein Enoka, the Yambio County Commissioner called upon WPDI to extend their program to the grassroots so that they can reach those who are not in the towns.
“Whitaker, continue expanding the project and do not concentrate only in Yambio town. Go to the villages and in other Payams to do the same training. Come to me in my office so that I can direct you where you can go with this program because someone in the village needs the same information.
The participants were awarded certificates of attendance.