Peace Circles: Nurturing from Success to Significance
‘I used to think I was the only one who was always right and the one who could talk and make the right decisions. The Creators of Peace Circles (CoPC) training changed me. I learnt to listen to others and respect their opinions without discrimination. Now I give everyone a chance to talk and we make decisions together.’ This was a comment by one of the ladies who took part in the first ever formal CoPC follow-up meeting in Kenya. This took place in Nakuru County on April 28, 2015. It brought together a total of 20 women selected randomly from the various training sessions that had taken place since 2007 when the programme was introduced in Kenya.
This is one of the many follow up meetings that are planned for this year to measure the impact of the Creators of Peace (CoP) programme in the country. CoP was introduced to Kenya in 2007 by Jean Brown (Australia), Tehmina Siganporia (India) and Ann Njeri Ndiangui-Kimanthi (Kenya). Ever since, the programme has successfully reached out to over one thousand women from all over Kenya. Eight years later, the CoP team in Kenya made a decision to go back and find out what the impact in the lives of the participants has been.
Did the participants remember the different sessions they had been taken through during the training? Yes. For most of them it was still very fresh in their mind. This was a very good indication that the learnings from the programme were very helpful in their lives.
The most mentioned turning point for them had been the meeting on the “Power of Forgiveness”. Most of the participants voluntarily shared how it has changed their lives positively and influenced others around them.'CoPC training healed me from the disease of tribalism that I had suffered from for quite some time after the post-election violence of 2007 in Kenya,’ shared Elizabeth. ‘Together with other women that took part in the training, we were able to forgive and reach out to people from the ethnic group that had attacked us,’ she said.
Margaret, a beneficiary of Peace Circles, shared how she had lived a life of bitterness and anger towards her closest relatives for a period of 9 years. She used to occasionally carry a knife ready to seek revenge on her co-wife as a result of her broken marriage. The story sharing sessions made her gain new strength and hope for her situation and she made a decision to put the knife down and forgive. Her relatives could not believe it and were challenged by her decision. From a family that could not see eye to eye, this decision changed her family.
Joyce shared how she had roomed with a lady she considered an enemy. But as they shared during the training, she learnt that the lady had been hurt even more than she herself was. She therefore found it important to reconcile with her. That experience gave her courage and opened doors for her to serve the community. ‘I now have the courage to address people about peace building matters and people in my area have developed trust in me and they even gave me the name Mama Kijiji (Mother of the Community) because of my efforts to preach peace.'
As the women shared of their lives after the Peace Circles training, one could tell that the programme has definitely changed so many lives – directly and indirectly. Many of the women shared how they have become role models and this had led to most of them being appointed as community and religious leaders.
Rosemary shared how being a good listener and being listened to has transformed her life. ‘I discovered the power of being listened to and this has made my life much easier and has helped me become a good listener too,’ she said. In addition Rosemary started an initiative to reach out to children once a week with the message of peace. ‘Let’s not forget to preach peace to our children who shall take over leadership when the adults are gone,’ she shared.
As the meeting came to a close, the CoP team was a happy lot. The waves of the work we have been doing is running wider and positively affecting people in their thousands. The women have vowed not to let the day to day challenges they face deter them from living their lives as peace creators.
A peace pledge was recited by all in unison as a reminder of the promises to be change makers which they had made in their hearts and to God.
As a symbol of peace and a way of the women re-committing themselves to be peace creators, candle lighting was done. And since a candle looses nothing by lighting another, they committed themselves to keep the fire of peace alive and pass it on to others. The candle lighting was done as women went round the room singing and dancing to the song ‘Peace begins with me, peace begins with you, peace of the world begins with us.’
By Mumbi Judy and Njeri Kimanthi