By James Innocent
Nonviolence Peace Force, a community-based organization in collaboration with Yei River County Youth Association has organized a four-day peace conference for youth from all six counties of Central Equatoria State.
The participants in the workshop included church leaders, community leaders and government officials.
The conference brought up youth, chiefs, government officials, Religious leaders together as a call to collaborate on social cohesion in the community.
The conference targets over eighty participants, with the purpose of developing practical skills in peace building within Central Equatoria State and other parts of the country.
Thomas Carmichael Is the team leader of Nonviolence peace force in Yei.
He said peace is not an absence of challenges and not an absence of disagreement, but rather where people have the mindsets, skills that provides the nonviolent a solution to resolve challenges in communities and countries.
“Where the idea of picking up a weapon to response to the challenges overtime becomes unthinkable because we know we have the ability to more effectively overcome challenges using peaceful strategies,” he said.
“I would like to quote with you peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal, repeating Martin Luther King’s quote” he said.
Mr. Carmichael said the purpose of the conference is to help them develop practical skills to build peace in Central Equatoria State and South Sudan.
“The focus of this conference is not on big political challenges, or a vague and intangible notion of peace. I want to stress that it’s not about pointing fingers or laying blame. Rather, the focus is on understanding the roots of violence and peace, working together and collaborating on social cohesion in our communities,” he stated.
He emphasized that collaboration between different groups especially youth, chiefs, government, and Religious leaders can be powerful in producing real and meaningful changes in their communities.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Yei River County Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa urged the participants to put the experience and knowledge from the conference into practice.
“Let us be an example in this conference, I want you to go out after this training as a changed unique youth and those who refuse to change they are problematic and let this knowledge help you to help the government in transforming others for the purposes of God and serving this new nation,” he said.
For his part the Youth Chairman for Yei River County, Johnson Poru Hillary said they are there to share knowledge and experience in order to support the effort of the government
“We are here to share experience, knowledge, skills, and see that we go out to transform our society because there are many issues that the Transitional Government of National Unity is handling to see on to it that we coexist within our communities,” he said.
One of the Deputy Secretary General for Central Equatoria State Youths Union Swoka Clement David added that they are excited as Youth Union of Central Equatoria for the initiative organized that brings six counties together
“On behalf of the Central Equatoria State Youth Union, we are very happy for nonviolence peace force and the association of Yei River County youth for bringing up this initiative that brings youth from all the six counties of central Equatoria State and to discuss about the importance and improvements of the relationships of this counties,” he underscored.