May 12, 2021 – Recently, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) successfully completed training another 80 community leaders from the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding. The training – which was conducted at the request of local officials in and around the settlement – aimed to provide the leaders with tools and skills to help them resolve conflicts that they encounter in their day-to-day activities, thereby helping foster a culture of peace in their communities.

WPDI instructor teaching leaders about Conflict Resolution

As one of Uganda’s largest settlements for displaced persons, Kiryandongo is home to nearly 65,000 people, mainly refugees from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other surrounding countries. Since the area is home to people with a medley of ethnic, national, religious, and other backgrounds, ensuring the promotion of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence is sacrosanct.  WPDI has worked to foster a culture of peace in and around the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement since 2017, and in the past year alone, our youths trained 500 other young people and community leaders in conflict resolution.

Over a three-day period, WPDI’s highly trained Youth Peacemakers from the settlement and its surrounding areas held trainings for the 80 leaders. The 27 hours of training focused on providing the leaders with foundational skills in conflict resolution and peacebuilding as well as practical ones that they could use to address everyday conflicts they encounter in their communities as leaders. It is our premise that, while local leaders usually have skills to address conflicts, a formal training can enhance those skills and provide an opportunity to exchange about those skills with other leaders participating in the training.

80 Community Leaders graduate from Peace Education taught by WPDI

Participants reported to us that they found the trainings very useful. Regina, a South Sudanese refugee leader, mentioned that “The topics covered during the workshop, especially on how to approach conflicts, has empowered me, increased my knowledge, and gave me confidence. Now, I believe I can promote lasting peace in the refugee community.” Fred, a South Sudanese youth leader, spoke along similar lines. He told us that “I know the skills I gained from this important training will help me facilitate peacebuilding work in my community through effective conflict resolution and conflict management.”

With their training now complete, the cohort of 80 community leaders now have new or improved tools and skills to foster peace in their communities. As Madit, another South Sudanese refugee leader said to us after receiving her graduation certificate, “As a young, energetic youth leader, I am inspired, motivated, and confident in our potential. I know that we community leaders will use our new, useful skills and knowledge to make the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement a more peaceful place.”

Western Union Foundation

Education Above All (EAA)

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