Veronica Hannon, Owner and MD of Transform Communications Ltd, Bradford-on-Avon, England shares her thoughts in search for her purpose.

The corona virus (COVID 19) has come to test the true sense of responsibility of societies, governments, organizations, communities and individuals towards humanity. Like many other organizations, Moral Re-Armament/Initiatives of Change, Nigeria was faced with the challenges of cancelling planned programs and events, following the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaration of COVID 19 as a global pandemic. This was followed by the announcement of a total lockdown order on human and business activities by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Foreseeing the huge impact of such a lockdown, the Council of Management of MRA/IofC Nigeria actioned strategies (palliatives) to help reach out to members and non-members to ameliorate the burdens of fending for themselves and their families while staying at home, given our country’s economic peculiarity.

Peter Riddell, Convenor of IofC UK’s Agenda for Reconciliation programme, will introduce the films and facilitate the interactive case-studies. He has devoted several decades to working particularly with people who have suffered due to his nation’s colonial legacy.

Trust building program continues in Kenya having held two successful dialogues in both Mombasa and Garissa and the first mini workshop already complete in Garissa. 2020 started with a one-day communications skills workshop in Nairobi and later the first workshop in Garissa between January and February with follow up schedule for April 2020 supported by the input of Imam Ashafa and Pastor Wuye from Nigeria. 

Conversations that Boost Confidence in Braamfischerville from 25 -27 February 2020 was he Creators of Peace Circles main outcome between a group of 25 men and women. As painful conversations opened up and went through the gathering points of the programme namely: 'What builds and what destroys my peace' and 'What is this peace that I am searching for?' With much role play, singing, storytelling and small group discussions the group started becoming comfortable with themselves and began to open up just like a beautiful sunflower facing the sun.

Leratong which means a 'place of love' in the Sesotho language is the opposite of what inhabitants in this community would say about the state of their area. Leratong village started as an informal settlement in the 1990's where people of black and coloured races from all over South Africa settled. Today it is a community of over 100,000 people.  There are challenges with water, sanitation, single-parent homes, crime, substance abusers, lack of identity and a lot of inhumane neglect.  It is not uncommon for someone to pick up a deserted newborn or neglected child within the community.

Report of the first quater of the trustbuilifng project in Kenya

We regret to announce the postponement of the Pan Africa Conference on Governance, Ghana

Decades later, Africa still has too many examples of countries and their people damaged by poor or corrupt governance. A crisis that must be tackled if Africa is to reach its potential so often written or spoken about.Good governance has been signaled as the cornerstone of sustainable development by the Africa Union in its forward-looking roadmap, “The Africa we Want – 2063”, but, this was also emphasized more than 20 years ago by former Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Anan. “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development,” he concluded.  And 10 years before that, the World Bank raised a red flag about the lack of good governance when it noted: “A crisis of governance underlies the litany of Africa’s development problems”.  

Seventeen ladies from different academic courses from the Young Woman Christian Association participated in the Creators of Peace Circle. Participants were very expectant, eager to learn and found the methodology of training, especially the introductions with the string, very exciting. The training was participatory and participants actively engaged in group discussions, sharing ideas and experiences. With outcome of committed woman advocating change in their community