September 16, 2019 – The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) recently completed a refresher training workshop for our now 35-strong cohort of youth peacemakers – colloquially referred to as Trainers of Trainees (ToTs) – in South Sudan’s former Central Equatoria state (CES). These ToTs recently completed their year-long intensive training with us and are now part of our existing grassroots peace force of almost 300 youth peacemakers, which spans the entire Equatorias region of South Sudan under our Youth Peacemaker Network (YPN) program.
The workshop, made possible thanks to our new partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, was held from August 10-16 and aimed to increase the knowledge, skills, and comfortability of the ToTs in Conflict Resolution Education, Information and Communications Technology, and Business and Entrepreneurship, as they will soon be teaching local youths form their respective counties in these areas. The youth peacemakers found sessions, which focused on role playing, mediation exercises, and group activities, to be very helpful in this regard. As Emmanuel, a 29-year-old ToT from Terekeka county explained at the end of the workshop, “these seven days have equipped me with the skills, tools, and comfortability to teach my fellow youths and mediate existing conflicts in my community. I know that in Terekeka, cattle keepers, farmers, and other youths can come together to be peaceful and productive.”
In addition to helping the 35 youths feel ready to begin training others, the workshop also presented 11 of them the opportunity to re-sit for exams in order to fully graduate from our training program. These supplementary tests were administered to ensure that they will be able to operate effectively as WPDI peacemakers in the field, and ultimately, nine passed and joined their colleagues. Susan, one of the new graduates, proclaimed her excitement at the prospect of working to better her community: “I am going to use everything I learned to help others in my community. When you train a woman, she has the power to train others. As a woman, we will realize positive change in our society.”
Upon the successful close of the workshop, the 35 ToTs began the next stage of their work under the YPN: deployment back to their home communities, where they will lead a series of four trainings for hundreds of local youths in total. In so doing, they will help grow our grassroots peace force in the Equatorias region of South Sudan.
